Genesis 37:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

NIV: and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

NASB: and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

CSB: Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.

NLT: Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

KJV: And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

NKJV: Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Apparently, Reuben's influence as the oldest carried weight with his brothers. They had planned to kill Joseph outright (Genesis 37:18). Reuben had urged them to simply throw their younger brother, just 17, into a nearby pit without harming him. The idea the other brothers took from that was to leave Joseph in the pit to die in the wilderness. This would have allowed them a perverse—and dishonest—claim that they didn't "kill" their brother, and that his fate was not their responsibility. In reality, Reuben planned to return to get Joseph out and return him safely to Jacob (Genesis 37:21–22).

The pit in question was a cistern used for holding water, but it was dry. This made it a perfect place to stash Joseph for as long as they needed to. The same Hebrew term used to describe a pit or cistern is also used to depict a dungeon: Joseph is being tossed into a hole in the ground.

Genesis 37:12–36 describes how Joseph's wildly resentful brothers finally get rid of him. They hate Joseph for being Jacob's favorite (Genesis 37:3) and for his grandiose dreams (Genesis 37:5, 9). When Joseph arrives alone at the camp of his brothers, very far from home, they have an opportunity. Only Reuben's intervention keeps them from killing Joseph outright. Instead, while Reuben is absent, the brothers sell Joseph to passing slave traders and later convince their father he has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph becomes a slave in an Egyptian home. Genesis 39 will return to Joseph's story.

Joseph, 17, is deeply loved by his father Jacob and deeply resented by his ten older brothers thanks to Jacob's favoritism. Jacob gives Joseph a princely robe, and Joseph reports dreams that predict his family will one day bow before him. When alone with Joseph in the wilderness, the brothers decide to kill him. Reuben stops them, suggesting they throw him alive into a pit, instead. While Reuben is gone, however, the brothers sell Joseph to slave-traders, later convincing their father Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph is placed in the home of an Egyptian nobleman.

Following the death of Isaac and the story of Esau's people, Genesis begins a section called the "generations of Jacob." The story will focus primarily on Jacob's son Joseph. Joseph is deeply hated by his brothers. While alone with him in the wilderness, they sell him to slave-traders, who take Joseph to Egypt. Chapter 38 details some of the scandals which happened while Joseph was gone. Genesis 39 will resume a focus on Joseph's experiences.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/3/2024 4:32:19 AM