And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. The lapse of time since the tragedy of Dothan, twenty years before, the high position occupied by Joseph, the Egyptian manners he had by this time assumed, and the strange tongue m which he conversed with them, all conspired to prevent Jacob's sons from recognizing their younger brother; while the facts that Joseph's brethren were all grown men when he had last looked upon them, that he was quite familiar with their appearances, and that he perfectly understood their speech, would account for his almost instantaneous detection of them.
Bible Commentary
Genesis 42:8
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:8
The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain
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The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38Genesis 42:1-38 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITIONThe Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38Genesis 42:1-38 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe first visit of Joseph's brethren to Egypt. I. THE JOURNEY TO EGYPT (Genesis 42:1-5). 1. The famishing household. Although Canaan was the land of promise, and the family of Jacob the Church of God, yet neither was th…The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38Genesis 42:1-38 · The Pulpit CommentaryGod's trials of his people. The trial of Joseph is over. Now comes the trial of his brethren and of Jacob. The Spirit of God is at work in all their hearts. True men they were and yet sinful men. Before they can be made…Matthew Henry on Genesis 42:7-20Genesis 42:7-20 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryJoseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of the…Joseph Speaks Roughly to His Brethren. (b. c. 1706.)Genesis 42:7-20 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleJOSEPH SPEAKS ROUGHLY TO HIS BRETHREN. (B. C. 1706.) We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty years that he had now been in Egypt, especially during the last seven years that he had been in power there, never s…
commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38The first visit of Joseph's brethren to Egypt. I. THE JOURNEY TO EGYPT (Genesis 42:1-5). 1. The famishing household. Although Canaan was the land of promise, and the family of Jacob the Church of God, yet neither was th…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38God's trials of his people. The trial of Joseph is over. Now comes the trial of his brethren and of Jacob. The Spirit of God is at work in all their hearts. True men they were and yet sinful men. Before they can be made…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 42:1-38EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryMatthew Henry on Genesis 42:7-20Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of the…Matthew HenrycommentaryJoseph Speaks Roughly to His Brethren. (b. c. 1706.)JOSEPH SPEAKS ROUGHLY TO HIS BRETHREN. (B. C. 1706.) We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty years that he had now been in Egypt, especially during the last seven years that he had been in power there, never s…Matthew Henry