NOTES for Gen 43:1-34
The famine and drought turned out to be prolonged; one trip to Egypt for grain did not settle the matter. They had to go again - and take the younger brother, who was now Benjamin. There was no way out, and Joseph again and again tries to convey to his brothers something they cannot understand. He greets them kindly and receives them as honored guests.
Hardly any ordinary nomads could expect such a reception in Egypt. A hint? Possibly. Although, if it is a hint, then why hint, why not reveal himself at once? If it is not a hint, then it is a lesson in mercy. Mercy precisely in the biblical sense, the kind usually rendered in Russian with the word "milost." Mercy as the readiness to do for a person what one is in no way obliged to do for him.
This is how Joseph acts toward his brothers. What is the point of such a lesson if it remains anonymous? And a lesson stretched out over a long time at that, since the money paid for the grain during the earlier trip and then returned to the buyers during that same trip is also part of the lesson. Now Joseph's brothers bring the money back, and by this they bear witness to their honesty. Joseph valued and was interested in their reaction: after all, they could have "failed to notice" the returned money, pretending nothing had happened. They could simply have waited to see what would happen: if this Egyptian official remembered his mistake, if he noticed, they would confess; if he did not notice, then so be it, forget it, and the matter is over. The brothers act differently; they behave like honest people and conscientious buyers who do not want to take advantage of someone else's mistakes. That means they are not so bad, not so corrupted by evil as to be completely beyond hope.
Against such a background, the younger brother who must be brought is a reminder of what they once did. What will happen to him? Thoughts, thoughts... And thoughts of the other younger brother too, the one they once got rid of. So punishment catches up after all? Fate takes revenge for the brother they sold into slavery? Against such a background, the friendly and solemn reception is a breath of air. Not everything is so simple; the avenging fate is not the only thing ruling the world. Here is a kind man, even though he is an Egyptian and an official, and he speaks even with nomads as with human beings... There was something to think about.