Genesis 42:6

6 Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before 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 did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, "Something might happen to him."

5 The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked. "From the land of Canaan to buy food," they replied.

8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.