Genesis 37:30
in Genesis 37returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
KJV
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
⋯
This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe child is not; and I, whither shall I go? - The words in the original are very plaintive, הילד איננו ואני אנה אני בא haiyeled einennu, vaani anah, ani ba!
This site's exposition
he tore his clothes
on Genesis 37:29-30
Reuben comes back to an empty pit and tears his clothes. Clarke keeps the cry in the Hebrew, four words, the boy is gone, and what am I going to do. He is the eldest, and the father will hold him to account for the boy. Jacob tears his own clothes five verses later, over evidence his sons made.
This site's exposition
The boy is gone
Reuben goes back to his brothers and stays with them, and in the next verse the robe is dipped in goat's blood. He shares in the lie told to his father. At Genesis 42:22 he reminds his brothers that he warned them against sinning against the boy.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he returned unto his brethren,....
To clear themselves, that they might not be suspected to have done him any mischief. Note, We have all learned of Adam to cover our transgression, Job xxxi. When the devil has taught men to commit one sin, he then teaches them to conceal it with another, theft and murder with lying and perjury; but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֥שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶחָ֖יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַיֶּ֣לֶד | haiyeled | the boy | H3206 → | 89 times |
| אֵינֶ֔נּוּ | ʾeinenu | not [is] he | H369 → | 789 times |
| וַאֲנִ֖י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אָ֥נָה | ʾanah | where? | H575 → | 41 times |
| אֲנִי־ | ʾani- | [am] I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בָֽא׃ | va' | going | H935 → | 2568 times |
וַיָּ֥שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶחָ֖יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
הַיֶּ֣לֶדthe boy
haiyeledH3206 →89 times
אֵינֶ֔נּוּnot [is] he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
וַאֲנִ֖יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אָ֥נָהwhere?
ʾanahH575 →41 times
אֲנִי־[am] I
ʾani-H589 →874 times
בָֽא׃going
va'H935 →2568 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 31:15This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
it leads to
- Matthew 2:16–18
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
- Psalms 77:2
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Jeremiah 40:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem…
- Genesis 35:19
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
- Jeremiah 10:20
My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.
- Matthew 2:16–18
Through
Genesis 37:20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
it leads to
- Titus 3:3
For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Proverbs 27:4
Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
- Titus 3:3
Through
Genesis 42:13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
it leads to
- Genesis 44:20
And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and…
- Genesis 44:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.