Genesis 43:9
in Genesis 43I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
KJV
I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
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This verse in Genesis 43
Commentary
5 notes on this verseLet me bear the blame for ever - וחטאתי לך כל הימים - re vechatathi lecha col haiyamim, then shall I sin against thee all my days, and consequently be liable to punishment for violating my faith.
This site's exposition
I will guarantee his safety
on Genesis 43:9-10
I will guarantee his safety translates the Hebrew arab, to stand as surety, which is to become the pledge that answers for another. He had left a pledge once before, the signet and staff at the roadside in 38:18. Hebrews 7:22 gives Jesus the same standing.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Judah's conscience had lately smitten him for what he had done a great while ago against Joseph; and as an evidence of the truth of his repentance, he is ready to undertake, as far as a man could do it, for Benjamin's security.
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
I will be surety for him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
If we had not hesitated until now, we could have been there and back twice.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָֽנֹכִי֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּ | ʾeervenu | I will stand surety for him | H6148 → | |
| מִיָּדִ֖י | miyadi | from hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נּוּ | tevakshenu | you will require him | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֨א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֲבִיאֹתִ֤יו | haviotiv | I have brought him | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יו | vehitzagtiv | and I will set him | H3322 → | 16 times |
| לְפָנֶ֔יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְחָטָ֥אתִֽי | vechatati | and I will be culpable | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to you | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
אָֽנֹכִי֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּI will stand surety for him
ʾeervenuH6148 →
מִיָּדִ֖יfrom hand my
miyadiH3027 →1618 times
תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נּוּyou will require him
tevakshenuH1245 →225 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֨אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הֲבִיאֹתִ֤יוI have brought him
haviotivH935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יוand I will set him
vehitzagtivH3322 →16 times
לְפָנֶ֔יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
וְחָטָ֥אתִֽיand I will be culpable
vechatatiH2398 →238 times
לְךָ֖to you
lekha
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִֽים׃the days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 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
Hebrews 7:22Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
it leads to
- Genesis 44:32
Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
- Hebrews 8:6–12
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
- Hebrews 9:15–23
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under…
- Hebrews 13:20
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
- Genesis 44:32
Through
Job 17:3Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor?
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:15
He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.
- Hebrews 7:22
Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
- Isaiah 38:14
I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
- Proverbs 11:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.