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.
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.”
- BSB Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- 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 plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
- Gen 37:5–9And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
- Judg 1:24And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
- Josh 6:23And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.
- Josh 2:1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
- Num 13:2Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
- Luke 20:20And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
- Heb 11:31By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
- Gen 42:34And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
- Gen 42:30–31The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
- Gen 42:16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
- 1 Sam 26:4David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
- Num 13:16–20These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
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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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