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Complete Jewish Bible
Genesis 44:30
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy's life;
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—now his life is bound up with his life—
Now what will happen if we go home to our father without our youngest brother? He is so important in our father's life that
"So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us—his very life is bound up in his son's life.
"Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the young man's life,
"So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since our father's life is so attached to the boy's life—
Nowe therefore, when I come to thy seruant my father, & the childe be not wt vs (seeing that his life dependeth on the childes life)
So now, when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us—and his life is bound up in the boy's life—
That's why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much
And now, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us,—seeing that his life is bound up with his life,
Now, imagine what will happen when we go home without our youngest brother—he is the most important thing in our father's life!
"Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life,
Now therefore when we come to your servant our father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his life is dear to him like his own life;
"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.
“So if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—his life is wrapped up with the boy’s life—
And now when I come to your servant, my father, and the youth is not with us and his soul being bound to his soul,
Yf I now come home vnto my father, & the lad be not with me (seynge his soule hangeth by the soule of this)
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
If then I go back to your servant, my father, without the boy, because his life and the boy's life are one,
Nowe therefore when I come to thy seruaunt my father, and the lad be not with vs (seing that his life hangeth by the laddes life.)
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his soul is bound up with the lad's soul;
Now therefore when I come to thy seruant my father, and the lad bee not with vs; (seeing that his life is bound vp in the lads life.)
Now then, if I should go in to they servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this lad’s life)
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, my father-his life is wrapped up in the boy's life-
Therfor if Y entre to thi seruaunt, oure fadir, and the child faile, sithen his lijf hangith of the lijf of the child,
`And now, at my coming in unto thy servant my father, and the youth not with us (and his soul is bound up in his soul),
Now therefore when I come to your slave my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life)
Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy's life;
"Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life,
"And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life.
My father's life and the boy's life are one. If I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us,
Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life,
Now, therefore, as surely as I go in unto thy servant my father, and, the lad, is not with us, - seeing that his soul is bound up with the lads soul,
Therefore, if I shall go to thy servant, our father, and the boy be wanting, (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of him,)
Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the lad's life,
"And now, can't you see that if I show up before your servant, my father, without the boy, this son with whom his life is so bound up, the moment he realizes the boy is gone, he'll die on the spot. He'll die of grief and we, your servants who are standing here before you, will have killed him. And that's not all. I got my father to release the boy to show him to you by promising, ‘If I don't bring him back, I'll stand condemned before you, Father, all my life.'
"Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
When I: Genesis 44:17, Genesis 44:31, Genesis 44:34
his life: 1 Samuel 18:1, 1 Samuel 25:29, 2 Samuel 18:33
Reciprocal: Genesis 44:22 - his father would die Deuteronomy 24:6 - life 1 Samuel 23:15 - life Lamentations 4:20 - breath
Cross-References
But he replied, "Heaven forbid that I should act in such a way. The man in whose possession the goblet was found will be my slave; but as for you, go in peace to your father." Haftarah Mikketz: M'lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 3:15–4:1 B'rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mikketz: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 11–12) Then Y'hudah approached Yosef and said, "Please, my lord! Let your servant say something to you privately; and don't be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father? or a brother?' We answered my lord, ‘We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother's children he alone is left; and his father loves him.' But you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I can see him.' We answered my lord, ‘The boy can't leave his father; if he were to leave his father, his father would die.' You said to your servants, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' We went up to your servant my father and told him what my lord had said; but when our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us some food,' we answered, ‘We can't go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go down, because we can't see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons: the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he has been torn to pieces," and I haven't seen him since. Now if you take this one away from me too, and something happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sh'ol with grief.' So now if I go to your servant my father, and the boy isn't with us — seeing how his heart is bound up with the boy's heart — (ii) when he sees that the boy isn't with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh'ol with grief. For your servant himself guaranteed his safety; I said, ‘If I fail to bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.' Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish."
(ii) when he sees that the boy isn't with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh'ol with grief.
For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish."
By the time David had finished speaking to Sha'ul, Y'honatan found himself inwardly drawn by David's character, so that Y'honatan loved him as he did himself.
Even if someone comes along searching for you and seeking your life, your life will be bound in the bundle of life with Adonai your God. But the lives of your enemies he will fling away as if from the pouch of a slingshot.
David took a census of the people who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds. Then David dispatched the people, a third of them under the command of Yo'av, a third under Avishai the son of Tz'ruyah, Yo'av's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gitti; and the king said to the people, "I will also go out with you, myself." But the people replied, "Don't go out; because if we flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; so it is better now that you stay in the city and be ready if we need help." The king answered them, "I will do whatever you think best." So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. The king gave orders to Yo'av, Avishai and Ittai, "For my sake, deal gently with young Avshalom." All the people were listening when the king gave all the commanders this order concerning Avshalom. So the people went out into the field against Isra'el; the battle took place in the forest of Efrayim. The people of Isra'el were defeated there by David's servants; there was a terrible slaughter that day of 20,000 men. For the battle there was spread all over the countryside; the forest devoured more people that day than did the sword. Avshalom happened to meet some of David's servants. Avshalom was riding his mule, and as the mule walked under the thick branches of a big terebinth tree, his head got caught in the terebinth, so that he was left hanging between earth and sky, as the mule went on from under him. Someone saw it and told Yo'av, "I saw Avshalom hanging in a terebinth." Yo'av asked the man who told him, "Here now, you saw it; so why didn't you strike him to the ground then and there? I would have had to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt besides." The man replied to Yo'av, "Even if I were to get a thousand pieces of silver, I still wouldn't raise my hand against the son of the king! After all, while we were listening, the king ordered you, Avishai and Ittai, ‘Be careful that no one touches young Avshalom.' Or, if I had pretended that I didn't know, the king would have known otherwise anyway; and you wouldn't have interceded for me either." Yo'av said, "I can't waste time arguing with you!" He took three darts in his hand and rammed them through Avshalom's heart while he was still alive, hanging from the terebinth. Then Yo'av's ten young armor-bearers surrounded Avshalom, struck him and killed him. Yo'av sounded the shofar, and the people returned from pursuing Isra'el, because Yo'av held back the troops. They took Avshalom and threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled a big heap of stones over him. All Isra'el fled, each one to his tent. In his own lifetime Avshalom had taken and raised for himself the pillar which stands in the King's Valley; because he said, "I don't have a son to preserve the memory of my name." So he named the pillar after himself, and it's called Avshalom's Monument to this day. Then Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok said, "Let me run now and bring news to the king that Adonai has judged in his favor by releasing him from his enemies." Yo'av said to him, "You are not to be the one to bring the news today; you can convey news another day; but today you will not bring news, because the king's son is dead." Then Yo'av said to the Ethiopian, "Go, tell the king what you saw." The Ethiopian bowed to Yo'av, then ran off. But Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok said again to Yo'av, "Come what may, please let me also run after the Ethiopian." Yo'av answered, "Why do you want to run, my son? You won't receive any reward for bringing the news." "I don't care — whatever happens, I want to run." So he said to him, "Run." Then Achima‘atz ran by the road through the desert flats and outran the Ethiopian. David was sitting between the two gates. A watchman went up to the roof of the gate and out onto the wall, raised his eyes, looked, and saw there a man running by himself. The watchman cried out and told the king. The king said, "If he's alone, he has good news to tell." As he ran along and came close, the watchman saw another man running and called to the gatekeeper, "There's another man running by himself." The king said, "He too must have good news." The watchman said, "The first one runs like Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok." The king said, "He's a good man, he comes with good news." Achima‘atz called to the king, "Shalom," prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Blessed be Adonai your God, who has handed over the men who rebelled against my lord the king." The king asked, "Is everything all right with young Avshalom?" Achima‘atz answered, "When Yo'av sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a big commotion; but I didn't know what it was." The king said, "Go, and stand over there." So he went and stood there. Then up came the Ethiopian, and the Ethiopian said, "There's good news for my lord the king, for Adonai has judged in your favor and rid you of all those who rebelled against you." The king asked the Ethiopian, "Is everything all right with young Avshalom?" The Ethiopian answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you in order to harm you be as that young man is."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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:
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Ten Brothers Were Tested
Joseph has had the satisfaction of seeing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He has heard his brothers acknowledging their guilt concerning himself. He resolves to put their attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness of their change of disposition, to a test that will at the same time expose Benjamin to no hazard.
Genesis 44:1-5
And my cup. - Besides returning each man’s money as before, a silver cup of Joseph’s is put in Benjamin’s bag, after which, when daylight comes, they are dismissed. They are scarcely out of the town when Joseph’s steward is ordered to overtake them, and charge them with stealing the cup. “And whereby indeed he divineth.” Divining by cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83). It is here mentioned to enhance the value of the cup. Whether Joseph really practised any sort of divination cannot be determined from this passage.
Genesis 44:6-12
The cup is found in Benjamin’s bag. “Spake unto them these words.” The words of Joseph, supplying of course the mention of the cup which is expressed in the text only by the pronoun this. “We brought back to thee.” Silver that we might have retained, and to which you made no claim when we tendered it, we brought back. How or why should we therefore, steal silver? “Now also according to your words let it be.” He adopts their terms with a mitigation. He with whom the cup is found shall become a slave for life, and the rest be acquitted. The steward searches from the oldest to the youngest. The cup is found where it was put.
Genesis 44:13-17
“They rent their garments;” the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. “And Judah went.” He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. “They fell before him on the earth.” It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern reality! “Wot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?” Joseph keeps up the show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea of its kind that ever was uttered. “The God,” the great and only God, “hath found out the iniquity of thy servants;” in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. “Behold, we are servants to my lord.” He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. “He shall be my servant; and ye, go up in peace to your father.” Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his father augured well.
Verse 18-34
“And Judah came near unto him.” He is going to surrender himself as a slave for life, that Benjamin may go home with his brothers, who are permitted to depart. “Let thy servant now speak a word in the ears of my lord.” There is nothing here but respectful calmness of demeanor. “And let not thine anger burn against thy servant.” He intuitively feels that the grand vizier is a man of like feelings with himself. He will surmount the distinction of rank, and stand with him on the ground of a common humanity. “For so art thou as Pharaoh.” Thou hast power to grant or withhold my request. This forms, the exordium of the speech. Then follows the plea. This consists in a simple statement of the facts, which Judah expects to have its native effect upon a rightly-constituted heart. We will not touch this statement, except to explain two or three expressions. A young lad - a comparative youth. “Let me set mine eyes upon him” - regard him with favor and kindness. “He shall leave his father and he shall die.” If he were to leave his father, his father would die. Such is the natural interpretation of these words, as the paternal affection is generally stronger than the filial. “And now let thy servant now abide instead of the lad a servant to my lord.” Such is the humble and earnest petition of Judah. He calmly and firmly sacrifices home, family, and birthright, rather than see an aged father die of a broken heart.
