What Does Genesis 42:29 Mean in the King James?
And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Their report turns what came upon them into what stands before their father.
THE MEANING
An experience can still be on its way home after you arrive; what befell you becomes present to another when you bring it into words. The journey enters the room again through the telling.
THE ROOT
הַקֹּרֹת
haqqorot
GROWS FROM
קרה
q-r-h
Happen, come upon, encounter.
The Hebrew word gathers the brothers’ experiences as what came upon them. The same root can describe an event or a chance encounter, holding together what English often separates into “befell,” “happened,” and “chance.”
ALSO GROWS
qarah: To happen or befall.
קָרָה
This is the root behind the brothers’ account of what came upon them.
miqreh: An event, occurrence, or chance.
מִקְרֶה
In 1 Samuel 6:9 the same root appears in “a chance that happened to us,” showing how one Hebrew seed can surface in English as both an occurrence and something that befalls.
וַיַּגִּידוּ
vayyaggidu
GROWS FROM
נגד
n-g-d
Make known, declare, bring into view.
The verb translated “told” carries the sense of making something known, setting it before another. Together, the two verbs show the brothers bringing what came upon them into view before Jacob.
ALSO GROWS
higgid: To make known or report.
הִגִּיד
It names the act by which the brothers bring their experiences before their father.
neged: Before, in front of, or opposite.
נֶגֶד
This related form echoes the image of a report set in front of its receiver.
nagid: A leader or one who stands in front.
נָגִיד
This related word carries the sense of standing in view, echoing how the report makes events present to Jacob.
THE PATTERN
What happens on the way travels beyond the moment when those who lived it bring it into words before another.
And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.And they talked together of all these things which had happened.For we can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard.THE THREAD
And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.The same root for “befell” returns when Jacob fears what may befall Benjamin. The brothers tell what has already come upon them; Jacob hears that account alongside the possibility of what may yet come upon his youngest son.
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