New International Version
Genesis 43:8
8Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.
Genesis 43:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones.
Context of Genesis 43:8
6Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?” 7They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?” Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. 9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 10As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”
Read all of Genesis 43Genesis 43:8 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוּדָ֜ה אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל אָבִ֗יו שִׁלְחָ֥ה הַנַּ֛עַר אִתִּ֖י וְנָק֣וּמָה וְנֵלֵ֑כָה וְנִֽחְיֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א נָמ֔וּת גַּם־אֲנַ֥חְנוּ גַם־אַתָּ֖ה גַּם־טַפֵּֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- Sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- the ladנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
- with me, and we will ariseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- and goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- that we may liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
- and not dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- also our little onesטַףţaph · childH2945
Cross-references for Genesis 43:8
- 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 44:26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
- Exodus 20:12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
- Genesis 42:2He 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.”
- Deuteronomy 33:6“Let Reuben live and not die, nor his people be few.”
- 2 Kings 7:4If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
- Psalms 118:17I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
- Genesis 45:19“You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come.
- Genesis 50:8besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
- Numbers 14:31As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.
- Ezra 8:21There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
Commentaries on Genesis 43:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Send the lad with me - As the original is not ילד yeled, from which we have derived our word lad, but נער naar, it would have been better had our translators rendered it by some other term, such as the youth, or the young man, and thus the distinction in the Hebrew would have been better kept up. Benjamin was at this time at least twenty-four years of age, some think thirty, and had a family of his own. See Genesis 46:21. That we may live, and not die…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-34Verses 1-34 - Joseph and His Eleven Brethren 11. דבשׁ debash “honey,” from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. בטנים bôṭen “pistachio nuts.” שׁקד shâqêd “almond tree;” related: “awake.” The tree is also called לוּז lûz Some refer the former to the fruit, the latter to the tree. The eleven brothers are now to bow down before Joseph. Genesis 43:1-10 The famine was severe. The pressure began to be felt more and more. The twelve households had…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-10Judah solved the problem by taking responsibility for Benjamin’s safety. In this way, he succeeded where Reuben had failed. This change was important because Judah had earlier suggested selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites (37:26–27) instead of killing him. Now he would secure Benjamin’s safety with his own life (see 44:18–34).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-142. their father said, ... Go again, buy us a little food--It was no easy matter to bring Jacob to agree to the only conditions on which his sons could return to Egypt (Ge 42:15). The necessity of immediately procuring fresh supplies for the maintenance of themselves and their families overcame every other consideration and extorted his consent to Benjamin joining in a journey, which his sons entered on with mingled feelings of hope and anxiety--of hope…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 43:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 43
- 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
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