Genesis 37:27-28

37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, ¹  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ²  37:28 So when the Midianite ³  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ⁴  him ⁵  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁶  then took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ⁷  in Egypt the Midianites ⁸  sold Joseph ⁹  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ¹¹  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ¹²  purchased him from ¹³  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Genesis 45:4

45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

Acts 7:9

7:9 The ¹⁴  patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold ¹⁵  him into Egypt. But ¹⁶  God was with him,

¹ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

² tn Heb “listened.”

³ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

⁴ tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).

⁵ tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

⁸ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

¹² sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

¹³ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹⁵ tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.

¹⁶ tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.