Genesis 42:4

Genesis 42:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
• New International Version (NIV)But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

Context of Genesis 42:4

2Then he said, “Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.” 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may happen to him.” 5So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, because the famine was also in the land of Canaan. 6Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

Genesis 42:4 word by word

וְאֶת־בִּנְיָמִין֙ אֲחִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף לֹא־שָׁלַ֥ח יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־אֶחָ֑יו כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר פֶּן־יִקְרָאֶ֖נּוּ אָסֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

• But Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• did not sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• Joseph’sיוֹסֵףyôsêph · JosephH3130
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• for he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I am afraid that harmאָסוֹן'âsôn · harmH611
• may happenקָרָאqârâ' · to encounter: chancedH7122

Cross-references for Genesis 42:4

• Genesis 35:16Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor.
• Genesis 42:38But 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 3:22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”--
• Genesis 11:4And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
• Genesis 33:1Then Jacob raised his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel, and the two slave women.
• Genesis 43:14and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!”
• Genesis 44:20And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’

Commentaries on Genesis 42:4

• 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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Jacob may have believed that Benjamin would not be safe with his brothers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-381. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt--learned from common rumor. It is evident from Jacob's language that his own and his sons' families had suffered greatly from the scarcity; and through the increasing severity of the scourge, those men, who had formerly shown both activity and spirit, were sinking into despondency. God would not interpose miraculously when natural means of preservation were within reach.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:4

• Commerce
• Parents

In the dictionaries

• Benjamin
• Jacob
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• Jacob, Israel
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade

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