Genesis 42:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They conversed among themselves, unaware that Joseph could overhear them. It seemed as though he was not cognizant of their language, so he had an interpreter relay his words to them while conveying theirs back to him. Upon hearing this, Reuben addressed them, saying, "Did I not warn you, 'Do not wrong the young man,' but you disregarded my counsel; look now, his blood is being demanded." He reminds them that he had previously urged them against harming him. Thus, now 'his blood is being required' because in your hearts, you have already committed this act. While you may not have struck him down with a sword, selling him into slavery proves to be a fate worse than death. Consequently, his blood is demanded now. Consider how it feels to bear the burdens of guilt, having this internal accuser continually with you, crying out and bringing your misdeeds to remembrance.

Joseph listened as Reuben spoke to his siblings, recalling his plea to spare Joseph from being thrown into the pit. This memory stirred deep emotions in Joseph, causing him to weep (Gen. 42:24); not for the wrongs inflicted by his brothers, but due to the immense elevation God had brought him from.

Joseph communicated with his brothers through an interpreter, still holding them in suspense. As he attended to other buyers, Jacob's sons began to converse quietly among themselves in Hebrew. Could they have thought that this powerful Egyptian dignitary would comprehend their words? Yet he listened with great focus, his heart filled with divine love and guided by holy, redemptive wisdom, absorbing every aspect of their discussion. “Indeed,” the sons of Jacob remarked to each other, “we are tormented by the guilt of the wrong we committed against our brother! We disregarded his immense distress; we turned a deaf ear to his cries for mercy: it is for this reason that this calamity has befallen us!” Reuben turned to them and said, “Did I not warn you, saying, ‘Do not harm the youth’? You refused to heed my counsel: see now, his blood is being demanded of us.”