Genesis

Lesson 25 w/AnswersGenesis Chapters 26 through 47

We continue our study of Genesis, now entering the second half of the book. It is interesting to note that the first 24 chapters covered everything from the Creation story, the Fall of man in sin, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, to the life of Abraham. The remaining 26 chapters focus on the lives of three people: Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, who were Abraham’s direct descendants. They comprise the beginning of the creation of God’s chosen people.

In order to establish the proper backdrop for these chapters, and the three people who will be their focus, it is useful to introduce a dimension of this study which perhaps you have never considered before. The goal is to help put into context the stories that many of us have all come to know: the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, the deception of Isaac, the birth of the twelve sons to Jacob, and the many trials that befell Joseph.

Beginnings

As we test these stories with logic, and apply some inductive reasoning to our studies, we may get fuller picture of these events. So let’s examine a new dimension in the story of these three men and their families, specifically, their ages.

For example, I’m sure that if you ask even the most regular Bible student how old the twins Esau and Jacob were when Jacob deceived Isaac; they would reply with a guess that the twins were probably teenagers or maybe in their early twenties. However, similar to our findings last week when we re-read the scriptures concerning Isaac in which we noted that Isaac had prayed for Rebekah for twenty years before she bore the twins, we will also see something different about these twins, their age, and what it tells us about our walk with God.

So, don your thinking caps and be prepared to read a lot of scripture, scripture that I know will open your eyes and add understanding to the second half of Genesis.

Read the following passages from the latter half of Genesis:
  • Genesis 26:34
  • Genesis 27:41
  • Genesis 27:42-45
  • Genesis 29:26
  • Genesis 30:24
  • Genesis 37:3
  • Genesis 31:38
  • Genesis 35:28-29
  • Genesis 37:2
  • Genesis 41:46
  • Genesis 47:9
  • Genesis 47:28

Based on your findings above, answer the following questions:

  1. How old was Isaac when the twins, Esau and Jacob, were born?
    1. ANSWER: 60 years old.
  2. How old was Isaac when he died?
    1. ANSWER: 180 years old.
  3. How old was Jacob when he came to Egypt during the famine, during the time that Joseph was the Pharaoh’s "main man", administering the gathering and dispensing of food.
    1. ANSWER: He was 130 years old.
  4. How old was Jacob when he died?
    1. ANSWER: 147 years old.
  5. How old was Esau when he married Judith? By this time, had Esau already been tricked out of his birthright and had his blessing stolen from him by Jacob?
    1. ANSWER: Esau was 40 years old when he married Judith, and the deception and trickery had not yet occurred. Clearly, this is an early indication that when the deception occurred, Esau and Jacob were not teenagers, but grown adults.
  6. How old was Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery?
    1. ANSWER: He was 17 years old, a teenager. Today, he probably would not yet have graduated high school.
  7. How old was Joseph when the Pharaoh put him in charge?
    1. ANSWER: He was 30 years old. In thirteen short years, God had matured Joseph spiritually and physically into a man, and placed him in a location and position of authority which enabled him to literally rule a powerful country (Egypt) at 30 years of age.
  8. How long did Jacob work for Laban in order to earn his two wives, Leah and Rachel? And how long altogether did Jacob work for Laban before he left with his family?
    1. ANSWER: He worked a total of seven years for Leah, then seven more for Rachel. Altogether, he worked for Laban 20 years. During this time, 13 children were born to him, and 12 were boys.
  9. Given all of the above facts and verses, and assuming that Jacob came to Egypt during the second year of the famine, how old were the twins when Jacob and Rebekah deceived his father? And if you remember this from our previous study, just providing the age isn’t good enough. You need to "show your work" and write down how you determined their age.
    1. ANSWER: At the time of the deception, the twins were approximately 77 years old(!). All of Jacob’s sons were born to him during the time that he worked for Laban. Therefore, if Joseph was 30 years old when he became a ruler in Egypt, and 9 years transpired since after that (7 years of plenty plus 2 years of famine), then he was 39 or 40 when Jacob was summoned to visit. If Jacob was 130 years old at that time, then he must have been 90-91 years old when he fathered Joseph. Given that he had been employed by Laban for 14 years when Joseph was born, then Jacob would have been 77 when he arrived at Laban’s. Thus, the twins were approximately 77 years old when Jacob deceived his father, at which time they thought that he was on his deathbed. However, he did not die until 43-44 years after that.
  10. How many years before Jacob traveled to Egypt during the famine was it when Isaac died? Would Isaac have heard about the "death" of Joseph when the brothers sold him off to slavery?
    1. ANSWER: Isaac was 60 years old when the twins were born, and he died 120 years later. So, if Jacob was 130 years old when he entered Egypt, then Isaac would have died ten years earlier. And lf Joseph was in Egypt for 13 years (arriving when he was 17 years old) and was 30 years old, then we can deduce that Joseph was sold into slavery (at 17 years old) 3 years before Isaac’s death, and it is conceivable that Isaac would have learned of it. As pointed out above, when Jacob deceived his father, he thought that he was near death, but Isaac did not die for another 43 years (i.e., Jacob’s age when Isaac died was 120 years old, minus Jacob’s age when the deception occurred, 77 years old.)

Hopefully you have noted that when we apply ourselves to studying God’s Word and look for the opportunities to induce and integrate what we find there, we will discover new principles that we may have missed before. For example, we found that the main figures in the narrative are older and theoretically "mature" people who are acting in very immature ways. We see youth both from its good side and from its bad side, as God’s plan continues to unfold perfectly, in spite of man.

Thanks for studying with us, and have a great week!

In Christ,

Wes

[2010]

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