When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.
They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him whose price was set by the Israelites,
Caravans of camels will cover your land – young camels of Midian and Ephah – all of them will come from Sheba. They will carry gold and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the Lord.
Then he said to them, ‘Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.’ Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.
Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, ‘If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.’