Genesis 42:4

Gen 42:4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

Ver. 4. But Benjamin Jacob sent not.] Because best beloved; as last born, and likeliest to live longest; and the least, and least able to shift for himself; and all that was left of his dearest Rachel; his only darling that had been always at hand, and in the father’s eye.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42:4 Jacob may have believed that Benjamin would not be safe with his brothers.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, should meet him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

4. mischief] See Gen_42:38. Jacob dares not part with Benjamin, for whom, both as his youngest child and as the surviving son of Rachel, he has special affection. On this trait the whole narrative turns, cf. Gen_42:38, Gen_44:20; Gen_44:30-31.

5 (? J). And the sons of Israel, &c.] “Sons of Israel,” cf. Gen_45:21, Gen_46:5. The verse reads like the commencement of a new section; while the words “for the famine, &c.” are not necessary after Gen_42:1-4. The change from the name of “Jacob” (Gen_42:1-4) to that of “Israel” is another indication that this verse is drawn from a different source of narrative from Gen_42:1-4.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came,.... Either among the Egyptians that came to buy, or among those who came from different countries, or rather particularly among the Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan; with these they might join upon the road, and go together in a body where the market for corn was:

for the famine was in the land of Canaan: which obliged the inhabitants of it as well as Jacob's family to seek for corn elsewhere, and confirms the sense of the preceding clause: this, though a very fruitful land, yet when God withheld a blessing from it, it became barren, as it had been before, Gen 12:10, and was to try the faith of those good men to whom God had given it, and to wean their hearts from being set upon it, and to put them upon seeking a better country, as they did.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Because he was very young, and now his best beloved son.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Benjamin… Jacob sent not — His partiality for Joseph has now become transferred to Benjamin. And Jacob seems to have entertained a suspicion that his elder sons had had something to do with Joseph’s strange disappearance. Comp. Gen_42:36.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But (literally, and) Benjamin, Joseph"s brother, (vide Gen_35:18) Jacob sent not with his brethren. Not because of his youth (Patrick, Lange), since he was now upwards of twenty years of age, but because he was Joseph"s brother, and had taken Joseph"s place in his father"s affections (Lawson, Lange, Murphy, &c.), causing the old man to cherish him with tender solicitude. ;For he said (to, or within, himself, perhaps recalling the fate of Joseph), Lest peradventure mischief befall him. wOsa; from hsa; to hurt (Gesenius, Furst), and occurring only elsewhere in ver. 38, Gen_44:29, and Exo_21:22, Exo_21:23, denotes any sort of personal injury in general, and in particular here such mischance as might happen to a traveler.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

פן יקראנו אסון LEST MISCHIEF BEFALL HIM — And at home could not mischief befall him?! Rabbi Eliezer the son of Jacob said: We may infer from this that Satan accuses a man at the time of danger (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayigash 1).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ואת בנימין... אחי יוסף, he is mentioned once more as “Joseph’s brother” as he was the only full brother Joseph had, being a brother both from the same father and the same mother.

אסון, a mishap brought about either by man or by direct heavenly intervention, a natural disaster, for instance. Yaakov’s fear was based on a mishap having befallen Joseph at the time (as he had been led to believe). The Talmud in Ketuvot 30 describes mishaps caused by “man” as thorns and thistles, and the like. [based on Proverbs 22,5. The assumption appears to be that such “mishaps” are preventable by man being careful.] We may well ask why Yaakov was afraid of a mishap that might befall Binyamin while he was on the way more than he was afraid of a mishap which might befall him at home? The answer is that mishaps which befall people on a journey are statistically far more frequent than those that befall a person while he is at home. Wild animals, bandits, etc., are usually roaming on much traveled routes. Due to the likelihood of encountering such hazards while traveling, even righteous people who have no reason to fear G’d’s retribution for any wrongs they may have committed, need to be especially careful in any situation which is known to be especially hazardous, and they must not ignore such dangers by relying on G’d to keep them safe. Even if they would be saved from some danger through a miracle G’d would perform for them, their accumulated merits would be diminished thereby. Our sages have found an allusion to all this in Deuteronomy 6,15 לא תנסו את ה' אלוקיכם, “do not cause the Lord your G’d to have to perform a miracle for you.” We find proof that even an outstanding man such as the prophet Samuel when sent to anoint a successor to King Sha-ul and setting out on the way to Chevron to anoint one of Yishai’s sons, was afraid and said so to G’d. G’d Himself told him what precautions to take. (Samuel I 16,2) In view of the above it is not surprising therefore that Yaakov was especially concerned about Binyamin’s safety during the journey.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.