Genesis 42:38

Plain English Version

But Jacob said, “No. I will not let Benjamin go with you mob to Egypt country. You know that I really loved Benjamin’s mother Rachel. We had 2 sons together, Joseph and Benjamin. Now Joseph is dead, and Benjamin is the only one left. If I let him go with you, he might get hurt, or he might die. You know, I am an old man. If you mob take Benjamin to Egypt country, and something bad happens to him, I will be so sad that I will die.”

Cross References

Genesis 37:33

Jacob looked at the coat, and he knew that it belonged to Joseph. So he said, “Yes, that is my son’s coat.” And Jacob saw the blood on that coat, so he said, “I know what happened. A wild animal ate Joseph. Yes, that animal tore him into little bits.”

Genesis 37:34

So Jacob was really sad, because he thought that Joseph was dead. He was so sad that he tore his clothes. Then he put on some clothes made out of a rough cloth, called sack-cloth, and he cried. You see, in that culture, people sometimes tore their clothes and wore sack-cloth to show that they were sad. Jacob cried like that for lots of days.

Genesis 37:35

All of Jacob’s sons and daughters, they talked to Jacob, and they tried to help him feel happy again. But Jacob said, “No, I can’t be happy again. I will keep on crying for my son, until I die and go to join him.” And Jacob cried a lot for Joseph.

Genesis 42:13

They said, “No, sir. Those things that we told you, they are true. We are from a family of 12 brothers. We all have the same father, and he lives in Canaan country. Our youngest brother stayed at home with our father, and our other brother isn’t with us any more.”

Genesis 42:37

Then Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, he talked to his father Jacob. Reuben said, “Let me take Benjamin to Egypt country. I will look after him, and I promise that I will bring him back to you. If I don’t bring him back to you, then you can kill my 2 sons.”

Genesis 42:4

You know, Joseph had one other brother too. His name was Benjamin. Joseph and Benjamin had the same father and mother. Their father Jacob really loved Benjamin. So Jacob didn’t want Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brothers. He thought, “Benjamin might get hurt, or he might die.” So Benjamin stayed at home with his father.

Genesis 43:13

Then Jacob said to his sons, “Now get your brother Benjamin, and leave this place straight away. Go back to Egypt country, and go to that man that is in charge.

Genesis 44:20

Then we said to you, ‘Yes, sir. Our father is alive, and he is an old man. And we have a young brother too. He was born when our father was already old. We had one more brother, but he died. That brother that died, and our young brother, they had the same mother. So now our young brother is the only kid left from his mother. And our father really loves him.’

Genesis 44:22

But we said, ‘Sir, we can’t take that young man away from his father. If we do that, his father will be so sad that he will die.’