Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah
Sforno on Genesis 37:17/ספורנו על בראשית ל״ז:י״ז
אנָסְעוּ מִזֶּה. אֵין סָפֵק שֶׁנָּסְעוּ מִזֶּה הַמִּרְעֶה וְאֵין לְבַקְּשָׁם בְּאֶחָד מֵחֶלְקָיו:
1נסעו מזה, there is no question that they have departed from this grazing area, there is no point in searching any part of this region.
בכִּי שָׁמַעְתִּי אוֹמְרִים. וְהַטַּעַם שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי שֶׁבְּוַדַּאי נָסְעוּ הוּא, כִּי שָׁמַעְתִּי אוֹמְרִים נֵלְכָה, לֹא שֶׁרְאִיתִים נוֹסְעִים.
2כי שמעתי אומרים, the reason why I said that they certainly no longer are in this region is because I myself overheard them saying “lets move on.”
גאַחַר אֶחָיו. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא מְצָאָם בִּשְׁכֶם כִּדְבַר אָבִיו, טָרַח יוֹתֵר מִמַּה שֶּׁצִּוָּה לְהַשִּׂיג רְצוֹן אָבִיו.
3אחר אחיו, even though he had not been able to locate them in Shechem as his father had asked him to do, he went to more trouble than he was required to, in order to fulfill the wishes of his father.