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The events surrounding the birth of Joseph to Jacob and Rachel, although
not directly adding to the determination of the overall chronology, serves
the role of supporting and verifying the correct compilation of the period
Creation to Exodus.
The standard view of the birth of Joseph argues that Jacob was 91 years
old when he fathered Joseph.
The age of Jacob when he meets Pharaoh 130 Gen 47:9
Less Length of famine before Jacob enters Egypt 2 Gen 45:6
Number of years of plenty 7 Gen 41:53
Age of Joseph when he explains Pharaoh's dream 30 39 Gen 41:46
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Presumed age of Jacob when Joseph is born 91
Joseph was born 14 years after Jacob departed to find a wife in Padan Aram,
refer Gen 30:25-43, 31:41. If Jacob was indeed 91 years old when Joseph was
born, then Jacob would have been 77 years old when he departed for Padan
Aram.
The age of Jacob when he departed for Padan Haran is important because this
is when a 'father' of Esau (and Jacob) died!
Gen 27:41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with
which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his
heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at
hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob".
Since Isaac lived until 180 years of age (Gen 35:28) and Jacob was born
when Isaac was 60 years old (Gen 25:26), Isaac would not have died until
Jacob reached 120 years of age. This makes it very apparent that the
father of Esau who died was not Isaac.
As previously mentioned, in Hebrew, any male ancestor can be called ones
'father'.
In respect to the death of Esau's father mentioned in Gen 27:41 it is not
clear from Scripture exactly which ancestor of Esau died at this time.
The immediate ancestors, such as Abraham (who died when Jacob was 15) and
Terah (who died 25 years before Jacob was born) are not options, so more
distant ancestors have to be considered.
A biblically important ancestor who did die about this time is;
*** SHEM ***
Shem died 500 years after fathering a son in the second year after the
start of the flood.
Gen 11:10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred
years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the
flood.
:11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred
years, and begot sons and daughters.
Although not initially apparent the death of Shem is the event which causes
Isaac to pass on the birthright promises. The passing on of the birthright
promises angers Esau and this leads to Jacob having to depart for Padan
Aram.
Identifying the 'father' as Shem though requires Jacob to be younger at
this point in time than the standard view would suggest.
In reviewing the pertinent aspects of Scripture it is difficult to find
scope for this adjustment, but there is an area of ambiguity in the Hebrew
which would make Jacob younger upon the death of this 'father' and also
result in a more youthful Jacob fathering Joseph.
The ambiguity can be found in the following section of Scripture;
Gen 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before
Pharaoh king of Egypt.
In Hebrew a persons age is expressed in a number of ways. A common
expression is used in this case, ie 'a son of thirty years'. The word
'son' in Hebrew is actually the Strong's Ref 1121, meaning 'build'.
The word in this context places emphasis upon a son's role as builder
of the family name.
Although it is common to view this term in respect to the building of ones
fathers family it is also commonly used in respect to a person's role in
building one's wider family. A clear example of this is encountered in
1 Samuel 13:1 talking about King Saul. A literal translation reads as
follows;
1Sam 13:1 A son of a year Saul when he became king ....
The text makes it clear Saul was not one year old, yet on the surface
this verse appears to be stating he was. This verse is actually stating
that Saul was crowned king in the first year since being called by God.
Saul became king in the same year he was anointed by God as commander
over God's inheritance (1 Sam 10:1).
This raises the question of whether it had been 30 years
since Joseph was born or was it 30 years since Joseph was
called by God. Joseph was 17 years old when his dreams
started (Gen 37:2), therefore if it had been 30 years
since his calling he would have been 47 years old when
he was called to Pharaoh's presence. |
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This means Joseph's age at this time would have been 17 years younger than
the standard view would indicate.
- Revised View -
The age of Jacob when he meets Pharaoh 130
Less Length of famine before Jacob enters Egypt 2
Number of years of plenty 7
Age of Joseph when he explains Pharaoh's dream 47 56
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Age of Jacob when Joseph is born ** 74 **
Less The 14 years since Jacob fled from Esau 14
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Age of Jacob when he departed for Padan Aram 60
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