Kejadian 37:20-22

37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ¹  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ² 

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ³  from their hands, ⁴  saying, ⁵  “Let’s not take his life!” ⁶  37:22 Reuben continued, ⁷  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ⁸  (Reuben said this ⁹  so he could rescue Joseph ¹⁰  from them ¹¹  and take him back to his father.)

[37:20]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ² tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[37:21]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ⁴ sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ⁸ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ⁹ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.