Genesis Chapter 42 verse 9 Holy Bible
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
read chapter 42 in ASV
Then the memory of his dreams about them came back to Joseph, and he said to them, You have come secretly to see how poor the land is.
read chapter 42 in BBE
And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamt of them; and he said to them, Ye are spies: to see the exposed places of the land ye are come.
read chapter 42 in DARBY
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
read chapter 42 in KJV
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said to them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land have ye come.
read chapter 42 in WBT
Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land."
read chapter 42 in WEB
and Joseph remembereth the dreams which he dreamed of them, and saith unto them, `Ye `are' spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye have come.'
read chapter 42 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - And Joseph remembered (i.e. the sight of his brethren prostrating themselves before him recalled to his mind) the dreams which he dreamed (or had dreamed) of them (vide Genesis 37:5) and said unto them, Ye are spies (literally, ye are spying, or going about, so as to find out, the verb רָגַל signifying to move the feet); to see the nakedness of the land - not its present impoverishment from the famine (Murphy), but is unprotected and unfortified state (Keil). Cf. urbs nuda praesidio (Cic., 'Att.,' 7:13); taurus nudatus defensoribus (Caes., 'Bell. Gall.,' 2:6); τεῖχος ἐυμνώθη (Homer, 'Iliad,' 12:399) - ye are come. The Egyptians were characteristically distrustful of strangers, - AEgyptii prae aliis gentibus diffi-dere solebant peregrinis (Rosenmüller), - whom they prevented, when possible, from penetrating into the interior of their country (Wilkinson's 'Ancient Egyptians,' vol 1.p. 328, ed. 1878). In particular Joseph's suspicion of his Canaanitish brethren was perfectly natural, since Egypt was peculiarly open to attacks from Palestine (Herodotus, 3:5). Verss. 10-12. - And they said unto him. Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. "They were not filled with resentment at the imputation" cast upon them by Joseph; "or, ff they were angry, their pride was swallowed up by fear" (Lawson). We are all one man's sons; we are true men, i.e. upright, honest, viri bonae fidei (Rosenmüller), rather than εἰρηνικοὶ (LXX.), pacifici (Vulgate) - thy servants are no spies. It was altogether improbable that one man should send ten sons at the same time and to the same place on the perilous business of a spy, hence the simple mention of the fact that they were ten brethren was sufficient to establish their sincerity. Yet Joseph affected still to doubt them. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come - assuming a harsh and almost violent demeanor hot out of heartless cruelty (Kalisch), but in order to hide the growing weakness of his heart (Candlish).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) Ye are spies.--This is the suspicion under which every traveller labours in the East; but in those days the whole Semitic race was especially looked upon in Egypt with distrust, and, as we saw in Genesis 12:15. a chain of fortresses had been built to protect the land from their incursions. Such an arrival, therefore, as that of Joseph's brethren would be a matter of state, worthy of the attention of the highest officials; and probably they had themselves come prepared to be assailed with the accusation of having political objects in view in their visit.The nakedness of the land.--That is, its defenceless condition, from the want of fortresses and garrisons. Egypt was chiefly assailable on the side of Palestine, and was often at war with the Hittites there. So also the Hyksos, who subdued Egypt, were Semites from Palestine, and thus there was reason for looking closely at visitors from that quarter.
