Hearing his brothers’ replies and seeing them bowed to the ground before him may have brought back to Joseph the memory of his dreams as told in chapter 37. Joseph now has to decide whether to reveal himself or to play out his power role, which will maintain the social distance between himself and them. He decides to be the stern ruler.

You [plural] are spies: if the language of translation does not have a term for spies, it may be necessary to use a phrase; for example, “You [plural] are people who have come to watch us secretly” or “You [plural] are looking for a way to harm our country.” A fuller expression used in one translation says “You are cunning people who have come to find a way to take over our country.”

The weakness of the land is literally “the nakedness of the land.” As Anchor Bible says, “ ‘nakedness’ is not ‘nudity’ but rather refers to things that are meant to be hidden from potential enemies.” Driver takes it to mean “its exposed and defenseless parts.” It is in this sense that Good News Translation translates “find out where our country is weak.” Another translation model is “see if we are weak, so that you can fight against us.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .