Genesis 42:36
in Genesis 42Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
KJV
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
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This verse in Genesis 42
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAll these things are against me - עלי היו כלנה alai hayu cullanah; literally, All these things are upon me. Not badly translated by the Vulgate, In me haec omnia mala reciderunt, “All these evils fall back upon me.” They lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death; they are more than I can bear.
This site's exposition
there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver
on Genesis 42:35-36
This time the father is standing there when the bags of silver come out, and they are dismayed together. Jacob counts his losses and says everything is going against him. Spurgeon preached on that line that men magnify the hosts of their troubles and undervalue the armies of their mercies.
This site's exposition
Everything is going against me!
Deprived translates shakal, the Hebrew for losing children. Jacob repeats it at 43:14 as he lets Benjamin go. His charge that his sons robbed him of Joseph is truer than he knows, and Simeon, counted as lost, is alive in Egypt.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Now notice a still greater wonder and see how blessed Joseph, who knew that his father suffered intolerable sorrow on his account, as if what he had endured before were not enough, now causes Benjamin to be taken from him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, Through our ignorance and mistake, and the weakness of our faith, we often apprehend that to be against us which is really for us. We are afflicted in body, estate, name, and relations; and we think all these things are against us, whereas these are really working for us the weight of glory.
And Jacob their father said unto them, me have ye bereaved of my children,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THE Patriarch must use the expression, "ALL THESE THINGS." He had gone through the catalog—there were but three items at the most, and yet nothing narrower than, "All these things are against me" will suit him. Our notation of our trials is very apt to present them in exaggerated number, but when we come to count our mercies, as a usual rule our tendency is to diminish them. We magnify the hosts of our troubles and underestimate the armies of our benefits.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The language does not imply that his missing sons had got foul play from the hands of the rest, but he looks upon Simeon as lost, as well as Joseph, and he insinuates it was by some imprudent statements of theirs that he was exposed to the risk of losing Benjamin also.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
THE Patriarch must use the expression, "ALL THESE THINGS." He had gone through the catalog—there were but three items at the most, and yet nothing narrower than, "All these things are against me" will suit him. Our notation of our trials is very apt to present them in exaggerated number, but when we come to count our mercies, as a usual rule our tendency is to diminish them. We magnify the hosts of our troubles and underestimate the armies of our benefits. It were well if it were not so, for the habit is most painful to ourselves and dishonorable to God. "All these things," indeed! And what a little "all" compared with the benefits of God! What an insignificant "all" compared with the sufferings of our Covenant Head! What a trifling "all" compared with the amazing weight of Glory which shall soon be revealed in us! However, allowing the timorous expression to stand, it shall be my business this morning to show that while, according to the verdict of unbelief, "all these things are against us," yet there are other lights in which to look upon the multitude of our griefs—lights which shall enable us to perceive their benefit to us, and even to triumph in them through Him that loved us. I. Our first text is THE EXCLAMATION OF UNBELIEF—"All these things are against me." In Jacob's case it was a very plausible verdict. Joseph he had long lost sight of. Simeon did not return from the journey into Egypt. His sons now requested that Benjamin might be entrusted to their thriftless care—and it might well appear to the anxious father as if, one by one, his children were sinking into untimely graves and that God was dealing severely with him. Even the insinuation by which he ascribed these bereavements to the malice or carelessness of his sons, "You have bereaved me of my children," had an air of great likelihood thrown around it.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֣ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אֲבִיהֶ֔ם | ʾavihem | father their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֹתִ֖י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שִׁכַּלְתֶּ֑ם | shikaltem | you are making childless | H7921 → | 23 times |
| יוֹסֵ֤ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֵינֶ֙נּוּ֙ | ʾeinenu | not [is] he | H369 → | 789 times |
| וְשִׁמְע֣וֹן | veshimon | and Simeon | H8095 → | 44 times |
| אֵינֶ֔נּוּ | ʾeinenu | not [is] he | H369 → | 789 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּנְיָמִ֣ן | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| תִּקָּ֔חוּ | tikachu | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| עָלַ֖י | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָי֥וּ | hayu | they are | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כֻלָּֽנָה׃ | khulanah | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
יַעֲקֹ֣בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אֲבִיהֶ֔םfather their
ʾavihemH1 →1212 times
אֹתִ֖י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
שִׁכַּלְתֶּ֑םyou are making childless
shikaltemH7921 →23 times
יוֹסֵ֤ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֵינֶ֙נּוּ֙not [is] he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
וְשִׁמְע֣וֹןand Simeon
veshimonH8095 →44 times
אֵינֶ֔נּוּnot [is] he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בִּנְיָמִ֣ןBenjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
תִּקָּ֔חוּyou will take
tikachuH3947 →966 times
עָלַ֖יon me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
הָי֥וּthey are
hayuH1961 →3559 times
כֻלָּֽנָה׃all of them
khulanahH3605 →5413 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
Isaiah 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Joshua 1:9
Through
Romans 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
- Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- 1 Peter 5:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.
- PersonPatriarchsJosephThe rejected-then-exalted son — Genesis's great Christ-type; preserver of his family and of Egypt; the bridge into Exodus.
- PersonNew TestamentSimeonA righteous and devout man of Jerusalem on whom the Holy Spirit rested, promised he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ.…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 91.3-4; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, sermon 'All These Things'; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 837: ““All These Things”—A Sermon with Three Texts” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.