And they took him
This phrase marks the decisive action of Joseph's brothers, who, driven by jealousy and resentment, seize him. The Hebrew root for "took" is לָקַח (laqach), which often implies taking possession or capturing. This act of taking Joseph is not just physical but symbolic of their desire to rid themselves of his favored status and the dreams that foretold his future prominence. It reflects the human tendency to act out of envy and the destructive power of sin when it takes hold of the heart.

and threw him
The Hebrew verb used here is שָׁלַךְ (shalach), meaning to cast or hurl. This word conveys violence and force, indicating the brothers' deep-seated animosity. It is not a gentle placing but a harsh rejection, symbolizing their complete dismissal of Joseph's worth and their severing of familial bonds. This action foreshadows the suffering and trials Joseph will endure, yet it is also the beginning of God's providential plan for his life.

into the pit
The "pit" (בּוֹר, bor) in ancient times often referred to a cistern or a dry well, typically used to store water. Archaeological findings show that such pits were common in the region and could be quite deep, making escape difficult. The pit represents a place of abandonment and despair, a physical manifestation of Joseph's isolation from his family. Spiritually, it symbolizes the depths of human suffering and the feeling of being forsaken, yet it is within such depths that God's presence and deliverance often become most apparent.

Now the pit was empty
The emphasis on the pit being "empty" highlights the severity of Joseph's predicament. In a literal sense, an empty pit offers no sustenance or hope of survival. Metaphorically, it underscores the void of compassion and brotherly love from his siblings. This emptiness can also be seen as a precursor to the spiritual emptiness that sin brings into human relationships, contrasting with the fullness of life that God desires for His people.

with no water in it
Water, in biblical symbolism, often represents life, sustenance, and the presence of God. The absence of water in the pit signifies a lack of life-giving resources and hope. Historically, water was a precious commodity in the arid regions of the Near East, and its absence would have been acutely felt. Spiritually, this detail foreshadows the spiritual drought that can occur when one is cut off from God's grace and mercy. Yet, it also sets the stage for God's miraculous intervention, as He often brings life and hope where there seems to be none.

Verses 24, 25. - And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. Cisterns when empty, or only covered with mud at the bottom, were sometimes used as temporary prisons (Jeremiah 38:6; Jeremiah 40:15). And - leaving him, as they must have calculated, to perish by a painful death through starvation, with exquisite cold-bloodedness, paying no heed to his piteous outcries and appeals (Genesis 41:21) - they sat down (the callous composure of the act indicates deplorable brutality on the part of Joseph's brethren) to eat bread (perhaps with a secret feeling of satisfaction, if not also exultation, that they had effectually disposed of the young man and his dreams): and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, Behold, a company - or-chath, from arach, to walk; a band of travelers, especially of merchantmen; a caravan; συνοδία ὁδοιπόροι (LXX.; cf. Job 6:19) - of Ishmaelites - Arabs descended from Ishmael, who occupied the district lying between Egypt and Assyria (Genesis 25:18), and, as appears from the record, carried on a trade with the former country. That Ishmael's descendants should already have developed into a trading nation will not be surprising (Bohlen) if one reflects that Ishmael may have married in his eighteenth or twentieth year, i.e. about 162 years before the date of the present occurrence, that four generations may have been born in the interval, and that, if Ishmael's sons had only five sons each, his posterity in the fifth generation (not reckoning females) may have amounted to 15,000 persons (Murphy). But in point of fact the Ishmaelites spoken of are not described as nations - simply as a company of merchants, without saying how numerous it was (Havernick, 'Introd.,'§ 21) - came (literally, coming) from Oilcad (vide Genesis 31:21) with (literally, and) their camels bearing spicery - נְכאת, either an infinitive from נָכָא, to break, to grind (?), and signifying a pounding, breaking in pieces, hence aromatic powder (Gesenius); or a contraction from נְכָאות (Ewald), meaning that which is powdered or pulverized. Rendered θυμιαμάτα (LXX.), aromata (Vulgate), στύραξ (Aquila), it was probably the gum tragacanth, many kinds of which appear in Syria (Furst, Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, Murphy), or storax, the resinous exudation of the styrax officinale, which abounds in Palestine and the East (Aquila, Bochart, Bush, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Inglis) - and balm - ךצרִי (in pause צרי, after van of union צְרִי), mentioned as one of the most precious fruits of Palestine (Genesis 43:11), rendered ῤητίνη (LXX.) and refina (Vulgate), and derived from צָוָה, to flow, to run (hence, literally, an outflowing, or out-dropping). was unquestionably a balsam, but of what tree cannot now be ascertained, distilling from a tree or fruit growing in Gilead, and highly prized for its healing properties (Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11). Vide Lexicons (Gesenius and Furst) sub voce; Michaelis, 'Suppl.' p. 2142; Kalisch in loco - and myrrh, - לֹט, στακτή (LXX.), stacte (Vulgate), pistacia (Chaldee, Syriac, Michaelis, 'Suppl.,' p. 1424), was more probably ladanum (Gesenius, Furst, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, et alii), an odoriferous gum formed upon the leaves of the cactus-rose, a shrub growing in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine (vide-Herod., 3:112; Pliny, 'N. H., 12:37; Celsius, 'Hierob.,' L 280-288) - going - the caravan route from Gilead crossed the Jordan in the neighborhood of Bersan, and, sweeping through Jenin and the plain of Dothan, joined another track leading southwards from Damascus by way of Ramleh and Gaza (vide Robinson, 3:27, and cf. Tristram, 'Land of Israel,' p. 132) - to carry it down to Egypt. At that time the land of the Pharaohs was the chief emporium for the world's merchandise.

CHAPTER 37:26-36

Parallel Commentaries ...

and they took
וַיִּ֨קָּחֻ֔הוּ (way·yiq·qā·ḥu·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

him and threw
וַיַּשְׁלִ֥כוּ (way·yaš·li·ḵū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7993: To throw out, down, away

him into the pit.
הַבֹּ֑רָה (hab·bō·rāh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 953: A pit, cistern, well

Now the pit
וְהַבּ֣וֹר (wə·hab·bō·wr)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 953: A pit, cistern, well

was empty,
רֵ֔ק (rêq)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7386: Empty, worthless

with no
אֵ֥ין (’ên)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

water
מָֽיִם׃ (mā·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

in it.
בּ֖וֹ (bōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Genesis 37:24 And they took him and threw him (Gen. Ge Gn)