Bereshis 44:21

21 And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

Bereshis 44:21 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 44:21

And thou saidst unto thy servants, bring him down unto me,
&c.] Judah does not relate the reason of his order, which was to give proof that they were no spies, but as if Joseph designed to show favour to Benjamin, as undoubtedly he did: that I may set mine eyes upon him;
not barely see him, as Aben Ezra interprets it, though that would be, and was, very desirable by him, and agreeable to him; but he desired to set his eyes upon him, not only for his own pleasure, but for the good of Benjamin, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; he intimated that he should receive him kindly, show favour unto him, and use him well: the Septuagint version is, "and I will take care of him": Joseph's brethren had told him, that Benjamin was at home with their father, who they suggested was afraid to let him go with them, lest evil should befall him; wherefore to encourage him to let him go with them, Joseph promised to take care of him, that no hurt should be done to him, but he should be provided with everything that was proper and necessary; and this Judah improves into an argument with the governor in favour of Benjamin, that since he desired his coming, in order to show him a kindness, he hoped he would not detain him, and make a slave of him.

Bereshis 44:21 In-Context

19 Adoni asked his avadim, saying, Have ye an av, or an ach?
20 And we said unto adoni, We have an av, a zaken, and a yeled zekunim katan (child of his old age, a little one); and achiv is dead, and he alone is left of immo, and aviv loveth him.
21 And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22 And we said unto adoni, The na’ar cannot leave aviv; for if he should leave aviv, aviv would die.
23 And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Except achichem hakaton (your youngest brother) come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.