Genesis 42:24-25

"And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him in prison before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus it was done unto them."

The conversation of the conscience-stricken brothers recalled all too vividly the tragedy in his own life for which they were guilty, and the burning memories of it, together with the thought that one of them vainly tried to save him, touched the fountains of tears in Joseph's heart, and he turned away to hide his tears. After a little while, he stopped weeping and returned to the business in hand.

"Bound Simeon in prison before their eyes ..." This is a strong statement. It was not, merely, that Simeon was imprisoned. They were all in prison. Something more was added to the sentence of Simeon and was executed in the presence of the other brothers. Did Joseph hold the cruel Simeon to be especially guilty? It would appear that he did.

"Commanded to fill their vessels with grain ..." The naive notion that has crept into the comments of some exegetes regarding this episode, namely, that these ten brothers had only ten sacks is ridiculous. On such an expedition, with pack animals to bring home the purchases, there were probably a great many sacks, or skins, in which to convey grain.

"Restore every man's money into his sack ..." This has the meaning of requiring the money to be put into "one of the sacks" pertaining to each of the ten brothers. The size of the whole operation fully explains why only one of them discovered the money en route home.