Genesis 37:36 | 83
Egyptian ( at Beni Hasan ) wall painting of western Semites such as Abraham and Joseph traveling to Egypt ( nineteenth century BC ). Note the ornate robes .
Beni-Hasan Necropolis . Tomb of Khnumhotep III . Detail : mural painting depicting an Asiatic caravan . Middle Kingdom / De Agostini Picture Library / G . Sioen / Bridgeman Images
37:21 c Ge 42:22 37:24 d Jer 41:7
37:25 e Ge 43:11 f ver 28
37:26 g ver 20 ; Ge 4:10
37:27 h Ge 42:21
37:28 i Ge 25:2 ; Jdg 6:1-3 j Ge 45:4-5 ;
Ps 105:17 ; Ac 7:9
37:29 k ver 34 ; Ge 44:13 ; Job 1:20
37:30 l ver 22 ; Ge 42:13 , 36
37:31 m ver 3 , 23
37:33 n ver 20 o Ge 44:20 , 28
37:34 p ver 29 q 2Sa 3:31
r Ge 50:3 , 10 , 11
37:35 s Ge 42:38 ; 44:22 , 29 , 31
37:36 t Ge 39:1
21 When Reu ben heard this , he tried to res cue him from their hands . “ Let ’ s not take his life ,” he said . c 22 “ Don ’ t shed any blood . Throw him into this cis tern here in the wil der ness , but don ’ t lay a hand on him .” Reu ben said this to res cue him from them and take him back to his fa ther .
23 So when Jo seph came to his broth ers , they stripped him of his robe — the or nate robe he was wearing — 24 and they took him and threw him into the cis tern . d The cis tern was empty ; there was no wa ter in it .
25 As they sat down to eat their meal , they looked up and saw a car a van of Ish ma el ites com ing from Gil ead . Their cam els were loaded with spices , balm and myrrh , e and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt . f
26 Ju dah said to his broth ers , “ What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood ? g
27 Come , let ’ s sell him to the Ish ma el ites and not lay our hands on him ; af ter all , he is our brother , h our own flesh and blood .” His broth ers agreed .
28 So when the Midianite i mer chants came by , his broth ers pulled Jo seph up out of the cis tern and sold him for twenty shek els a of sil ver to the Ish ma el ites , who took him to Egypt . j
29 When Reu ben re turned to the cis tern and saw that Jo seph was not there , he tore his clothes . k
30 He went back to his broth ers and said , “ The boy isn ’ t there ! Where can I turn now ?” l
31 Then they got Jo seph ’ s robe , m slaugh tered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood . 32 They took the or nate robe back to their fa ther and said , “ We found this . Ex am ine it to see whether it is your son ’ s robe .”
33 He rec og nized it and said , “ It is my son ’ s robe ! Some fe ro cious an i mal n has de voured him . Jo seph has surely been torn to pieces .” o
34 Then Ja cob tore his clothes , p put on sack cloth q and mourned for his son many days . r 35 All his sons and daugh ters came to com fort him , but he re fused to be com forted . “ No ,” he said , “ I will con tin ue to mourn un til I join my son in the grave . s ” So his fa ther wept for him .
36 Mean while , the Mid i an ites b sold Jo seph in Egypt to Pot i phar , one of Phar aoh ’ s of ficials , the cap tain of the guard . t
a 28 That is , about 8 ounces or about 230 grams verse 28 ); Masoretic Text Medanites b 36 Samaritan Pentateuch , Septuagint , Vulgate and Syriac ( see also
37:21 – 22 Reuben ’ s intervention is probably motivated by a desire to regain his father ’ s favor rather than out of compassion for Joseph . Reuben hopes that Jacob will reinstate him as firstborn son ( see 35:22 and note ). Subsequent events , however , prevent him from rescuing Joseph ( v . 29 ). 37:25 eat their meal . After throwing Joseph into a dry cistern , the brothers hard-heartedly begin to eat a meal . As they do , they observe a group of traders , whom they take to be Ishmaelites , traveling southward in the direction of Egypt . camels . See note on 12:16 . 37:26 – 27 Revealing something of his selfish nature , Judah proposes that they sell Joseph as a slave . He cloaks his greed by suggesting that this will be an act of compassion on the part of the brothers . 37:28 Midianite merchants . When the traders get closer , they are identified more accurately . They may have been a subgroup within the broader category of Ishmaelites ( v . 25 ). twenty shekels of silver . Early second-millennium BC documents indicate that slaves normally sold for 15 – 30 shekels . 37:29 tore his clothes . Reuben ’ s response indicates his deep frustration at not being able to return Joseph to Jacob . 37:30 Where can I turn now ? Reuben ’ s concern is primarily about redeeming himself rather than about Joseph ( see note on vv . 21 – 22 ).
37:31 Joseph ’ s robe . There is an element of irony in how Jacob ’ s sons deceive Jacob with the robe covered in goat ’ s blood . Previously , Jacob deceived his father by wearing Esau ’ s clothes and goatskins ( 27:15 – 16 ). 37:34 sackcloth . Attire appropriate to convey grief and personal loss . many days . Because of his special love for Joseph , Jacob mourns for a considerable period of time . 37:35 grave . Hebrew šĕʾōl ( see note on Ps 6:5 ). 37:36 Potiphar , one of Phar aoh ’ s officials , the captain of the guard . Although the exact nature of Potiphar ’ s post is uncertain , he was probably responsible for overseeing the detention of other important officials when Phar aoh imprisoned them ( see 40:1 – 3 ). This