Inquiry:
Who brought Joseph into Egypt? Was it the Midianites (Genesis 37:36) or the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:28; 39:1)? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
The questioner listed Genesis 37:28 under the Ishmaelite portion of the question, but it could just as easily have been listed under the Midianite portion. Notice the text:
…Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. (Genesis 37:28)
Why not list that verse in both lists? Perhaps because if the same verse belongs in both lists, then there really isn’t a contradiction present?
Ishmaelites and Midianites were distinct people. Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden (Genesis 16:15). Midian was a son of Keturah, Abraham’s wife after Sarah died (Genesis 25:1-2).
If there were simply two verses which said different things, then perhaps the questioner may have a point. However, we’ve got a single verse which uses both terms to refer to the people who took Joseph. It’s not a matter of careless writing by Moses. It is likely that the merchants who were travelling to Egypt were a mixture of Midianites and Ishmaelites. Though they are distinct people, they seemed to work and travel together.
There is no contradiction.
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