Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
- NASB And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”
- NLT And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Remembering his boyhood dreams now fulfilled as they bow, Joseph tests his brothers by accusing them of being spies. The charge is a strategy, not the truth.
Overview
The dreams of sheaves and stars (Gen 37) are fulfilled the moment the brothers bow before Joseph, confirming that God's word does not fail. Joseph's harsh accusation begins a careful testing of whether their hearts have changed. "The nakedness of the land" means its undefended weak points, a plausible suspicion against foreigners during famine.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 32:35And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.
- Gen 37:5–9Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
- Judg 1:24and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.”
- Josh 6:23So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
- Josh 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Num 13:2“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
- Luke 20:20So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
- Heb 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- Gen 42:34But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”
- Gen 42:30–31“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
- Gen 42:16Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”
- 1 Sam 26:4David sent out spies to verify that Saul had arrived.
- Num 13:16–20These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 42:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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