The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
World English Bible
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The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
World English Bible
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Genesis 37:28 says the Midianite merchants drew Joseph out of the pit, sold him to the Ishmaelites, and the Ishmaelites brought him to Egypt — a position Genesis 39:1 reinforces. Genesis 37:36, in the very same chapter, says "the Midianites sold him into Egypt."
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Genesis 37:36 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/genesis/37/36?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).