We ask the following database query: Which of the brothers instigated the attempt on Joseph's life which led to his being sold. The reader is encouraged to perform the query using a standard Biblical Konnkordance or search engine. This database query yields the list below. The list justifies the following Rashi inference: Shimon instigated the sale. The main proof is that Joseph is call "ox" by Moses and then Jacob on his deathbed cursed Shimon and Levi for attempting to castrate an "Ox." This reference to "attempting to castrate an ox" is a reference to the inevitable consequences of stripping Joseph and throwing him into the pit (However Judah, and if not Judah, Reuven, intervened so the inevitable consequence did not happen)

Verses	Point of verse
Dt33-17	Moses compares Joseph to an Ox
Gn49-05:06	Jacob curses Shimon and Levi for attempting to castrate an Ox
Gn37-23:24	Joseph is stripped and thrown into a pit
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Gn34-25:26	Shimon and Levi take the law into their own hands (They destroy a city where their sister was raped)
Nu25-18	Shimon's tribe is hit worst by the sin with Moabite woman
Gn37-21	Reuven, the eldest protested Joseph's treatment
Gn37-26	Judah, 4th eldest partially protests Joseph's treatment
Gn37-18:19	At least 2 brothers conspired on Joseph - probably the remaining oldest - Shimon and Levi

Advanced Rashi: First we point out that we haven't conclusively proved that Shimon instigated Joseph's sale. Maybe most of the brothers disliked him. All we have done is given a reasonable piece of evidence - Joseph is called ox and Jacob curses Shimon and Levi for attempting to castrate an ox which would tie in with the stripping and placing in a pit. This is typical of the flavor of the database rule. It is not always punchy and to the point. Sometimes it simply points, albeit strongly, in a certain direction.

The point of the rows at the bottom of the table, that of the 4 oldest brothers, Reuven, #1, and Judah #4, protested to Joseph's treatment also points to the idea that the remaining oldest, Shimon and Levi conspired on Joseph. This is based on the reasonable assumption that the older brothers in a family lead. I heard this argument by Rabbi Boncheck. I would add, the point in the middle (my point) that Shimon and Levi took the law into their own hand when their sister was raped and Shimon seems to have been the most hotheaded of the tribes as evidenced by the fact that his participation in the sin with the Moabite women stood out. So even if the other brothers felt enmity towards Joseph, still, it required a brother who had experience in taking the law into his own hands, Shimon, to instigate the action.

I especially note the Talmudic treatment of Gn37-18:19, which states And they - each person to his brother - said, 'Behold the master of dreams comes.' This verse seems to say that all the brothers spoke this way. However the verse could be interpreted to mean that a minimum of two brothers spoke this way. We therefore cannot prove anything from this verse. However we can use our other proofs - Jacob's curse, Shimon/Levi's taking the law into their own hands, and the protest of only Reuven and Judah - to justify reinterpreting this verse to refer to Shimon and Levi. As already indicated this is characteristic of the flavor of the database rule. What we have importantly done in the table above is carefully distinguished between the most important arguments, supportive arguments, and arguments arising from reinterpretation after an initial examination.