Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 44:32/רמב"ן על בראשית מ״ד:ל״ב

אכִּי עַבְדְּךָ עָרַב אֶת הַנַּעַר יֹאמַר כִּי יֵרֵד בְּיָגוֹן שְׁאוֹלָה עָלָיו, כִּי גַּם בְּכָל זֶה שֶׁאָמַרְנוּ לוֹ לֹא רָצָה הַזָּקֵן לְשַׁלְּחוֹ עַד שֶׁנַּעֲשֵׂיתִי לוֹ עָרֵב עָלָיו וּבָטַח בִּי, וְעַל כֵּן יֵשֵׁב נָא עַבְדְּךָ תַּחְתָּיו. וְאִם יִהְיֶה פֵּרוּשׁ "וְהוֹרִידוּ עֲבָדֶיךָ" כִּפְשׁוּטוֹ, יֹאמַר אֲנַחְנוּ הַגּוֹרְמִים מִיתַת הַזָּקֵן בְּרָעָה, כִּי אֲנִי עָרַבְתִּי בּוֹ.

1FOR THY SERVANT BECAME SURETY FOR THE LAD. Judah is saying that his father will go down with sorrow to the grave²⁹ on account of the lad, for “despite all that we have said to him, the aged father did not want to send him until I became surety for him, and he trusted me. Therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide³⁰ in his stead.” And if the explanation of the verse, And thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father…to the grave,¹¹ is in line with the plain meaning thereof, [namely, that the responsibility will fall upon the brothers, as opposed to Ramban’s previous interpretation that “thy servants” is a euphemism for Joseph,³¹ then Judah] is saying that “we will have caused the death of the aged father by sorrow, for I was surety for the lad.”