Genesis 37:18-24

And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, “Look, here comes this dreamer. Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], ‘A wild animal killed and devoured him’; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!” Now Reuben [the eldest] heard this and rescued him from their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Do not shed his blood, but [instead] throw him [alive] into the pit that is here in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him [to kill him]”—[he said this so] that he could rescue him from them and return him [safely] to his father. Now when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the [distinctive] multicolored tunic which he was wearing; then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.