Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 42:37
And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
37. Reuben ] Reuben is here again prominent; cf. Gen 42:22. His words, offering his two sons as a pledge for the safe return of Benjamin, imply that a second journey to Egypt is regarded as a necessity and as a peril. Notice that here Reuben has two sons; in Gen 46:9 (P) four are mentioned.
Reuben here, as elsewhere in the E narrative, acts as leader; in the J narrative, it is Judah who makes a similar offer (Gen 43:2). Reuben acknowledges the patriarchal authority of the head of the family over the lives of his children. Cf. Gen 31:32.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 42:37
Slay my two sons
An unlawful mode of speaking
I will give you leave to take away my life, unless I do this or that.
Such modes of speaking as this do not become the mouths of the disciples of our Redeemer. How do we know what we shall be able to do a day or an hour hence? We ought to say, If we live, and the Lord will, we shall do this or that; for a mans heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. When men use this language their words are not to be understood in their literal sense. They are only strong assertions, tinctured with a profane levity of mind. Death ought not to be made a by-word. It will be found a serious thing to die when death comes, if it is not habitually esteemed a serious matter by us, whilst we are living in prosperity and health. By the life of Pharaoh, ye are spies, said Joseph to his brethren. Reuben engages, by the life of his two sons, that he will bring Benjamin in safety to his father, if his father would trust the young man to his care. Surely Reuben might have learned o avoid such strong asseverations about things of this sort. It was his wish to bring Joseph home to his father, and yet he could not persuade his brethren to comply with his intentions. It was his desire to bring Simeon safe to his father, and yet he was compelled to leave him in Egypt. He had reason to hope that his brethren would not treat Benjamin as they had treated Joseph. He had reason to hope that the lord of Egypt would keep his promise. But was he so sure of both these things, and of meeting with no bad accident in the course of his journeyings, that he could warrantably pledge the life of his two sons for Benjamins happy return? He knew that Jacob would not take him at his word. But what if God should, by some untoward event, make him sensible that he had spoken amiss? (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 37. Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee] What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben’s heart; he felt deeply for his father’s distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his character in an amiable point of view, except the single instance mentioned Ge 35:22, and which for the sake of decency and piety we should wish to understand as the Targumists have explained it. See the notes.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Slay my two sons, two of the four mentioned Gen 46:9. An absurd proposition, neither fit for him to make, nor for Jacob to accept.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
37. Reuben spake, . . . Slay my twosons, if I bring him not to theeThis was a thoughtless andunwarrantable conditionone that he never seriously expected hisfather would accept. It was designed only to give assurance of thegreatest care being taken of Benjamin. But unforeseen circumstancesmight arise to render it impossible for all of them to preserve thatyoung lad (Jas 4:13), and Jacobwas much pained by the prospect. Little did he know that God wasdealing with him severely, but in kindness (Heb 12:7;Heb 12:8), and that all thosethings he thought against Him were working together for his good.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Reuben spoke unto his father,…. Being the eldest son, it most property lay upon him to make answer to his father in the name of his brethren, and to offer a word of comfort to him:
saying, slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; meaning not Simeon, who was in Egypt, but Benjamin, whom it was proposed to take thither, and whom Jacob was very loath to part with; and to persuade him to it Reuben offers to him, and gives him leave to slay his two sons, or rather two of his sons g, since he had four, Ge 46:9; if he did not bring Benjamin again to him: this was a strange proposal, for what were two sons of his to his own son, so exceedingly beloved by him? besides, to lose his own son, and to have two of his grandchildren slain, would have been an increase of his sorrow and grief, instead of being an alleviation of it; but Reuben’s meaning was, not that his children should be slain, but this he says, to show that he would be as careful and solicitous for the return of Benjamin as if the life of two sons of his lay at stake, and was so confident of it that he could risk the life of them upon it, who were as dear to him as one Benjamin was to his father:
deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again; he undertook to be responsible for him.
g “duos filiorum meorum”, Piscator; so Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Reuben then offered his two sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, if Jacob would entrust him to his care: Jacob might slay them, if he did not bring Benjamin back-the greatest and dearest offer that a son could make to a father. But Jacob refused to let him go. “ If mischief befell him by the way, he would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow into Sheol ” (cf. Gen 37:35).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(37) Slay my two sons.Reuben does not suppose that Jacob would really put his grandchildren to death. but simply means to offer his father a strong assurance that Benjamin would run no danger. He regarded the risk as so slight that he was willing to stake the lives of two of his children, perhaps all he then had, upon Benjamins safe return. To take such a proposal as meant literally is irrational. But it was but feeble talk, in agreement with the general weakness of Reubens character.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
37. Reuben spake As became the firstborn . Joseph’s words (in Gen 42:18-20) seem to have satisfied him that no harm would befall Benjamin.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him to you. Hand him over to me and I will bring him back to you again.” ’
Reuben is concerned to go straight back to obtain Simeon’s release. He reveals here something very admirable in his character. Things may look foreboding but he is prepared himself to take the risk in order to obtain, if at all possible, his brother’s release, and he is prepared to die in the attempt. But he realises how his father is feeling. So he uses the strongest argument he can. If he does not bring Benjamin back then his father can kill his two sons. He will then fully share in the sufferings of his bereaved father. But his father will have none of it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 42:37. Reuben spake unto his father Reuben’s expressions seem to denote a suspicion of his sons in Jacob; and, however rapid and passionate they may be, they indicate, at least, something good in Reuben; a sanguine and earnest disposition to please his father; a just confidence in his own intentions, as well as in Joseph.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 42:37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
Ver. 37. Slay my two sons. ] A simple and sinful offer. Reuben was the oldest, but not the wisest. Age is no just measure of wisdom. Howbeit, of him we may learn, in our parents’ fear, to be hardy and hearty; in our brethren’s distress, to be eager and earnest.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Slay my: Gen 43:9, Gen 44:32-34, Gen 46:9, Mic 6:7
Reciprocal: Gen 19:8 – let
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 42:37. Slay my two sons This was a very rash and absurd proposal. What authority had Reuben to dispose of the lives of his children? And how could the murder of two grandchildren compensate Jacob for the loss of Benjamin? Besides, how did he know that Benjamin, if he went, would live to return, or that he should be able to restore him to his father? He ought, at least, to have said, If the Lord will. But he seems to have been little sensible of his dependance on Divine Providence.