Since I am not committed to a doctrine of inerrancy, it doesn't matter much to me that there are a number of contradictions in the bible when various writers mention the same event. Most of them are quite minor, the sort of thing one expects when oral tradition is passed along different tribal and family lines.
In a few cases, they signal different theologies and political agendas.
Nevertheless, two comments.
I agree with your analysis, but there are still contradictory elements, notably the order of creation.
I am not sure this "contradiction" is mistaken. In any case, the full story still contains a contradiction.
Let's begin with Reuben. In vs. 19-20 the brothers plot to kill Joseph, but vs. 21 begins "when Reuben heard it..." This suggests that Reuben had not been part of the conversation until then. vs. 21 goes on to say that he successfully persuaded them not to kill Joseph, but to put him in the dry pit, and explicitly says "that he [Reuben] might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to their father" Note the last phrase.
Then comes the episode with the traders, and then Reuben returning to the pit and finding it empty.
Now the interpretation I always heard was that Reuben was not with the other brothers when the sale was made. Since it was his intent to restore Joseph to his father, clearly he would not have approved selling him to traders of any nationality.
Now vs. 27-28 [Judah says] "Come let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him for his is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
One question, of course, is who is referred to by the bolded "they". JJM's interpretation says "they" are the Midianites who simply pulled him up. But it could just as well be Joseph's brothers. The antecedent is ambiguous in English and I don't know if the Hebrew would be clearer or not.
In any case, the next part of the verse clearly states that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, who took him into Egypt. Now if it was the Midianites who pulled him from the pit, it was the Midianites who then turned around and sold him to the Ishmaelites. I don't know much about trading caravans, but I just don't see that happening. Furthermore, it looks as if there are two trading caravans in the same place at the same time. Not impossible, but rather improbable away from a city or oasis.
Nevertheless, whether it was Joseph's brothers or the Midianites who pulled him from the pit, it is clear this verse ends with Joseph in the hands of the Ishmaelites and on his way to Egypt.
Problem is, when we get to vs. 36 it says "Meanwhile the Midianites had sold [Joseph] in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharoah's officials, the captain of the guard."
So we still have a contradiction as to who took Joseph to Egypt and sold him there.
To me, the most sensible and parsimonious explanation is that there was only one caravan. Joseph's brothers (minus Reuben) took advantage of its arrival to sell him. Reuben was not in on the sale and only found out about it when he went to rescue Joseph and found the pit empty.
As the story was passed on from generation to generation, the identity of the traders was disputed. Some said it was Ishmaelites, others said it was Midianites.
Eventually the stories of the oral tradition were written down. Notably two versions were written while the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were divided after the reign of Solomon. The Judean version said Ishmaelites; the Israelite version said Midianites. Sometime between the fall of Israel to the Assyrians (722 BCE) and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (597 bCE), these two versions were combined into one, and the editor, not knowing which was accurate (and perhaps not wishing to offend anyone) chose to keep snippets of both versions including the dual identity of the traders.
And that's why we have the Ishmaelites and Midianites morphing back and forth in the text of Genesis today.
In a few cases, they signal different theologies and political agendas.
Nevertheless, two comments.
JJM said:
I agree with your analysis, but there are still contradictory elements, notably the order of creation.
I am not sure this "contradiction" is mistaken. In any case, the full story still contains a contradiction.
Let's begin with Reuben. In vs. 19-20 the brothers plot to kill Joseph, but vs. 21 begins "when Reuben heard it..." This suggests that Reuben had not been part of the conversation until then. vs. 21 goes on to say that he successfully persuaded them not to kill Joseph, but to put him in the dry pit, and explicitly says "that he [Reuben] might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to their father" Note the last phrase.
Then comes the episode with the traders, and then Reuben returning to the pit and finding it empty.
Now the interpretation I always heard was that Reuben was not with the other brothers when the sale was made. Since it was his intent to restore Joseph to his father, clearly he would not have approved selling him to traders of any nationality.
Now vs. 27-28 [Judah says] "Come let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him for his is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
One question, of course, is who is referred to by the bolded "they". JJM's interpretation says "they" are the Midianites who simply pulled him up. But it could just as well be Joseph's brothers. The antecedent is ambiguous in English and I don't know if the Hebrew would be clearer or not.
In any case, the next part of the verse clearly states that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, who took him into Egypt. Now if it was the Midianites who pulled him from the pit, it was the Midianites who then turned around and sold him to the Ishmaelites. I don't know much about trading caravans, but I just don't see that happening. Furthermore, it looks as if there are two trading caravans in the same place at the same time. Not impossible, but rather improbable away from a city or oasis.
Nevertheless, whether it was Joseph's brothers or the Midianites who pulled him from the pit, it is clear this verse ends with Joseph in the hands of the Ishmaelites and on his way to Egypt.
Problem is, when we get to vs. 36 it says "Meanwhile the Midianites had sold [Joseph] in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharoah's officials, the captain of the guard."
So we still have a contradiction as to who took Joseph to Egypt and sold him there.
To me, the most sensible and parsimonious explanation is that there was only one caravan. Joseph's brothers (minus Reuben) took advantage of its arrival to sell him. Reuben was not in on the sale and only found out about it when he went to rescue Joseph and found the pit empty.
As the story was passed on from generation to generation, the identity of the traders was disputed. Some said it was Ishmaelites, others said it was Midianites.
Eventually the stories of the oral tradition were written down. Notably two versions were written while the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were divided after the reign of Solomon. The Judean version said Ishmaelites; the Israelite version said Midianites. Sometime between the fall of Israel to the Assyrians (722 BCE) and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (597 bCE), these two versions were combined into one, and the editor, not knowing which was accurate (and perhaps not wishing to offend anyone) chose to keep snippets of both versions including the dual identity of the traders.
And that's why we have the Ishmaelites and Midianites morphing back and forth in the text of Genesis today.
