Joseph is Sold into Bondage at the Hands of His Brothers Genesis 37:18-28

Dr. Jerry A. Collins

When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!" But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life." Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"-that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Verse 18—When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. —In contrast to Joseph’s faithful obedience (vv. 12-17), is the plotting of his brothers. The plotting was instigated by Joseph’s impending arrival. On his way, while approaching his brothers from a distance, they deliberately planned to put him to death.

Verse 19—They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer! They conspired to kill him to end his dreams. In their sarcasm they are resentful, indignant, and full of contempt. There is absolutely no consideration whatsoever of God’s revelation in dreams to Joseph. Their hatred and rivalry simply dismisses God from the equation in pursuit of their own dreams.

Verse 20—Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits—Their hatred culminates in a plan to murder Joseph. The plan was to slay him and then throw him into some pit where he could be disposed of.

· and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.'—The plan included lying about their crime. Except for the slaying of Joseph, this plan was carried out.

· Then let us see what will become of his dreams!"—The extreme measures Joseph’s brothers considered to silence him may not just have been personal hatred springing from jealousy, but they may have wanted to alter the will of God as revealed in Joseph’s dreams as well. The brothers’ hate is therefore a rebellion against the matter contained in the dreams, against the divine power itself, standing behind them, who had given the dreams.

An Application—Those who determine to faithfully discharge the will of God can expect to be opposed by those who want to violate the will of God. That may include intrigue, threats, treachery, deception, and persecution in order to prevent God’s servant from fulfilling that will. The ridicule and opposition can even come from those closest to you in your family or ministry.

Verse 21—But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life."—The entire murderous plan was changed by Reuben, Jacob’s first born. It’s possible that the instigators of this plot, the ones from whom Reuben rescued him [Joseph] out of their hands, were Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the handmaidens of Rachel and Leah, who were the one’s Joseph’s evil report was about (v. 2).

Verse 22—Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Reuben exhorted them not to kill the lad. This reiterates further the stark plan that had been concocted to execute Joseph by his own brothers. The raw and evil hatred is exposed by Reuben’s plea.

· Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"—Reuben’s speech was a commendable corrective of the brother’s plan. However, it still allowed for the plan to go forward. The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words making the speech a memorable one in the narrative. The question is, will it make a difference.

· that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. —Moses tells us what Reuben’s intent was. Reuben, as the first-born, looked after his father’s interests and, knowing what sorrow Joseph’s death would bring to Jacob, sought to spare Joseph’s life and release him from the pit later. Perhaps Reuben wanted to get back in the good graces of his father after his folly with his father’s concubines (cf. 35:22).

Verse 23—So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him—All of this intrigue and planning and subsequent altering of those plans took place while Joseph was drawing near to the brothers. Reuben’s advice was accepted. Joseph is oblivious to the hateful plan. In the heat of passion, while Joseph arrives, the stripped him of his tunic. Specifically, and as if to make a special point of it, the brothers stripped Joseph of the varicolored tunic that was on him. Why Joseph was wearing the coat is not clear, but the site of it on him surely incited the brothers to act with contempt against Joseph.

Verse 24—and they took him and threw him into the pit. —This is the third mention of the pit striking an ominous note throughout of the impending disaster awaiting Joseph. The act of taking Joseph was in essence an attack upon him, and then they threw him into the pit, most likely in disgust and rage.

· Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. — Here is supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened. Joseph’s place of confinement was evidently a dry well or cistern.

Verse 25—Then they sat down to eat a meal. —It’s remarkable that the brothers were then able to sit down to eat a meal after such an escapade. It is ironic that they would plan to say that an evil beast had devoured Joseph, and after they attacked him, they sat down to eat. The text thus signifies what evil beasts actually attacked Joseph. The next time the brothers would eat a meal in Joseph’s presence he would sit at the head table (43:32-34).

· And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. —With the approaching of this caravan a new plan was devised to rid them of the problem of Joseph. The narrator, Moses, invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers they raised their eyes and looked. The solution would be a caravan on their way to Egypt.

Verse 26—Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? —Judah, like Reuben, did not relish killing Joseph. Yet he was not willing to let him go free either.

Verse 27—Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites—His speech, the third of the brother’s decisions, called for the sale of Joseph. His suggestion that the brothers sell Joseph implies that he knew slave trading was common in Egypt. Ishmaelite is the more generic term for groups of Bedouin nomads. It became a general designation for desert tribes.

· and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh."—They acknowledged Joseph as their brother, but an even greater recognition is noted in their knowledge of Joseph as their own flesh and blood.

· And his brothers listened to him. —They may not lay their hands on him in a murderous plot, but their hands are bloody with the removal of his presence from the family by selling him into slavery.

PT—Although this speech was designed to lessen the crime by selling their brother rather then murdering him, it ultimately underscored how wicked their deed was—they sold their brother, their own flesh and blood.

Verse 28—Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they [Joseph’s brothers] pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit—It was Joseph’s brothers who pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit they had tossed him into.

· and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. —He was then sold to the Midianite traders who were part of the Ishmaelite caravan. Joseph was thus treated harshly by his brothers but was preserved alive nonetheless. They all were involved in the crime, even Reuben and Judah. They were all in opposition to the divine plan. They had not only sold their brother, but in their brother they had cast out a member of the seed promised and given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from the fellowship of the chosen family, and sinned against the God of salvation and His promises.

PT—The text passes over Joseph’s personal suffering, concentrating on the brothers’ wickedness. However, we get a glimpse of Joseph’s terror when the brothers are finally confronted with their wicked deed in Joseph’s court in Egypt twenty years later. Then they said to one another, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore, this distress has come upon us" (Genesis 42:21). They confessed to each other that, because they heard Joseph’s cries for mercy and saw Josephs terror—probably when they attacked him and cast him into the pit, and then when they pulled him out and sold him off—and would not respond, distress had now come upon them.

An Application—God will accomplish His purposes no matter the opposition against it. Those willing to participate in the will of God cannot be prevented from fulfilling their God-given destiny. In spite of envy, jealousy and hatred the spiritual leader can rest assured that God may use the opposition in working out his will.

An Application—Ultimately, the brothers rebelled against the will of God for Joseph as well as for themselves. We may find ourselves being unjustly treated simply because we are participating in the will of God. Just because you may do the will of God never means that it will be easy. It may be the most difficult thing you do or cause the most pain in your life. The pain may even be caused by those who have been supportive of your walk with God or closest to you in life and ministry.

Implications for the 12 tribes

· That this serves as a warning about the 12 brother’s motivation by treachery and deception to conspire against Joseph, the faithful son, to rid themselves of the favored son so to perhaps open the way for a better status for themselves.

PT—You can’t rebel against the revealed will of God and expect things to work out better for you. The brothers thinking was get rid of Joseph and we will not have to bow down to him at all. They were forced to do so anyway, but they just made it much harder for themselves.

· That the blessing of God will not go to the ones who conspire to get that blessing outside of the will of God.

· That God’s choosing of a leader amongst the tribal families cannot be so easily altered no matter what the people may think of God’s choice.

· That God will intervene against the intrigues marshalled against His will and utilize even strange circumstances and voices of moderation to move things along to the eventual fulfilment of God’s will.

PT—Notice God did not intervene to remove Joseph from these threats. God let the threats play out even for Joseph as part of Gods plan to bring Joseph into leadership over the family. Joseph was not spared the pain and hurt and terror of being unjustly treated. The brothers conspired against Gods plan. God used the hardship created by the brother’s willful rejection of Gods plan to further the plan for Joseph to lead the family.

A Review of Stephen’s Speech in Acts 7

PT— Defending himself against the charge of blaspheming God, Stephen covers the history from Abraham to Joseph and the Egyptian Bondage in Acts 7. In verses 9-18 Josephs story is rehearsed.

Verse 9—The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him—Genesis 50:20 reads, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. The patriarchs were guilty of opposing God and His purpose. They sold Joseph, but God rescued him. The nation’s rebellion against God began with the patriarchs. And now the Jews were guilty of doing the same thing in falsely accusing Stephen.

Verse 10—God granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—God not only controls events, He controls the results of the events. Joseph could have interpreted dreams, etc. and made no impression on Pharaoh.

An Application—You do what is right in God’s sight, and He will decide whether to honor you in the sight of others (1 Chronicles 29:12). Do not grow weary of doing good (2 Thessalonians 3:13). We can become weary of doing good if we are not thanked or honored for it. Jesus said if you do things to be honored, you have your reward. But when you do it for God, He will see it and reward you in heaven (Matthew 6).

Verse 11—a famine came...and great affliction—Stephen said God used this suffering to move the Israelites to Egypt, where they would multiply as a separate people, what He wanted them to do in the first place. The Jews’ rejection of the Messiah also will bring a spiritual famine and great affliction. This will last until the day when all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26).

An Application—God may use suffering to drive you to your knees, to compel you to spend time with Him, to remove you from a sinful situation, etc.

Verse 14—seventy-five persons in all—Sometimes 70 is the number given (Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:5). But it depends on who is included. If you add Joseph’s seven grandsons and don’t add Jacob and his wife, you get 75. If you add Jacob and his wife and don’t include Joseph’s grandsons, you get 70.

Verse 16—they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb—Jacob was buried in Abraham’s burial plot in Machpelah (Genesis 50:13). Therefore, the “they” needs to be restricted to the immediate antecedent of “our fathers” in verse 15, i.e., Joseph and his brothers (Joshua 24:32).


• which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem—According to Joshua 24:32, Jacob purchased the plot at Shechem. Abraham had built an altar in Shechem (Genesis 12:6-7), and it is likely that he purchased the ground on which he built the altar. But he did not settle there, so over time, the site may have reverted to the occupying people of Hamor, thus necessitating Jacob’s repurchase of it (Archer, “Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties,” p. 379-81).

PT—Another possible explanation is that Stephen put the two things together. We do not have enough information to know exactly what happened. Having defended himself against the charge of blaspheming God, Stephen now moves to the second accusation, rejection of Moses (6:11). He does this by continuing his historical survey. In the first 16 verses, he covered the period from the call of Abraham to Joseph and the captivity of Israel in Egypt. Now he talks about the second great period of Israel’s history: from Moses to the Babylonian Captivity.

Verse 17—the people increased and multiplied in Egypt—The patriarchs were dead. The people were content to stay in Egypt. But the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham—It was time for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham of giving his descendants the land. So, God orchestrated events to move Israel out of Egypt, just as He had moved them there to multiply many years before.

Verse 18—until there arose another king over Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. Exodus 1:9-10 says, He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us.

Verse 19—Pharaoh commanded that the boy babies be cast into the Nile to die (Exodus 1:22).