창세기 42:16의 주석

האמת אתכם means WHETHER THERE BE TRUTH IN YOU — therefore the ה has the vowel Patach, because it is a kind of question. And if you do not (ואם לא) bring) him חי פרעה כי מרגלים אתם BY THE LIFE OF PHARAOH, SURELY YOU ARE SPIES.

שלחו מכם אחד, "Despatch one of you, etc." They did not do this as they were concerned that their father would worry needlessly about the fate of all the remaining brothers.

if you indeed speak the truth, as you claimed when you said that you are כנים, truthful, above board.

Whether there is truth with you. Rashi is answering the question: האמת אתכם seems to show that Yoseif admitted that the truth was with them. But does this not contradict, “Your words will be tested,” which shows that he was in doubt about them? Thus Rashi said that the ה is in question form, conveying: “Is it so?”

(16-17) Er ließ ihnen drei Tage Zeit, um ihre Lage ganz durchdenken zu können und um das Dringliche derselben auf sie einwirken zu lassen. Ihnen droht Gefahr, ihre Familien verhungern, es waren der Gründe genug, die wohl einen oder den andern von ihnen zu dem Entschluss bewegen konnten, den Vater durch List oder Gewalt von dem Benjamin zu trennen. Denn er konnte doch hinlänglich wissen, dass der Vater es nicht gutwillig zulassen würde.

If you do not bring him, then by Pharaoh’s life, you are spies. [Rashi knows this] because it cannot mean that “If you are not tested, then by Pharaoh’s life, you are spies.” For even if they are not tested, they are not necessarily spies.

Furthermore, they were convinced that if only one brother would arrive back in the land of Canaan their father would never allow Benjamin to travel. We only need to look at the strenuous efforts Yehudah had to make to obtain permission for Benjamin to travel even though all the brothers except Shimon had returned home. If all the brothers were in jail in Egypt there would be no chance at all of Jacob allowing the last of the brothers to risk his life also.

It may also be that the brothers did not even consider being separated. The only reason that they eventually agreed to leave Shimon behind was that Joseph had made this a test of how they could establish their credibility. I shall explain this in greater detail in my commentary on verse 19.