John Calvin Commentary Genesis 42:7

"And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them. Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food." — Genesis 42:7 (ASV)

He made himself strange unto them. It may be asked for what purpose Joseph thus tormented his brothers with threats and terror. For if he was motivated by a sense of the injury he received from them, he cannot be acquitted of the desire for revenge. It is, however, probable that he was driven neither by anger nor a desire for vengeance, but that he was led by two just causes to act as he did.

For he desired both to regain his brother Benjamin and to determine—as if by putting them to the torture—what was on their minds: whether they repented or not, and, in short, how they had been living since he had last seen them. For, had he made himself known at the first interview, it was to be feared that they, keeping their father out of sight and wishing to cast a veil over the detestable wickedness they had committed, might only increase it with a new crime.

There was also a not unreasonable suspicion concerning his brother Benjamin, that they might attempt something treacherous and cruel against him. It was therefore important that they should be more thoroughly examined. This would allow Joseph, being fully informed of the state of his father’s house, to plan his course of action accordingly. It would also ensure that, before any pardon, some punishment might be inflicted that would lead them to reflect more carefully on the atrocity of their crime.

For although he afterwards showed himself to be forgiving and humane, this did not happen because his anger had subsided and he gradually became inclined to compassion. Rather, as Moses elsewhere adds, he sought solitude because he could no longer control himself. This indicates that Joseph had forcibly repressed his tears as long as he maintained a stern appearance and, therefore, that he had felt the same compassion towards them all along.

And it appears that a special impulse guided him in this whole course of action. For it was no common thing that Joseph, seeing so many who had caused his suffering, was neither angry nor changed in his manner, nor broke out into reproaches. Instead, he was composed in both his expression and his words, as if he had long and calmly considered the course he would pursue.

But it may be asked again whether his deception, which was accompanied by a falsehood, should not be blamed. For we know how pleasing integrity is to God and how strictly He prohibits His own people from deceit and falsehoods. I do not know whether God guided His servant by some special prompting to depart, without fault, from the common rule of action. This is because the faithful may sometimes piously do things that cannot lawfully be used as a precedent.

However, in considering the acts of the holy fathers, we must always be careful that these acts do not lead us away from the law that the Lord prescribes for everyone. By the general command of God, we must all cultivate sincerity. The fact that Joseph pretended something different from the truth provides no excuse for us if we attempt anything of the same kind.

For, although a freedom granted by special permission might be pardoned, yet if anyone, relying on a private example, does not hesitate to undermine the law of God to give himself permission to do what is forbidden by it, he will justly suffer the punishment for his audacity. And yet, I do not think we should be very eager to excuse Joseph, because it is probable that he suffered from some human weakness, which God forgave him. For only by Divine mercy could that deception, which in itself was not without fault, escape condemnation.