Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Genesis 42:22

The Torah shows us the fragility of such an approach by having Reuven reappear too late, when Yosef is already gone. Whereas Reuven only obtains an uneasy concession from his brothers,²See Ramban on Bereshit 37:22, who cites the brothers’ later discussion (Bereshit 42:22) as proof that the Torah initially only reports Reuven’s final position in his discussion with his brothers. Apparently, he had tried to convince them not to kill Yosef, but was only able to get them to compromise and, at least, not to cause his death directly. Yehudah is able to get his brothers’ full endorsement. Rashi marks the difference between the brothers’ responses to Reuven and Yehudah. He notes that the Torah writes that the brothers “listened to” Yehudah, which denotes acceptance – something absent from their earlier acquiescence to Reuven (Rashi on Bereshit 37:27, based on Targum Onkelos).

One difference between the first two and the third encounters with Yosef in Egypt is the leadership dynamic of the brothers. In the first meeting (Bereshit 42:10–22), the brothers are always speaking as a group, with the one exception of Reuven’s brief interjection of “I told you so” (verse 22) when they recognize their guilt in their earlier treatment of Yosef. In the second encounter, before Binyamin is framed, the brothers are still speaking as a group. Afterwards, when the brothers are arrested and there is a need for leadership, it is no longer Reuven who steps up but Yehudah. Now that Yehudah’s leadership has come to the fore, the text (Bereshit 44:14) describes the group as “Yehudah, and his brothers.” Yehudah now becomes the undisputed leader, to be confirmed by Yaakov later on (Bereshit 46:28, 49:8–12).

IN THAT WE SAW THE DISTRESS OF HIS SOUL, WHEN HE IMPLORED US. It is obvious that the brothers now considered their display of cruelty towards Joseph as deserving of a greater punishment than the sale itself since it was their blood-brother who was imploring and prostrating himself before them and they remained unmoved. Scripture, however, did not relate there [that Joseph implored them at the time of the sale], either because it is naturally understood that a person would implore his brothers when falling into their grip when their intention is to harm him, swearing by the life of his father, and doing all that is possible to save himself from death. It may be the desire of Scripture to speak only briefly of their sin, or it is possible that it is characteristic of Scripture to speak briefly about a matter in one place, and to elaborate on it in another place.
Now Reuben answered them by saying: “Now I already told you at the time that the event took place that you should not sin against him for he is only a lad, and only on account of his youth did he sin against you, and it is therefore fitting for you to gloss over the sins of his youth. And now, his blood also,¹⁵²Verse 22 here. together with the display of cruelty which you mention, is required.” Perhaps the explanation of the phrase, his blood also, may be: “Even though you have not killed him, G-d will require his blood of you, and it will be accounted to you as if you spilled his blood since he was sold as a permanent slave, for it is possible that being a darling child,¹⁵³Jeremiah 31:19. unused to work, he died.”
Our Rabbis have expounded¹⁵⁴Bereshith Rabbah 91:10. “The expression, ‘Also’ his blood, implies his blood and the blood of his aged father.”