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.
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him.

Context of Genesis 42:4

2He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” 3Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. 6Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• But Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• Joseph’sיוֹסֵףyôsêph · JosephH3130
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• for he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Lest peradventureפֶּן־pên · lestH6435
• mischiefאָסוֹן'âsôn · harmH611
• befall himקָרָאqârâ' · to encounter: chancedH7122

Cross-references for Genesis 42:4

• Genesis 35:16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
• Genesis 42:38But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
• Genesis 3:22And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
• Genesis 11:4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
• Genesis 33:1Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.
• Genesis 43:14And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
• Genesis 44:20And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, 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