Genesis 44:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "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,

NIV: "So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life,

NASB: 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—

CSB: "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—

NLT: 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.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: “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,

Jacob will die of grief if Benjamin does not return home. This is the message Judah has passionately tried to convey to the Egyptian governor (Genesis 41:44; 42:7–8), so he will not keep Benjamin as a slave (Genesis 44:18–29). The man is demanding this youngest brother remain after a valuable silver cup was found in Benjamin's bag (Genesis 44:12–14). Jacob himself has said plainly that it will kill him to lose another son of Rachel (Genesis 42:38). Judah is unaware that the Egyptian vizier is that "other" lost son, Joseph (Genesis 37:24–28), who is testing his family.

Now Judah puts it even more plainly: His father's life is bound up in the life of Benjamin. The two are connected by old Jacob's powerful love. Judah describes the imagined moment of arriving back home in Canaan without Benjamin. Their old father will simply die of sorrow (Genesis 44:31).

Genesis 44:14–34 explains how Joseph's brothers reacted to another test of character. The youngest, Benjamin, was discovered to have Joseph's own silver cup in his bags. This was secretly put there on Joseph's orders—and the brothers still do not know his identity. Joseph's intent seems to be a test of his brothers' growth: are they still as cruel and selfish as when they sold Joseph, himself, into Egyptian slavery? Benjamin's sentence is to become Joseph's slave while the rest are free to go. Instead, Judah offers to take Benjamin's place in order save his youngest brother and their old father, who will surely die of grief if Benjamin is lost.

Eleven of Jacob's sons enjoyed a meal as honored guests of an Egyptian governor. They are sent off the next morning with full sacks of grain. All seems well until the governor's house steward overtakes them on the road and accuses them of stealing the ruler's personal and valuable silver cup. The brothers don't know this governor is Joseph, their long-lost brother. Nor do they know he ordered the steward to place the cup in Benjamin's sack. This is part of Joseph's final test of his brothers and their moral growth. Seeking to rescue Benjamin from slavery, Judah makes a powerful speech to Joseph, offering to take Benjamin's place as a slave to save the boy and avoid grieving their father, Jacob.

Joseph maintained his hidden identity when his estranged brothers first arrived in Egypt (Genesis 42). When they returned a second time, he continued to test them and treated them to a fine meal (Genesis 43). Genesis 44 describes Joseph's final scheme to test the character of his brothers. Will they once again abandon a sibling into slavery? After a successful scheme by Joseph, Benjamin seems doomed to become a slave in Egypt. Judah boldly begs Joseph to keep him, instead. He offers himself in Benjamin's place. This finally overwhelms Joseph, who will break down and reveal himself in the next chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/21/2024 8:46:17 PM