The Story of Joseph

We all know the story and we all know who sold Joseph into Egypt, right? We open our bibles and read it in the most popular and trusted versions:

New International Version:

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 NIV

New Living Translation:

So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 NLT

Berean Study Bible:

So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 BSB

Amplified Bible:

Then as the Midianite [and Ishmaelite] traders were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And so they took Joseph [as a captive] into Egypt. Genesis 37:28 AMP

Christian Standard Version:

When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 CSV

NET Bible

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

GOD'S WORD Translation

As the Midianite merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 GWT

Here we have seven witnesses as to who pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him. The text clearly says "the brothers" or "his brothers" or "Joseph's brothers". Case closed right?

Wrong.

The phrase "his brothers" does not exist in the original text AT ALL. All seven [false] witnesses have substituted a crucial word in the text, leaving a false impression of what happened.

The Original Story of Joseph

I know that's a provocative statement, but i'm going to show you what really happened according to the original text. This is Genesis 37:28 in Hebrew:

And Midianite merchant men were passing...

and they drew and brought Joseph up from the cistern...

and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver...

and they brought Joseph towards Egypt.

And Midianite merchant men were passing by and they drew and brought Joseph up from the cistern and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver and they brought Joseph towards Egypt. Genesis 37:28

"They", the Midianite merchants, drew Joseph out and "they", the Midianite merchants sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites.

What's missing from the text is the story of the BROTHERS selling Joseph to the Midianite merchants, who then sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites.

More Accurate Translations

It seems only more modern versions of the bible insert the word "brothers", as a way to clarify the vague wording. When the word "they" is used, it could be interpreted as "the brothers" or "the Midianite merchant men". These versions do not allow for any debate in interpretation, changing the word "they" for "brothers".

However word-for-word translations are more pure and preserve the original meaning of the text (without reading Hebrew).

King James Version:

Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. Genesis 37:28 KJV

Brenton Septuagint Translation:

And the men, the merchants of Madian, went by, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ismaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt. Genesis 37:28 BST

Aramaic Bible in Plain English:

And Midianite men, traders, passed and they dragged and carried Yoseph from the pit and they sold Yoseph to the Arabs for twenty silver coins, and they brought him to Egypt. Genesis 37:28 ABPE

New American Standard Version:

Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. So they brought Joseph into Egypt. NASV

English Standard Version:

Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:38 ESV

Complete Jewish Bible:

So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silver shekels to the Yishma'elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt. B'RESHEET 37:38 CJB

ET Cepher

Then there passed by Midyaniym merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Yoceph out of the pit and sold Yoceph to the Yishma`e’liym for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Yoceph into Mits­rayim.

A Possible Explaination of the Story

Joseph came looking for his brothers, while he approached they conspired to kill him, claiming that a wild beast did it. Reuben suggests not killing him but putting him in an empty cistern, leaving him there (intending to rescue Joseph later). They removed Joseph's coat and threw him in an empty cistern. The brothers left the empty cistern to "sit down to eat bread".

This is one of the keys to understanding the story: the brothers were eating their meal a significant distance away from the cistern!

They were debating if they should kill their brother and cover his blood, or release him, when Judah noticed an ISHMAELITE caravan (far away) and Judah suggested selling Joseph to them for silver. After suggesting it, the other brothers agreed.

MEANWHILE...

Merchants from MIDIAN passed by the empty cistern and pulled Joseph out and sold him to the Ishmaelite caravan (nearby). When Reuben returned to the cistern to rescue Joseph, he was horrified to find it empty. Reuben went to the brothers (a distance from the cistern) and reported that the boy was gone.

They slaughter a goat, tear the coat and splatter it with blood and sent it to their father with the message "we found this coat, can you identify if this belongs to your son?" Without ever having to deliver the news directly to their father, they effectively "killed" their brother.

Where the Confusion Comes From

There are a few passages that would cause interpreters to say "his brother" pulled Joseph up from the pit, rather then saying "they" implying the Midianite traders. There is some vague language used in the text that makes it tricky somtimes to keep everything straight - especially when taking liberty with the text translation.

Midianites / Ishmaelites

First is some confusion around the merchants and the caravan. Are they the same? Did they both go to Egypt? Did the brothers sell to the merchants or the caravan?

Here is the statement that causes the confusion. The text states that the Midianites sold Joseph to Egypt:

Wait, didn't we just read that the Midianites sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite caravan? Yes. The Midianites sold Joseph to Egypt via the Ishmaelite caravan heading to Egypt. So the statement is true.

Interpreters have read this "Midianite sold to Egypt" phrase to mean somehow the Midianiates were traveling to Egypt, when this isn't the case at all. It's only a case of short-hand. The text is stating plainly that Joseph was sold by the Midianites.

Joseph Himself says His Brothers Sold Him

That should settle it, right? But Joseph didn't have all the facts.

...I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold towards Egypt...

...and now do not grieve and do not be angry in your eyes, because you sold me here because God sent me before you for [the preservation of] life.

Joseph assumed that since he was left in the cistern, then pulled up by the Midianites, there was a financial transaction between the Midianite merchants and his brothers. But given the shock of Reuben when he discovered the cistern empty and his report back to the brothers, they had no idea that someone claimed their "prize" before them. The brothers were not interested in setting the record straight to Joseph, because the truth is, they had FULL intention of selling Joseph to the Ismaelites, even if someone else got to him first.

The Testimony of Stephen

Much later, when Stephen the Martyr gives his testimony, he mentions Joseph, that his brother "gave him up into Egypt".

And the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and gave him up into Egypt and God was with him.

It can be easy to infer from that statement that it was the brothers who pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for money. Similar to how Judas Iscariot sold Jesus up for money... although the analogy doesn't quite line up, even with the same name Judah involved.

Having Christian theology and meaning assigned to the story, causes certain details to either be lost or replaced with something more consistent with the theological message.

I think this is why many paraphrase translations will be confident telling the reader who "they" are, no matter what the text is saying.

An Interesting Reconciling in the Book of Jasher

Looking at the extra-biblical book of Jasher, it tells the story with much more detail. It has a very creative explaination on how "they", the Midianites, lifted Joseph out and "they", the Midianites, sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. But the Jasher account also gives explanation on how the brothers also were involved in the selling of Joseph.

I will offer this overview in another blog.

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Benjamin Turner: God fearer. Rooted in Messiah. Husband of @lturner. Father of SIX (!!!) wonderful children. The guy behind the camera. Blockchain enthusiast.

Bless the Most High!