36 Jacob, their father, said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me."
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Me have ye bereaved. Jacob does not, indeed, openly accuse his sons of the crime of their brother's murder; yet he is angry as if, two of his sons being already taken away, they were hastening to destroy the third. For he says that all these evils were falling on himself alone; because he does not think that they were affected as they ought to be, nor shared his grief with him, but were carelessly making light of the destruction of their brethren, as if they had no interest in their lives. It seems, however, exceedingly barbarous that Reuben should offer his two sons to his father to be slain, if he did not bring Benjamin back. Jacob might, indeed, slay his own grandchildren: what comfort, then, could he take in acting cruelly to his own bowels? But this is what I before alluded to, that they were suspected of having dealt perfidiously towards Joseph; for which reason Reuben deemed it necessary to assuage his father's fear, by such a vehement protestation; and to give this pledge, that he and his brethren were designing nothing wicked against Benjamin.
All these things are against me - עלי היו כלנה alai hayu cullanah; literally, All these things are upon me. Not badly translated by the Vulgate, In me haec omnia mala reciderunt, "All these evils fall back upon me." They lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death; they are more than I can bear.
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved [of my children]: Joseph [is] not, and Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are against (k) me.
(k) For they did not seem to be concerned or have any love for their brother which increased his sorrow: and partly as it appears he suspected them for Joseph.
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.
(f) "super me", Montanus, Schmidt; "vel. in me", V. L. Vatablus.
Me have ye bereaved--This exclamation indicates a painfully excited state of feeling, and it shows how difficult it is for even a good man to yield implicit submission to the course of Providence. The language does not imply that his missing sons had got foul play from the hands of the rest, but he looks upon Simeon as lost, as well as Joseph, and he insinuates it was by some imprudent statements of theirs that he was exposed to the risk of losing Benjamin also.
*More commentary available at chapter level.