Genesis 42:8 (WEB)
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Genesis 42:8 (KJV)
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
Key words
- וְהֵם לֹא הִכִּרֻהוּvehem lo hikkiruhu · Hebrew
- 'but they knew not him' — the brothers do not recognise the exalted Joseph.
- οὐκ ἐπέγνωσανouk epegnōsan · Greek (LXX)
- 'did not recognise' — on the Emmaus road the disciples' eyes 'were holden that they should not know him' (Luke 24:16, epignōnai).
Why it matters
Joseph recognises his brothers, but they do not recognise him. Pitre's eighth chart item pairs this with the risen Jesus, unrecognised at first by his own disciples (p 141). It completes the Joseph pattern — betrayed, sold for silver, cast down, exalted at thirty to the right hand, feeding the world, unrecognised when he reveals himself — and with it the case that Jesus' mother is the new Rachel.