And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
And the man who was the ruler of the country said to us, 'This is how I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families, and go home.'
The writer is recounting how Joseph (disguised as an Egyptian ruler) tested his brothers' honesty by requiring them to leave one brother behind while they returned home with food.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the severe famine that affected the ancient Near East, when Jacob's sons traveled to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph, now second-in-command in Egypt, recognized his brothers who had sold him into slavery years earlier, but they didn't recognize him. He was testing their character and creating circumstances that would bring his youngest brother Benjamin to Egypt.
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