Genesis 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 

Ge 30:22-24; Ge 35:16-18; Ge 37:33,35; Ge 37:35; Ge 42:4; Ge 42:13; Ge 44:20,27-34; Ge 44:29; Ge 44:29,31; 1Ki 2:6; Ps 71:18; Ps 90:10; Ec 1:14; Ec 2:26; Isa 38:10; Isa 46:4

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.