After three days in custody, Joseph reconsiders. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 42:19 preserves his revised terms: one brother stays in prison, the rest go home with grain "for the hunger of your house."
Why the change?
The first version of the test (Genesis 42:16) kept nine brothers in custody and sent one home. The new version reverses it: nine return with food, one remains. The rabbinic tradition in Bereishit Rabbah 91:7, a commentary on Genesis compiled in the Land of Israel around the fifth century CE, suggests Joseph softened the terms when he realized the families back home would actually starve if nine men were detained. He is testing, not torturing. His purpose is to see what his brothers have become, not to let his father's household starve in the process.
The food comes first
The Aramaic paraphrase, whose final redaction belongs to the Land of Israel around the seventh or eighth century CE, preserves the practical priority: "carry the corn, that you may buy for the hunger of your house." The grain must reach Canaan. Whatever Joseph is doing with his brothers, he will not let his father Jacob go hungry while he does it. Even the test is governed by a deeper love.
The takeaway
Joseph's revised terms reveal the boundary of his severity. He will frighten his brothers. He will not starve his father. Even disguised as a cold Egyptian ruler, he is still someone's son.