These sources are largely pulled from a Nechama Leibowitz piece, with some additional perspectives that I tracked down on my own.
(ז) וַיַּ֥רְא יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶת־אֶחָ֖יו וַיַּכִּרֵ֑ם וַיִּתְנַכֵּ֨ר אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם וַיְדַבֵּ֧ר אִתָּ֣ם קָשׁ֗וֹת וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מֵאַ֣יִן בָּאתֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ כְּנַ֖עַן לִשְׁבׇּר־אֹֽכֶל׃ (ח) וַיַּכֵּ֥ר יוֹסֵ֖ף אֶת־אֶחָ֑יו וְהֵ֖ם לֹ֥א הִכִּרֻֽהוּ׃
(7) When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them; but he acted like a stranger toward them and spoke harshly to them. He asked them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to procure food.” (8) For though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
(כג) וְהֵם֙ לֹ֣א יָֽדְע֔וּ כִּ֥י שֹׁמֵ֖עַ יוֹסֵ֑ף כִּ֥י הַמֵּלִ֖יץ בֵּינֹתָֽם׃ (כד) וַיִּסֹּ֥ב מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֖ם וַיֵּ֑בְךְּ וַיָּ֤שׇׁב אֲלֵהֶם֙ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֵֽאִתָּם֙ אֶת־שִׁמְע֔וֹן וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ר אֹת֖וֹ לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃
(23) They did not know that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and them. (24) He turned away from them and wept. But he came back to them and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from among them and had him bound before their eyes.
Abravanel on Genesis 42:
Why did Joseph denounce his brothers? Surely it was criminal of him to take vengeance and bear a grudge like a viper. Though they had meant evil, God had turned it to good. What justification then, had he for taking vengeance after twenty years? How could he ignore their plight in a strange land and that of their families suffering famine and waiting for them, particularly his aged father gnawed by worry and care? How could he not have pity on them?
Why did Joseph denounce his brothers? Surely it was criminal of him to take vengeance and bear a grudge like a viper. Though they had meant evil, God had turned it to good. What justification then, had he for taking vengeance after twenty years? How could he ignore their plight in a strange land and that of their families suffering famine and waiting for them, particularly his aged father gnawed by worry and care? How could he not have pity on them?
Jonathan Sarna, Commentary on Genesis
Joseph now (once his brothers appear before him) finds himself in a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. His sense of contentment is shaken by his unpleasant memories. The instinctive desire for revenge is tempered by knowledge that his father and brother back in Canaan may be starving and are depending on the acquisition of provisions in Egypt. He is desperate for news of their welfare but dares not give himself away by overly anxious inquiry. Above all, he feels he must find out conclusively whether or not his brothers regret their actions and have truly reformed themselves. He settles on a series of tests.
Joseph now (once his brothers appear before him) finds himself in a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. His sense of contentment is shaken by his unpleasant memories. The instinctive desire for revenge is tempered by knowledge that his father and brother back in Canaan may be starving and are depending on the acquisition of provisions in Egypt. He is desperate for news of their welfare but dares not give himself away by overly anxious inquiry. Above all, he feels he must find out conclusively whether or not his brothers regret their actions and have truly reformed themselves. He settles on a series of tests.
Ramban on Genesis 42:9
Scripture states that when Joseph saw his brothers bowing down to him, he remembered all the dreams which he had dreamed concerning them and he knew that in this instance, not one of the dreams had been fulfilled. He knew that it was inherent in their interpretation that according to the first dream, at first all his brothers would bow down to him, as it says, And, behold, we were binding sheaves, for “we” refers to all eleven of his brothers. The second time, in accordance with the second dream, the sun, the moon and eleven stars would bow down to him. Now since he did not see Benjamin with them, he conceived of the strategy of devising a charge against them so that they would also bring his brother Benjamin to him, in order to first fulfill the first dream. It is for this reason that he did not wish to tell them at this time, I am Joseph your brother, and to say, Hasten and go up to my father, and send wagons, as he did to them the second time, for in that case his father would undoubtedly have come at once. It was only after fulfillment of the first dream that he told them, I am Joseph your brother, etc., in order to fulfill the second dream. Were it not for this consideration, Joseph would indeed be regarded as having committed a great sin: bringing anguish to his father, leaving him for many days in the position of being bereft and mourning for Simeon and him. Even if it was his intention to cause his brothers minor anguish, how did he not have compassion for his elderly father? But he assigned each to its proper time in order to fulfill the dreams, knowing that they would truly be fulfilled.
Similarly I say that all these acts of Joseph are accounted for by his wisdom in the interpretation of the dreams. Otherwise, one should wonder: After Joseph stayed in Egypt for many years and became chief and overseer in the house of a great lord in Egypt, how was it possible that he did not send a single letter to his father to inform him of his whereabouts and comfort him, as Egypt is only about a six-day journey from Hebron? Even if it were a year’s journey, out of respect to his father, he should have notified him, in which case even if the ransom of his person would be ever so costly, he would have redeemed him. But it was because Joseph saw that the bowing down of his brothers, as well as his father and all his family, could not possibly be accomplished in their homeland, and he was hoping that it would be effected in Egypt when he saw his great success there. This was all the more so after he heard Pharaoh’s dream, from which it became clear to him that all of them were destined to come there, and all his dreams would be fulfilled.
Scripture states that when Joseph saw his brothers bowing down to him, he remembered all the dreams which he had dreamed concerning them and he knew that in this instance, not one of the dreams had been fulfilled. He knew that it was inherent in their interpretation that according to the first dream, at first all his brothers would bow down to him, as it says, And, behold, we were binding sheaves, for “we” refers to all eleven of his brothers. The second time, in accordance with the second dream, the sun, the moon and eleven stars would bow down to him. Now since he did not see Benjamin with them, he conceived of the strategy of devising a charge against them so that they would also bring his brother Benjamin to him, in order to first fulfill the first dream. It is for this reason that he did not wish to tell them at this time, I am Joseph your brother, and to say, Hasten and go up to my father, and send wagons, as he did to them the second time, for in that case his father would undoubtedly have come at once. It was only after fulfillment of the first dream that he told them, I am Joseph your brother, etc., in order to fulfill the second dream. Were it not for this consideration, Joseph would indeed be regarded as having committed a great sin: bringing anguish to his father, leaving him for many days in the position of being bereft and mourning for Simeon and him. Even if it was his intention to cause his brothers minor anguish, how did he not have compassion for his elderly father? But he assigned each to its proper time in order to fulfill the dreams, knowing that they would truly be fulfilled.
Similarly I say that all these acts of Joseph are accounted for by his wisdom in the interpretation of the dreams. Otherwise, one should wonder: After Joseph stayed in Egypt for many years and became chief and overseer in the house of a great lord in Egypt, how was it possible that he did not send a single letter to his father to inform him of his whereabouts and comfort him, as Egypt is only about a six-day journey from Hebron? Even if it were a year’s journey, out of respect to his father, he should have notified him, in which case even if the ransom of his person would be ever so costly, he would have redeemed him. But it was because Joseph saw that the bowing down of his brothers, as well as his father and all his family, could not possibly be accomplished in their homeland, and he was hoping that it would be effected in Egypt when he saw his great success there. This was all the more so after he heard Pharaoh’s dream, from which it became clear to him that all of them were destined to come there, and all his dreams would be fulfilled.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Commentary on Parshat Mikketz
Does the disguise work? In the short term yes, but in the long term, not necessarily...Joseph's brothers no longer hate him, but now they fear him. Even after his assurances that he bears them no grudge, they still think he will take revenge on them after their father dies. What is achieved in disguise is never the love sought.
Does the disguise work? In the short term yes, but in the long term, not necessarily...Joseph's brothers no longer hate him, but now they fear him. Even after his assurances that he bears them no grudge, they still think he will take revenge on them after their father dies. What is achieved in disguise is never the love sought.
Rambam (Maimonides), Mishnah Torah, Laws of Repentance 2:1
(1) What is complete repentance? One who once more had in it in his power to repeat a violation, but separated oneself therefrom, and did not do it because of repentance, not out of fear or lack of strength. For example? One who knew a woman sinfully, and after a process of time he met her again privately, and he still loving her as theretofore, and he being in a state of potency, and the meeting is in the same land where the sin was first committed, if he parted without sinning, he has attained complete repentance.
(1) What is complete repentance? One who once more had in it in his power to repeat a violation, but separated oneself therefrom, and did not do it because of repentance, not out of fear or lack of strength. For example? One who knew a woman sinfully, and after a process of time he met her again privately, and he still loving her as theretofore, and he being in a state of potency, and the meeting is in the same land where the sin was first committed, if he parted without sinning, he has attained complete repentance.
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, from "The Beginning of Desire"
Joseph sets himself to act in a role of total alienation...he tests his actual alienation, his lostness, by taking it almost to a point of caricature...in order finally to be known by his brothers in a way that will heal the rifts of the past, Joseph makes himself strange to the point of uncanniness. His accusations that they are spies constitute bizarre probes of their responses, while his inquisitorial persona is so incomprehensible that his brothers are freed, in a sense, from any attempt to communicate with him...[Joseph sets] a plot afoot to reveal his brothers' response to Benjamin under duress. Repressed memories of their cruelty to him rise to the surface, as their responsibility to Rachel's other son, Benjamin, is tested. Will they abandon him, as they abandoned Joseph in the past?
Joseph sets himself to act in a role of total alienation...he tests his actual alienation, his lostness, by taking it almost to a point of caricature...in order finally to be known by his brothers in a way that will heal the rifts of the past, Joseph makes himself strange to the point of uncanniness. His accusations that they are spies constitute bizarre probes of their responses, while his inquisitorial persona is so incomprehensible that his brothers are freed, in a sense, from any attempt to communicate with him...[Joseph sets] a plot afoot to reveal his brothers' response to Benjamin under duress. Repressed memories of their cruelty to him rise to the surface, as their responsibility to Rachel's other son, Benjamin, is tested. Will they abandon him, as they abandoned Joseph in the past?