Smoodock's Blog

Sarah’s son, Isaac, was considered to be the only son of Abraham (Genesi 21:1-3), in that all his wealth went to Isaac, for he sent away his sons by his concubines, Hagar and Keturah, and gave them gifts (Genesis 21:13-14; 25:6). The death of Abraham (Genesis 25:7-8) culminated the record in Genesis that began with: “These are the generations of Tarah…” (Genesis 11:27), and Isaac’s record begins with: “These are the generations of Isaac (Genesis 25:19). When several records are combined to make one record, as Moses did to make up the Book of Genesis, events that bring one record to a close are often predated by the beginning events of the next record. This is the manner in which things were done in ancient times, in an effort to give the appearance an unbroken flow of events in the literary work that was being compiled.[1] I say this because it becomes evident, if one were to study the events closely, that the birth of Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob came 5 years prior to the death of Abraham, and we need to keep this in mind whenever we come to the words in the text: “These are the generations of…” (Genesis 25:19; cp. 36:1; 37:2; etc.). Some events described at the end of one record postdate the beginning events of the second record.

So, we are told in the text that Jacob came to Mamre, where his father, Isaac and Isaac’s father Abraham, sojourned most of their lives. Perhaps he was told that Isaac was dying, or perhaps that he was already dead. In any event, Isaac died at the age of 180 years (Genesis 35:17-29), five years longer than his father, Abraham, had lived. There, in Mamre, in the cave of Machpelah that Abraham had bought from Ephron, the Hittite, Jacob and Esau buried their father, Isaac (Genesis 23:15-18; 49:30-31).

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[1] Lucian of Samosata (cir. 120 AD to 180 AD) wrote with respect to combining two or more records of history: “For, though all parts must be independently perfected, when the first is complete the second will be brought into essential connection with it, and attached like one link of a chain to another; there must be no possibility of separating them; no mere bundle of parallel threads; the first is not simply to be next to the second, but part of it, their extremities intermingling.” [The Way to Write History 55; (emphasis mine)].

[2] Joseph was 30 years old, when he appeared before Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46). If he was 30 years old at the beginning of the 7 years of good harvests, and he brought Jacob and his entire family to Egypt 9 years later, or 2 years into the famine (Genesis 45:6, 11) then he would have been 39 at that time. Jacob was 130 years old when he stood before Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9), making him 91 years old at Joseph’s birth (130 – 39 = 91). If Jacob was 91 years old 14 years after leaving Beersheba for Haran, then he was 77 years old before leaving Beersheba, putting Isaac’s age at 137, vis-à-vis 60 years when Jacob was born + 77 years later, when Jacob left for Haran = 137.