New Living Translation
Genesis 47:9
9Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”
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 in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8“How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him. Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court. 11So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
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 29:15We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
- Psalms 39:12Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.
- Psalms 119:19I am only a foreigner in the land. Don’t hide your commands from me!
- 2 Corinthians 5:6So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
- Hebrews 11:9And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
- Hebrews 13:14For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
- 1 Peter 2:11Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
- Job 14:1“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!
- Psalms 39:5You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude
- Psalms 89:47Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!
- Psalms 90:3You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”
- James 4:14How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
- Genesis 47:28Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all.
- Genesis 5:27Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
- Genesis 11:11After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
- Genesis 25:7Abraham lived for 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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