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.”
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.
- 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.”
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 32:35Yahweh struck the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
- Gen 37:5–9Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
- Judg 1:24The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”
- Josh 6:23The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.
- Josh 2:1Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
- Num 13:2“Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them.”
- Luke 20:20They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
- Heb 11:31By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
- Gen 42:34Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”
- Gen 42:30–31“The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country.
- Gen 42:16Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you, or else by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies.”
- 1 Sam 26:4David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had certainly come.
- Num 13:16–20These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun 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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