How much was Joseph sold for in the Bible?

Genesis 37:28 records that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver (esrim kasef). This was the standard price for a male slave in the ancient Near East during the period. The number is significant typologically — Judas later betrayed Yeshua for thirty pieces of silver, the updated slave price under Mosaic law (Exodus 21:32, Matthew 26:15).

Who sold Joseph into slavery?

Genesis 37:26–28 records Judah proposing the sale, and the brothers agreeing. The Midianite/Ishmaelite merchants (the text uses both terms — possibly reflecting different groups involved in the same caravan) then brought Joseph to Egypt. Reuben was not present when the sale occurred; when he returned to the pit, Joseph was gone (Genesis 37:29).

Why did Judah suggest selling Joseph instead of killing him?

Judah's argument in Genesis 37:26–27 was pragmatic and partial: "What profit is there in killing him and covering his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let our hand not be upon him — for he is our brother, our flesh." Judah stops short of full mercy, but he preserves Joseph's life. This same Judah will later offer himself as a slave to protect Benjamin — his arc in the Joseph story is one of the Torah's most complete portraits of moral change.

Joseph Sold to the Ishmaelites

Twenty Pieces of Silver

Judah sees a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead — their camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh to Egypt. He speaks: "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover his blood?" (Gen 37:26). Sell him. He is our flesh. The brothers agree. Joseph is pulled up from the pit and sold for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites. They bring him to Egypt.

The Ishmaelites are the sons of Ishmael — Abraham's firstborn. Joseph is a son of Isaac's line. They are cousins. The irony is deep: the Ishmaelites who carry the great-nephew of Ishmael down to Egypt are themselves the seed of the man cast out so Isaac could inherit the covenant. Now Isaac's covenant seed is carried down in their hands. The two lines of Abraham are joined in this transaction.

Key Hebrew

עֶשְׂרִים כָּסֶף

Esrim kasef — Twenty pieces of silver. The price of a slave in this period. Later, Zechariah 11:12–13 and Matthew 26:15 record Judas's betrayal of Yeshua for thirty pieces of silver — the updated price of a slave under the Mosaic law (Exodus 21:32). Joseph sold by his brothers for the price of a slave prefigures a greater betrayal. Both are sold by those closest to them. Both descend before they are exalted.

Read in Torah — Genesis 37:25 →