Genesis 42:33

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, `Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: Leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone;

Genesis 42:33 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:33

And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, hereby
shall I know that you [are] true [men]
This will be a proof and demonstration of it: leave one of your brethren [here] with me;
as an hostage; they do not say "bound in the prison", ( Genesis 42:19 ) , as Joseph did, because they would not grieve their father, at least would not tell him of it at once, lest it should too much affect him: and take [food for] the famine of your household, and be gone;
that is, corn for the relief of their families, being distressed with a famine.

Genesis 42:33 In-Context

31 And we said unto him, `We are true men; we are no spies.

32 We are twelve brethren, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.'

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, `Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: Leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone;

34 and bring your youngest brother unto me. Then shall I know that ye are not spies, but that ye are true men; so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.'"

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.