Genesis 37:23-28
New English Translation
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[a] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;[b] there was no water in it.)
25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up[c] and saw[d] a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.[e] 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him,[f] for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.[g] 28 So when the Midianite[h] merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled[i] him[j] out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites[k] then took Joseph to Egypt.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 37:23 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:24 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
- Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”
- Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.
- Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”
- Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”
- Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “listened.”
- Genesis 37:28 sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.
- Genesis 37:28 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).
- Genesis 37:28 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.
- Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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