Verse 38

But Jacob replied,“My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.”

Referenced Verses

  • Gen 37:35 : 35 All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled.“No,” he said,“I will go to the grave mourning my son.” So Joseph’s father wept for him.
  • Gen 42:4 : 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said,“What if some accident happens to him?”
  • Gen 37:33 : 33 He recognized it and exclaimed,“It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
  • Gen 42:13 : 13 They replied,“Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, and one is no longer alive.”
  • Gen 35:16-18 : 16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, Rachel went into labor– and her labor was hard. 17 When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her,“Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 18 With her dying breath, she named him Ben Oni. But his father called him Benjamin instead.
  • Gen 30:22-24 : 22 Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said,“God has taken away my shame.” 24 She named him Joseph, saying,“May the LORD give me yet another son.”
  • Gen 44:20 : 20 We said to my lord,‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
  • Gen 44:27-34 : 27 “Then your servant my father said to us,‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 28 The first disappeared and I said,“He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair in tragedy to the grave.’ 30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us– his very life is bound up in his son’s life. 31 When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 32 Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying,‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father’s pain.”
  • 1 Kgs 2:6 : 6 Do to him what you think is appropriate, but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death.
  • Ps 71:18 : 18 Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell the next generation about your strength, and those coming after me about your power.
  • Ps 90:10 : 10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away.
  • Eccl 1:14 : 14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
  • Eccl 2:26 : 26 For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!
  • Isa 38:10 : 10 “I thought,‘In the middle of my life I must walk through the gates of Sheol, I am deprived of the rest of my years.’
  • Isa 46:4 : 4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, even when you have gray hair, I will carry you. I made you and I will support you; I will carry you and rescue you.