The story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers, is a prime example. It's a painful tale, but rich with layers of meaning. The brothers, remember, are plotting Joseph's demise. But instead of outright killing him, they chuck him into a pit. Conveniently (or not, depending on your perspective), a group of Midianite merchants happen by. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, these merchants notice birds circling the pit, assume there's water, and investigate. Instead, they find a very distressed Joseph.
"Who art thou?" they ask, pulling him out. "Who brought thee hither?"
But here’s where it gets really interesting. The brothers, seeing Joseph rescued, try to reclaim him, claiming he’s just a disobedient slave. "Give him back!" they demand. But the Midianites aren't buying it. They retort, basically saying, "Slave? He's more beautiful than all of you combined! We found him; we're keeping him."
Things escalate. The brothers threaten violence. Simon, in particular, steps up, brandishing his sword and boasting of his past victories – remember how he single-handedly destroyed Shechem? The Midianites, understandably intimidated, back down a little.
And then comes the twist. They propose a deal: "Okay, okay, so you say he's rebellious? Why don't you just sell him to us? We'll pay whatever you want."
Now, this, according to the tradition, was divine intervention. As Ginzberg tells it, God orchestrated this moment, planting the idea in the Midianites' hearts to ensure Joseph wouldn't be murdered by his brothers. It's a fascinating glimpse into the idea of how God works in the world, subtly influencing events.
The brothers agree, and Joseph is sold for twenty pieces of silver.
The implications of this act reverberate throughout Jewish tradition. The Talmud says, "Over a meal did ye sell your brother, and thus shall Ahasuerus sell your descendants to Haman over a meal." According to the Talmud, because of the brother's greed, Joseph's descendants will be sold by Ahasuerus to Haman over a meal, and because you have sold Joseph into slavery you must say every year "slaves were we in Egypt."
That price, twenty pieces of silver, seems awfully low for such a handsome young man, doesn't it? Well, the story goes that the ordeal in the pit – the snakes, the scorpions, the sheer terror – had taken its toll. Joseph had lost his color, his appearance marred by suffering. This, the tradition suggests, justified the lower price.
There's even more to this transaction. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) recounts that Joseph was naked when they pulled him from the pit, stripped of his clothes by his brothers. So, God sends the angel Gabriel to enlarge the amulet Joseph wore, transforming it into a garment. When the brothers see Joseph clothed, they demand the garment back, but the Midianites refuse, offering shoes in compensation.
This detail is rich with symbolism. The garment, the very one Joseph wears through all his trials in Egypt – his enslavement, imprisonment, and eventual rise to power – becomes a symbol of his resilience and divine protection.
And what about those twenty pieces of silver? Midrash Rabbah tells us that God commanded that every first-born son shall be redeemed by the priest with an equal amount, and, also, every Israelite must pay annually to the sanctuary as much as fell to each of the brethren as his share of the price. In this way, the act of selling Joseph became a constant reminder and a call to atonement.
The brothers, fueled by spite, use the money to buy shoes, symbolizing their desire to trample Joseph's dreams of dominion. This act, in turn, becomes the basis for the law of halizah, where a woman can remove the shoe of her brother-in-law as a sign of refusing to marry him to continue her deceased husband's line (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
Finally, the Midianites, fearing they've unwittingly kidnapped a free man, sell Joseph to a group of Ishmaelites for the same price they paid.
So, what do we take away from this complex, multi-layered story? It's more than just a tale of sibling rivalry and betrayal. It's a story about divine providence, about how even the most horrific acts can be woven into a larger plan. It’s a reminder that our actions have consequences, and that even in moments of despair, hope and redemption are possible. And, perhaps most profoundly, it's a meditation on the enduring power of dreams.
While the brethren of Joseph were deliberating upon his fate, seven Midianitish merchantmen passed near the pit in which he lay. They noticed that many birds were circling above it, whence they assumed that there must be water therein, and, being thirsty, they made a halt in order to refresh themselves. When they came close, they heard Joseph screaming and wailing, and they looked down into the pit and saw a youth of beautiful figure and comely appearance. They called to him, saying: "Who art thou? Who brought thee hither, and who cast thee into this pit in the wilderness?" They all joined together and dragged him up, and took him along with them when they continued on their journey. They had to pass his brethren, who called out to the Midianites: "Why have you done such a thing, to steal our slave and carry him away with you? We threw the lad into the pit, because he was disobedient. Now, then, return our slave to us." The Midianites replied: "What, this lad, you say, is your slave, your servant? More likely is it that you all are slaves unto him, for in beauty of form, in pleasant looks, and fair appearance, he excelleth you all. Why, then, will you speak lies unto us? We will not give ear unto your words, nor believe you, for we found the lad in the wilderness, in a pit, and we took him out, and we will carry him away with us on our journey." But the sons of Jacob insisted, "Restore our slave to us, lest you meet death at the edge of the sword." Unaffrighted, the Midianites drew their weapons, and, amid war whoops, they prepared to enter into a combat with the sons of Jacob. Then Simon rose up, and with bared sword he sprang upon the Midianites, at the same time uttering a cry that made the earth reverberate. The Midianites fell down in great consternation, and he said: "I am Simon, the son of the Hebrew Jacob, who destroyed the city of Shechem alone and unaided, and together with my brethren I destroyed the cities of the Amorites. God do so and more also, if it be not true that all the Midianites, your brethren, united with all the Canaanite kings to fight with me, cannot hold out against me. Now restore the boy you took from us, else will I give your flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field." The Midianites were greatly afraid of Simon, and, terrified and abashed, they spake to the sons of Jacob with little courage: "Said ye not that ye cast this lad into the pit because he was of a rebellious spirit? What, now, will ye do with an insubordinate slave? Rather sell him to us, we are ready to pay any price you desire." This speech was part of the purpose of God. He had put it into the heart of the Midianites to insist upon possessing Joseph, that he might not remain with his brethren, and be slain by them. The brethren assented, and Joseph was sold as a slave while they sat over their meal. God spake, saying: "Over a meal did ye sell your brother, and thus shall Ahasuerus sell your descendants to Haman over a meal, and because ye have sold Joseph to be a slave, therefore shall ye say year after year, Slaves were we unto Pharaoh in Egypt." The price paid for Joseph by the Midianites was twenty pieces of silver, enough for a pair of shoes for each of his brethren. Thus "they sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes." For so handsome a youth as Joseph the sum paid was too low by far, but his appearance had been greatly changed by the horrible anguish he bad endured in the pit with the snakes and the scorpions. He had lost his ruddy complexion, and he looked sallow and sickly, and the Midianites were justified in paying a small sum for him. The merchantmen had come upon Joseph naked in the pit, for his brethren had stripped him of all his clothes. That he might not appear before men in an unseemly condition, God sent Gabriel down to him, and the angel enlarged the amulet banging from Joseph's neck until it was a garment that covered him entirely. Joseph's brethren were looking after him as he departed with the Midianites, and when they saw him with clothes upon him, they cried after them, "Give us his raiment! We sold him naked, without clothes." His owners refused to yield to their demand, but they agreed to reimburse the brethren with four pairs of shoes, and Joseph kept his garment, the same in which he was arrayed when he arrived in Egypt and was sold to Potiphar, the same in which he was locked up in prison and appeared before Pharaoh, and the same he wore when he was ruler over Egypt. As an atonement for the twenty pieces of silver taken by his brethren in exchange for Joseph, God commanded that every first-born son shall be redeemed by the priest with an equal amount, and, also, every Israelite must pay annually to the sanctuary as much as fell to each of the brethren as his share of the price. The brethren of Joseph bought shoes for the money, for they said: "We will not eat it, because it is the price for the blood of our brother, but we will tread upon him, for that he spake, he would have dominion over us, and we will see what will become of his dreams." And for this reason the ordinance has been commanded, that he who refuseth to raise up a name in Israel unto his brother that hath died without having a son, shall have his shoe loosed from off his foot, and his face shall be spat upon. Joseph's brethren refused to do aught to preserve his life, and therefore the Lord loosed their shoes from off their feet, for, when they went down to Egypt, the slaves of Joseph took their shoes off their feet as they entered the gates, and they prostrated themselves before Joseph as before a Pharaoh, and, as they lay prostrate, they were spat upon, and put to shame before the Egyptians. The Midianites pursued their journey to Gilead, but they soon regretted the purchase they had made. They feared that Joseph had been stolen in the land of the Hebrews, though sold to them as a slave, and if his kinsmen should find him with them, death would be inflicted upon them for the abduction of a free man. The high-handed manner of the sons of Jacob confirmed their suspicion, that they might be capable of man theft. Their wicked deed would explain, too, why they had accepted so small a sum in exchange for Joseph. While discussing these points, they saw, coming their way, the travelling company of Ishmaelites that had been observed earlier by the sons of Jacob, and they determined to dispose of Joseph to them, that they might at least not lose the price they had paid, and might escape the danger at the same time of being made captives for the crime of kidnapping a man. And the Ishmaelites bought Joseph from the Midianites, and they paid the same price as his former owners had given for him.
