“Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, (we can glean two important pieces of information from this simple statement, first of all that the hand of the Lord was upon them to accomplish His purposes and therefore they had a safe and successful journey both ways; and secondly, we see something here reminiscent of the parable of the prodigal son, namely, that they have enjoyed the company and favour of their father – not unlike the eldest son in the parable – all these many years whilst Joseph was deprived thereof and yet, because they have actually presumed upon it, even taking it by force by eliminating the object of their father’s most sincere affections, it is almost as if they could never possess it fully: it is clear that they have a free and open line of communication with their father – not inhibited in the least to share with him “all that had happened to them” – and yet one cannot help but notice the inherent disdain Jacob often feels for them) saying: “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, (how peculiar that they should remember what might be deemed an insignificant piece of information by many, namely Joseph’s harsh tone – it is almost as if the deepest most sincere parts of their being is moved to understand that the harshness they perceived is not merely random but is rather the justified and deeply personal reaction of a man horribly wronged, even if they do not yet consciously understand who he is; one thing is certain however, the very prophecy that stirred up such vehement envy, hatred and bitterness within them all those many years ago is ironically now continually being reinforced by their own words and deeds as they continue to honour him, not least of all in their address of him as “lord of the land”) and took us for spies of the country. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, (notice how the same vague rationalisation they have held before their father these many years, implying Joseph’s death yet not explicitly declaring and revelling in it repeatedly after the initial lie, is also the euphemism they utilised in speaking to this foreign lord of the Egyptian land and is again now reiterated here before their father: it has become a soothing and non-committal self-deception that has become intrinsic to them and is now perhaps more fragile and closer to topple like the house of cards that it is than ever before) and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ” (How encouraging to hear the brothers give such a verbatim account of all that Joseph said to them, not least of all for the sake of posterity, to reinforce with historical precision the exact course of events in the Scriptures as repetition is often used as a device to encourage deeper meditation for believers when reading the Word, but also as yet another continuation of the perpetual honour that they must – as it proceeded from the mouth of God and is compelled by prophecy to come to pass – bestow upon him: their narration here being a glorious display of the Solomon-like wisdom with which he tests their testimony claiming to be honest men. For even if one is not aware of Joseph’s personal longing to see young Benjamin, this test he has devised to confirm the validity of their testimony is still quite remarkable in its devising for any who hear of it, even without the context of the full story. His willingness to allow them, even now, to “take food for the famine of your households” together with his promise to allow them to “trade in the land” if they meet his not unreasonable demands, also serve to attest to his sense of justice, generosity and maturity: confirming him to be a wise and fair man worthy of honour.) 

“²⁹Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: ³⁰The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ ³³Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. ³⁴And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ “

– Genesis 42:29-34 (NKJV)