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38 But Jacob[a] replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left.[b] If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair[c] in sorrow to the grave.”[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 42:38 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. Genesis 42:38 sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.
  3. Genesis 42:38 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole—they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.
  4. Genesis 42:38 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

38 But he replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If anything were to happen to him while traveling with you, you would bring my gray hair down to Sh’ol with grief.”

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