The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 216
PT. 12 قَالُوايَا بَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأْمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَنُصِحُوْنَ CH. 12 YUSUF 12. They said, ‘O our father, why dost thou not trust us with respect to Joseph, when we are certainly his sincere well- wishers?1516 أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرْتَعُ وَيَلْعَبُ وَإِنَّا Send him with us tomorrow. 13 لَهُ لَحفِظُونَ that he may enjoy himself and play, and we shall surely keep guard over him. '1517 قَالَ إِنِّي لَيَحْزُنُنِ اَنْ تَذْهَبُوا بِهِ He said, “It grieves me that. 14 وَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَهُ الذِئْبُ وَأَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ fear lest the wolf should devour غفِلُونَ you should take him away, and I him while you are heedless of him. '1518 the citizens opposed this compact and used. The Bible, however, places finally broke it. 1516. Commentary: Joseph's age at that time at seventeen or eighteen, which is evidently wrong. 1517. Important Words: he may enjoy himself) is يرتع This verse points to another difference with the Biblical version; for, whereas in this verse we are told that the brothers of Joseph asked their father to send him with them, the Bible tells us that Jacob himself sent Joseph to his brothers (Gen. 37:13, 14). But the Bible seems to contradict itself in this respect for in Gen. 37:4 we are told that Joseph was hated by his brothers because Jacob loved him more than he loved them and that Jacob was aware of this hatred. How could Jacob, knowing that his brothers hated him, send Joseph to them? Moreover, Joseph appears to be only eleven or twelve years old at the time when this incident took place, because it is only for a boy of this tender age that the language used by Joseph's brothers about him can be 1424 derived from which means, he (a beast) pastured at pleasure, eating and drinking plentifully and pleasantly; he (a man) enjoyed himself, going about cheerfully (Lane). Commentary: The words, we shall surely keep guard over him, also show that Joseph at that time was a mere lad of eleven or twelve years of age who required to be looked after and not a grown-up young man of seventeen who could easily take care of himself. See also the preceding verse. 1518. Commentary: This verse lends further support to the view that Joseph was not seventeen or eighteen but much younger (v. 12); otherwise there was