Genesis 42:33

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, By this 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 depart:

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 to him, We [are] true [men]; we are no spies:

32 We [are] twelve brethren, sons of our father: one [is] not, and the youngest [is] this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, By this 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 depart:

34 And bring your youngest brother to me: then shall I know that ye [are] no spies, but [that] ye [are] true [men]: then will I deliver to you your brother, and ye shall traffick 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 they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.