Genesis 42:37

Genesis 42:37 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Reuben said to his father, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

Context of Genesis 42:37

35Now it came about, as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man’s bag of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they were afraid. 36And their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” 38But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

Genesis 42:37 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר רְאוּבֵן֙ אֶל־אָבִ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י בָנַי֙ תָּמִ֔ית אִם־לֹ֥א אֲבִיאֶ֖נּוּ אֵלֶ֑יךָ תְּנָ֤ה אֹתוֹ֙ עַל־יָדִ֔י וַאֲנִ֖י אֲשִׁיבֶ֥נּוּ אֵלֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

• Then Reubenרְאוּבֵןre'ûbên · ReubenH7205
• spokeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• You may putמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• my twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• ifאִם'im · ifH518
• I do not bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• to you; putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• careיָדyâd · handH3027
• and I will returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725

Cross-references for Genesis 42:37

• Genesis 43:9I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then you can let me take the blame forever.
• Genesis 44:32For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’
• Genesis 46:9And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
• Micah 6:7Does the Lord take pleasure in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give Him my firstborn for my wrongdoings, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Commentaries on Genesis 42:37

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee - What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben's heart; he felt deeply for his father's distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his character in an amiable point of view, except the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-38Verses 1-38 - Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch. 25. כלי kelı̂y “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.” Twenty years, the period of Joseph‘s long…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-38Verses 29-38 Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had been with them. It is bad with a family, when children behave…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37Reuben tried to take charge. He might have thought he could regain his father's favor (see 35:22). First, he hoped to rescue Joseph from death (37:21–22, 29–30), and now by keeping Benjamin safe.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3737. Reuben spake, ... Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee--This was a thoughtless and unwarrantable condition--one that he never seriously expected his father would accept. It was designed only to give assurance of the greatest care being taken of Benjamin. But unforeseen circumstances might arise to render it impossible for all of them to preserve that young lad (Jas 4:13), and Jacob was much pained by the prospect. Little did he know that God…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Reuben
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness
• Sack

Commentaries on Genesis 42

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings