God’s Word Translation
Genesis 47:9
9Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.”
Genesis 47:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
Context of Genesis 47:9
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left. 11As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there.
Read all of Genesis 47Genesis 47:9 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י מְגוּרַ֔י שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וּמְאַ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה מְעַ֣ט וְרָעִ֗ים הָיוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י חַיַּ֔י וְלֹ֣א הִשִּׂ֗יגוּ אֶת־יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵי֙ חַיֵּ֣י אֲבֹתַ֔י בִּימֵ֖י מְגוּרֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- The daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of the yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- of my pilgrimageמָגוֹרmâgûr mâgûr · sojourningH4033
- an hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- and thirtyשְׁלֹשִׁיםshelôshîym shelôshîym · thirtyH7970
- fewמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
- and evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- of my lifeחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
- been, and have not attainedנָשַׂגnâώag · to overtakeH5381
- of my fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
Cross-references for Genesis 47:9
- 1 Chronicles 29:15To you we are all like our ancestors— foreigners without permanent homes. Our days are as fleeting as shadows on the ground. There’s no hope ⌞for them⌟.
- Psalms 39:12Listen to my prayer, O Lord. Open your ear to my cry for help. Do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a foreign resident with you, a stranger like all my ancestors.
- Psalms 119:19I am a foreigner in this world. Do not hide your commandments from me.
- 2 Corinthians 5:6So we are always confident. We know that as long as we are living in these bodies, we are living away from the Lord.
- Hebrews 11:9Faith led Abraham to live as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God.
- Hebrews 13:14We don’t have a permanent city here on earth, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future.
- 1 Peter 2:11Dear friends, since you are foreigners and temporary residents ⌞in the world⌟, I’m encouraging you to keep away from the desires of your corrupt nature. These desires constantly attack you.
- Job 14:1“A person who is born of a woman is short-lived and is full of trouble.
- Psalms 39:5Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⌞only⌟ a few inches. My life span is nothing compared to yours. Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. Selah
- Psalms 89:47Remember how short my life is! Have you created Adam’s descendants for no reason?
- Psalms 90:3You turn mortals back into dust and say, “Return, descendants of Adam.”
- James 4:14You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears.
- Genesis 47:28Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he lived a total of 147 years.
- Genesis 5:27Methuselah lived a total of 969 years; then he died.
- Genesis 11:11After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
- Genesis 25:7Abraham lived 175 years.
Commentaries on Genesis 47:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The days of the years of my pilgrimage - מגורי megurai, of my sojourning or wandering. Jacob had always lived a migratory or wandering life, in different parts of Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, scarcely ever at rest; and in the places where he lived longest, always exposed to the fatigues of the field and the desert. Our word pilgrim comes from the French pelerin and pelegrin, which are corrupted from the Latin peregrinus, an alien, stranger, or…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-31Verses 1-31 - Jacob in Goshen 11. רעמסס ra‛mesês Rameses “son of the sun.” 31. מטה mı̂ṭṭāh “bed.” מטה maṭṭeh “staff.” Arrangements are now made for the settlement of Israel in Goshen. The administration of Joseph during the remaining years of the famine is then recorded. For the whole of this period his father and brothers are subject to him, as their political superior, according to the reading of his early dreams. We then approach to the death-bed…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 With the gravity of old age, the piety of a true believer, and the authority of a patriarch and a prophet, Jacob besought the Lord to bestow a blessing upon Pharaoh. He acted as a man not ashamed of his religion; and who would express gratitude to the benefactor of himself and his family. We have here a very uncommon answer given to a very common question. Jacob calls his life a pilgrimage; the sojourning of a stranger in a foreign country, or…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-10When Jacob entered and left Pharaoh’s court, he blessed Pharaoh. This showed Jacob's role as God's representative (see Hebrews 7:7). God promised to bless those who blessed Abraham’s family (Genesis 12:2–3), so Jacob blessed Pharaoh and Egypt.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The days of the years of my pilgrimage, &c.--Though a hundred thirty years, he reckons by days (compare Psa 90:12), which he calls few, as they appeared in retrospect, and evil, because his life had been one almost unbroken series of trouble. The answer is remarkable, considering the comparative darkness of the patriarchal age (compare 2Ti 1:10).Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 47:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 47
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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