Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 43:6
And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye [so] ill with me, [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
6. Israel ] Observe the change from “Jacob” (Gen 42:36) to “Israel” here and Gen 43:8 ; Gen 43:11. Jacob seems here for the first time to realize that Benjamin is a condition for the next journey to Egypt. It slowly dawns upon the old man that he must accept the conditions.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And Israel said,…. In answer to the speech of Judah:
wherefore dealt ye [so] ill with me; had done that which brought so much evil upon him, gave him so much grief and trouble, and threw him into such perplexity and distress, that he knew not what to do, or course to take:
[as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? which he thought was done imprudently and unadvisedly, and that there was no need of it; which, had it not been done, would have prevented this anxiety of mind he was now in, and the mischief he feared would follow.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To the father’s reproachful question, why they had dealt so ill with him, as to tell the man that they had a brother, Judah replied: “ The man asked after us and our kinsmen: Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we answered him in conformity ( as in Exo 34:27, etc.) with these words (i.e., with his questions). Could we know, then, that he would say, Bring your brother down? ” Joseph had not made direct inquiries, indeed, about their father and their brother; but by his accusation that they were spies, he had compelled them to give an exact account of their family relationships. So that Judah, when repeating the main points of the interview, could very justly give them in the form just mentioned.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
‘And Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the Man whether you had yet a brother?” And they said, “The Man asked us firmly (literally – ‘asked us asking’) about ourselves and about our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father yet alive? Have you a brother?’ And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
In his grief and fear Jacob is being quite unreasonable. They had had no reason to withhold the information and they knew that to have given even a hint of deceit would have been their downfall. The only significance they had seen in the close questioning was the suspicion that they were spies.
“They said” – now the other brothers are joining in. They are all agreed that they cannot face the Man without having Benjamin with them. They would immediately be killed as spies.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 43:6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye [so] ill with me, [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
Ver. 6. And Israel said, &c. ] Here he begins to outwrestle his fears, by resting upon God; and is therefore called Israel.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Israel. Note the name. Jacob is used of his weakness (Gen 42:36, &c), Israel of his resignation to God’s will. In this use of the names Jacob and Israel, men might well invent a Jacobite and Israelite authorship, as well as an Elohist and Jehovist theory!
ill. Hebrew. R a’a. See App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Reciprocal: Exo 14:11 – wherefore