Genesis 42:4
Context42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, 1 for he said, 2 “What if some accident 3 happens 4 to him?”
Genesis 44:29
Context44:29 If you take 5 this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair 6 in tragedy 7 to the grave.’ 8
Genesis 42:38
Context42:38 But Jacob 9 replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. 10 If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair 11 in sorrow to the grave.” 12


[42:4] 1 tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.
[42:4] 2 tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.
[42:4] 3 tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.
[44:29] 5 tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”
[44:29] 6 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.
[44:29] 7 tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).
[44:29] 8 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
[42:38] 9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[42:38] 10 sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.
[42:38] 11 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.
[42:38] 12 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.