Genesis 42:6

6 Joseph was the governor of the land. He was the one who sold grain to all of its people. When Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

Genesis 42:6 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:6

And Joseph [was] the governor over the land
Not the land of Canaan last mentioned, but the land of Egypt; under Pharaoh, he had the chief and sole authority, and especially in the affair of the corn, and the disposal of that; [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land:
of Egypt, and also to all that came out of other lands; not that he in person could do all this, but by those that acted under him: and Joseph's brethren came;
to Joseph to buy corn of him: and bowed down themselves before him, [with] their faces to the earth;
not only bowed the knee as the Egyptians did, but prostrated their whole bodies, stretching out their hands and feet, and touching the ground with their faces, as was the manner of the eastern countries, at least some of them; and so of Canaan; and thus did they submit themselves to him in the most humble manner, and thereby, though without their knowledge, fulfilled his dream of their sheaves making obeisance to his sheaf, ( Genesis 37:7 ) .

Genesis 42:6 In-Context

4 But Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed.

5 Israel's sons were among the people who went to buy grain. There wasn't enough food in the land of Canaan.

6 Joseph was the governor of the land. He was the one who sold grain to all of its people. When Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended to be a stranger. He spoke to them in a mean way. "Where do you come from?" he asked. "From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We've come to buy food."

8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him.