Genesis 42:38

42:38 But Jacob ¹  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ²  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ³  in sorrow to the grave.” ⁴ 

Genesis 48:7

48:7 But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died – to my sorrow ⁵  – in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). ⁶ 

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¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.

⁵ tn Heb “upon me, against me,” which might mean something like “to my sorrow.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.