Genesis 37:27

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 

Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ³  in Egypt the Midianites ⁴  sold Joseph ⁵  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁶ 

Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ⁷  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ⁸  purchased him from ⁹  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Exodus 21:2

Hebrew Servants

21:2 ¹⁰ “If you buy ¹¹  a Hebrew servant, ¹²  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ¹³  without paying anything. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 21:16

21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone ¹⁵  and sells him, ¹⁶  or is caught still holding him, ¹⁷  must surely be put to death.

Nehemiah 5:5

5:5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ¹⁸  and our children are just like their children, ¹⁹  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ²⁰  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ²¹  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ²² 

Nehemiah 5:8

5:8 I said to them, “To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews ²³  who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, ²⁴  so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say.

Matthew 18:25

18:25 Because ²⁵  he was not able to repay it, ²⁶  the lord ordered him to be sold, along with ²⁷  his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.

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

[37:27]  ² tn Heb “listened.”

[37:36]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁴ 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.”

[37:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁶ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[39:1]  ⁷ 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.

[39:1]  ⁸ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[21:2]  ¹⁰ sn See H. L. Elleson, “The Hebrew Slave: A Study in Early Israelite Society,” EvQ 45 (1973): 30-35; N. P. Lemche, “The Manumission of Slaves – The Fallow Year – The Sabbatical Year – The Jobel Year,” VT 26 (1976): 38-59, and “The ‘Hebrew Slave,’ Comments on the Slave Law – Ex. 21:2-11,” VT 25 (1975): 129-44.

[21:2]  ¹¹ tn The verbs in both the conditional clause and the following ruling are imperfect tense: “If you buy…then he will serve.” The second imperfect tense (the ruling) could be taken either as a specific future or an obligatory imperfect. Gesenius explains how the verb works in the conditional clauses here (see GKC 497 §159.bb).

[21:2]  ¹² sn The interpretation of “Hebrew” in this verse is uncertain: (l) a gentilic ending, (2) a fellow Israelite, (3) or a class of mercenaries of the population (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:431). It seems likely that the term describes someone born a Hebrew, as opposed to a foreigner (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 210). The literature on this includes: M. P. Gray, “The Habiru-Hebrew Problem,” HUCA 29 (1958): 135-202.

[21:2]  ¹³ sn The word חָפְשִׁי (khofshi) means “free.” It is possible that there is some connection between this word and a technical term used in other cultures for a social class of emancipated slaves who were freemen again (see I. Mendelsohn, “New Light on the Hupsu,” BASOR 139 [1955]: 9-11).

[21:2]  ¹⁴ tn The adverb חִנָּם (hinnam) means “gratis, free”; it is related to the verb “to be gracious, show favor” and the noun “grace.”

[21:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”

[21:16]  ¹⁶ sn The implication is that it would be an Israelite citizen who was kidnapped and sold to a foreign tribe or country (like Joseph). There was always a market for slaves. The crime would be in forcibly taking the individual away from his home and religion and putting him into bondage or death.

[21:16]  ¹⁷ tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.

[5:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”

[5:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “like their children, our children.”

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).

[5:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.

[5:5]  ²² sn The poor among the returned exiles were being exploited by their rich countrymen. Moneylenders were loaning large amounts of money, and not only collecting interest on loans which was illegal (Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19-20), but also seizing pledges as collateral (Neh 5:3) which was allowed (Deut 24:10). When the debtors missed a payment, the moneylenders would seize their collateral: their fields, vineyards and homes. With no other means of income, the debtors were forced to sell their children into slavery, a common practice at this time (Neh 5:5). Nehemiah himself was one of the moneylenders (Neh 5:10), but he insisted that seizure of collateral from fellow Jewish countrymen was ethically wrong (Neh 5:9).

[5:8]  ²³ tn Heb “our brothers, the Jews.”

[5:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “your brothers.”

[18:25]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:25]  ²⁶ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:25]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and his wife.”