Font Size
Genesis 37:21-33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 37:21-33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 [a]But when Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: “We must not take his life.” 22 Then Reuben said, “Do not shed blood! Throw him into this cistern in the wilderness; but do not lay a hand on him.” His purpose was to save him from their hands and restore him to his father.(A)
23 So when Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long ornamented tunic he had on; 24 then they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm, and resin to be taken down to Egypt.(B) 26 Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?(C) 27 Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.
28 Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver[b] to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.(D) 29 When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his garments,[c] 30 and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: “The boy is gone! And I—where can I turn?” 31 They took Joseph’s tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood. 32 Then they sent someone to bring the long ornamented tunic to their father, with the message: “We found this. See whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33 He recognized it and exclaimed: “My son’s tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces!”(E)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 37:21–36 The chapter thus far is from the Yahwist source, as are also vv. 25–28a. But vv. 21–24 and 28b–36 are from another source (sometimes designated the Elohist source). In the latter, Reuben tries to rescue Joseph, who is taken in Reuben’s absence by certain Midianites; in the Yahwist source, it is Judah who saves Joseph’s life by having him sold to certain Ishmaelites. Although the two variant forms in which the story was handed down in early oral tradition differ in these minor points, they agree on the essential fact that Joseph was brought as a slave into Egypt because of the jealousy of his brothers.
- 37:28 They sold Joseph…silver: editors tried to solve the confusion, created by different sources, by supposing that it was the Midianite traders who pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to Ishmaelites. In all probability, one source had the brothers selling Joseph to Ishmaelites, whereas the other had them cast him into the pit whence he was taken by Midianite traders.
- 37:29 Tore his garments: the traditional sign of mourning in the ancient Near East.
Genesis 37:21-33
New International Version
Genesis 37:21-33
New International Version
21 When Reuben(A) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.(B) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern(C) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.(D)
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe(E) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.(F) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites(G) coming from Gilead.(H) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm(I) and myrrh,(J) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.(K)
26 Judah(L) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?(M) 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,(N) our own flesh and blood.(O)” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite(P) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern(Q) and sold(R) him for twenty shekels[a] of silver(S) to the Ishmaelites,(T) who took him to Egypt.(U)
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.(V) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”(W)
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,(X) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.(Y) 32 They took the ornate robe(Z) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal(AA) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”(AB)
Footnotes
- Genesis 37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.