Bereshis 42:16

16 Send one of you, and let him bring back achichem, and ye shall be kept prisoner, that your words may be tested, whether there be any emes in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are meragelim (spies).

Bereshis 42:16 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:16

Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother
He proposes that one of them might be sent by them to their father's house, and bring, Benjamin down to Egypt: and ye shall be kept in prison;
the rest of them till he came: that your words may be proved, whether [there be any] truth in you;
by this it would be seen whether they were men of truth and honesty or not; and should their brother be brought they would appear to be good men and true: or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely ye [are] spies;
should not their brother they spoke of be produced, it would be a plain case that they were not the honest men they pretended to be, nor did they come merely to buy corn, but had an ill intention.

Bereshis 42:16 In-Context

14 And Yosef said unto them, That is it just as I spoke unto you, Ye are meragelim;
15 Hereby ye shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth from here, except achichem hakaton (your youngest brother) come here.
16 Send one of you, and let him bring back achichem, and ye shall be kept prisoner, that your words may be tested, whether there be any emes in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are meragelim (spies).
17 And he put them all together el-mishmar (in custody) shloshet yamim.
18 And Yosef said unto them on the Yom HaShlishi [see 1C 15:4 OJBC], This do, and live; for I fear HaElohim:
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.