창세기 42:19의 주석

בבית משמרכם (literally, in the house of your ward) — the house in which you are at present imprisoned.

אם כנים אתם, "If you are really honest, etc." This verse may be understood with the help of our sages in Yerushalmi Terumot chapter 8. We read there as follows: "If a group of people travel together and they encounter Gentiles who demand that one of them be handed over to be killed, the alternative being that they would all be killed, it is forbidden to hand over anyone belonging to the group. The whole group must face death rather than make the decision whom to hand over. If, however, the person to be handed over had been named by the killers, the others may save their lives by handing over that person." When Joseph said: "if you are honest, etc.," he meant that the brothers knew full well if they were telling the truth; אחיכם אחד, your one brother will be imprisoned. There was no death threat to the brothers, hence they were allowed to choose whom to hand over for incarceration. Joseph implied that if, on the other hand, they were dishonest, i.e. spies, (which made all of them guilty of the death penalty) then, of course, they would not be allowed to hand over one of their number who had not been specified. Handing over their brother would then be tantamount to killing him. This would also be illegal as they would all have to be prepared to die. The brothers were agreeable, thus indicating that they had spoken truthfully all along. We may presume that the brothers themselves elected that Shimon be imprisoned; Joseph did not single him out.

שבר רעבון בתיכם, what will break the hunger, i.e. the harvest; this is why the harvest, תבואה is also called שבר, as we have already explained on 41,56.

שבר רעבון בתיכם, “the provisions to still the hunger of your families.” This verse contains the veiled lesson that man must not use food and drink in order to indulge himself and his palate but merely in order to maintain the health of his body. Solomon phrases this principle thus in Proverbs 13,25: “the righteous eats to sustain his life-force.” This is the reason that Joseph used the term שבר רעבון when speaking of the provisions he let them purchase. The limitation (rationing) was particularly appropriate at a time of famine when there is not enough food available to gorge oneself. The principal manifestation of a person’s יראת ה', fear of the Lord, is the manner in which he makes minimal use of the creature comforts available to him in this world. This is the reason that Joseph commenced this sentence with the words את האלו-הים אני ירא, “I am a G’d-fearing person.”

In which you are now imprisoned. [Rashi explains this] so we will not think that משמרכם (your place of guarding) means that it was made especially for them.

ואתם לכו הביאו BUT YE, GO, CARRY to your father’s house.

That you bought for the hunger of the people of your household. [Here,] שבר denotes buying, not selling. And since hunger is not applicable to their houses, Rashi added “the people of your houses.”

It is also possible that the brothers had agreed between themselves to leave one of their number behind as a guarantee but before they could agree on who it should be Joseph decided to keep Shimon as he considered Shimon and Levi together as very dangerous.

שבר רעבון בתיכם CORN FOR THE FAMINE OF YOUR HOUSES — what you have purchased for the hunger of the people in your houses.