Bereshis 42:4

4 But Binyamin, achi Yosef, Ya’akov sent not with his achim; for he said, Lest ason (evil, harm) befall him.

Bereshis 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.

Bereshis 42:4 In-Context

2 And he said, Hinei, I have heard that there is shever (grain) in Mitzrayim; get you down to there, and buy for us from there; that we may live, and not die.

3 Achei Yosef asarah (Yosef’s ten brothers) then went down to buy grain in Mitzrayim.

4 But Binyamin, achi Yosef, Ya’akov sent not with his achim; for he said, Lest ason (evil, harm) befall him.

5 And the Bnei Yisroel came to make purchase among those that were coming; for the ra’av (famine) was in Eretz Kena’an.

6 And Yosef was the Shalit Al HaAretz, and he it was that sold to kol Am HaAretz: and Achei Yosef came, and prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.