Genesis 42:4

4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

Genesis 42:4 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
4 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)
4 But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him.
The Message Bible (MSG)
4 Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him.
American Standard Version (ASV)
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest Peradventure harm befall him.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
4 Jacob wouldn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers, because he was afraid that something would happen to him.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, "Something might happen to him."
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
4 But Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed.

Genesis 42:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:4

But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his
brethren
Benjamin is called Joseph's brother, because he was so both by father and mother's side, as the rest were not; him Jacob kept with him, being the youngest and his darling, the only son he had with him of his beloved wife Rachel; and was very probably the more beloved by him since he had been bereft of Joseph; and it was not only to keep him company that he retained him at home, but for the reason following: for he said, lest peradventure mischief befall him;
as had to Joseph his brother, as he imagined; either that the journey would be too much for him, being young, or lest he should be seized with sickness on the road, or rather with death, as Aben Ezra interprets it according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan.

Genesis 42:4 In-Context

2 He 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.”
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now 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.

Cross References 2

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