37:28 So when the Midianite62 merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled63 him64 out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites65 then took Joseph to Egypt.
sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.
63
tnHeb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).
64
tnHeb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
65
tnHeb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.