Genesis 37:22-28

37:22 Reuben continued, ¹  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ²  (Reuben said this ³  so he could rescue Joseph ⁴  from them ⁵  and take him back to his father.)

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ⁶  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; ⁷  there was no water in it.)

37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up ⁸  and saw ⁹  a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. ¹⁰  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, ¹¹  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ¹²  37:28 So when the Midianite ¹³  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ¹⁴  him ¹⁵  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ¹⁶  then took Joseph to Egypt.

[37:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ² 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]  ³ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[37:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:24]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

[37:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”

[37:25]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”

[37:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

[37:27]  ¹² tn Heb “listened.”

[37:28]  ¹³ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.