37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers 1 saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! 2 37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild 3 animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” 4
37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph 5 from their hands, 6 saying, 7 “Let’s not take his life!” 8 37:22 Reuben continued, 9 “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” 10 (Reuben said this 11 so he could rescue Joseph 12 from them 13 and take him back to his father.)
1 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.
3 tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
4 tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”
4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
6 tn Heb “and he said.”
7 tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
5 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
6 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
7 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.