Genesis 37:18-24

"And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. And it came to pass, that when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it."

Some of the critical scholars, preoccupied with finding multiple sources anywhere they can, insist upon changing "Reuben" in this passage to "Judah," supposing that only Judah attempted to protect Joseph. To do this, of course, would require changing the text; and, as Speiser put it, "There is no encouragement (for such a change) in any of the ancient versions."[15]

One is shocked by the cold-blooded murder contemplated, and so narrowly averted, by these jealous and hate-filled brothers. The holiness expected of the people of God was a total stranger to those murderous sons of Jacob.

The good intention of Reuben is negated somewhat by the fact of his attempting to thwart evil by cunning, not by appealing to the Word of God.

Even Judah's successful effort, later, to prevent Joseph's murder, was grounded not upon what was right or wrong, but upon what was expedient and profitable! The sons of Jacob appear in a poor light indeed in this tragic chapter. We are indebted to Willis for this comment on "the pit" into which Joseph was cast. "A pit was a cistern that held water during the rainy season but went dry toward the end of the summer."[16] The actual sale of Joseph is related next.