The book of Genesis is replete with people from the time of the patriarchal age, but the timeline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is given more emphasis than all the others combined. As we pick up where we left off, let us continue considering how the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have overlapped as Moses penned the beginning of a nation on its way into the land promised to their forefathers.
From the calling of Abraham to the time Jacob completed his servitude in Padan Aram to Laban, his mother’s brother, approximately 146 years had passed. With the exception of an unexpected happy reunion with his brother Esau, (Genesis 32:3, 6-7; 33:1-4), Jacob (who would have been in his sixties) did not experience much of a welcome home party in Canaan.
Though a newly named Israel returned with numerous grandchildren for his parents, it seems as if the house of Isaac was missing an important person to Jacob before he arrived home – his mother, Rebekah. Though she likely had already passed, only the death of Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, is recorded (Genesis 35:8); scripture is silent concerning the death of Rebekah herself. As far as funerals are concerned, the house of Jacob would soon follow suit with the house of Isaac. Between his journey from Bethel to Ephrath, Jacob would bury his wife, Rachel, after she died giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob’s twelfth son (Genesis 35:16-20). Nearly 60 years after the death of Rachel, Esau and Jacob (being 120 years old) would once again reunite 105 years after attending the funeral of their grandfather, Abraham, to bury their father, Isaac, who died at the age of 180 (Genesis 25:26; 35:27-29). Approximately 17 years after the death of Isaac, Esau would follow in the physical steps of his father (Genesis 25:17).
By God’s grace, Isaac had the blessing of not having to bury a child, though Jacob would not enjoy the luxury of avoiding the feeling of heartbreak. At the age of 17, Joseph, the oldest son of Rachel (Genesis 30:22-24), and the second youngest and most beloved son of Jacob (Genesis 37:2-3), was betrayed by his brothers and sold as a slave (Genesis 37:26-28), leaving Jacob to mourn the perceived death of Joseph (Genesis 37:29-36).
After 13 years of trials and imprisonment, and approximately 215 years after his great grandfather Abraham appeared before Pharoah in Egypt due to a severe famine, Joseph would become governor of Egypt at the age of 30 (Genesis 41:46). At the approximate age of 38 (Genesis 41:53-54), as governor and the father of two sons (Genesis 41:50-52), Joseph would reunite with his unaware brothers due to a severe famine (Genesis 42:1-4, 7-8). At the approximate age of 40, Joseph, eager to once again meet his father, would tearfully reveal himself and embrace his brothers (Genesis 45:3-6, 13-15).
Revived at the thought of reuniting with Joseph after 23 years of mourning, Jacob, with his children and grandchildren (Genesis 46:5-7, 26-27) arrived before Pharaoh at the age of 137 (Genesis 47:7-9). After living in Egypt for a total of 17 years, Jacob would die 10 years after meeting Pharoah (and after blessing his children and grandchildren, the children of Israel) at the age of 147 (Genesis 47:28). Jacob would eventually be buried in the same cave as his grandparents, his parents, and his wife Leah (Genesis 47:27-31; 49:28-33).
After overseeing his father’s funeral (Genesis 50:1-3, 5, 10, 12-14), at the approximate age of 50, Joseph would return to govern Egypt and provide for his family in Goshen for another 60 years (Genesis 50:20-21); and after living in Egypt for 93 years he would witness the birth of his great-great grandchildren before his death at the age of 110 (Genesis 50:22-26).
After describing the overlapping lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the beginning of a nation with its roots in Canaan and its branches spreading out within the borders of Egypt, Moses would continue the rest of the timeline as his contemporaries would leave Egypt to walk the same ground as their forefathers.
“11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 8)
