Genesis 42:4

4 and Benjamin was withholden of Jacob at home, that said to his brethren, Lest peradventure in the way he suffer any evil. (but Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his sons, Lest he suffer any evil on the way.)

Genesis 42:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:4

But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his
brethren
Benjamin is called Joseph's brother, because he was so both by father and mother's side, as the rest were not; him Jacob kept with him, being the youngest and his darling, the only son he had with him of his beloved wife Rachel; and was very probably the more beloved by him since he had been bereft of Joseph; and it was not only to keep him company that he retained him at home, but for the reason following: for he said, lest peradventure mischief befall him;
as had to Joseph his brother, as he imagined; either that the journey would be too much for him, being young, or lest he should be seized with sickness on the road, or rather with death, as Aben Ezra interprets it according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan.

Genesis 42:4 In-Context

2 I [have] heard that wheat is sold in Egypt; go ye down, and buy ye necessaries to us, that we may live, and be not wasted by neediness. (I have heard that corn, or grain, is being sold in Egypt; go ye down there, and buy ye the necessities for us, so that we can live, and not be destroyed by this famine.)
3 Therefore ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy wheat in Egypt, (And so ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy corn, or grain, in Egypt,)
4 and Benjamin was withholden of Jacob at home, that said to his brethren, Lest peradventure in the way he suffer any evil. (but Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his sons, Lest he suffer any evil on the way.)
5 Soothly they entered into the land of Egypt, with other men that went thither to buy corn; forsooth hunger was in the land of Canaan. (And they entered into the land of Egypt, with others who went there to buy corn, or grain; for the famine was now in the land of Canaan.)
6 And Joseph was the prince of Egypt, and at his will wheats were sold to [the] peoples. And when his brethren had worshipped him, (And Joseph was the prince, or the ruler, of Egypt, and at his will corn, or grain, was sold to people from all the lands. And so when his brothers had bowed before him,)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.