And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
My Notes
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Gill's Exposition
And as one of them opened his sack,.... According to the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi, this was Levi; but Aben Ezra thinks it is more likely to be Reuben the firstborn, who was one, that is, the…
- Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber, “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ, “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere…
Adam Clarke
For he spake unto them by an interpreter - Either there was a very great difference between the two languages as then spoken, or Joseph, to prevent all suspicion, might affect to be ignorant of both.…
Here is, I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly done to him, Gen 42:21. They talked the matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting that Joseph, whom…
Cambridge Bible
an interpreter The services of interpreters would be necessary for the maintenance of intercourse between Egyptian rulers and the inhabitants of Canaan. The Tel el-Amarna tablets shew that between the…