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“Who sold Joseph?” -continued

Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
Hey @Harel13 , hope you are well.
In line with moderator @Polymath257 ‘s suggestion, I thought I’d post answers (highlighted in bold) here ...

“Still another example illustrating the need to read the context carefully is the question, Who sold Joseph into Egypt? Some have quickly read Genesis 37:28: “Now men, Midianite merchants, went passing by. Hence they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the waterpit and then sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces. Eventually these brought Joseph into Egypt.” Some have drawn the conclusion from this text that it was actually the Midianite merchants who took Joseph from the pit and that these merchants, in turn, sold Joseph to another group, the Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt. But is that correct?

By reading the context carefully, you will note that Ge 37 verse 27 of that chapter says that the brothers of Joseph were the ones who determined to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. Now when you read the last verse of the chapter Ge 37:36, “The Midianites sold him into Egypt,” to what conclusion do you come? Either the Midianites were also called Ishmaelites or the Midianite merchants were men traveling in the Ishmaelite caravan; and Joseph was sold to them by his brothers. If you read farther you get more confirmation at Genesis 45:4, 5, where Joseph himself says: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.” So by reading the entire account you get the right viewpoint—namely, that the Midianite merchants did not make off with Joseph and then sell him to the Ishmaelites but that Joseph’s brothers themselves sold him to the merchants. The Ishmaelites and Midianites were related to each other through Abraham their forefather.

BIBLE DICTIONARIES

If you have a Bible dictionary in your library, you could use it to confirm the answer to the aforementioned question about Joseph. For instance, many Bible dictionaries will tell you under “Midianites” or “Ishmaelites” that the two names are sometimes used interchangeably. Or if you look up, for example, “Joseph” in Douglas’ The New Bible Dictionary, you will find this:

“Who sold Joseph into Egypt? . . . The caravan was Ishmaelite, including under this designation Midianites or Medanites; the terms overlap. This interchange of terms is most plainly exhibited by Jdg. viii. 24 [Judges 8:24] which explicitly states that the Midianites beaten by Gideon ‘had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.”’ “


Excerpt from Finding Answers to Your Bible Questions — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Hope this can help! I think it’s so cool letting the Bible answer it’s own questions, through context!

Take care, my cousin.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Thanks for your interest in this @Hockeycowboy ...

Am I understanding correctly?

Are you saying the answer is in the text, and, all that's needed is Gen 37:28 and Gen 45:4-5?
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
What do you think?
Genesis 37:26 - it says "Judah spoke"...("V'yomer Yehudah" in hebrew )
Genesis 37:27 - Judah is still the speaker and he says "Come and let us sell him"
Genesis 37:28 - They ( The brothers ) drew Joseph from the well. The word "drew" is like drawing a bow string or pulling a cow by the yoke. (Deuteronomy 21:3 , 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33). The implication is that all the brothers had to work together to pull Joseph from the pit.

So... going strictly by the text, it was Judah's idea, and all the brothers agreed.
 

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Hey @Harel13 , hope you are well.
In line with moderator @Polymath257 ‘s suggestion, I thought I’d post answers (highlighted in bold) here ...

“Still another example illustrating the need to read the context carefully is the question, Who sold Joseph into Egypt? Some have quickly read Genesis 37:28: “Now men, Midianite merchants, went passing by. Hence they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the waterpit and then sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces. Eventually these brought Joseph into Egypt.” Some have drawn the conclusion from this text that it was actually the Midianite merchants who took Joseph from the pit and that these merchants, in turn, sold Joseph to another group, the Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt. But is that correct?

By reading the context carefully, you will note that Ge 37 verse 27 of that chapter says that the brothers of Joseph were the ones who determined to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. Now when you read the last verse of the chapter Ge 37:36, “The Midianites sold him into Egypt,” to what conclusion do you come? Either the Midianites were also called Ishmaelites or the Midianite merchants were men traveling in the Ishmaelite caravan; and Joseph was sold to them by his brothers. If you read farther you get more confirmation at Genesis 45:4, 5, where Joseph himself says: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.” So by reading the entire account you get the right viewpoint—namely, that the Midianite merchants did not make off with Joseph and then sell him to the Ishmaelites but that Joseph’s brothers themselves sold him to the merchants. The Ishmaelites and Midianites were related to each other through Abraham their forefather.

BIBLE DICTIONARIES

If you have a Bible dictionary in your library, you could use it to confirm the answer to the aforementioned question about Joseph. For instance, many Bible dictionaries will tell you under “Midianites” or “Ishmaelites” that the two names are sometimes used interchangeably. Or if you look up, for example, “Joseph” in Douglas’ The New Bible Dictionary, you will find this:

“Who sold Joseph into Egypt? . . . The caravan was Ishmaelite, including under this designation Midianites or Medanites; the terms overlap. This interchange of terms is most plainly exhibited by Jdg. viii. 24 [Judges 8:24] which explicitly states that the Midianites beaten by Gideon ‘had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.”’ “


Excerpt from Finding Answers to Your Bible Questions — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Hope this can help! I think it’s so cool letting the Bible answer it’s own questions, through context!

Take care, my cousin.
The more interesting question is, at twenty silver pieces, was it buyer or seller who got the better of the bargain?
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Hey @Hockeycowboy, thanks for taking interest in the subject. Did you read the my OP in the original thread? Your answer is one of those brought from the Maharal (Rabbi Loew) in his commentary on the Torah, Gur Aryeh.

What do you think about the Medanites? I think most if not all translations simply translate the Hebrew "Medanim" as Midianites, but they aren't the same people. Medanim or Medanites are descended from Abraham's son Medan and Midyanim or Midianites are descended from Abraham's son Midyan. Some Jewish commentators appear to say that they are one and the same, which is surprising.
 
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