42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may 1 put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care 2 and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob 3 replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. 4 If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair 5 in sorrow to the grave.” 6
1 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.
2 tn Heb “my hand.”
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.
5 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.
6 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.