Genesis 44:22

22 Then we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, then he would die.'

Genesis 44:22 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 44:22

And we said unto my lord, the lad cannot leave his father,
&c.] That is, his father will not be willing to part with him: for [if] he should leave his father, [his father] would die;
with grief and trouble, fearing some evil was befallen him, and he should see him no more.

Genesis 44:22 In-Context

20 And we said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a younger [brother], the child of his old age, and his brother died, and he alone remains from his mother, and his father loves him.'

21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes upon him.'

22 Then we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, then he would die.'

23 Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not again see my face.'

24 And it happened [that] we went up to your servant, my father, and told him the words of my lord.

Footnotes

• [a]. That is, the father (Jacob/Israel)