Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 37:25
And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry [it] down to Egypt.
25. to eat bread ] i.e. to take their meal; cf. Gen 31:54, Gen 43:25. The E narrative is here interrupted, and is resumed at Gen 37:28.
25 b. a travelling company ] “A caravan.” Cf. Job 6:19, “the caravans of Tema, the companies of Sheba”; Isa 21:13, “travelling companies of Dedanites.” Dothan lay on the trade route that led from Gilead through the valley of Jezreel towards Egypt.
Ishmaelites ] This must be regarded as a descriptive title for bands of traders at the time of the composition of this narrative. Ishmael, according to the P genealogies in Genesis, was Jacob’s uncle; and the sons of Ishmael were cousins of Joseph. Here the title is used almost in the sense of “Bedouin nomads.”
from Gilead ] The trade route followed by caravans passed (1) from Gilead on the east of the Jordan, (2) by a ford, across the Jordan, (3) by Beth-Shean or Beisan, down the plain of Jezreel, and so (4) by Lydda and the coast, to Egypt.
spicery ] R.V. marg. gum tragacanth, or, storax. “Spicery” is too vague a word. LXX . Lat. aromata. “Tragacanth” is “the resinous gum of the Astragalus gummifer.” “ Spice, Old Fr. espice ( epice), is derived from species. The mediaeval merchants recognised four ‘kinds’ = species of aromatic trade; hence ‘spice,’ viz. saffron, cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs.” Weekley’s Romance of Words, p. 129 (1912).
balm ] R.V. marg. mastic, for which Gilead was famous; cf. Gen 43:11; Jer 8:22; Jer 46:11; Jer 51:8; Eze 27:17. It was used for incense, and medicinally for wounds. It is said to be the gum of the mastic tree, pistacia lentiscus.
myrrh ] R.V. marg. ladanum, a gum obtained from the cistus creticus, or rock-rose. Myrrh, lt = LXX (cf. Gen 43:11), appears is ladunu in Assyrian inscriptions describing tribute from Syria to Tiglath-Pileser IV. The caravan trade with Egypt was evidently largely occupied with materials for the practice of physicians, embalmers, and priests.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 37:25
A company of Ishmaelites
Lessons
1.
Providence can make eyes to see, and such objects to be presented, which may occasion diversion of evil plots against the saints.
2. God orders travellers, and trades, and journies, to serve His own ends to His servants.
3. Accidental events to men are settled providences unto the servants of God.
4. Trade from land to land, about proper fruits of the respective countries, hath been, of old, ordered by Providence, for common advantage God allows and commends it (Gen 49:13).
5. The same place may be aimed at by God and men, but upon several accounts (Gen 37:25).
6. Providence toucheth hearts as well as eyes of sinners to defeat cruel designs against His.
7. One spoiler may be wrought upon by God to cause others to desist from cruelty.
8. Thoughts of the unprofitableness of sin is a forcing means to avoid it.
9. Murder and concealment of blood bring no advantage to sinners (Gen 37:26.)
10. Hypocrites may judge there is no profit in one sin, but some in another.
11. Hypocrites may dissuade men from one sin, but incite them to others, Come, &c.
12. Malice of formalists to sincere Christians sticks not to sell them to bitter enemies of the Church.
13. God makes natural relation and motions to flesh sometimes to keep persons from cruelty.
14. God causeth the counsel of one conspirator to defeat the rest, and makes them concur to His ends (Gen 37:27).
15. Providence offers opportunity to sinners for doing their will, that His may be done.
16. Murderers are made deliverers by God at His pleasure and in His measure.
17. The most innocent souls may be sold for slaves when aimed by God to be lords.
18. A small price do wicked men put upon the best of Gods servants, nay on His Son.
19. Gracious souls, surprised by the wicked in their honest ways, may be carried whither they would not.
20. Ishmaelites may carry innocents to Egypt for their ends, but God orders them thither for His own. So God maketh use of sinners. They bring him to make gain of him, God sends him to save and gain others. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Caravan trade
From very early times, a lively caravan trade was entertained between Syria and the East Jordanic provinces on the one hand, and Egypt on the other; it brought the esteemed products of Arabia and the wares and merchandises of eastern Asia into the land of the Pharaohs; and in the course of time, the importation was conducted with all possible regularity, and on lines prudently chosen and marked out. We find, thai so early as the sixteenth dynasty, stations were formed, temples erected, and wells dug and protected, in the Arabian Desert, for the benefit of those who had occasion to pass through it in their commercial travels. Egypt had, at that period, already attained a great measure of the civilization of which it was capable; it enjoyed a strong government and well-organized public institutions; and the political and social relations were regulated on a firm basis. This sense of security favoured the development of comfort and luxury; the higher castes especially appreciated all that delights and embellishes life; their wants increased in an incredible degree; and they encouraged every undertaking which promised to gratify them. Among the articles in peculiar demand were all varieties of spicery and perfumes, required not only for the feasts and pleasures of the living, but for the embalming of the dead; the mummies generally emitted so delicious a fragrance that they were for generations kept in the houses of the relatives, arranged along the walls, and then only entombed; which practice, however, received, no doubt, its first impulse from the devoted love bestowed in Egypt on departed parents and relatives. The amount of spicery consumed for all these purposes was necessarily immense; and the caravan introduced in our narrative was exclusively laden with those costly commodities. The men who conducted it were Midianites (Gen 37:28; Gen 37:36), a tribe partly nomadic, but partly actively engaged in commerce. But as the Ishmaelites commanded by far the greatest part of the caravan trade, all those who carried on the same pursuits were designated by their name. (M. M.Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Circumstances favouring bad men
There are times when circumstances seem to favour bad men. Some of us are accustomed to teach that circumstances are the voice of Divine Providence. There is a sense–a profound sense–in which that is perfectly true. God speaks by combinations of events, by the complications of history, by unexpected occurrences. Most undoubtedly so. We have marked this. In many cases we have seen their moral meaning, and have been attracted to them as to the cloudy pillar in the day time and the fire by night. At the same time, there is another side to that doctrine. Here in the text we find circumstances evidently combining in favour of the bad men who had agreed to part with their brother. They sat down to eat bread–perfectly tranquil, social amongst themselves, a rough hospitality prevailing. Just as they sat down to enjoy themselves with their bread they lifted up their eyes, and at that very moment a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels. What could be more providential? They came in the very nick of time. The brethren hadnt to go up and down hawking their brother, knocking at door after door to ask if anybody could take him off their hands; but at the very moment when the discussion was pending and anxiety was at white heat, these circumstances so combined and converged as to point out the way of Providence and the path of right. Then we ought to look at circumstances with a critical eye. We ought first to look at moral principles and then at circumstances. If the morality is right, the eventuality may be taken as an element worthy of consideration in the debate and strife of the hour. But if the principles at the very base are wrong, we are not to see circumstances as Divine providences, but rather as casual ways to the realization of a nefarious intent. Let us be still more particular about this. I do not deny that these Ishmaelites came providentially at that identical moment. I believe that the Ishmaelites were sent by Almighty God at that very crisis, and that they were intended by Him to offer the solution of the difficult problem. But it is one thing for us to debase circumstances to our own use and convenience, and another to view them from Gods altitude and to accept them in Gods spirit. (J. Parker D. D.)
The uncertainties that characterize our human existence
How true it is that we know not what a day may bring forth! Joseph goes out on his fathers errand and never more returns to his fathers house–does not see his father again, in fact, for twenty-two years. Of course the crime of his brothers was of the cause of this long separation between him and his venerable parent. But how often similar things occur even among ourselves! Some years ago a little boy was stolen from his home in Philadelphia, and though every means that affection could suggest or professional skill could devise have been used for his discovery, the mystery has never been cleared up, so that to this hour his parents are in most horrible suspense. In our own city, too, scarcely a week elapses without the announcement that some one has disappeared from home and business, and very frequently nothing more is heard of him. But, apart from such occurrences, which may be traced to the cunning and malignity of wicked men, and which are a disgrace to our much boasted civilization, how often it happens, in the simple providence of God, and without blame to any one, that those who part in the morning with the hope of meeting again in a very short while never see each other more on earth! The street accident causes death; or the sudden outbreak of fire in the building in which their office hours are spent cuts off all possibility of escape, and they are burned to ashes; or a panic in a crowded place of amusement which they visited has caused a great loss of life, and they are numbered among the victims; or a railroad collision has smashed the train in which they were passengers, and they are reported among the dead; or, without any such catastrophe, they have simply yielded to a sudden paroxysm of illness and passed within the veil. Who knows not how frequently such things are occurring in the midst of us, so that, as we have lately had occasion again and again to say, the proverb is verified that it is the unexpected that happens. What then? Are we to have our hearts for ever darkened with the shadow of the possibility of such things coming to us? No; for that would be to make our lives continually miserable; but the lesson is that we should be ever ready to respond to the call of God, and should take short views of things by living, as nearly as possible, a day at a time. We need not borrow trouble on the strength of the uncertainty to which I have referred, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; but we ought to be taught by it to finish every days work in its own day, since its lesson is, Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Judahs suggestion
The very brightest and luckiest idea of all. He touched human nature to the very quick when he said, What profit is it? And instantly they seemed to convict themselves of a kind of thickheadedness, and said one to another, Ah, to be sure, why no profit at all. Here is an opportunity of selling him, and that will turn to the account of us all. Sell is as short a word as slay. Sell! that will get clear of him. Let us sell. Sell! we shall have no blood upon our hands. Then we shall, perhaps, have a couple of shekels a-piece, and tossing them up in the air an inch or so, and catching them again, and hearing their pleasant chink. This is the plan, to be sure. This is the way out of the difficulty. We are sorry we ever thought of shedding blood; we shake ourselves from all such imputations. Let us sell the lad, and there will be an end of the difficulty. Selling does not always take a man out of difficulty. Bargain-making is not always satisfactory. There is a gain that is loss; there is a loss that is gain. There is a separation that takes the hated object from the eyes, yet that object is an element in society and in life–working, penetrating, developing–and it will come back again upon us some day greater than power, with intensified poignancy; and the man that was driven away from us a beggar and a slave may one day rise up in our path, terrible as an avenger, irresistible as a judgment of God. Well, his brethren were content. Men even say that they enjoy a great peace, and, therefore, that if circumstances are tolerably favourable, they say that on the whole they feel in a good state of mind. Therefore, they conclude that they have not been doing anything very wrong. Let us understand that vice may have a soporific effect upon the conscience and judgment; that we may work ourselves into such a state of mind as to place ourselves under circumstances that are fictitious, unsound in their moral bearing, however enjoyable may be their immediate influence upon the mind. I am struck by this circumstance, in reading the account which is before me, namely, how possible it is to fall from a rough kind of vice, such as, Let us slay our brother, into a milder form of iniquity, such as, Let us sell our brother, and to think that we have now actually come into a state of virtue. That is to say, selling as contrasted with slaying seems so moderate and amiable a thing, as actually to amount to a kind of virtue. Am I understood upon this point? We are not to compare one act with another and say, Comparatively speaking this act is good. Virtue is not a quantity to be compared. Virtue is a non-declinable quality. I know how easy it is, when some very startling proposition has been before the mind, to accept a modified form of the proposition, which in itself is morally corrupt; and yet to imagine, by the very descent from the other point, that we have come into a region of virtue. When men say, Let us slay our brother, there is a little shuddering in society. We dont want to slay our brother. Well, then, says an acute man, let us sell him. And, instantly, amiable Christian people say, Ay, ay, this is a very different thing; yes, let us sell him. Observe, the morality is not changed, only the point in the scale has been lowered. When God comes to judge lie will not say, Is this virtue and water? is this diluted vice? but, Is this right? is this wrong? The standard of judgment will be the holiness of God! (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. They sat down to eat bread] Every act is perfectly in character, and describes forcibly the brutish and diabolic nature of their ruthless souls.
A company of Ishmaelites] We may naturally suppose that this was a caravan, composed of different tribes that, for their greater safety, were travelling together, and of which Ishmaelites and Midianites made the chief. In the Chaldee they are called Arabians, which, from arab, to mingle, was in all probability used by the Targumist as the word Arabians is used among us, which comprehends a vast number of clans, or tribes of people. The Jerusalem Targum calls them Sarkin, what we term Saracens. In the Persian, the clause stands thus: [Persian] karavanee iskmaaleem araban aya. “A caravan of Ishmaelite Arabs came.” This seems to give the true sense.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They sat down to eat bread, to refresh themselves, their consciences being stupified, and their hearts hardened against their brother, notwithstanding all his most passionate entreaties to them, Gen 42:21.
Ishmeelites; the posterity of Ishmael. See Gen 25:18.
Gilead, a famous place for balm, and other excellent commodities, and for the confluence of merchants. See Jer 8:22; 22:6.
Balm, or rosin, as the ancient and divers other translators render it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. they sat down to eat breadWhata view does this exhibit of those hardened profligates! Their commonshare in this conspiracy is not the only dismal feature in the story.The rapidity, the almost instantaneous manner in which the proposalwas followed by their joint resolution, and the cool indifference, orrather the fiendish satisfaction, with which they sat down to regalethemselves, is astonishing. It is impossible that mere envy at hisdreams, his gaudy dress, or the doting partiality of their commonfather, could have goaded them on to such a pitch of frenziedresentment or confirmed them in such consummate wickedness. Theirhatred to Joseph must have had a far deeper seat. It must have beenproduced by dislike to his piety and other excellencies, which madehis character and conduct a constant censure upon theirs, and onaccount of which they found that they could never be at ease tillthey had rid themselves of his hated presence. This was the truesolution of the mystery, just as it was in the case of Cain (1Jo3:12).
they lifted up their eyes, .. . and, behold, a company of IshmaelitesThey are calledMidianites (Ge 37:28), andMedanites, in Hebrew (Ge37:36), being a travelling caravan composed of a mixedassociation of Arabians. Those tribes of Northern Arabia had alreadyaddicted themselves to commerce, and long did they enjoy a monopoly,the carrying trade being entirely in their hands. Their approachcould easily be seen; for, as their road, after crossing the fordfrom the trans-jordanic district, led along the south side of themountains of Gilboa, a party seated on the plain of Dothan couldtrace them and their string of camels in the distance as theyproceeded through the broad and gently sloping valley thatintervenes. Trading in the produce of Arabia and India, they were inthe regular course of traffic on their way to Egypt: and the chiefarticles of commerce in which this clan dealt were
spicery from India, thatis, a species of resinous gum, called storax, balm“balmof Gilead,” the juice of the balsam tree, a native ofArabia-Felix, and myrrhan Arabic gum of a strong, fragrantsmell. For these articles there must have been an enormous demand inEgypt as they were constantly used in the process of embalming.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they sat down to eat bread,…. Not at all concerned at what they had done, nor in the least grieved for the affliction of Joseph, and without any pity and compassion for him in his distress, but joyful and glad they had got him into their hands, and like to get rid of him for ever:
and they lifted up their eyes, and looked, after they had eaten their food, or while they were eating it:
and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead; a place of merchandise for spices and balm, and such like things after mentioned. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call them Arabians; and the Targum of Jerusalem, Saracens; these were the posterity of Ishmael, who came out of Arabia to Gilead, where they took up their merchandise, at least part of it, and were travelling to Egypt with it, and their way thither lay by Dothan; these travelled in companies, now called “caravans”, partly on the account of robbers, and partly by reason of wild beasts, with both which they were sometimes beset in the deserts through which they travelled:
with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh; the first word is general according to our version, and others, and signifies various spices, a collection of them; and so Jarchi takes it; but Aquila translates it “storax”; and Bochart w, by various arguments, seems to have proved, that this is particularly intended; though the Targum of Jonathan renders it “wax” x; and so other versions: and “balm” is by some taken to be “rosin”, since there was no balm or balsam in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, nor indeed any in Judea, until it was brought thither from Arabia Felix, in the times of Solomon; and what we render “myrrh”, is in the Hebrew called “lot”, and is by some thought to be the same with “laudanum”: this their merchandise was carried on camels, very fit for their purpose every way, as they were strong creatures made to carry burdens, and could travel many days without water, which they were sometimes obliged to do in the deserts:
going to carry [it] down to Egypt; where these things grew not, and were much in use, at least some of them, both in medicines, and in embalming dead bodies, much practised in Egypt; an Arabic writer y makes this merchandise to consist of, nuts, turpentine, and oil.
w Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 12. col. 532. x So in Bereshit Rabba & Targum Jerusalem in R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 20. 2. y Patricides, p. 21. apud Hottinger. Smegma Orient. p. 367, 368.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Reuben had saved Joseph’s life indeed by his proposal; but his intention to send him back to his father was frustrated. For as soon as the brethren sat down to eat, after the deed was performed, they saw a company of Ishmaelites from Gilead coming along the road which leads from Beisan past Jenin (Rob. Pal. iii. 155) and through the plain of Dothan to the great caravan road that runs from Damascus by Lejun ( Legio, Megiddo), Ramleh, and Gaza to Egypt (Rob. iii. 27, 178). The caravan drew near, laden with spices: viz., , gum-tragacanth; , balsam, for which Gilead was celebrated (Gen 43:11; Jer 8:22; Jer 46:11); and , ladanum , the fragrant resin of the cistus-rose. Judah seized the opportunity to propose to his brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. “ What profit have we,” he said, “that we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; and our hand, let it not lay hold of him (sc., to slay him), for he is our brother, our flesh.” Reuben wished to deliver Joseph entirely from his brothers’ malice. Judah also wished to save his life, though not from brotherly love so much as from the feeling of horror, which was not quite extinct within him, at incurring the guilt of fratricide; but he would still like to get rid of him, that his dreams might not come true. Judah, like his brethren, was probably afraid that their father might confer upon Joseph the rights of the first-born, and so make him lord over them. His proposal was a welcome one. When the Arabs passed by, the brethren fetched Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites, who took him into Egypt. The different names given to the traders – viz., Ishmaelites (Gen 37:25, Gen 37:27, and Gen 37:28), Midianites ( Gen 37:28), and Medanites (Gen 37:36) – do not show that the account has been drawn from different legends, but that these tribes were often confounded, from the fact that they resembled one another so closely, not only in their common descent from Abraham (Gen 16:15 and Gen 25:2), but also in the similarity of their mode of life and their constant change of abode, that strangers could hardly distinguish them, especially when they appeared not as tribes but as Arabian merchants, such as they are here described as being: “ Midianitish men, merchants.” That descendants of Abraham should already be met with in this capacity is by no means strange, if we consider that 150 years had passed by since Ishmael’s dismissal from his father’s house, – a period amply sufficient for his descendants to have grown through marriage into a respectable tribe. The price, “ twenty (sc., shekels) of silver, ” was the price which Moses afterwards fixed as the value of a boy between 5 and 20 (Lev 27:5), the average price of a slave being 30 shekels (Exo 21:32). But the Ishmaelites naturally wanted to make money by the transaction.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
25. And they sat down to eat bread. This was an astonishing barbarity, that they could quietly feast, while, in intention, they were guilty of their brother’s death: for, had there been one drop of humanity in their souls, they would at least have felt some inward compunctions; yea, commonly, the very worst men are afraid after the commission of a crime. Since the patriarchs fell into such a state of insensibility, let us learn, from their example, to fear lest, by the righteous anger of God, the same lethargy should seize upon our senses. Meanwhile, it is proper to consider the admirable progress of God’s counsel. Joseph had already passed through a double death: and now, as if by a third death, he is, beyond all expectation, rescued from the grave. For what was it less than death, to be sold as a slave to foreigners? Indeed his condition was rendered worse by the chance; because Reuben, secretly drawing him out of the pit, would have brought him back to his father: whereas now he is dragged to a distant part of the earth, without hope of return. But this was a secret turn, by which God had determined to raise him on high. And at length, he shows by the event, how much better it was that Joseph should be led far away from his own family, than that he should remain in safety at home. Moreover, the speech of Judah, by which he persuades his brethren to sell Joseph, has somewhat more reason. For he ingenuously confesses that they would be guilty of homicide, if they suffered him to perish in the pit. What gain shall we make, he says, if his blood be covered; for our hands will nevertheless be polluted with blood. By this time their fury was in some degree abated, so that they listened to more humane counsel; for though it was outrageous perfidy to sell their brother to strangers; yet it was something to send him away alive, that, at least, he might be nourished as a slave. We see, therefore, that the diabolical flame of madness, with which they had all burned, was abating, when they acknowledged that they could profit nothing by hiding their crime from the eyes of men; because homicide must of necessity come into view before God. For at first, they absolved themselves from guilt, as if no Judge sat in heaven. But now the sense of nature, which the cruelty of hatred had before benumbed, begins to exert its power. And certainly, even in the reprobate, who seem entirely to have cast off humanity, time shows that some residue of it remains. When wicked and violent affections rage, their tumultuous fervor hinders nature from acting its part. But no minds are so stupid, that a consideration of their own wickedness will not sometimes fill them with remorse: for, in order that men may come inexcusable to the judgment-seat of God, it is necessary that they should first be condemned by themselves. They who are capable of cure, and whom the Lord leads to repentance, differ from the reprobates in this, that while the latter obstinately conceal the knowledge of their crimes, the former gradually return from the indulgence of sin, to obey the voice of reason. Moreover, what Judah here declares concerning his brother, the Lord, by the prophet, extends to the whole human race. Whenever, therefore, depraved lust impels to unjust violence, or any other injury, let us remember this sacred bond by which the whole of society is bound together, in order that it may restrain us from evil doings. For man cannot injure men, but he becomes an enemy to his own flesh, and violates and perverts the whole order of nature.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) A company of Ishmeelites.Dothan was situated on the great caravan line by which the products of India and Western Asia were brought to Egypt. As the eastern side of Canaan is covered by the great Arabian desert, the caravans had to travel in a north-westernly direction until, having forded the Euphrates, they could strike across from Tadmor to Gilead. The route thence led them over the Jordan at Beisan, and so southward to Egypt. For Ishmeelites, we have Midianites, Heb., Medyanim, in Gen. 37:28, and Medanites, Heb., Medanim, in Gen. 37:36; but the Targum and the Syriac, instead of Ishmeelites, read Arabs. Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah, and Ishmael was his son by Hagar. But probably these merchants were descended from neither by blood, but belonged to some branch of the Canaanites, who were the great traders of ancient times, and which Ishmael and Midian had compelled to submit to their sway. (But see Note on Gen. 25:2.) The Jewish interpreters are reduced to great straits in reconciling these names, and even assert that Joseph was sold three times. Really Ishmeelites, Midianites, and Medanites are all one and the same, if we regard them as bearing the names only politically.
It is remarkable that the Egyptians never took part in the carrying trade. Even the navigation of the Red Sea they left to the Phnicians, Israelites, and Syrians, though Psammetichus, Pharaoh-Necho, and Apries tried to induce the Egyptians to take to maritime pursuits. Their products were corn, stuffs of byssus and other materials, and carpets; but the exportation of these goods they left to foreign traders.
Spicery, and balm, and myrrh.The first was probably gum tragacanth, though some think that it was storax, the gum of the styrax tree (see Gen. 30:37). Balm, thatis, balsam, was probably the resin of the balsamodendron Gileadense, a tree which grows abundantly in Gilead, and of which the gum was greatly in use for healing wounds. Myrrh was certainly ladanum, the gum of the cistus rose (cistus creticus). As all these were products of Palestine valued in Egypt, Jacob included them in his present to the governor there (Gen. 43:11).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Sat down to eat This remark reveals their heartless cruelty most vividly . Reuben was not a partaker of that meal; but off, probably, devising measures for the rescue of his brother .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 37:25. A company of Ishmeelites They are called both Ishmeelites and Midianites, Gen 37:28.; see Jdg 8:1. It is most likely that they were, to use a modern phrase, a caravan of Arabian spice-merchants, consisting both of Midianites and Ishmeelites, travelling in companies for their greater safety, as it continues to be the custom in those countries to this day: and the spices, &c. which they carried down to AEgypt, were such, most probably, as they used in embalming their dead; see ch. 50: Jdg 8:2. For Gilead; see ch. Gen 31:21; Gen 31:48.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Amo 6:6 ; Jer 8:22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 37:25 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.
Ver. 25. And they sat down to eat. ] To weep for their wickedness, they should have sat down rather. But the devil had drawn a hard hoof over their hearts, that either they fdt no remorse of what they had done, for present; or else they sought to ease themselves of it by eating and merry making. “They drank wine in bowls; but no man was sorry for the affliction of Joseph .” Amo 6:6 Nay, perhaps they had so tired themselves with making away their brother, that they were even spent again, and stood in need of some refreshing. The good providence of God was in it howsoever, that they should there sit down, till the merchants came by from Gilead, which was a market for merchants. Jer 8:22 ; Jer 22:6 “All things co-operate for good to them that love God.” Rom 8:28
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 37:25-28
25Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Gen 37:25 “Then they sat down to eat a meal” This shows the callous disregard of these brothers.
“a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead” There is a fluctuation between the terminology used to describe these merchants (this is seen by source critics as evidence of multiple sources).
1. in Gen 37:25 they are called Ishmaelites
2. in Gen 37:28 they are called Midian traders
3. in Gen 37:28, again, Ishmaelites
4. in Gen 37:36 they are called Medanites (MT)
These are different names to refer to the same group as Jdg 8:22; Jdg 8:24 shows. Also, the Midianites and the Medanites were both sons of Abraham through Keturah (cf. Gen 25:2), but the mention of Medanites may be a scribal problem (Medanites, ; Midianites, . This caravan may have been made up of several different family groups or just different names to refer to the same people.
“their camels were bearing. . .on their way to bring them down to Egypt” These spices and aromatic balms were characteristic imports of Egypt because they were used (1) for embalming; (2) for incense; and (3) for medicine. Gilead (from which they came) was famous for its balms.
Gen 37:26 “Judah said to his brothers” We do not know the true motives of Judah, as we do not know the true motives of Reuben, but it seems that he was trying to save his brother from being killed (“he is our brother,” Gen 37:27), although the motives stated are (1) to gain profit and (2) not to have innocent blood (i.e., murder) on their hands.
If Judah is trying to rescue his half-brother from death, then this is a positive way to characterize the son who would become the family line of Jesus. If Judah was acting according to the stated reasons then it shows that God’s purposes were not based on the merit or worth of an individual (cf. Genesis 38), but YHWH’s eternal redemptive plan for all humans (cf. Gen 3:15; Gen 12:3; Exo 19:5; see the SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN at Gen 12:3).
Gen 37:28 “sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver” Notice that the term “shekels” is in italics, which means it is not in the Hebrew text, but it is assumed (cf. Gen 20:16; Jdg 17:2-4; Jdg 17:10). It refers to a weight of money. We learn from Lev 27:5 that younger slaves were sold for twenty shekels, while older slaves were sold for thirty shekels (cf. Exo 21:32 or “fifty shekels (cf. Lev 27:3)). We also know that slave trading was a cultural reality of Egypt during all of her history.
Some commentators interpret the “they” as Midianite traders pulling Joseph out of the pit and selling him to the Ishmaelites of Gen 37:25. They assert that this was done without Jacob’s sons knowing it and, therefore, this explains Gen 37:29-30 (Reuben’s reaction to Joseph not being in the pit). However, this scenario does not explain Gen 37:27! Often modern critics’ techniques say more about them and their literary presuppositions than it does about ancient Hebrew historical narrative.
“brought Joseph into Egypt” It is ironical that the route that they were following took Joseph within a few miles of his father’s tent! However, it was God’s will that Joseph go to Egypt.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
sat down. Showing their indifference. Compare Gen 42:21 and Mat 27:36.
company = caravan. There was a wellorganized trade in sixteenth dynasty.
Ishmeelites. Son 39:1. In Gen 37:28 and Gen 37:36 called Midianites. Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar (Gen 16:11, Gen 16:12); Midian the son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:2). See Jdg 8:24, Jdg 8:25, where they were mixed together, and were distinguished only by their noserings. (Compare Gen 24:47; Gen 35:4. Exo 32:2, &c.)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joseph Sold into Egypt
Gen 37:25-36
It was not chance, but providence, that brought these Midianites to the pit at that hour. They had, of course, fixed their time of departure from their native land, the speed at which their camels were to travel, and the amount of time which they would spend at the fairs and markets en route, quite irrespectively of all other considerations but their own profit and convenience; yet quite unconsciously they were moving according to a divine timetable. Everything in life is directed, superintended and controlled by a divine forethought. Let us live in constant recognition of this! You may be in a pit of dark misery, but God knows that you are there, and times the moments. Only continue to trust and do not be afraid! Blessed are they that believe, to them there shall be a performance. Months ago a caravan started, which will arrive at the precise hour when intervention will best serve you.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
they sat: Est 3:15, Psa 14:4, Pro 30:20, Amo 6:6
Ishmeelites: Gen 37:28, Gen 37:36, Gen 16:11, Gen 16:12, Gen 25:1-4, Gen 25:16-18, Gen 31:23, Psa 83:6
Gilead: Gen 31:21, Gen 43:11, Jer 8:22
spicery: Nechoth, is rendered by the LXX “incense;” Syriac, “resin;” Samaritan, “balsam;” Acquila, “storax;” which is followed by Bochart. This drug is abundant in Syria, and here Moses joins with it resin, honey, and myrrh; which agrees with the nature of the storax, which is the resin of a tree of the same name, of a reddish colour, and peculiarly pleasant fragrance.
balm: Tzeri, which in Arabic, as a verb, is to flow, seems to be a common name, as balm or balsam with us, for many of those oily, resinous substances, which flow spontaneously, or by incision, from various trees or plants; accordingly the ancients have generally interpreted it resin.
myrrh: Lot, is probably, as Junius, Deut. Dieu, Celsius, and Ursinus contend, the same as the Arabic ladan, Greek , and Latin ladanum.
Reciprocal: Gen 31:54 – did eat Gen 39:1 – the Ishmeelites Jdg 8:6 – General Jdg 8:24 – because Jer 22:6 – unto Jer 25:24 – the mingled Jer 46:11 – Gilead Jer 49:29 – camels
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dothan lay on a caravan route that ran from Damascus to Egypt. [Note: See Ammon Ben-Tor, "The Trade Relations of Palestine in the Early Bronze Age," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 29:1 (February 1986):1-27.] The next time the brothers would eat a meal in Joseph’s presence he would sit at the head table (Gen 43:32-34).
Moses referred to the traders that bought Joseph as Ishmaelites (Gen 37:25; Gen 37:27-28) and Midianites (Gen 37:28). Probably the caravan contained a mixture of both of these groups of Abraham’s descendants who were nomadic caravan merchants (cf. Gen 39:1; Jdg 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. [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 423.] Alternatively, "Ishmaelites" may designate a league of tribes with the Midianites constituting one element (cf. Gen 25:13-17). [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 355.] 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 he, 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 and 20 years under the Mosaic Law (Lev 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. [Note: Ibid., p. 356.]
"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." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 508.]
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." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:332.]