how old was jacob when benjamin was 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. Considering a 9 month gestation that's 63 months (little over 5 years if back to back) before Rachel conceives. Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, dying at age 147 (Gen 47:28). He was born to Jacobs wife Rachel, making Benjamin the full brother of Joseph. This interpretation holds that the two sets of twenty years are different periods and make a total of forty years in Laban's house. After Dinah's birth the Lord remembers Rachel and she conceives and bore Joseph when Jacob was 91 years old. WebBy then Jacob had become over 100 years old. Genesis 49:27 Benjamin in fiction Now, we must look at when Joseph was born. Jacob's agreement of 14 years with Laban must have expired at this point. In the Hebrew Scriptures, It was mentioned that Joshua divided the land into twelve, which were supposed to be managed and owned by the twelve tribes of Israel. The word zeh is used twice at a greater distance, "one dieth . Benjamin was assigned to the land between Ephraim, and extending to Judah, Jordan River, and other cities including Gibeah and Bethel. Genesis 49:27 Benjamin in fiction This is an extreme contradiction with the ancient history calculation of eighteen years of age. 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. years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Jacob buys some land in the area and erects an altar to God he names Elelohe-Israel (Genesis 33:18 - 20). The family leaves Bethel for Bethlehem with the goal of reaching Hebron. There is nothing on the part of grammar to prevent the arrangement of events in this way. Genesis 41: 28 It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. I am Joseph, your brother, he said, the one you sold into Egypt! and another dieth" (Job 21:23,25). with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came How Long In Prison? So Jacob was 71 when he met Rachel and entered Labans service. into slavery and about 22 years before Isaac died. Adam Clarke, Clarkes Commentary (New York: 1850) Vol. 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. This conflict can be relieved a bit by making Jacob's stay with Laban forty years instead of twenty. In Jacob 's deathbed blessing, he said of Benjamin: Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours his prey, in the evening he divides the plunder. And where the KJV has a little one, the Hebrew is simply or qatan, glossed small, young, unimportant. 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. (30:26) my time of service, need not necessarily be restricted to the seven years of 29:18 and 27. 3. 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. 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. Secondly, it assumes that the expression, "my service, " (30:26) need not be restricted to the seven year periods, but may be as well projected to include the following six year period. 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. God commands Jacob to journey to Bethel (Genesis 35:1). Jacob asks, in response to this dream, Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? (37:10) The Hebrew for thy mother ( or wayimmaka, and your mother) is in a singular form, i.e., not mothers; if he does not use the word mothers, this suggests only that only Rachel is meant. (Between 79 - 90years) There was a shuffle between the wives and concubines remember The maximum likely age for Rachel at the time of the birth of Benjamin is thirty-nine years. How could Rachel fulfill Joseph's dream if she was dead? He next sired Dan and Naphtali through Rachel's handmaid Bilhah (30:1 - 8). Copyright 2017- Cited with permission. I. So, he ordered his men to place secretly a silver cup inside the bag of his youngest brother, Benjamin. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. His mother Rachel died giving birth to him. No one who heard those dreams wondered "why 12?" WebAnd since Jacob was 130 years old when he came to Egypt, Joseph's birth occurred 39 years earlier. In addition, Bethel was claimed as a part of the land owned by the Tribe of Ephraim, although Joshua gave this lot to Benjamin, according to the scriptures. Answer. The family arrives in Mamre (Hebron) where Isaac lives. To make it clear of Genesis 37:3 KJV And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bear Jacob a second son. Then there is the problem of harmonizing the dates of the patriarchs with the exodus. It is the pillar of Rachels tomb, which is there to this day. How old was Jacob when he first saw Rachel? When Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, he was 39 years old. The fallacy of accepting the possibility of two twenty year periods of service for Laban was explained under interpretation I. However, it is amazing to read that Leah gave birth to seven of the twelve children which were born at that time. The main refutation and weakness of this interpretation lies in the grammar of the text. Thus, Joseph was possibly at least 5 or 6 years old when Benjamin was born. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. . Leah's barren period is from 4-3 to 5-7. Jacob worked a total of 20 years for Laban (Gen 31:38). 152 - 20 = 132 (estimated years of age for Isaac when Jacob leaves home). He will also take for himself all such animals that are born as a continuing payment of wages. When you get a chance, please take the. At such an age, a girl might be given adult responsibility in a family that did not (yet) have sons. Does Joseph (in Genesis) prefigure Christ? Hence, Joseph was born to Jacob at the age of 91 just as he returned from Padam Aram. When and how did the Twelve Apostles die? Does God Approve of Interracial Marriage. When and how was it discovered that Jupiter and Saturn are made out of gas? If Jacob was one hundred and thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, then he must have been ninety-seven when he came back to Canaan. 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. ", 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. He was the 12th and final son of Jacob; whose sons represent the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacobs other name). Thus, Benjamin was still a child in the eyes of the culture at the time. John Rea, "The Historical Setting of the Exodus and the Conquest," Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1956, p. 82. 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. Are the shepherds being curt in Genesis 29? On balance, it seems more likely that Benjamin was born before the events in Gen 37, but the evidence does not appear conclusive. This is an extreme contradiction with the ancient history calculation of eighteen years of age. (Gen. 35:1619, ESV), Then Midianite traders passed by. And Leah said, 'Fortunate!' Of course, there is nothingbiologically impossible about having seven children in seven years, but the real problem arises when we learn that during that seven year period, "Leah saw that she left off bearing, so she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife. Please. (Genesis 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.. How does a fan in a turbofan engine suck air in? Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative, but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons. There is an uncertainty of how much time had elapsed between Genesis 45:4b to Genesis 47:9a. 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, Dont be afraid. When was Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers? [ b] Read full chapter. How can I explain to my manager that a project he wishes to undertake cannot be performed by the team? Please. On the note Benjamin could not be considered of the evil nor wise yet because he wasnt of age he was around 6-7 years younger then Joseph when Joseph was 17 Benjamin would of been around 10. (30:26) my time of service, need not necessarily be restricted to the seven years of 29:18 and 27. The answer to these and other questions can be found in the below timeline! We are not told exactly when Benjamin was born but there is a window of a few years to choose. Welcome to Bible Hermeneutics SE and thank you for your contribution. Gen 30:25. Jacob and Esau, twin boys, are born to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:24 - 26). C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Pentateuch (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885). Let's say that Joseph was born y2 years after the 14-year contract with Laban. Jacob comes to Shechem and continues 8 years. Benjamin was after this some time. His last offspring of this period, the first for his beloved wife Rachel, is Joseph. This is an extreme contradiction with the ancient history calculation of eighteen years of age. Joseph was born around the end of this 14 years period. After a, Unique Circular Format see more in less space. 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. But Rachel had not immediately had children when they married. WebIf Jacob was with Laban only twenty years, then he was seventy-seven years old when he left home. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. First, it assumes the impossibility of the birth of twelve children in seven years. Now, we must look at when Joseph was born. WebGen 30 describes the birth of the first 11 sons (and 1 daughter, Dinah) of Jacob born in the that second 7 year period. Now, we must look at when Joseph was born. ,why then is Joseph referred to as the son of his old age if Benjamin was already there(Genesis 37:3). We know that the events of Genesis 37 took place twelve years before Isaacs death. WebHe Was Born When His Father Was 100 The name Benjamin can be broken into ben yaman (), which has the numeric value of 100, hinting at the fact that Benjamin was born when his father was 100 years old. Benjamin was born (Gen 35) before Joseph was sold (Gen. 37). Inspired by Polyhat and Dottard's answers, here is my attempt. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. It seems the information provided in the Biblical record requires considerable piecing together of the facts to try to ascertain Jacob's age at this time; however, we can reasonably estimate that Jacob would have been between 72 and 77 years of age when he met Rachel. Hi Judith, this is a great first post, upvoted +1. His mother Rachel died giving birth to him. Under interpretation II, we showed the danger of assuming too much. 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. Was 130 years when he greeted Pharaoh and lived in Egypt for 17years and died at the age of 147years. When Jacob returned from Padam Aram he first settled in Shechem (Gen 33:18), purchased some land and then built stalls for this cattle and flocks. Is there a chronological issue in Genesis 25,26 and 27? WebBy then Jacob had become over 100 years old. Jacob gives a special blessing to Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 48). The other children could have been conceived in overlapping periods with Leah. 14 years for both the wives, 6 years for the flock. Calculating from external sources, it would seem that Jacob was only a young man of about eighteen years of age when he left home. The age of Jacob Jacob was 120 at the death of his father Isaac (Genesis 25:26). Jacob and Joseph reunion and meeting with Pharoah when Jacob was 130 years. The grammatical construction, howeverwould not seem to prevent this conclusion. In Jacob 's deathbed blessing, he said of Benjamin: Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours his prey, in the evening he divides the plunder. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. He was 32 years old. Or did these events occupy some period other than seven years? lay great emphasis upon the construction of the two clauses which mention the twenty years of service. Thus she would be eighteen years of age when she married. The grammatical construction, howeverwould not seem to prevent this conclusion. This is absolutely possible. Issac gets married at the age of 40.Genesis 25:20 Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative, but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons. (130-39=91)So Jacob must be 91 years old when he had Joseph. Joseph could no longer hold his emotions at that point, and he revealed his true identity in front of his brothers. On this basis, Benjamin was born about 10 years before Joseph was sold (??) Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Now it is not difficult to understand how Jacob could have had twelve children in seven years from four different women. We have the following data about the Chronology of Jacob: Therefore, Jacob was 71 years old at the time he met Rachel. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Jacob is tricked by Laban into marrying Leah, his oldest daughter, instead of Rachel. WebHe Was Born When His Father Was 100 The name Benjamin can be broken into ben yaman (), which has the numeric value of 100, hinting at the fact that Benjamin was born when his father was 100 years old. 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