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 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

2And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.” 5And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.

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 journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.
• Genesis 42:38But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
• Genesis 3:22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
• Genesis 11:4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
• Genesis 33:1Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
• Genesis 43:14And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
• Genesis 44:20And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, 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
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness

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