Genesis 47:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?”

NIV: Pharaoh asked him, 'How old are you?'

NASB: And Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many years have you lived?'

CSB: Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived? "

NLT: How old are you?' Pharaoh asked him.

KJV: And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

NKJV: Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

Joseph is presenting his father Jacob to the Pharaoh—the monarch—of Egypt (Genesis 47:7). It is a special moment in history. Each man represents a nation, and those nations will become entwined for the next four centuries. Unfortunately, that relationship will include a long period of Israeli slavery at the hands of the Egyptians (Exodus 1:8–14). At this time, however, Pharaoh has saved Jacob's people during a time of desperate famine. Pharaoh's blessing on Abraham's family has led to blessings on his own kingdom (Genesis 12:3). Echoing that, Jacob has begun their conversation by blessing Pharaoh.

Now Pharaoh asks Jacob a respectful question, one often asked of an older person: How old are you? Jacob will reveal that he is 130 years old. His life, as he sees it, has been difficult and filled with tragedies. He continues to view many parts of his unusual experience from a negative perspective. It's possible Jacob is not in good health, though he will live another seventeen years in Egypt (Genesis 47:28). It is possible he required assistance even to stand before Pharaoh.

Genesis 47:1–12 describes how Joseph's family officially arrived as landowners in Egypt. They are given the fertile region of Goshen. At court, Joseph's brothers formally request permission to settle there, and Jacob blesses Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh gives Joseph the authority to give his family enough land in Goshen to accommodate their herds and growing families. Joseph also begins to distribute a regular allotment of food to each member of his extended family.

Genesis 47 begins with Pharaoh interviewing Joseph's brothers and father before granting their request to settle in the region of Goshen in Egypt. Just as Joseph had hoped, his family is secure. The rest of the people of Egypt and Canaan are not. Most run out of money and can no longer buy food from Joseph. On Pharaoh's behalf, Joseph trades food for their livestock and then their land and even their freedom. Nearly all people will be required to pay to Pharaoh 20 percent of their harvest each year from this time forward. After several years, Jacob asks Joseph to swear that he will bury Jacob's body with his fathers in Canaan.

After describing the family's journey from Canaan and their arrival in Egypt in chapter 46, this passage opens on a formal conversation between Pharaoh and Joseph's family. He officially grants their request to settle in Egypt. As the famine continues, citizens of Egypt and Canaan turn over their money, land, and livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. The final three chapters of Genesis explain Jacob's dying blessings, and the passing of both Jacob and Joseph.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.