Genesis 42:9
And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them: You are spies. You are come to view the weaker parts of the land.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Recordatusque somniorum, quæ aliquando viderat, ait ad eos : Exploratores estis : ut videatis infirmiora terræ venistis.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ ἐμνήσθη Ἰωσὴφ τῶν ἐνυπνίων ὧν ἴδεν αὐτός. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Κατάσκοποί ἐστε, κατανοῆσαι τὰ ἴχνη τῆς χώρας ἥκατε.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֵ֚ת הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלַ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מְרַגְּלִ֣ים אַתֶּ֔ם לִרְא֛וֹת אֶת עֶרְוַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּאתֶֽם
Haydock's commentary
You are spies. This he said by way of examining them, to see what they would answer. (Challoner)
Aquila translates "vagrants" going from place to place, as if to discover the weakest parts. Joseph was a person in authority. It was his duty to guard against invasion. He knew how his brethren had treated Sichem, and how they had behaved to himself; and though he might not suppose, that they had any evil design upon Egypt, yet he had a right to make them give an account of themselves. (Haydock)
He wished also to extort from them a true account respecting Jacob and Benjamin. (Menochius)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St John Cassian The Conferences of John Cassian. Part II. Containing Conferences XI-XVII, Chapter XXV. The evidence of Scripture on changes of determination
It is impossible for us briefly to run through everything. For who could count up almost all the patriarchs and numberless saints, some of whom for the preservation of life, others out of desire for a blessing, others out of pity, others to conceal some secret, others out of zeal for God, others in searching for the truth, became, so to speak, patrons of lying? And as all cannot be enumerated, so all ought not to be altogether passed over. For piety forced the blessed Joseph to raise a false charge against his brethren even with an oath by the life of the king, saying: “Ye are spies: to see the nakedness of the land are ye come;” and below: “send,” says he, “one of you, and bring your brothers hither: but ye shall be kept here until your words are made manifest whether ye speak the truth or no: but if not, by the life of Pharaoh, ye are spies.” For if he had not out of pity alarmed them …