Genesis 43:8

Then Judah talked to his father Jacob again. He said, “I will look after that young man Benjamin. Let him go with me to Egypt country. We will go there straight away, with the rest of our brothers, so that we can buy food. If we don’t go and buy food, our mob will get so hungry that we will all die. That’s true for us, and you, and our kids. We all need that food, so that we can stay alive.”

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

In Context

7Jacob’s sons said, “That man asked us lots of questions about ourselves and our family. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? And have you got another brother?’ We just answered his questions. We didn’t know that he was going to say, ‘Bring your brother here.’”

9Then Judah said to his father, “I promise that I will look after Benjamin, and I will keep him safe until we come back. I’m telling you straight, if I don’t bring Benjamin back here to you, then you can blame me and say that I am guilty, and you can keep doing that all my life.

Read all of Genesis 43

Cross References

Genesis 42:38But 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.”

Genesis 45:19Pharaoh kept on talking to Joseph. He said, “I want you to say to your brothers, ‘This is what you have to do. Get some of our cows and trailers that are here in Egypt country, and get those cows to pull those trailers back to your home country. Then get your little kids and your wives to sit in those trailers, and then those cows can bring them back here to Egypt. And bring your father too.

Genesis 50:21So don’t be frightened. I will not do payback to you mob. No, I will keep on looking after you and your little kids, and I will make sure that you always have enough food to eat.” In that way, Joseph talked in a friendly way to his brothers, and he helped them feel happy again.

Matthew Henry on Genesis 43:2-11

Jacob Unwilling to Part with Benjamin. ( b. c. 1707.) 1 And the famine was sore in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down:… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 43:8