Genesis 37:21 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 37:21

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.

KJV

And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

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Commentary

2 voices

Ambrose of Milan

On Joseph the Patriarch (397)

Indeed, Reuben and Judah observed the holy bonds of brotherhood and desired to free Joseph from their hands. Judah receives the preference by his father's blessing, and rightly so, when it is said to him, "The sons of your father shall bow down to you. A lion's whelp is Judah, and he is the expectation of nations."

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Reuben heard it - Though Reuben appears to have been a transgressor of no ordinary magnitude, if we take Gen 35:22 according to the letter, yet his bosom was not the habitation of cruelly. He determined, if possible, to save his brother from death, and deliver him safely to his father, with whose fondness for him he was sufficiently acquainted.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

8 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע	vai.yish.Ma'	and he heard	H8085 →
רְאוּבֵ֔ן	re.'u.Ven	Reuben	H7205 →
וַיַּצִּלֵ֖הוּ	vai.ya.tzi.Le.hu	and he rescued him	H5337 →
מִיָּדָ֑ם	mi.ya.Dam	from hand their	H3027 →
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
לֹ֥א	lo'	not	H3808 →
נַכֶּ֖נּוּ	na.Ke.nu	let us strike him	H5221 →
נָֽפֶשׁ׃	Na.fesh	life	H5315 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
leads to
- Luke 12:4–5
  I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Isaiah 8:12–13
  “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Revelation 2:10
  Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- James 4:12
  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Romans 8:35–39
  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Through
Genesis 42:22
And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
leads to
- Psalms 9:12
  For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Genesis 9:5
And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
leads to
- Exodus 21:28–29
  If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.
Through
Genesis 35:22
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:
leads to
- 1 Chronicles 5:1
  These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So…