It is difficult to say how much, if at all, the brothers felt they had done a grievous wrong in selling their brother as a slave to live in Egypt. According to them, he was already dead (Genesis 42:13). True, the fact that Jacob’s later life was wrapped up in the life of his youngest son, Benjamin, had to have had an effect upon the other ten brothers, and their sin was ever before their eyes. However, there is no mention of sorrow or regret expressed toward God, until Joseph mentioned that he feared God (Genesis 42:18). Feeling regret that one has hurt another man is one thing, but feeling regret, because one knows he has offended God is quite another.
Hurting man, as long as the thing remains unknown, doesn’t require retribution. However, the understanding that one has offended God, and one knows that God knows, does come with the realization that retribution may come at any time. Joseph’s, “I fear God!” is presented in the context that even rulers need to be careful of mistreating their subjects, and this was understood by the ten brothers who stood before Joseph. Did Simeon cry out and reveal the anguish of his soul as Joseph kept him back as a hostage to ensure the other brothers would do as Joseph demanded? We don’t know, because the text doesn’t elaborate.
Therefore, to answer such a question for the purpose of argument, we need to keep in mind that we are guessing. Only Joseph’s heart is exposed to us for our understanding (Genesis 42:24), and this seems to be in contrast to how his brothers turned a deaf ear to his cries for mercy out of the open pit into which he was cast by them (Genesis 37:23-28; cp. 41:9; 42:21). Hearing Joseph’s mention of the Lord may be the very first time the brothers remembered the God of Jacob, and applied this to their offense in selling their brother as a slave. Remember, although these ten men were men of the Covenant, they weren’t very religious. Only Joseph had shown in the text that he had a heart toward God!
Finally, the text reveals that the brothers had a guilty conscience, as that pertained to their treatment of their brother, Joseph. “We are very guilty…” and “We saw the anguish of his soul…” but “We would not listen…” we hardened our hearts toward our brother, “Therefore, this distress is come upon us!” (Genesis 42:21). Reuben offered the expected, “I told you so…” for he was the weak leader in the family, and his brothers didn’t seem to want to pay attention to him (Genesis 42:22). Simeon and Levi, however, seem to have had the strength of the firstborn, but not the wisdom nor the right to the blessing. Nevertheless, Reuben seems to have been a mama’s boy, bringing his mother flowers, which he picked from the field (Genesis 30:14). While the idea seems to be a cute childhood act, it also seems to be the beginning of a pattern, because later, when Benjamin was born and Jacob seemed to want to give another of Rachel’s children his heart, Reuben went in unto Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine and Rachel’s handmaid, in protest.
The whole discussion between the brothers was conducted in Joseph’s presence, but, because they spoke in the Hebrew dialect, they didn’t believe Joseph understood them, because he spoke through an interpreter (Genesis 42:23). Nevertheless, Joseph both heard and understood what the brothers discussed among themselves. Soon, he was overcome emotionally, so he turned away from them to regain his composure. When he turned back, he had Simeon seized and bound before their eyes[1] (Genesis 42:24).
Afterward, Joseph had his brothers’ sacks filled with grain, and he secretly commanded that every man’s money was restored and placed in the sacks. Moreover, the Egyptians placed the sacks on the men’s donkeys, and, when they were given provisions for the journey back to Canaan, they departed (Genesis 42:25-26). Sometime later, they stopped at an inn, and, when one of the brothers opened his sack to give some of the grain to his donkey, he spied his money pouch and found that all his money that he used to buy the grain had been restored. When he told the others that his money was restored, their hearts failed in fear, wondering what God was doing, and what judgment awaited them (Genesis 42:27-28).
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[1] Strict chronology isn’t always observed in ancient writings. For example, although there is a general chronology observed in the Gospel narratives, Jesus was born, he preached, he was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, as every Bible scholar can tell us, it is difficult to create an accurate harmony of the Gospel narratives. Ancient writers didn’t always write according to an accurate chronology, because other matters were more important to them, as I mentioned in previous studies. See Lucian of Samosata (cir. 120 AD to 180 AD): The Way to Write History (55). The point is that Joseph’s seizing and binding of Simeon may have been what sparked the brothers’ discussion over their guilt concerning selling Joseph as a slave.
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