John Calvin Commentary Genesis 42:29

"And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them, saying," — Genesis 42:29 (ASV)

And they came unto Jacob their father. This is a long repetition of the previous history, but it is not superfluous, because Moses wished to show how anxiously they made their excuse to their father for having left Simon in chains, and how strenuously they pleaded with him that, to obtain Simeon’s liberty, he should allow them to take their brother Benjamin. For this was highly relevant.

We know what a sharp dart hunger is. And yet, though the only method of relieving their need was to fetch grain from Egypt, Jacob would rather that he and his family perish than allow Benjamin to accompany the rest. What can he mean by so peremptorily refusing what his sons were compelled by necessity to ask, except to show that he was suspicious of them?

This also appears more clearly from his own words, when he imputes his bereavement to them. For, though their declaration that Joseph had been torn by a wild beast had some plausibility, a secret wound arising from suspicion still remained in the heart of the holy patriarch, because he was fully aware of their fierce and cruel hatred for the innocent youth.

Moreover, it is useful for us to know this, for from this it appears how miserable was the condition of the holy man, whose mind, for thirteen successive years, had been tortured with dire anxiety. Besides, his very silence added greatly to his torment, because he was compelled to conceal the grief he felt.

But the chief burden of his trial was the temptation that oppressed him: that the promise of God might prove illusory and vain. For he had no hope except from the promised seed; but he seemed to be bringing up devils at home, from whom a blessing was no more to be expected than life from death. He thought Joseph was dead; Benjamin alone remained to him uncorrupted: how could the salvation of the world proceed from such a vicious offspring?

He must, therefore, have been endowed with great constancy, since he did not cease to rely upon God. And being firmly convinced that he cherished the Church in his house, of which scarcely any appearance remained, he bore with his sons until they repented. Let the faithful now apply this example to themselves, lest their minds give way at the horrible devastation that is perceived almost everywhere.