He recognized them and acted as a stranger to them, etc. The reason why it repeats a second time Joseph recognized his brothers is because the first recognition refers to their facial features — that he recognized who they were, while the second recognition refers to matters of brotherhood and compassion, as Rashi explains. The Akeidah explains that initially he recognized them and acted as a stranger means he both recognized and didn’t recognize them, but after they said they came from the land of Canaan, then he recognized them completely as his brothers. Ibn Ezra explains that at first he was unsure who was Reuben and who was Simeon, but afterwards, when he focused on them more carefully, he recognized them completely — who each one was among those present.

Regarding the matter of speaking harshly, any thinking person would be astonished at what motivated Joseph to needlessly cause anguish to his father and brothers. As for what the Ramban explained — that Joseph did all this to ensure the fulfillment of his dreams — if God desires their fulfillment, they would be fulfilled on their own, so what did Joseph accomplish? What appears [correct] to me in this matter is that the reason he had not yet revealed to his father that he was alive was because he reasoned: if the Holy One, blessed be He, did not reveal this to Jacob, then evidently God wanted him to suffer for 22 years as a measure-for-measure punishment. How then could he reveal what God had concealed? For he understood through his reasoning that it was decreed that his father should suffer exactly 22 years, day for day, corresponding to those 22 years during which Jacob did not fulfill the commandment of honoring his own father. And after these years were completed, only then did Joseph make himself known to his brothers. As for why he caused his brothers anguish — he did all this to cleanse them of their sin of selling their brother, for their sin was too great to bear and required purification through suffering, measure for measure.

Similar to this explanation did Abarbanel explain, and I am adding to his words to explain all the details and events: The first accusation of you are spies was to rectify the sin of them considering Joseph a spy and gossiper who came to see their impropriety. For when he came to them at Dothan, it is written before he came close to them because they thought his intention was to get close to them and spy on what his brothers were doing in order to return and bring some negative reports about them to their father. And every gossiper causes bloodshed, as it is written There were men of gossip among you for the sake of shedding blood (Ezekiel 22:9). Therefore, before he would come close to them to kill them, they plotted to kill him, for they thought that if someone comes to kill you, rise early to kill him before he approaches you. This is why it says he remembered the dreams before he said to them you are spies. Because he remembered that he had dreamed and behold, your sheaves surrounded, and it didn’t specify what kind of surrounding, but surely their end would be to be accused as spies, for every spy goes around and surrounds the entire city to see from where it is easiest to conquer. And proof of this is that they entered through 10 gates of the city, going around and around, and through this circling they would bow to Joseph’s sheaf, as they would come under the accusation of you are spies who have come to see the nakedness of the land. Through this, the sin was rectified — the sin of considering Joseph a spy who came to see their improper actions. And corresponding to their throwing Joseph into the pit, he gathered them into custody — Rashi explains this as a prison, meaning a pit, as it says regarding Joseph and they put him in the prison, and Joseph said for they placed me in the pit. Rashi was compelled to explain it this way because if the custody was in some room, it would not have been measure for measure. Therefore, he took Simeon from them because he was the one who threw him into the pit.

And they said by way of confession, “Indeed, we are guilty, etc.” This was because they heard Joseph say I fear God, etc. and they saw that this was true, as he had shown them kindness by sending food for their households and only detained Simeon. Therefore, they could not attribute all these events to a harsh ruler making false accusations, since he was clearly God-fearing. Rather, it must certainly be that their sins had caused these things to happen. This is why they confessed only after he said I fear God and not before when he had put them all in prison, because afterwards they saw clearly that they were being measured with the same measure they had used [against Joseph].

The incident with the goblet was orchestrated so that through it, they would be under threat of slavery, as they themselves declared we are servants to my Lord. Through this, their sin of selling Joseph into slavery would be cleansed. When they recounted all these events to Jacob, he said If so, then [eifoa] do this. What is the significance of the word eifoa? Rather, he was saying: if this is the measure [eifah] being used to measure out to you — measure for measure — with measure, by sending them away, You contended with them (Isaiah 27:8), and this is not by chance but by Divine providence — do this: take of the land’s glory in your vessels, etc. This was to atone for having sold him to Ishmaelites who were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh. Thus, they would bring a gift of these same types of items so that through this ruler [Joseph], the entire sin would be cleansed. And although Jacob did not know about the sale, nevertheless, the spirit of God spoke through him to bring a gift of these specific items. And may El Shaddai grant you mercy — for through this the sin of not showing mercy to their brother when he pleaded with them would be cleansed.

And he said to them: You are spies, who have come to see the nakedness of the land. The commentators struggled [about how to understand] this argument and the variation in language, where sometimes he mentions both “spies” and “nakedness of the land” together, and sometimes only “spies,” and sometimes only mentions “nakedness of the land.” Surely this matter requires explanation. In the Akeidah [Arama] and Abarbanel, you will find one approach to all these questions, as is their custom, for they generally take the same approach. What seems correct to me is to say that there were two different accusations here, as explained in the Sefer Toldot Yitzchak, that there are two types of spies: One who spies on the military personnel, observing what they do, what they say, and where they go; and the second type who spies to determine which location and from where the city is vulnerable to conquest. Corresponding to the first type, he said you are spies, and corresponding to the second type, he said you have come to see the nakedness of the land.

According to this approach, it appears we can resolve all the variations in these verses, because these two accusations each present their own difficulty, and Joseph needed to provide a reason and explanation for each allegation. Because he saw them hiding themselves among those who came, he said you are spies, as this was conclusive proof that they were hiding among people to hear what people were saying to each other, and therefore you are dispersing yourselves among many people — for this one will hear here and that one in another place, and this is strong evidence that cannot be refuted. And because he saw them entering through 10 different gates of the city, he suspected them of coming to see the nakedness [vulnerability] of the land. However, this is not as strong a proof as the first one, because you could excuse yourselves and say that you have no connection to each other and each came by a different route, and it happened by chance that you met up together in the city — for it is not far-fetched that 10 emissaries would meet up together to purchase grain. But the matter of being spies does not depend on this, because even if you say this is so, nevertheless the fact that each of you is hiding himself like a thief is proof that each of you is a spy. Therefore, I say that both accusations apply to you, and one serves as evidence for the other. Not only are you spies, but you are also suspected of coming to see the nakedness of the land, and although you might have an excuse for this, nevertheless since you are certainly spies, it is also near certain that you came to see the vulnerability of the land.

(Verses 10-11) “And they said to him: ‘No, my Lord,’ etc., ‘We are all sons of one man.’” Therefore, we were afraid of the evil eye, which has particular power when seeing multiple handsome brothers in one place, more than if each one was the son of a different man. This is also why our father commanded us [with the words] Why do you make yourselves conspicuous? From this we learned to conceal ourselves among those who came [to Egypt]. Therefore, your servants were not spies, for every person is presumed innocent, and whoever wishes to remove someone from this presumption of innocence must bring proof. Since you have no proof other than [the fact of] our concealment among those who came, we have already explained this [behavior]. You have no proof, and consequently, your words about you have come to see the nakedness of the land are also refuted. The brothers did not need to specifically address this accusation because Joseph himself acknowledged that the claim of you have come to see the nakedness of the land was dependent on the claim you are spies. Once the claim you are spies was rejected, the claim about seeing the nakedness of the land was automatically rejected as well.

And he said to them: No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land. Now I say that you have come to see the nakedness of the land is a separate argument and is not dependent on the claim that you are spies. For initially, I made this argument subsidiary to the claim that you are spies, because without it, I would have said that perhaps you have no connection to each other and you happened to meet together by chance in the city. But now that you have come to explain your concealment by saying that you are all brothers and you fear the evil eye, I therefore see that your meeting is not by chance. And if so, why did you enter through 10 different gates of the city? Certainly, it must be because you came to see the nakedness of the land.

And they said: ‘Your twelve servants are brothers, etc.’ With this statement, they provided a defense against both accusations simultaneously. Regarding [Joseph’s] suspicion that they were spies because they had concealed themselves among those entering [the city], they said we are brothers, meaning they were afraid of the evil eye. And regarding his suspicion that they came to see the nakedness of the land, [which arose] because they had entered through 10 different gates of the city, they explained behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is gone, meaning that it was because of the one who was missing that they dispersed through all 10 gates to search for him.

And Joseph said, “It is as I told you, saying you are spies.” And now a second proof of this has become clear to me, for I find it difficult to understand why this younger brother is not with you. Rather, it must be that he was here with you and has gone away because he already heard some news in this place, and you sent him back to your handlers to report what he had already heard, while you remained here to continue spying. By this you shall be tested: bring your younger brother here, and I will investigate whether others have seen him in this place before or not. For if they have not seen him here, then your words are true. But if you do not bring him, by Pharaoh’s life, you are spies! For you fear that others will testify that they have already seen him in this city and that he went away alone. According to this interpretation, it is possible to explain that this was all one accusation supported by two proofs. Initially, he said you are spies because you hid yourselves among those who came, and then he gave a second proof that you have come to see the nakedness of the land, as evidenced by your entering through 10 different city gates. They responded, No, my Lord… we are all sons of one man. With this, they addressed the issue of hiding, explaining that they feared the evil eye. He replied to them, No, for you have come to see the nakedness of the land. The word for [ki] here serves as “because.” He told them: Even if you explain away the hiding, how can you claim you are not spies when you have clearly come to see the nakedness of the land — from where the city is vulnerable to conquest? Therefore, they returned to address both issues: We are all sons of one man — to explain the hiding, and one is no more — to explain their entry through 10 city gates. This is the matter of which I spoke, as explained in the first approach. This interpretation is more satisfactory than the explanations of the Akeidah [Arama] and Abarbanel in resolving all the questions and about the matter of the test through the younger brother. Some say that he accused them of being spies because he feared they would investigate who the ruler was and discover that he was Joseph.

“Send one from among you.” Later he changed and sent all of them except for one, because Joseph wanted them to feel [the weight of] their sin that they committed against their brother and confess their transgression. When they would send one from among them, he thought that surely Reuben, the eldest of the brothers, would go, as the right of the firstborn entitled him to go free from the place of confinement. Perhaps the brothers would attribute [Reuben’s release] to the fact that since Reuben had no part in the sale, therefore he was saved. For even Judah had a part in this, as evidenced by the fact that the brothers lowered him from his position of leadership because of it, as Rashi explains on the verse And Judah went down (Genesis 38:1). After they were imprisoned for three days, Joseph thought that this sin had already been atoned for, therefore he sent all of them except for Simeon, because he had a greater part in his sale than all the others. For regarding what is stated They said to one another, “Come, let us kill him”, it was Simeon who said this to Levi, as Rashi explains on the verse Simeon and Levi are brothers (Genesis 49:5). Certainly Simeon was the one who began speaking thus, for Levi would not have spoken before someone older than him. And so does Rashi explain here. And all this was done so that they would recognize their sin and confess.

“And his blood is now also being demanded.” The word also/gam appears to be explained as follows: The brothers thought that Joseph deserved the death penalty according to law, because evil speech kills three [people] and Joseph brought evil reports about them, similar to as if he had killed them. Furthermore, he came to spy on them when he came to Dothan. Therefore, they sought religious pretexts according to the Torah to kill him before he would approach and kill them, based on the principle “if someone comes to kill you, arise early to kill him first.” If so, from the perspective of their seeking to kill him, they have no guilt according to their reasoning. However, the main guilt lies in the cruelty they displayed by not listening to his pleading, as they said Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother, as we saw his soul’s distress when he pleaded with us and we did not listen; therefore this trouble has come upon us. They did not mention that they sought to kill him, because they thought that from the perspective of seeking to kill him, or selling him, or throwing him in the pit, they bore no guilt. Reuben answered them: Did I not tell you not to sin against the child? Since he was like a child and not yet punishable in the heavenly court, he therefore did not deserve the death penalty. Thus you have committed two transgressions, for the Holy One Blessed be He demands [an accounting] from you for your cruelty — which is why this ruler and master does not listen to our pleading, as we all speak supplications but he responds harshly. And in addition to this, his blood is now being demanded — for the ruler said your words will be verified and you shall not die, which implies that if our brother does not come, we are indeed worthy of death. And who knows if at such a time our youngest brother will reach him, for perhaps something will happen that prevents him from coming to him, and we will be sentenced to death. And truly we are innocent of his accusation — this is only because his blood is now being demanded, in addition to the demanding of [an accounting for] our cruelty from us.