The inner Christ is drawn out of the pit and traded away by strife, the wandering merchant traffic of a divided mind that sells living awareness for the small currency of the senses. Silver changes hands, and what is bought and sold is the higher self, handed off through conflict into a lower country.
That country is Egypt, and Egypt is the carnal mind, the left hemisphere where the lower thoughts torment and bind. The awakening self is carried down into that region of bondage, buried there for a season. Yet this descent is the very path of its fulfillment: the Christ within must pass through the lower mind and be held under before it can rise and rule.
Joseph: the Christ within, the higher self drawn out and handed away
Midianites: strife, the divided mental traffic that trades living awareness for the currency of the senses
Egypt: the carnal mind, the lower left hemisphere where the higher self is carried into bondage