Throwing to vs. Throwing into the pit

Question

I would need some help to answer a grammar question in order to understand the exact meaning a critical piece of the selling of Yosef. The Torah says in Bereshit 37:20 (from www.chabad.org): "וְעַתָּ֣ה | לְכ֣וּ וְנַֽהַרְגֵ֗הוּ וְנַשְׁלִכֵ֨הוּ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד הַבֹּר֔וֹת" So now, let us kill him, and we will cast him into one of the pits.

Then the Torah says in Bereshit 37:22: "הַשְׁלִ֣יכוּ אֹת֗וֹ אֶל־הַבּ֤וֹר הַזֶּה֙"

And in Bereshit 37:24: "וַיַּשְׁלִ֥כוּ אֹת֖וֹ הַבֹּ֑רָה"

Note the little difference in the grammar in these three verses in the case of throwing in the pit: first, it seems to me that their intention was to kill Yosef and then to throw him INTO one the pits in 37:20. Then Reuven seems to say in 37:22 to throw Yosef in direction of the pit (and not INTO the pit). Finally in Bereshit 37:24, it seems that the brothers listened to Reuven and threw Yosef in direction of the pit and NOT INTO the pit. It is clear that Yosef ended up finding himself into the pit because the Mindyanim took him up from the pit as the Torah says in Bereshit 37:28. So my questions are : - how to understand the grammatical differences here? - what did the brothers do exactly according to the text itself? - how did Yosef ended being into the pit?

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

One writer who makes something of the difference, is R. Betsalel Safran who writes (Shu"t HaRabaz: Notes to 1:57) that אל הבור would mean, into the pit that Reuven suggested that they throw Yosef into, (as Reuven specified אל הבור הזה; a particular pit). Instead, the Torah says וישלכו אתו הברה, which supports those commentators (see here) who suggest that they did not throw him into the pit specified by Reuven, but into a different pit.

However, regarding אל הבור vs. הברה, I don't know that there necessarily has to be a difference in meaning (regarding different ways of saying the same thing in the Torah, see here, here, here, and here.) Some Rishonim seem to suggest that they are equivalent, see e.g. Rashi to Genesis (56:1), to Exodus (15:23), and Radak to Psalms (9:18).

Answer 2

Rashi on Vayeishev 37:24 points out that the pit contained snakes and scorpions though it did not have any water.

Mizrachi points out that if the brothers had known about the snakes and scorpions they would have pulled him out and let him go. The fact that the snakes and scorpions did not attack Yosef made it obvious that it was a nes from Hashem. Had the brothers realized that they would not have left him there.

Reuven would not have suggested throwing him into that pit, since he intended to come back and rescue Yosef.

We see from this that the brothers thought that the pit was completely empty. Radak on 37:24 points out that Yosef did not offer any physical resistance. Thus, וַיַּשְׁלִ֥כוּ אֹת֖וֹ הַבֹּ֑רָה. We can also see that they did not think that it was deep enough to injure him. Reuven because he intended to rescue him and the brothers because they had decided not to kill him immediately and later they would have known that the caravan would not buy an injured slave.