The opening verses describe how Joseph was actually sold. Joseph’s charge from his father in visiting the brothers was to check on their activities to determine if they were engaged in nefarious goings-on as before. He was in the pit and some suggest that it was Simeon who threw him in. All were guilty in the collusion to harm him. His brothers had decided to follow Reuben’s request and keep him in the cistern instead of killing him outright. However since Reuben was not telling them that his personal hidden agenda was to rescue Joseph afterward they saw an opportunity to market Joseph as a slave to the Ishmaelites. They were a semi-nomadic group of traders from the Transjordan. Judah took the opportunity to propose to his brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. “What profit is it,” he said, “if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; and let not our hand be upon him (in other words to kill him), for he is our brother, our flesh.” Judah may have had a slight change of heart and did not want to kill him as Reuben was also so minded. The others saw this a good opportunity too. They were so insensitive to Joseph that while he was in the cistern crying out for mercy they were making merry and enjoying a meal. In fact they admitted to this at a later time. Their hatred for him was so strong that they had hardened their hearts toward his torment as he cried to them to be released.
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