Genesis 37:26-28

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, 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.

[37:27]  ¹ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

[37:27]  ² tn Heb “listened.”

[37:28]  ³ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  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).

[37:28]  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.

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.