Genesis 43:4-14

4 therefore if thou wilt send him with us, we shall go (down) together, and we shall buy necessaries to thee (and we shall buy all the necessities for thee);

5 else if thou wilt not, we shall not go (down); for as we said oft, the man announced to us, and said, Ye shall not see my face without your least brother (for as we have often said to you, the man announced to us, Ye shall not see my face without your youngest brother).

6 Forsooth Israel said to them, Ye did this into my wretchedness, that ye showed to him, that ye had also another brother. (And Israel, that is, Jacob, said to them, Ye did this unto my wretchedness, that ye told him that ye also had another brother.)

7 And they answered, The man asked us by order our generation, (and) if our father lived, (and) if we had another brother; and we answered followingly to him, by that that he asked (and we answered accordingly to him, by what he asked us); whether we might know that he would say, Bring ye (down) your brother with you?

8 And Judah said to his father, Send the child with me, that we go, and may live, lest we die, (and thou,) and our little children; (And Judah said to his father, I pray thee, send our youngest brother with me, so that we can go, and we can live, otherwise we, and thou, and our little children shall die;)

9 I (shall) take the child, require thou him (again) of mine hand; if I shall not bring him again, and betake him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee in all time; (I shall take our youngest brother, and thou shalt require him again from my hand; and if I shall not bring him back again, and give him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee for all time;)

10 if this delay, or tarrying, had not been, we had come thence now another time. (yea, if this delay had not happened, we could already have gone there, and had come back by now, another time.)

11 Therefore Israel, their father, said to them, If it is need so to be (done), do ye that that ye will (And so their father Israel said to them, If it is so needed to be done, then do ye what ye must); (and) take ye (some) of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and bear ye gifts to the man, a little of gum, and of honey, and of storax, that is, (a) precious gum, and of myrrh, that is, a bitter gum, and of terebinth, that is, (the) best resins, and of almonds;

12 and bear ye with you double (the) money, and bear ye again that money which ye found in [the] bags, lest peradventure it be done by error, or unwitting(ly)/or (by) negligence;

13 but also take ye your brother, and go ye to the man; (and also take ye your brother, and so go ye now to the man;)

14 forsooth my God Almighty make him peaceable to you/make him pleasable, or quemeful, to you, and send he again your brother, whom he holdeth in bonds, and also this Benjamin; forsooth I shall be now as (if) made bare (and) without sons. (and may my Almighty God make him kindly disposed toward you, and send he again your brother, whom he now holdeth in prison, and also this Benjamin; but for now I shall be as if made barren, and without my sons.)

Genesis 43:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 43

This chapter informs us how that the famine continued in the land of Canaan, and the corn that Jacob's family had from Egypt being consumed, Jacob pressed his sons to go down for more, which they refused to do, unless Benjamin was sent with them, for whose safety Judah offered to become a surety, Ge 43:1-10; Jacob with reluctance was prevailed upon to let him go, and dismissed them with a present to the governor of Egypt, and with double money to buy corn with, and with his blessing upon them, Ge 43:11-14; upon which they set out for Egypt; and when they came into the presence of Joseph, he seeing Benjamin with them, ordered his steward to have them to his house, and get dinner ready, it being his pleasure that they should dine with him that day, Ge 43:15-17; this threw them into a fright, supposing they were going to be called to an account for the money they found in their sacks; wherefore they related to the steward very particularly the whole of that affair, who bid them not be uneasy, for he had had their money; and as a proof that things would go well with them, brought Simeon out to them, and treated them very kindly and gently, Ge 43:18-24; and having got their present ready against Joseph came home, they delivered it to him with great veneration and submission; who asked of the welfare of their father, and whether that was not their younger brother they spoke of, the sight of whom so affected him, that he was obliged in haste to retire to his chamber, and weep, Ge 43:25-30; and having washed his face, and composed himself, he returned and ordered dinner to be brought, which was set on different tables, one for himself and the Egyptians, and the other for his brethren, whom he placed according to their age, to their great surprise; and sent them messes from his table to each, and to Benjamin five times more than the rest, and they were so liberally entertained, that they became cheerful and merry, Ge 43:31-34.