Genesis 37:28

37:28 So when the Midianite ¹  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ²  him ³  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁴  then took Joseph to Egypt.

Exodus 21:16

21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone ⁵  and sells him, ⁶  or is caught still holding him, ⁷  must surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 24:7

24:7 If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, ⁸  and regards him as mere property ⁹  and sells him, that kidnapper ¹⁰  must die. In this way you will purge ¹¹  evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 24:1

24:1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive ¹²  in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house.

Deuteronomy 1:10

1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ¹³  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ¹⁴ 

[37:28]  ¹ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”

[21:16]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.

[24:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “from his brothers, from the sons of Israel.” The terms “brothers” and “sons of Israel” are in apposition; the second defines the first more specifically.

[24:7]  ⁹ tn Or “and enslaves him.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that thief.”

[24:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “burn.” See note on the word “purge” in Deut 19:19.

[24:1]  ¹² tn Heb “nakedness of a thing.” The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers here to some gross sexual impropriety (see note on “indecent” in Deut 23:14). Though the term usually has to do only with indecent exposure of the genitals, it can also include such behavior as adultery (cf. Lev 18:6-18; 20:11, 17, 20-21; Ezek 22:10; 23:29; Hos 2:10).

[1:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “multiplied you.”

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.