Bible Strands
Genesis 44:28
When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Judah addresses the Egyptian official, recounting a past disappearance while pleading for the safety of the youngest brother.
The words — טֹרָף (to.Raf) = he has been torn to pieces, describing the violent fate assumed when a brother vanishes.
The thread — This phrase echoes Genesis 37:33, where Jacob interprets Joseph’s missing robe as proof of the same fate, and aligns with Genesis 42:36, where Jacob laments the repeated loss of his sons.
Why it lands — It demands recognition of how past trauma shapes present urgency, requiring a reader to weigh the concrete reality of loss against the plea for mercy.
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 the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:33 His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
- Genesis 37:13 Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied.
- Genesis 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
- 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.”