Genesis 42:24 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 42:24
And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Simeon
שִׁמְע֔וֹןshim.'on
H8095
Shimon · proper noun, a man's name
bound
וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥רvai.ye.'e.Sor
H631
to yoke or hitch · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
eyes
לְעֵינֵיהֶֽםle.'ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept the…
Genesis 34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man h…
Genesis 43:14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I a…
Genesis 43:23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And h…
Genesis 45:14-15 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Genesis 49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bar…
Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 42:21-28
Here is, I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly done to him, Gen 42:21. They talked the matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting that Joseph, whom they took for a native of Egypt, understood them, much less that he was the person they spoke of.
1. They remembered with regret the barbarous cruelty wherewith they persecuted him: We are verily guilty concerning our brother. We do not read that they said this during their three days' imprisonment; but now, when the matter had come to some issue and they saw themselves still embarrassed, now they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph's mention of the fear of God (Gen 42:18) put them upon consideration…
took . . . Simeon, and bound him--He had probably been the chief instigator--the most violent actor in the outrage upon Joseph; and if so, his selection to be the imprisoned and fettered hostage for their return would, in the present course of their reflections, have a painful significance.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 42:24
Took - Simeon and bound him before their eyes - This was retaliation, if, as the rabbins suppose, it was Simeon who bound Joseph, and put him into the pit. A recollection of this circumstance must exceedingly deepen the sense he had of his guilt.
John Gill on Genesis 42:24
And he turned himself about from them, and wept,.... Hearing his brethren confess their sin and guilt to one another in selling him, and Reuben's affectionate concern for him, it wrought so much upon his affections, being naturally of a tender spirit, that he could no longer act the part he had, and keep up the sternness and severity of his countenance; wherefore he turned his face from them, that they might not discern it, and his back upon them, and went into another room: and after he had given vent to his passion, and composed himself:
and returned to them again, and communed with them; upon the same subject, of going with their corn to Canaan, and bringing their youngest brother with t…
The Church Fathers
RELUCTANCE. — Again he approached them and told them . The text does not add what he told them. Therefore, it is understood that he would tell them what he had said to them before. [
See how Joseph takes every means of putting fear into them so that, on seeing Simeon's bonds, they may reveal whether they manifested any sympathy for their brother. You see, everything he does is to test their attitude out of his wish to discover if they had been like that in dealing with Benjamin. Hence Joseph also had Simeon bound in front of them to test them carefully and see if they showed any signs of affection for him. That is to say, concern for Simeon led them to hasten Benjamin's arrival, which he was anxious for, so as to gain assurance from his brother's arrival.
Hearing people talk about his brother, Joseph longed for him and said, "I will prove in this manner that you are not spies, if your younger brother comes along with you." And taking Simeon from them he had him bound before him and sent him to prison. If you want to know who is Benjamin, our younger brother, desired by our Joseph, that is, Christ, he is Paul, formerly Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin according to his testimony, who asserts to be the least among the apostles. In Simeon we can recognize Peter bound by the threefold chain of denial, that Peter whom fear has bound and love has untied.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Simeon — Hearing. (1.) The second son of Jacob by Leah (Gen. 29:33). He was associated with Levi in the terrible act of vengeance against Hamor and the Shechemites (34:25, 26). He was detained by Joseph in…
Commerce · Egyptians — Egyptians
Simeon · and is — and is
Weeping · .Of Joseph — .Of Joseph
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And Reuben answered them. Because he had attempted to deliver Joseph out of the hands of his brethren, in order to restore him in safety to his father, he magnifies their fault, in not having, at that time, listened to any prudent counsel: and I understand his words as conveying a reproof for their too late repentance. Whereas Joseph was not yet satisfied with this confession, but retained Simeon in bonds, [165] and dismissed the rest in suspense and perplexity, this was not done from malevolence, but because he was not certain about the safety of his brother Benjamin, and the state of his father's house. For he might justly fear lest, when they found that their wicked contrivance of putting…
On the third day Joseph modified his severity. "This do and live," i.e., then ye shall live: "I fear God." One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home "corn for the famine of your families," and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i.e., may not suffer the death that spies deserve. That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently…
Joseph turned away from them and began to weep (cp. 43:30; 45:2, 14; 50:1, 17); perhaps he was hearing part of the story that he had never known (Reuben’s attempt to save him, 37:21-22, 29), or his brothers’ remorse moved him to forgiveness.
Rashi on Genesis 42:24
ויסב מעליהם AND HE TURNED AWAY FROM THEM — He moved some distance away from them so that they should not see him weeping.
ויבך AND HE WEPT because he heard that they regretted their past conduct to him.
את שמען SIMEON — he had cast him into the pit and it was he who had said to Levi “Behold, this dreamer cometh” (Tanchuma Yashan 1:10:17). Another explanation is: It was Joseph’s intention to separate him from Levi lest the two of them might conspire to kill him.
ויאסור אתו לעיניהם AND HE BOUND HIM BEFORE THEIR EYES — He only kept him in bonds whilst he was before their eyes, but as soon as they departed he freed him and gave him food and drink (Genesis Rabbah 91:8).
