Genesis 43:8
in Genesis 43And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
KJV
And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
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This verse in Genesis 43
Commentary
4 notes on this verseSend the lad with me - As the original is not ילד yeled, from which we have derived our word lad, but נער naar, it would have been better had our translators rendered it by some other term, such as the youth, or the young man, and thus the distinction in the Hebrew would have been better kept up. Benjamin was at this time at least twenty-four years of age, some think thirty, and had a family of his own.
This site's exposition
Send the boy with me
Judah puts it as survival for the whole house, and he counts in the brothers, their father, and their children. He asks for the boy and puts up himself. Adam Clarke notes that the word behind boy here is na'ar, used of a grown young man, and that Benjamin had a household of his own by now.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. He would be ruled by reason, though they were his inferiors that urged it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Judah said unto Israel his father, send the lad with me, and we will arise and go,....
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוּדָ֜ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אָבִ֗יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| שִׁלְחָ֥ה | shilchah | send ! | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַנַּ֛עַר | hanaar | the young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| אִתִּ֖י | ʾiti | with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְנָק֣וּמָה | venakumah | so let us arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְנֵלֵ֑כָה | venelekhah | and we will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְנִֽחְיֶה֙ | venichyeh | and we may live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָמ֔וּת | namut | we will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | both | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֲנַ֥חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| גַם־ | gam- | as well as | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | as well as | H1571 → | 769 times |
| טַפֵּֽנוּ׃ | tapenu | little one[s] our | H2945 → | 42 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוּדָ֜הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֣לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אָבִ֗יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
שִׁלְחָ֥הsend !
shilchahH7971 →845 times
הַנַּ֛עַרthe young man
hanaarH5288 →239 times
אִתִּ֖יwith me
ʾitiH854 →929 times
וְנָק֣וּמָהso let us arise
venakumahH6965 →628 times
וְנֵלֵ֑כָהand we will go
venelekhahH1980 →1546 times
וְנִֽחְיֶה֙and we may live
venichyehH2421 →282 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נָמ֔וּתwe will die
namutH4191 →839 times
גַּם־both
gam-H1571 →769 times
אֲנַ֥חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
גַם־as well as
gam-H1571 →769 times
אַתָּ֖הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
גַּם־as well as
gam-H1571 →769 times
טַפֵּֽנוּ׃little one[s] our
tapenuH2945 →42 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
Ezra 8:21And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:3
Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
- Joel 1:14
Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:21
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- 1 Samuel 7:6
When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged…
- Jonah 3:5
And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3
Through
Deuteronomy 33:6Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.”
it leads to
- Numbers 32:31–32
The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “As the LORD has spoken to your servants, so we will do.
- Genesis 49:8
Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
- Joshua 22:1–9
Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh
- Numbers 32:31–32
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.