Saturday, June 30, 2012

Patriarchal Chronology

 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (Gen 47:9, KJV)

Abram/Abraham is 75 years old when he enters the land of Canaan (Gen 12:4). Sarai/Sarah is 10 years younger than Abram, so she is 65. Sarai is so beautiful at this age that she is dangerous to her husband (Gen 12:11-15).

Abram is 86 and Sarai 76 when Ishmael is born to Hagar. Sarai is apparently not past menopause yet (Gen 17:24-25).

Sarah at age 90 is past menopause (Gen 18:11, 21:5), but gives birth to Isaac miraculously.

Sarah dies at age 127 (Gen 23:1).

Isaac marries Rebekah at age 40 (Gen 25:20).

Isaac is 60 when he and Rebekah have twins, Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:26). Abraham is still alive at age 160.

Abraham dies at age 175 (Gen 25:7).

Esau marries at age 40 (Gen 26:34). Isaac is 100 at this time.

Ishmael dies at age 137 (Gen 25:17).

Jacob is 70 and Isaac 130 when Isaac goes blind and feels he is going to die, and gives a final blessing to his sons described in Genesis 27 (Deduced backwards from Gen 45:11 and 47:9). However, Isaac will live another 50 years. Jacob flees to Haran, to his uncle Laban at this time.

Jacob works for Laban for 7 years and is married at age 77. Jacob stays with Laban for 20 years total, fleeing with his wives, 11 sons and a daughter, none of whom would be older than 12 at the time (Gen 31:38). Jacob is 90 or 91.

Joseph is 17 when he begins to run into trouble with his brothers, when Jacob is 117. He is sold into Egypt by his brothers (Gen 37:2).

Isaac dies at age 180 (Gen 35:28). Jacob is 120 at this time, and Joseph is 29, already in Egypt.

Joseph becomes Prime Minister of Egypt at age 30 (Gen 41:46).

Joseph is 39 when he reveals himself to his brothers. This is after 7 good years and 2 famine years (Gen 45:11). Jacob and his entire clan come to Egypt to join Joseph, and Jacob is 130 years old (Gen 47:9). Jacob's clan includes 12 sons, 52 grandsons, 4 great grandsons and one daughter. Other females, wives and daughters, are present but not numbered. Jacob's wives have died by now.

Jacob dies at age 147 (Gen 47:28).

Joseph dies at age 110 (Gen 50:22).

Moses dies at the age of 120 (Deut 34:7), but most adults above the age of 20 did not live through the 40 year wilderness experience (Numbers 14 story), so most life spans by that time were comparable to today.

Joshua dies at age 110 (Josh 24:29).

Job, who lived sometime during the age of the patriarchs lived 140 years after his misfortune (Job 42:16). The Septuagint says that Job lived 170 years after his misfortune, for a total life span of 240 years.

None of the kings of Israel or Judah live more than 70 years.