Simple Bible Math Lesson

(Note - for you who were not in class this Tuesday, this post is going to be totally meaningless and completely empty of spiritual application. Sorry about that. I have to address a simple math issue that we encountered...so, Lori, don't judge the blog by this entry!!! Come back later...)

Okay, gals - I had to leave town unexpectedly on Tuesday, but I'm back and I've got the math for Jacob's age when he left home for you. So grab your Bible and follow carefully.

To figure this out, we have to fast forward to the story of Joseph and then work backwards.

Jacob was 130 when he was introduced to Pharaoh as Joseph's father - Genesis 47:9

Joseph was 30 when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream - Genesis 41:46

Then there were 7 years of feast - Genesis 41:47

And then two years of famine before the brothers showed up for food - Genesis 45:11

So, when the brothers came for food Joseph was 30+7+2= 39 years old.

If Jacob was 130 when Joseph was reunited with him, subtract 39 from 130 and you get 91. (130-39=91)

So Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born - still hanging in there??

Now, when Jacob went away from his family, he worked for 20 years before he returned back to the promised land - Genesis 31:38

Just before he finally got the green light to return back to the promised land, Joseph was born - Genesis 30:25

I am not sure how much before this time but it is possibly up to two years before the return - two years or less, most likely. This is the only amount that we have to guess on.

So take the 20 years and subtract 2 and you get 18 years (20-2=18)

Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born - subtract the 18 years of service to Laban and we get the age that Jacob was when he left his father's home - 91-18= 73

Therefore, give or take a year, Jacob was 73 when he deceived his father, dressed in his brother's clothes, stole the blessing and ran to his mother's family in Paddam-aram.

Wasn't that easy??? You gals continue to keep me on my toes...

Have a great weekend!

Kristen