Genesis 47:28
in Genesis 47And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty and seven years.
KJV
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
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This verse in Genesis 47
Commentary
4 notes on this verseJacob lived seventeen years after he came into Egypt, far beyond his own expectation: seventeen years he had nourished Joseph, for so old he was when he was sold from him, and now, seventeen years Joseph nourished him.
This site's exposition
Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years
Jacob lives seventeen years in Egypt. Joseph was seventeen when his father sent him out to his brothers at Genesis 37:2. John Wesley set the two numbers together, seventeen years Jacob nourished Joseph, and now seventeen years Joseph nourished Jacob. The whole 147 is counted out here, the way Genesis closes an account.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); while the Egyptians were impoverished in their own land, Jacob was replenished in a strange land. He lived seventeen years after he came into Egypt, far beyond his own expectation. Seventeen years he had nourished Joseph (for so old he was when he was sold from him, ch. xxxvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years,....
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְחִ֤י | vaychi | and he lived | H2421 → | 282 times |
| יַעֲקֹב֙ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| שְׁבַ֥ע | sheva' | seven- | H7651 → | 394 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה | ʾesreh | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| שָׁנָ֑ה | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וַיְהִ֤י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יְמֵֽי־ | yemei- | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יַעֲקֹב֙ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | [the] years of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| חַיָּ֔יו | chaiyav | life his | H2416 → | 498 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שָׁנִ֔ים | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וְאַרְבָּעִ֥ים | vearbaim | and forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| וּמְאַ֖ת | umeat | and one hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| שָׁנָֽה׃ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
וַיְחִ֤יand he lived
vaychiH2421 →282 times
יַעֲקֹב֙Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
שְׁבַ֥עseven-
sheva'H7651 →394 times
עֶשְׂרֵ֖הteen
ʾesrehH6240 →338 times
שָׁנָ֑הyear[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
וַיְהִ֤יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
יְמֵֽי־[the] days of
yemei-H3117 →2304 times
יַעֲקֹב֙Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
שְׁנֵ֣י[the] years of
sheneiH8141 →877 times
חַיָּ֔יוlife his
chaiyavH2416 →498 times
שֶׁ֣בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
שָׁנִ֔יםyears
shanimH8141 →877 times
וְאַרְבָּעִ֥יםand forty
vearbaimH705 →136 times
וּמְאַ֖תand one hundred
umeatH3967 →581 times
שָׁנָֽה׃year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 90:12So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:16–17
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
- Psalms 39:4
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.
- John 9:4
While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
- Deuteronomy 32:29
If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
- Proverbs 4:7
Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.
- Ephesians 5:16–17
Through
Psalms 90:10The 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.
it leads to
- James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- Psalms 78:39
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
- 2 Samuel 19:35
I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men…
- James 4:14
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.