Genesis 42:36

36 And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me.

Genesis 42:36 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:36

And Jacob their father said unto them, me have ye bereaved
[of my children]
Which looks as if Jacob suspected that they had either sold or slain Joseph, and had done one or the other by Simeon: Joseph [is] not, and Simeon [is] not:
neither of them were with him, and both were given up by him as dead, or, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,

``of Joseph ye have said an evil beast hath devoured him; and Simeon, ye say, the king of the country hath bound him;''

as for Joseph he knew not but he was dead, he feared he was; and as for Simeon, he being in the hands of so rough a man as they had represented the lord of the land to be, and especially as his release depended upon sending Benjamin, which he was determined at present not to do; he was reckoned by him as a lost or dead man: and ye will take Benjamin [away];
they were desirous of it, and what their design was he could not tell; he seems to have a strong suspicion that it was not good: all these things are against me;
against his will, his peace, and comfort, and happiness, though they were all working and would work as they did for his good, and for the good of his family, for the preservation of it during the seven years of famine; or are "upon me" {f}, as heavy burdens, too heavy for him to bear, ready to sink him down to the earth.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (yle) "super me", Montanus, Schmidt; "[vel.] in me", V. L. Vatablus.

Genesis 42:36 In-Context

34 And bring to me your younger brother; then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I will restore you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man's bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid.

36 And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me.

37 And Ruben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee.

38 But he said, My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he only has been left; and it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which ye go, then ye shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades.