Old Testament · Law

Genesis 37:22

Joseph Sold

“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father. Genesis 37:22 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Genesis 37:22, in plain English

Reuben proposes a safer alternative: throw Joseph into an empty pit instead of killing him outright, claiming this will prevent bloodshed while secretly planning to rescue Joseph later and return him to Jacob.

Why it's here

Reuben is thinking strategically. He knows his brothers won't listen to a simple 'don't kill him,' so he offers them a middle ground—abandonment instead of murder. His real intention is to come back alone, pull Joseph out, and restore him to their father. It's not a perfect plan, but it's the plan of someone trying to do the right thing while navigating a dangerous situation.

Who's speaking

Reuben is speaking to his brothers, though the narrator also tells us his hidden motivation.

Where it sits in the story

Reuben's attempt to be the voice of reason shows that God often works through imperfect people making imperfect choices. His plan will fall apart, but his heart was oriented toward mercy—and that matters in how God sees him.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

Reuben explicitly rejects bloodshed, proposing instead that Joseph be cast into a waterless pit, intending secretly to retrieve him later and return him to their father.

Language and setting

The Hebrew term בור (bor, 'pit') carries both literal and theological resonance throughout Scripture—it signifies not merely death but a liminal space of abandonment and divine testing. Reuben's proposal presents itself as a compromise between fraternal loyalty and fratricidal impulse. His clandestine plan—known only to the narrative audience and his own conscience—will be thwarted by events beyond his control, a literary technique that undermines human agency and hints at providential orchestration, what scholars call the 'hidden hand of God' motif so characteristic of the Joseph cycle.

Voice

Reuben continues his plea to his brothers, revealing his private intention to the narrator and ultimately to us.

Significance

The pit functions in the larger narrative arc as a type or prefigurement of death and resurrection themes central to biblical soteriology. Joseph's descent into the pit, like that of Jeremiah (38:6) and ultimately the descent into Sheol itself, becomes redemptive only through divine intervention. Reuben's thwarted rescue foreshadows how human plans fail and God's purposes prevail—a theme that dominates the Joseph narrative from this point forward.

In context

Genesis 37:20–24

20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.

22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.

23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing—

24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

Read all of Genesis 37 — A father's favorite son, a coat of many colors, and brothers consumed by jealousy. What they meant for evil, God will use for something unimaginable.

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