And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest: by now the steward knows the order in which the brothers were born. The whole clause may be expressed as “The steward began searching in the sack of the oldest brother and continued until he finally came to the youngest one.” This procedure allows the tension to mount among the brothers as they wait to be cleared of charges.

And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack: that is, “and there in Benjamin’s sack he found the cup.”

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 .