Genesis 44:30

30 "And now, sir," Judah continued, "if I go back to my father without the boy, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with me, he will die. His life is wrapped up with the life of the boy, and he is so old that the sorrow we would cause him would kill him.

Genesis 44:30 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 44:30

Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father
That is, should he return to him in the land of Canaan with the rest of his brethren: and the lad [be] not with us;
his brother Benjamin, so called here, and in the following verses, though thirty years of age and upwards, see ( Genesis 43:8 ) ; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
he is as closely united to him in affection, and is as dear to him as his own soul; quite wrapped up in him, and cannot live without him; should he die, he must die too; see ( 1 Samuel 18:1 ) ; so it follows:

Genesis 44:30 In-Context

28 One of them has already left me. He must have been torn to pieces by wild animals, because I have not seen him since he left.

29 If you take this one from me now and something happens to him, the sorrow you would cause me would kill me, as old as I am.'

30 "And now, sir," Judah continued, "if I go back to my father without the boy, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with me, he will die. His life is wrapped up with the life of the boy, and he is so old that the sorrow we would cause him would kill him.

32 What is more, I pledged my life to my father for the boy. I told him that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life.