Bible Strands
Genesis 47:28
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jacob’s final years after the Israelite family has settled in Goshen and multiplied. This chronological note occurs immediately before Jacob summons Joseph to arrange his burial in Canaan rather than Egypt.
The words — וַיְחִי (va-yechi) translates literally as “and he lived,” a standard biblical formula marking a period of residence or survival. The text also explicitly states the total duration of his life as 147 years.
The thread — This lifespan contrasts with the Psalmist’s observation that human days typically number seventy or eighty years (Psalms 90:10). It follows the earlier mention of Joseph’s age at seventeen (Genesis 37:2) and precedes Pharaoh’s inquiry about Jacob’s years (Genesis 47:8).
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of a completed earthly timeline before the transition to covenant burial and legacy. It requires the reader to account for divine provision during the sojourn while preparing for the next phase of the patriarch’s story.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
Cross-references
- Psalms 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
- Genesis 37:2 This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
- Genesis 47:8 “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
- Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
- Psalms 119:84 How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?