Bible Strands
Genesis 43:8
And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Judah addresses his father Israel during a famine crisis, urging immediate departure to Egypt to prevent total family extinction.
The words — שִׁלְחָה (shilcha) means “send!” and הַנַּעַר (ha-naʿar) means “the young man,” framing the command as a direct appeal to release Benjamin.
The thread — The survival plea runs parallel to Genesis 42:2’s grain purchase “so that we may live” and Deuteronomy 33:6’s “Let Reuben live and not die,” while the fear of irreversible loss mirrors Genesis 42:38’s warning that harm would kill Jacob.
Why it lands — The text records a pragmatic demand for immediate action to preserve the family line. It asks a reader to recognize the structural weight of familial responsibility and the necessity of assuming personal risk to secure collective survival.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
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.
Cross-references
- Genesis 42:2 “Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
- Deuteronomy 33:6 Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.”
- Genesis 42:38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
- Genesis 44:26 But we answered, ‘We cannot go down there unless our younger brother goes with us. So if our younger brother is not with us, we cannot see the man.’
- Genesis 45:19 You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back.
- Genesis 50:8 along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
- Genesis 50:21 Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.
- Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Numbers 14:31 But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.
- 2 Kings 7:4 If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”