WebThere is no consensus view about dates. Learn facts that you cant learn just from reading the Bible This conflict can be relieved a bit by making Jacob's stay with Laban forty years instead of twenty. Benjamin was born (Gen 35) before Joseph was sold (Gen. 37). On 2298 AM (1706 BC), Benjamin, his wife, and his ten sons entered Egypt to live. public search, it was discovered that the cup was planted in Benjamins sack. However, Judah, one of Josephs brothers, spoke up and begged for Benjamin to be released. How old were Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim when they were blessed by their grandfather? Jacob seems to be in the prime of his strength at this point in his life. Jacob went to Padam Aram 20 years earlier at the age of 71. On 2298 AM (1706 BC), Benjamin, his wife, and his ten sons entered Egypt to live. His mother Rachel died giving birth to him. The fallacy of accepting the possibility of two twenty year periods of service for Laban was explained under interpretation I. This view also has the advantage of assigning such ages to Simeon, Levi, Dinah, Benjamin, Judah, Er, and Onan as harmonize with the events described in chapters 34 and 35. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30but seven years of famine will follow them. Another possibility is that Jacob misunderstood the prophetic meaning of the sun and moon bowing down. Jacob was 147 years old when he died, Gen 47:28. (Almost 22years they were apart.). This is an extreme contradiction with the ancient history calculation of eighteen years of age. Joseph was 39 (30 years when he went before pharaoh, 7 years of famine, and 2 years of plenty). In the Scriptures In the Book of Torah, it was narrated that there was a point when Josephs brothers headed off to Egypt, yet they were unable to recognize their brother. WebAnd since Jacob was 130 years old when he came to Egypt, Joseph's birth occurred 39 years earlier. Why did the Soviets not shoot down US spy satellites during the Cold War? When we bear in mind that the imperfect tense with theconsecutive expresses not only the order of time, but also the order of thought as well it becomes apparent that in the history of the births, the intention to arrange them according to the mothers prevails over the chronological order. WebAnd since Jacob was 130 years old when he came to Egypt, Joseph's birth occurred 39 years earlier. Therefore, it may be reasonably concluded that these two clauses are not arranged to imply two different periods of twenty years but rather to emphasize the significance of the one twenty year period in the mind of Laban. 46a (Gen. 42:15, ESV). After spending a month with his relatives he asked for her hand in marriage in return for working seven years for Laban the Aramean. He reunites with his son Joseph after twenty-two years. Thus, Joseph was possibly at least 5 or 6 years old when Benjamin was born. At the time Joseph received the robe he might have been, say, 16 years old and Benjamin was possibly only 9 or 10 years old. ,if you had seen my other question which was closed, there is an understanding that the events which took place in Genesis 35 took place after the events in Genesis 37, Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. WebJacob was 77 years old, [22] and he loved Rachel immediately. Isaac marries Rebekah when he is 40 (Genesis 25:20). Marrys Leah at 78, Rachel at 85, leaves Laban at 91 when Joseph is born. I would add that Benjamin may have been small still when Joseph was sold, because he did have to ask his brothers, when seeing Benjamin, if this was the younger brother they had talked about. The family arrives in Mamre (Hebron) where Isaac lives. into slavery and about 22 years before Isaac died. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Rebekah was the instigator of having Jacob deceive Thus the import of the verbiage is quite consistent with the NIVs rendering, there is a young son born to him in his old age.. WebIf Jacob was with Laban only twenty years, then he was seventy-seven years old when he left home. WebThus, Jacob was 121 years old. Thus, Joseph was possibly at least 5 or 6 years old when Benjamin was born. Laban promises Rachel's hand after a week of Leah consummation. Benjamin was after this some time. But then, as to the other twenty, he tells Laban at verse 41, "during the other twenty years for myself (own benefit) in thy house; I served thee fourteen, and six years." 17And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, Do not fear, for you have another son. 18And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. You have another son. 18 As her life faded away, just before she died, she named him Ben-oni,[ a] but his father named him Benjamin. WebGen 30 describes the birth of the first 11 sons (and 1 daughter, Dinah) of Jacob born in the that second 7 year period. Jacob was 130 when he went to Egypt. 91-20=71 17 She was having a rough time, but the woman who was helping her said, Don't worry! At that time Joseph had been second in command over the land of Egypt for nine years (Genesis 45:11). Adam Clarke, Clarkes Commentary (New York: Lane and Scott. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? It is interesting to note, however, that Rea is not at all interested in accepting this interpretation to help resolve some of the distance between the calculation from ancient history and the seeming Scriptural chronology. Please. Gen 47:9 - Jacob is 130 years old when presented to Pharaoh, Gen 45:6 - This was during the second year of the famine, nine years after Joseph entered the service of Pharaoh, Gen 41:47. Adam Clarke, Clarkes Commentary (New York: 1850) Vol. The term (The son of his old age) is referring that Joseph was like as he was an old man. He works another 7years for Rachel after getting married. Instead of having the young boy held captive, Judah pleaded to take his place as a slave. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, God has taken away my disgrace. 24 She named him Joseph, and said, May the Lord add to me another son.. Rebekah was the instigator of having Jacob deceive No doubt a number of the children could have been born contemporaneously. Laban agreed to the arrangement. Jacob went to Padam Aram 20 years earlier at the age of 71. The patriarch Isaac dies at the age of 180 (Genesis 35:28 - 29). He was the 12th and final son of Jacob; whose sons represent the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacobs other name). Clark goes on to explain it as follows: So here in Genesis 31:38 Jacob says to Laban, "during the one set of twenty years I was with thee. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mothers brother. It may be granted that this is not a problem of great theological significance, but nevertheless it dare not be overlooked if the authority. Taking 130 and subtracting it from Josephs age of 39 means Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born. Ackermann Function without Recursion or Stack. Or did these events occupy some period other than seven years? Leah's first four births follow as rapidly. Hi Judith, this is a great first post, upvoted +1. Was 130 years when he greeted Pharaoh and lived in Egypt for 17years and died at the age of 147years. Joseph could no longer hold his emotions at that point, and he revealed his true identity in front of his brothers. Each mention of twenty years is introduced with the word zeh, which word, when repeated, is used by way of distinction; as when we say, this or that; the one or the other. Laban agreed to the arrangement. Jacob lives in Egypt for seventeen years after his arrival (Genesis 47:28). Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh. 6:5). 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, Dont be afraid. 1. Theoretically, however, Leah or Bilhah could have taken the place of Rachel as Josephs mother. (30:26) my time of service, need not necessarily be restricted to the seven years of 29:18 and 27. WebThere is no consensus view about dates. Jacob's other children are between 39 and 46. It is, therefore, suggested that some of the births must be allowed to occur in the third period of service. The writer was impressed by the fact that not one Hebrew scholar whom he confronted with the suggested translation for this theory could find any justifiable evidence in the text for such a translation. [Note Jacob was less than half this age when he met Rachel - this means that even compared to a modern man, he was in the prime of his life at that point.]. Is email scraping still a thing for spammers, Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation, Integral with cosine in the denominator and undefined boundaries. First, this should be our operational assumption since Gen 37 follows Gen 35; and while Isaacs death (recorded in just two verses, i.e., 35:28-29) certainly did follow the events of Gen 37, there is no particularly good reason to suppose that events reported in 35:1-22 did not occur before Gen 37. Upon meeting Esau, he had divided his family into smaller groups, fearing for everyone's safety. Suspicious referee report, are "suggested citations" from a paper mill? Jacob was 77 (91 14) when he first met Laban and Rachel, assuming y1=0 and y2=0. But the birth of Benjamin is described in Genesis 35.1625. Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. 4b It was probably a matter of months. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, Ill work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.. WebGen 30 describes the birth of the first 11 sons (and 1 daughter, Dinah) of Jacob born in the that second 7 year period. into slavery and about 22 years before Isaac died. 7. as in example? 9. 25Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well. He next sired Dan and Naphtali through Rachel's handmaid Bilhah (30:1 - 8). Web--Jacob was ninety-one when Joseph was born; but at Benjamin's birth he was eight or nine years older; and according to the common belief that Jacob was only twenty years in Padan-aram, the four sons of the handmaids must have been about Joseph's age, and Leah's last two sons even younger. Thus, Benjamin was still a child in the eyes of the culture at the time. It was at the end of the second seven year period that Joseph was born (Gen 30:25ff) and that Jacob wanted to leave but was persuaded to stay longer. These seven years seemed to Jacob "but a few days, for the love he had for her." The next day, there was a great search that was conducted, with the intention of finding the lost silver cup. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her It is the pillar of Rachels tomb, which is there to this day. 1716 - 1709Jacob is between the ages of 84 and 91. Esau marries his first two wives (Genesis 26:34). . Isaac born to Abraham at the age of 100, Gen 21:5, Isaac marries Rebekah at age 40, Gen 25:20, Isaac becomes the father of Jacob at age 60, Gen 25:26, Jacob (at age 71) deceives Isaac when he is 131, Gen 47:9, 45:6, 41:47. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. On this basis, Benjamin was born about 10 years before Joseph was sold (??) He is then introduced to Pharaoh where he states he is 130 years old (Genesis 46:1 - 47:9). Based on Joseph's and Jacob's relative ages when Jacob entered Egypt, we know that Joseph was born to Jacob and Rebekah when Jacob was about 92 years old, about 28 years before Isaac died. Jealousy of Rachel, as well as the success of the means which she had adopted, would impel her to attempt in the same method to increase the number of her children. His brothers are recorded as living to the ages of 110-137 (avg being around 126 years), so he likely lived to at least 120 years old. (Between 79 - 90years) There was a shuffle between the wives and concubines remember When did Jacob and Joseph finally reunite after being separated? What is the biblical significance of the "red hair" / "Scarlet thread" and the first born brother/twin? On the outskirts of Bethlehem Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin, the last of Israel's twelve sons (Genesis 35:16 - 20). Answer. Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. Gen. 37:18-35). Ten years later, at the age of 130 years, he appeared before Pharaoh in Egypt (Genesis 47:9). As payment for his labor, Jacob takes all the speckled and spotted cattle and goats, as well as the brown sheep, currently in Laban's herd. Jacob, as well as sixty-six family members, migrates to Egypt due to famine. It is felt that the "text has nothing against this; for the expression, my service, i.e. There is some confirmation of this in Joseph's dreams - he sees the sun and moon plus eleven stars bowing to him - the eleven stars represented his eleven brothers, including Benjamin. Benjamin was also born in the land of Canaan, and his name meant Son of My Days, according to the Hebrew. On balance, it seems more likely that Benjamin was born before the events in Gen 37, but the evidence does not appear conclusive. Works with Laban for 20 years in total and has 11 sons and 1 daughter in the 13 years of marriage and stay in Padam aram till (91 years of age). At such an age, a girl might be given adult responsibility in a family that did not (yet) have sons. For instance, this longer period of time at Laban's house gives relief to a very crowded chronology of events in the life of Jacob. 3 His Mother, Rachel, Died in Childbirth The family travels to Shalem (an area outside the city of Shechem). He also gathers his twelve sons to bless them and convey, "what shall happen to you in the last days" (Genesis 49). Genesis 37 Genesis 25:26 Jacob and Laban mutually agree that he will continue working with Laban's herd. He reunites with his son Joseph after twenty-two years. Jacob leaves home at 71 years and meets with Laban works for 7 years gets married around 78 years to both Leah and Rachel. Of these two, Joseph was the oldest and might possibly have inherited the birthright. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Hence, the brothers rekindled their love for each other, and they were filled with joy that Joseph was still alive. years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou Amazing Bible Timeline with World History, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Benjamin, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Figures_041_Joseph%27s_Cup_Is_Found_in_Benjamin%27s_Sack.jpg, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_LACMA_M.88.91.296L.jpg. During what period did he father twelve children? On this basis, Benjamin was born about 10 years before Joseph was sold (??) Jacob then says to Laban, his father-in-law, "Send me away, that I may go into my own place and to my country. into slavery and about 22 years before Isaac died. 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, Dont be afraid. The basis of this interpretation is found in Gen. 31:38, 41. That means Joseph was born when Isaac was about 152. Joseph is 39 and Benjamin is about 23. It is felt by the writer that there was a wilful cooperation in this act of defilement. The maximum likely age for Rachel at the time of the birth of Benjamin is thirty-nine years. 10. If he was 71 when he met Rachel n Laban, Why in the Genesis, it's strongly said that Jacob and Rachel were Cousins? 14:20). This view assumes too much. This view, it seems to the writer, is only held in order to relieve the congested period of seven years in which it would seem that Leah had seven children. Laban agreed to the arrangement. Answer. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Jacob, as well as sixty-six family members, migrates to Egypt due to famine. [ b] Read full chapter. Thus, he probably stayed in Shechem for a few years. Why would Joseph be so interested in the youngest brother if he did not already know it was Benjamin his first brother? Web 90 years old when Joseph was sold into slavery 130 years old when he moved to Egypt 147 years old when he died Was buried in the cave of Macpelah n Two major deceptions of Jacob: 1. Thus, Jacob was at least 96 or 97 and Isaac was at least 156 or 157 years old. Thirdly, it assumes that the author of 30:26 is not the author of 31:41. As you read previous chapters and after youll understand why Jacob favored him more. What tool to use for the online analogue of "writing lecture notes on a blackboard"? So what *is* the Latin word for chocolate? There were also several towns in the Book of Joshua that were all the possession of Benjamin. Jacob comes to Shechem and continues 8 years. How does a fan in a turbofan engine suck air in? Now it is not difficult to understand how Jacob could have had twelve children in seven years from four different women. Upon seeing Rachel, Laban's youngest daughter, he immediately falls in love and agrees to work seven years in order to marry her (Genesis 29:1 - 20). He was 32 years old. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. The age of Jacob Jacob was 120 at the death of his father Isaac (Genesis 25:26). He was the 12th and final son of Jacob; whose sons represent the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacobs other name). A rough time, but the birth of Benjamin is described in Genesis 35.1625 and.! Webjacob was 77 ( 91 14 ) when he came to Egypt, Joseph was as. Cup was planted in Benjamins sack was like as he was an old man of finding the lost silver.! '' from a paper mill felt by the writer that there was wilful... Have sons Jacob was 130 years, he had divided his family into groups. Is 130 years old when he died, Gen 47:28 rise to the Hebrew know was. The 12th and final son of his old age ) is referring that was. 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