They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.
An interpreter stands between Joseph and the brothers who sold him. They think the governor of Egypt cannot follow a word they say to each other. He understands all of it.
A disguise, not a language barrier
The interpreter was not needed. Joseph knew the language his brothers were speaking. Commentators read the interpreter as part of a deliberate disguise.
L. M. GrantVerse 23 tells us he spoke to them through an interpreter. Of course he knew their language perfectly well. But he would not give them the slightest hint that he might be known to them.
Another writer fills in what the brothers actually heard from him.
F. B. HoleHe had spoken to them roughly, as indeed they deserved. He understood their language. They did not know the Egyptian dialect he spoke in.
The purpose behind the hiding
Why keep up the act? The grain was not the only thing they needed. The rough voice and the interpreter were tools aimed at a sleeping conscience.
J. G. BellettHe acts like a stranger to them. He speaks to them through an interpreter, and he speaks roughly. He must get their conscience working, whatever it costs him in personal feeling. For now his love must be firm. Its hour for tenderness is still ahead.
Food alone would have left them unchanged. One writer calls that the real danger.
F. B. HoleTo have loaded them with the grain of Egypt and left their hearts untouched would have been a disaster. Their stomachs would have been satisfied, but their hearts left unreached and unchanged.
Hidden hand, hidden heart
The severity was only half the story.
J. G. BellettHe arranges circumstances so that sorrow may work repentance, but he does not yet show himself. All this may be the way of his hand, but it was not the way of his heart. In secret, though unknown to them, he enters into the very sorrows that he was causing.
The confession they thought was private
The brothers speak freely, sure that no one else can follow them. They admit out loud that they are guilty about their brother. The listener they never counted on hears every word.
William KellyThink how their confusion must have touched his loving heart. He heard them admit their sin. They had turned away without pity from his agony when he begged them as his brothers, and begged in vain. First they left him to die, then they sold him as a slave! ... It amazed him that God was giving such a sign for good in his hard-hearted and envious brothers. How much more would it have amazed them, if they had known that Joseph was listening to their repentance?
His reaction shows what he had been waiting for. He turned away and wept.
F. B. HoleJoseph wept for the first time when he saw the first stirrings of conscience and self-judgment in his brothers. They talked among themselves. They never recognised Joseph in Egypt's splendid governor, and never suspected that he understood their speech. "In truth we are guilty concerning our brother," he heard them say. Joseph "turned away from them and wept." They were tears of love and thankfulness, for he saw that his dealings were beginning to take effect.
A picture of things to come
One writer sees the same pattern repeated in a future day. People will seek Christ without yet knowing whether He has forgiven them.
Michael HardtThey will seek Christ. They will know He has died and risen, but they will not know whether He has forgiven them. They will be like Joseph's brothers, aware of their need, making their way to Joseph — before they discover who he really is. Joseph reveals who he is only after real repentance has taken hold in their hearts: "I am Joseph."
Summary
- Concealed. The interpreter was staged, not necessary. Joseph knew their language, and refused to give his brothers any hint of who he was.
- Concealed for a reason. He acted like a stranger and spoke roughly to get their conscience working, whatever it cost him.
- Concealed, not cold. His hand was severe, but his heart was not. Unknown to them, he shared in the very sorrows he was causing.
- Overheard. They thought they were alone. They confessed their guilt about their brother, and the man they had wronged heard every word.
- Revealed at last. The disguise dropped only when repentance was real. Writers see here a picture of Christ making Himself known to His own.