Genesis 37:18-29

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.)

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ¹⁴  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; ¹⁵  there was no water in it.)

37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up ¹⁶  and saw ¹⁷  a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. ¹⁸  37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, ¹⁹  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ²⁰  37:28 So when the Midianite ²¹  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ²²  him ²³  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ²⁴  then took Joseph to Egypt.

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ²⁵  He tore his clothes,

[37:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ² tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.

[37:20]  ³ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[37:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ⁶ sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ¹⁰ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ¹¹ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ¹² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[37:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:24]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

[37:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”

[37:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.

[37:25]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”

[37:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

[37:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “listened.”

[37:28]  ²¹ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ²² 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).

[37:28]  ²³ 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.

[37:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.