Genesis 37:25-28

Genesis 37:25-28

[25] And they sat down  to eat  bread:  and they lifted up  their eyes  and looked,  and, behold, a company  of Ishmeelites  came  from Gilead  with their camels  bearing  spicery  and balm  and myrrh,  going  to carry it down  to Egypt.  [26] And Judah  said  unto his brethren,  What profit  is it if we slay  our brother,  and conceal  his blood?  [27] and let us sell  him to the Ishmeelites,  and let not our hand  be upon him; for he is our brother  and our flesh.  And his brethren  were content.  [28] Then there passed  by Midianites  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. 

What does Genesis 37:25-28 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Dothan lay on a caravan route that ran from Damascus to Egypt. [1] The next time the brothers would eat a meal in Joseph"s presence he would sit at the head table ( Genesis 43:32-34).
Moses referred to the traders that bought Joseph as Ishmaelites ( Genesis 37:25; Genesis 37:27-28) and Midianites ( Genesis 37:28). Probably the caravan contained a mixture of both of these groups of Abraham"s descendants who were nomadic caravan merchants (cf. Genesis 39:1; Judges 8:24). Residents of this area sometimes used these names interchangeably. "Ishmaelite" is the more generic term for a Bedouin nomad. It became a general designation for desert tribes. "Midianite" is the more specific ethnic term. [2] Alternatively, "Ishmaelites" may designate a league of tribes with the Midianites constituting one element (cf. Genesis 25:13-17). [3] Rather than agents of death, the traders proved to be God"s instruments of deliverance.
Judah, like Reuben, did not relish killing Joseph. Yet he was not willing to let him go free either. Probably he dreaded the prospect of Joseph receiving the rights of the first-born since Hebrews , Judah, was in line for Jacob"s blessing. His suggestion that the brothers sell Joseph implies that he knew slave trading was common in Egypt. The price agreed on for Joseph was the same price that God later specified the Israelites should pay for a slave between the ages of five and20 years under the Mosaic Law ( Leviticus 27:5). These prices were evidently standard in the ancient Near East at this time. Shepherds employed by others earned about eight shekels a year. [4]
"If Joseph steps onto the pages of sacred history as a bratty do-gooder, Judah enters as a slave trader who has turned his back on Abraham"s God-given vision. He is callous toward his father and cynical about the covenant family." [5]
The significance of the action of Joseph"s brothers was greater than may appear at first.
"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." [6]