And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.”
Ten men stand before the governor of Egypt, accused of spying. To clear themselves they sketch their family — twelve brothers, one father, the youngest at home, and one missing. The words they choose for the missing brother are the words that expose them. (The commentators quote an older translation. It has "one is not" where the ESV reads "one is no longer alive," and "true men" in verse 11 where the ESV reads "honest men.")
The Irony of Their Answer
Their reply is true about the family and blind about the man in front of them. Everything they report, he already knows.
L. M. GrantWhen Joseph keeps questioning them, they tell him their father had twelve sons. One of them is still at home, and the other, they say, "is not." How little they suspected that the governor knew better than that!
"And One Is Not"
The phrase is short and vague. It hides a crime, and they say it in front of the one they are hiding it from.
W. T. P. WolstonMurder will out. "And one is not." That is their way of talking about getting rid of their brother. They stood in his presence and did not know it.
Self-Condemned in One Sentence
Two verses earlier they had insisted they were honest men. Here, in the same breath, they admit a brother is missing — and no one knew better than they did why.
Hamilton SmithThe brothers have condemned themselves out of their own mouths. They have claimed to be true men. In the same breath they say, "one is not." They know full well that if Joseph has passed out of their lives, their own wickedness is the whole reason. They stand in the presence of the one they had rejected with unrepentant hearts, and yet protest they are honest men.
Another writer watches Joseph press harder, and hears the brothers' defence echoed far beyond Egypt.
C. Stanley"Joseph spoke roughly to them." The question of sin must be got to the bottom. The cutting cord of a guilty conscience must be pulled a little tight. "You are spies." And now notice their defence — "We are all one man's sons; we are true men." What a picture of this world! Men can reject Christ, and then pretend to keep the law. They say they are twelve brothers; the youngest is with their father; and then, meaning Joseph himself, they say, "And one is not." The cord is pulled a little tighter.
Everything Hangs on the Missing Brother
Their throwaway phrase names the one person they cannot do without.
Hamilton SmithAlso Joseph's brothers must learn that all their blessing depends on the man of whom they say "one is not" (verse 13). They say, in effect, "We have not seen him for twenty years. He has passed completely out of our lives. As far as we are concerned, 'He is not.'" So too, in a day to come, the Jewish people will have to learn that all their blessing depends on One whom they have set at nothing. "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12).
Why He Kept Up the Pressure
The harsh questioning is not payback. Grace is behind it, and grace will not leave a buried sin buried.
William KellyJoseph had no thought of revenge, nor would he call on the law or trust it. With grace in his heart, he does not spare lessons that will profit the conscience of the guilty. So he speaks like the governor of Egypt that he really was. He makes himself a stranger to them for one reason only: their real good.
Benjamin Becomes the Test
By naming the youngest brother still at home, they hand Joseph his test.
Frederick W. GrantIn all this it is plain how everything turns on Benjamin and their state towards him. This becomes the test of their condition. But the power to deliver them lies in Joseph's hands alone. Everything they go through over Benjamin works to awaken their conscience and heart about their sin against Joseph.
Summary
- Claim. In one breath they claim to be honest men and admit a brother is gone. The defence is the confession.
- Concealment. "One is not" is their settled way of speaking about a crime — but murder will out.
- Dependence. The brother they had written off is the one on whom every blessing they need now depends.
- Pressure. The rough words are not revenge but grace at work, making itself strange to them for their real good.
- Test. Naming Benjamin sets up the test that will reach their conscience. All power to deliver stays with Joseph alone.