Joseph is Not, and Simeon is Not
Genesis 42:36
And Jacob their father said to them, Me have you bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not…


More is said than meant, and more was meant than what was true, in these words. The patriarch knew that Simeon was not dead, so far as this information reached, but he was almost given over as a dead man by his father. Yet he had not any strong reason to do it. Perhaps the money came by some oversight into the mouth of the sacks. Probably that hard man, who was Lord of Egypt, did not intend to put Simeon to death; or if he did, his heart might yet be softened by the God of Jacob. We make our burdens heavier than they ought to be, by adding to them the weight of our own gloomy apprehensions; or we represent them heavier than we feel them to be, by words that convey more meaning than they ought. Surely the troubles laid upon us are heavy enough to be borne. Why should we court unhappiness, and yet complain of it?

(G. Lawson, D. D.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

WEB: Jacob, their father, said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me."




Jacob's Wrong View of Life
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