Genesis 37:28
in Genesis 37So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt.
KJV
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 28) And the Ishmaelites sold Joseph for twenty silver coins. In Hebrew, silver coins are used instead of gold coins. For the Lord should not be sold for a lesser metal than Joseph.
This site's exposition
sold him for twenty shekels of silver
Twenty shekels is the price Leviticus 27:5 later fixes for a male between five and twenty years old. The buyers are Ishmaelites, descended from the elder son who was passed over for Isaac at Genesis 17:19, and they carry a younger son down into Egypt. Joseph goes down into Egypt first and alone. God tells Jacob at Genesis 46:4 that He will go down with him and bring him up again.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Upon seeing Joseph, his brothers discussed his death; just as when the Jews saw the true Joseph, Christ the Lord, they all resolved with one plan to crucify him.
What an unlawful contract! What baleful profit! What illicit sale! The one who caused the same birth pangs as yourselves, the one so dear to your father, the one who came to see you, who never did you the slightest wrong, you endeavored to sell—and sell to savage people traveling down to Egypt.What unlawful frenzy! What dreadful malice! I mean, even if you did this out of fear of the dreams, convinced that they would certainly come to pass in every detail, why did you attempt the impossible and give evidence by what you did of your hostility toward God, who had foretold this to Joseph? If, on the contrary, you give no credence to the dreams but consider them nonsense, why did you do what brought you everlasting defilement and caused your father irreparable grief? But what excess of passion—or rather, of a bloodthirsty intention! You see, when someone is obsessed with some improper exploit and becomes intoxicated with improper designs, he does not keep before him the unsleeping eye; he has no respect even for nature or anything else that could bring him to compassion. That was the situation with these men too. They were not concerned that he was their brother, that he was only a youth, that he was so dear to their father, that he had no experience of life in foreign parts or living in exile and yet was on the point of departing for such a land and living among savages. Instead, they abandoned every sane consideration and had one thing on their minds, allowing their envy to have (as they thought) an immediate effect.
Let us observe a great mystery: for Joseph twenty pieces of gold were given, for the Lord thirty pieces of silver. The servant was sold at a higher price than the Master.
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4 · Written before 99.
proposed
Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For twenty pieces of silver - In the Anglo-Saxon it is thirty pence. This, I think, is the first instance on record of selling a man for a slave; but the practice certainly did not commence now, it had doubtless been in use long before. Instead of pieces, which our translators supply, the Persian has miskal, which was probably intended to signify a shekel; and if shekels be intended, taking them at three shillings each, Joseph was sold for about three pounds sterling.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
What profit is it if we slay our brother?--The sight of these travelling merchants gave a sudden turn to the views of the conspirators; for having no wish to commit a greater degree of crime than was necessary for the accomplishment of their end, they readily approved of Judah's suggestion to dispose of their obnoxious brother as a slave.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּֽעַבְרוּ֩ | vaiyaavru | and they passed by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֨ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| מִדְיָנִ֜ים | midyanim | Midianite[s] | H4084 → | |
| סֹֽחֲרִ֗ים | socharim | traders | H5503 → | 21 times |
| וַֽיִּמְשְׁכוּ֙ | vaiyimshekhu | and they drew | H4900 → | |
| וַיַּֽעֲל֤וּ | vaiyaalu | and they brought up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יוֹסֵף֙ | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַבּ֔וֹר | habor | the pit | H953 → | 66 times |
| וַיִּמְכְּר֧וּ | vaiyimkeru | and they sold | H4376 → | 80 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יוֹסֵ֛ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֖ים | laiyishmeelim | to the Ishmaelites | H3459 → | 8 times |
| בְּעֶשְׂרִ֣ים | beesrim | for twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| כָּ֑סֶף | kasef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וַיָּבִ֥יאוּ | vaiyaviu | and they brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יוֹסֵ֖ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ | mitzrayemah | Egypt towards | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַיַּֽעַבְרוּ֩and they passed by
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
אֲנָשִׁ֨יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
מִדְיָנִ֜יםMidianite[s]
midyanimH4084 →
סֹֽחֲרִ֗יםtraders
socharimH5503 →21 times
וַֽיִּמְשְׁכוּ֙and they drew
vaiyimshekhuH4900 →
וַיַּֽעֲל֤וּand they brought up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יוֹסֵף֙Joseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַבּ֔וֹרthe pit
haborH953 →66 times
וַיִּמְכְּר֧וּand they sold
vaiyimkeruH4376 →80 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יוֹסֵ֛ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֖יםto the Ishmaelites
laiyishmeelimH3459 →8 times
בְּעֶשְׂרִ֣יםfor twenty
beesrimH6242 →315 times
כָּ֑סֶףsilver
kasefH3701 →403 times
וַיָּבִ֥יאוּand they brought
vaiyaviuH935 →2568 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יוֹסֵ֖ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃Egypt towards
mitzrayemahH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 7:9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
it leads to
- Genesis 39:2
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- Psalms 105:17
He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
- Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…
- Genesis 45:4
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Genesis 39:2
Through
Matthew 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
it leads to
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Through
Psalms 105:17He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
it leads to
- Acts 7:9
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Genesis 37:36
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
- Acts 7:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 89.2; Chromatius of Aquileia, SERMON 24.4; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 61.15-16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).