Genesis 47:9
New International Version
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.”

New Living Translation
Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”

English Standard Version
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.”

Berean Standard Bible
“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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.”

New American Standard Bible
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my living abroad are 130; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.”

NASB 1995
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

NASB 1977
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

Legacy Standard Bible
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

Amplified Bible
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage.”

Christian Standard Bible
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not surpassed the years of my fathers during their pilgrimages.”

American Standard Version
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Contemporary English Version
Jacob answered, "I have lived only 130 years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine."

English Revised Version
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
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."

Good News Translation
Jacob answered, "My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings."

International Standard Version
"I'm 130 years old," Jacob replied. "My years have turned out to be few and unpleasant, but I haven't yet reached the age my ancestors did during their travels on earth."

Majority Standard Bible
“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

NET Bible
Jacob said to Pharaoh, "All the years of my travels are 130. All the years of my life have been few and painful; the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors."

New Heart English Bible
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and difficult have been 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."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, nor have they attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

World English Bible
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and evil. They have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Jacob says to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojournings [are] one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojournings.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Jacob saith unto Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojournings are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojournings.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And Jacob will say to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojourning, thirty and a hundred years: little and evil were the days of the years of my life, and they reached not the days of the years of the life of my fathers in their sojournings.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

Catholic Public Domain Version
He responded, “The days of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years, few and unworthy, and they do not reach even to the days of the sojourning of my fathers.”

New American Bible
Jacob replied: “The years I have lived as a wayfarer amount to a hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been these years of my life, and they do not compare with the years that my ancestors lived as wayfarers.”

New Revised Standard Version
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Jacob said to Pharaoh. The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; few and difficult have been the years o my life. and I have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Yaquuv said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; the days of the years of my life are few and evil and they have not arrived to the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their travel.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Jacob said to Pharao, The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jacob Settles in Goshen
8“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked. 9“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.” 10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.…

Cross References
Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Psalm 39:12
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

Psalm 90:10
The 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.

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

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.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. / For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, / because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ...

Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, / who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

Hebrews 11:9-10
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. / For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

2 Samuel 19:34-35
But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? / 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 and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

Job 7:6-7
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. / Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.


Treasury of Scripture

And Jacob said to 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 to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

The days.

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Psalm 39:12
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Psalm 119:19,54
I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me…

and hundred.

Job 14:1
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

Psalm 39:5
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

Psalm 89:47,48
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? …

have not.

Genesis 47:28
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

Genesis 5:27
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

Genesis 11:11,24,25
And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters…

Jump to Previous
Attain Attained Difficult Evil Fathers Few Full Hundred Jacob Life Pharaoh Pilgrimage Small Sojourning Sojournings Sorrow Thirty Unpleasant Wanderings
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Attain Attained Difficult Evil Fathers Few Full Hundred Jacob Life Pharaoh Pilgrimage Small Sojourning Sojournings Sorrow Thirty Unpleasant Wanderings
Genesis 47
1. Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh.
11. He gives them habitation and maintenance.
13. He gets the Egyptian's money;
16. their cattle;
18. and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh.
23. He restores the land for a fifth.
28. Jacob's age.
29. He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers.














Jacob said to Pharaoh
This encounter between Jacob and Pharaoh is significant, as it represents a meeting between the patriarch of God's chosen people and the ruler of the most powerful nation of that time. The Hebrew name "Jacob" (יַעֲקֹב, Ya'akov) means "supplanter" or "heel-grabber," reflecting his early life struggles. The act of speaking to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, highlights the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be recognized by great nations (Genesis 12:2).

The years of my pilgrimage
The term "pilgrimage" (מְגוּרִים, megurim) suggests a temporary sojourn, emphasizing the transient nature of life on earth. Jacob acknowledges that his life is a journey, a common biblical theme that reminds believers of their status as sojourners in a world that is not their permanent home (Hebrews 11:13-16). This perspective encourages Christians to focus on their heavenly citizenship and eternal destiny.

Have been a hundred and thirty
Jacob's age, 130 years, is significant in the context of the patriarchal narratives. While it seems long by modern standards, Jacob himself considers it short compared to his ancestors. This reflects the biblical theme of the brevity of life and the importance of living with an eternal perspective (Psalm 90:10).

My years have been few and miserable
The Hebrew word for "miserable" (רָעִים, ra'im) can also mean "evil" or "troubled." Jacob's life was marked by struggles, including family conflicts, loss, and hardship. This acknowledgment of suffering is a reminder of the fallen nature of the world and the trials believers may face. Yet, it also points to God's faithfulness in sustaining His people through adversity (Romans 8:28).

And they have not attained the years of the lives of my fathers
Jacob compares his lifespan to that of his forefathers, Abraham and Isaac, who lived longer lives. This comparison underscores the continuity of God's covenant promises through generations. It also highlights the humility of Jacob, recognizing that his life, though significant, is part of a larger divine narrative.

In the days of their pilgrimage
The repetition of "pilgrimage" reinforces the theme of life as a temporary journey. The patriarchs lived as nomads, looking forward to the fulfillment of God's promises. This perspective encourages believers to live with hope and faith, trusting in God's ultimate plan and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:18).

(9) My pilgrimage.--Heb., my sojournings; and so at end of verse. The idea of a pilgrimage is a modern one. Even in 1Peter 2:11 "pilgrim" means in the Greek a stranger who has settled in a country of which he is not a native. So, too, here Jacob was not a pilgrim, for he was no traveller bound for religious motives to some distant shrine, but he was a sojourner, because Canaan was not the native land of his race.

Few and evil.--Evil certainly: for from the time when he deceived his father, Jacob's life had been one of great anxiety and care, in addition to his many sorrows. If he had gained wealth in Haran, it had been by great industry and personal toil, aggravated by Laban's injustice. On his return, there was the double terror of Laban's pursuit behind and Esau's menacing attitude in front. He had then long lain ill at Succoth, waiting till time healed his sprained hip. His entry into the promised land had been made miserable by his daughter's dishonour and the fierce conduct of his sons. And when his home was in sight, he had lost his beloved Rachel; and finally, been compelled to remain at a distance from his father, because Esau was there chief and paramount. His father dies, and Esau goes away; but the ten years between Isaac's death and the descent into Egypt had been years of mourning for Joseph's loss. All these troubles had fallen upon him, and made his days evil; but they were few only in comparison with those of his father and grandfather. In Pharaoh's eyes Jacob had lived beyond the usual span of human existence; but to himself he seemed prematurely old. His end came after seventeen years of peaceful decay spent under Joseph's loving care.

The land of Rameses.--See Note on Genesis 45:10. Though the LXX. take "land of Rameses" as equivalent to Goshen, it was more probably some special district of it, for, as we have seen, Goshen was a territory of vast extent. Raamses (Exodus 1:11) is the same word, though the Masorites have given it different vowels; but whether such a town already existed, or whether when built it took its name from the district, we cannot tell. If there were such a place, it would at this period be a poor village, consisting of a few shepherds' huts; but long afterwards, in the days of King Rameses II., "it was the centre of a rich, fertile, and beautiful land, described as the abode of happiness, where all alike, rich and poor, lived in peace and plenty."--Canon Cook, Excursus on Egyptian Words, p. 487. It deserved therefore its description as "the best of the land."



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“My pilgrimage
מְגוּרַ֔י (mə·ḡū·ray)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 4033: A sojourning place, dwelling place, a sojourning

[has lasted] 130
וּמְאַ֖ת (ū·mə·’aṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3967: A hundred

years,”
שְׁנֵ֣י (šə·nê)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 8141: A year

Jacob
יַעֲקֹב֙ (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

replied.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“My years
יְמֵי֙ (yə·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

have been
הָיוּ֙ (hā·yū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

few
מְעַ֣ט (mə·‘aṭ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 4592: A little, fewness, a few

and hard,
וְרָעִ֗ים (wə·rā·‘îm)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

and they have not
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

matched
הִשִּׂ֗יגוּ (hiś·śî·ḡū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5381: To reach, overtake

the years
יְמֵי֙ (yə·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of the lives
מְגוּרֵיהֶֽם׃ (mə·ḡū·rê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4033: A sojourning place, dwelling place, a sojourning

of my fathers.”
אֲבֹתַ֔י (’ă·ḇō·ṯay)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1: Father


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OT Law: Genesis 47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh The days (Gen. Ge Gn)
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