In this familiar biblical scene depicting Joseph Cast into the Pit (Genesis 37:24), Jacob has sent his youngest and favourite son, Joseph, to check on the welfare of his brothers, who are tending the family flocks some distance from home. Jealous and irritated, they conspire to kill him but are persuaded by one of their number, Reuben, to throw him into a pit instead. Another of the brothers, Judah, then suggests selling him to some Midianite traders who are passing by. The word “pit” was long understood to mean a well, and in this painting several of Joseph’s brothers hold him suspended by ropes over a narrow hole in the ground. The absence of any figures of traders with their goods excludes the possibility that he is being raised up and points rather to the moment when Joseph is put into the pit.