Genesis 37: Who Sold Joseph?

Yaakov favors Yosef. Yosef has his two dreams that even rankle Yaakov. Yaakov sends Yosef to spy on his brothers and then… what happens?The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat depicts the most common explanation: the brothers plot to throw Yosef into a pit and leave him there to die (the musical even captures the Rashi about snakes in the pit). Instead, a group of Ishmaelites pass by and the brothers decide to sell Yosef to them for silver.The problem is the text does not seem to follow this version.Starting with:בראשית ל״ז:י״חוַיִּרְא֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ מֵרָחֹ֑ק וּבְטֶ֙רֶם֙ יִקְרַ֣ב אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽתְנַכְּל֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ׃They saw him from afar, and before he came close to them they conspired to kill him.Reuven instructs them not to kill Yosef, but instead put him in a pit.בראשית ל״ז:כ״א–כ״בוַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֣ם רְאוּבֵן֮ אַל־תִּשְׁפְּכוּ־דָם֒ הַשְׁלִ֣יכוּ אֹת֗וֹ אֶל־הַבּ֤וֹר הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְיָ֖ד אַל־תִּשְׁלְחוּ־ב֑וֹ לְמַ֗עַן הַצִּ֤יל אֹתוֹ֙ מִיָּדָ֔ם לַהֲשִׁיב֖וֹ אֶל־אָבִֽיו׃And Reuben said to them, “Do not shed blood! Cast him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him and return him to his father.The brothers attack Yosef, throw him into the pit, and then sit for a meal.בראשית ל״ז:כ״ד–כ״הוַיֵּשְׁבוּ֮ לֶֽאֱכׇל־לֶ֒חֶם֒ וַיִּשְׂא֤וּ עֵֽינֵיהֶם֙ וַיִּרְא֔וּ וְהִנֵּה֙ אֹרְחַ֣ת יִשְׁמְעֵאלִ֔ים בָּאָ֖ה מִגִּלְעָ֑ד...Then they sat down to a meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead...Yehudah tells the brothers they should not kill Yosef but instead sell him.בראשית ל״ז:כ״ו–כ״זוַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוּדָ֖ה אֶל־אֶחָ֑יו מַה־בֶּ֗צַע כִּ֤י נַהֲרֹג֙ אֶת־אָחִ֔ינוּ וְכִסִּ֖ינוּ אֶת־דָּמֽוֹ׃לְכ֞וּ וְנִמְכְּרֶ֣נּוּ לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֗ים וְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙ אַל־תְּהִי־ב֔וֹ כִּֽי־אָחִ֥ינוּ בְשָׂרֵ֖נוּ ה֑וּא וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֖וּ אֶחָֽיו׃Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.Now is where the text gets interesting:בראשית ל״ז:כ״חוַיַּֽעַבְרוּ֩ אֲנָשִׁ֨ים מִדְיָנִ֜ים סֹֽחֲרִ֗ים וַֽיִּמְשְׁכוּ֙ וַיַּֽעֲל֤וּ אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִן־הַבּ֔וֹר וַיִּמְכְּר֧וּ אֶת־יוֹסֵ֛ף לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֖ים בְּעֶשְׂרִ֣ים כָּ֑סֶף וַיָּבִ֥יאוּ אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt.The text uses only the pronoun “they,” but opens with the Midianites. This suggests that the Midianites, not the brothers, pulled Yosef out and sold him.This makes sense because:בראשית ל״ז:כ״טוַיָּ֤שׇׁב רְאוּבֵן֙ אֶל־הַבּ֔וֹר וְהִנֵּ֥ה אֵין־יוֹסֵ֖ף בַּבּ֑וֹר וַיִּקְרַ֖ע אֶת־בְּגָדָֽיו׃When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes.Reuven is shocked. The text never says he left the brothers, so why would he be surprised if they had sold Yosef?He then returns to the brothers:בראשית ל״ז:לוַיֹּאמַ֑ר הַיֶּ֣לֶד אֵינֶ֔נּוּ וַאֲנִ֖י אָ֥נָה אֲנִי־בָֽא׃He said, “The boy is gone! Now, what am I to do?”The brothers do not respond that they sold Yosef. Instead, they panic and dip the coat in blood.בראשית ל״ז:ל״אוַיִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־כְּתֹ֣נֶת יוֹסֵ֑ף וַֽיִּשְׁחֲטוּ֙ שְׂעִ֣יר עִזִּ֔ים וַיִּטְבְּל֥וּ אֶת־הַכֻּתֹּ֖נֶת בַּדָּֽם׃Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a kid, and dipped the tunic in the blood.The chapter ends with:בראשית ל״ז:ל״ווְהַ֨מְּדָנִ֔ים מָכְר֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ אֶל־מִצְרָ֑יִם לְפֽוֹטִיפַר֙ סְרִ֣יס פַּרְעֹ֔ה שַׂ֖ר הַטַּבָּחִֽים׃The Midianites meanwhile sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his prefect.If the brothers sold Yosef to the Ishmaelites, why are the Midianites mentioned here? It must mean they were the ones who sold him originally.While catchy and a little cheesy, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version is not very textual.