An Interpretation of Verse 17 of the Chapter of Joseph
قَالُوا يَا أَبَانَا إِنَّا ذَهَبْنَا نَسْتَبِقُ وَتَرَكْنَا يُوسُفَ عِنْدَ مَتَاعِنَا فَأَكَلَهُ الذِّئْبُ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُؤْمِنٍ لَنَا وَلَوْ كُنَّا صَادِقِينَ (يوسف: 17).
They said: “O our father! We went to race with one another and left Joseph with our belongings, so a wolf devoured him; and you will not believe us though we are truthful” (17). Joseph’s brothers started their speech to their father with the loving phrase “O our father!” to create a friendly atmosphere that might help to make him believe the painful details they were going to tell him.
It is clear from their plan that Joseph’s brothers wanted to convince their father that Joseph was actually dead, not merely missing. They thought that only Joseph’s death would make Jacob ultimately forget his son.
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