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Joseph be cast alive into a pit, and left there to perish; secretly in-
tending, however, to rescue him and return him to his father. Having
persuaded all to consent to this plan, Reuben left the company, fearing
that he might fail to control his feelings, and that his real intentions
would be discovered.
Joseph came on, unsuspicious of danger, and glad that the object of
his long search was accomplished; but instead of the expected greeting,
he was terrified by the angry and revengeful glances which he met. He
was seized and his coat stripped from him. Taunts and threats revealed
a deadly purpose. His entreaties were unheeded. He was wholly in the
power of those maddened men. Rudely dragging him to a deep pit,
they thrust him in, and having made sure that there was no possibility
of his escape, they left him there to perish from hunger, while they
“sat down to eat bread.”
But some of them were ill at ease; they did not feel the satisfaction
they had anticipated from their revenge. Soon a company of travelers
was seen approaching. It was a caravan of Ishmaelites from beyond
Jordan, on their way to Egypt with spices and other merchandise. Judah
now proposed to sell their brother to these heathen traders instead of
leaving him to die. While he would be effectually put out of their
way, they would remain clear of his blood; “for,” he urged, “he is our
brother and our flesh.” To this proposition all agreed, and Joseph was
quickly drawn out of the pit.
As he saw the merchants the dreadful truth flashed upon him. To
become a slave was a fate more to be feared than death. In an agony
of terror he appealed to one and another of his brothers, but in vain.
Some were moved with pity, but fear of derision kept them silent; all
felt that they had now gone too far to retreat. If Joseph were spared,
he would doubtless report them to the father, who would not overlook
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their cruelty toward his favorite son. Steeling their hearts against his
entreaties, they delivered him into the hands of the heathen traders.
The caravan moved on, and was soon lost to view.
Reuben returned to the pit, but Joseph was not there. In alarm and
self-reproach he rent his garments, and sought his brothers, exclaiming,
“The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” Upon learning the fate of
Joseph, and that it would now be impossible to recover him, Reuben
was induced to unite with the rest in the attempt to conceal their guilt.
Having killed a kid, they dipped Joseph’s coat in its blood, and took it