What Does Genesis 42:8 Mean?

And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. The narrator states the asymmetry plainly for the reader's benefit: Joseph recognized them; they did not recognize him. The asymmetry is the chapter's central dramatic structure. Every exchange from here to Genesis 45 is conducted under the condition of this asymmetry: Joseph knows everything: who they are, what they did, where their father is, who Benjamin is: while the brothers know nothing of relevance about the official they are dealing with. The man who holds power over their grain and their freedom is the brother whose life they effectively tried to end.

The failure of recognition is historically plausible. Joseph was seventeen when they sold him; he is thirty-nine now. He has been in Egypt for twenty-two years; he speaks Egyptian, wears Egyptian court dress, has an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife. He is clean-shaven in the Egyptian style rather than bearded in the Semitic style. The youthful Canaanite boy they sold is not visible in the prime minister before them. They have no reason to look for him here; they believe he is dead or lost in slavery. The Egyptian official speaking roughly to them in a language they probably cannot understand is completely beyond the category of "Joseph" in their mental framework.

The recognition asymmetry is also a reversal of their original crime. When Joseph was thrown into the pit, they knew exactly who they were acting against: the dreamer, the beloved son, their brother: and they acted anyway. Now they are in the presence of the same person and do not know it. The power relationship has completely inverted: then they had the power and Joseph was helpless; now he has all the power and they are helpless. The asymmetry of recognition in verse 8 is the asymmetry of justice being prepared: but the justice that emerges in Genesis 45 will be mercy, not punishment.