Joseph’s brothers are forced to come to Egypt to buy provisions for all of Jacob’s camp, and he plans to find them when they do. Joseph created an ordinance so only the head of each family could buy corn in Egypt and when each man comes he must state who he is and who his father is. All the gate-keepers are commanded to bring their lists of the days arrivals to Joseph each evening.

On their way, Joseph’s brothers repent of what they did to him and resolve to find him and bring him back home.

Yasher 51:6 And while Joseph’s brothers  were going on the road, they repented of what they had done to him, and they spoke to each other, saying, We know that our brother Joseph went down to Egypt, and now we will seek him where we go, and if we find him we will take him from his master for a ransom, and if not, by force, and we will die for him.

Why were Joseph’s brother  declared to be spies?

Yasher 51:7 And Joseph’s brothers agreed to this thing and strengthened themselves on account of Joseph, to deliver him from the hand of his master, and Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt; and when they came near to Egypt they separated from each other, and they came through ten gates of Egypt, and the gate keepers wrote their names on that day, and brought them to Joseph in the evening.
8 And Joseph read the names from the hand of the gate-keepers of the city, and he found that his brethren had entered at the ten gates of the city, and Joseph at that time commanded that it should be proclaimed throughout the land of Egypt, saying,
9 Go forth all ye store guards, close all the corn stores and let only one remain open, that those who come may purchase from it.

Yasher 51:11 And Joseph gave the written names of his brethren to him that was set over the open store, and he said unto him, Whosoever shall come to thee to buy corn, ask his name, and when men of these names shall come before thee, seize them and send them, and they did so.

But Joseph’s brothers did not come to buy food right away; they were busy looking for him. I think where they looked suggests what they thought of him. And isn’t it suspicious that 10 men who come into the city at separate gates now meet in a place that condones anonymity? Continue reading Joseph’s Brothers Are Found →