Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 42:37/רמב"ן על בראשית מ״ב:ל״ז

אאֶת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי תָּמִית קִבֵּל עָלָיו בְּאָלָה לַהֲבִיאוֹ אֶל אָבִיו, כִּי אָמַר לוֹ אֶת שְׁנֵי בָנַי תָּמִית בִּהְיוֹת עָנְשְׁךָ עָלַי אִם לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ אֵלֶיךָ, וְהוּא כְּעִנְיַן מָה שֶׁאָמַר יְהוּדָה (בראשית מ"ג:ט') "וְחָטָאתִי לְךָ כָּל הַיָּמִים". וְאָמַר "אֶת שְׁנֵי בָנַי" וְהֵם הָיוּ אַרְבָּעָה, לֵאמֹר תַּחַת הָאֶחָד מִבָּנֶיךָ יִהְיֶה הַכֶּפֶל בְּבָנַי. וְהִנֵּה יַעֲקֹב לֹא בָּטַח בִּרְאוּבֵן כַּאֲשֶׁר בָּטַח בִּיהוּדָה, כִּי יְהוּדָה גָּבַר בְּאֶחָיו, וְעוֹד כִּי רְאוּבֵן כְּבָר פָּשַׁע בְּאָבִיו וְלֹא יִבְטַח בּוֹ, וְהַכְּלָל כִּי הָיְתָה עֲצַת יְהוּדָה טוֹבָה, לְהַנִּיחוֹ לַזָּקֵן עַד שֶׁיִּכְלֶה פַּת מִן הַבַּיִת (עיין תנחומא מקץ ח), כִּי אָז יִשְׁמַע, וְהוּא מָה שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ "וְנִחְיֶה וְלֹא נָמוּת גַּם אֲנַחְנוּ גַם טַפֵּנוּ":

1MY TWO SONS ‘TAMITH’ (THOU SHALT SLAY). Under penalty of a curse,¹⁷⁰ is not to be understood literally as meaning that Reuben was ready to forfeit the lives of his two sons. Instead, the word is to be understood in a general sense, i.e., that Reuben is willing to be punished, but not that Jacob slay Reuben’s sons. Reuben obligated himself to return Benjamin to his father, as he said to him, My two sons ‘tamith,’ meaning, “May thy punishment be upon me if I do not bring him back to you.” This is similar in intent to that which Judah said: Then I shall have sinned against thee all my days.¹⁷¹Now Reuben said, My two sons, although he actually had four.¹⁷², 46:9. His intent in saying “two” was to state that “in place of one of your sons, it should be visited doubly upon my sons.”Now Jacob did not rely upon Reuben as he did upon Judah,¹⁷³ for Judah prevailed upon his brethren.¹⁷⁴ Moreover, Reuben had already sinned against his father,¹⁷⁵ and therefore he would no longer rely upon him. Generally, Judah’s counsel was sound: i.e., to leave the patriarch alone until there was no bread in the house, for then he would listen. This — [Judah’s reference to the complete absence of food] — is indicated by Judah’s words to his father: That we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.¹⁷⁶