Region
Goshen
GOH-shen · Modern Eastern Nile Delta / Wadi Tumilat region, Egypt · Also called Land of Rameses
Goshen is a region of the biblical world, known today as Eastern Nile Delta / Wadi Tumilat region, Egypt.
What is known
- Goshen is not a precisely bounded archaeological site but a fertile region in the eastern Nile Delta, generally associated with the Wadi Tumilat corridor between the Nile and the Bitter Lakes/Suez region
- Joseph settled his father Jacob and brothers in Goshen because it was good pastureland and separate from the main Egyptian population, who considered shepherds detestable (Genesis 46:31-34; 47:1-6)
- Genesis emphasizes that Goshen was 'the best of the land' given to Israel by Pharaoh (Genesis 47:6, 11)
- During the plagues, Goshen was set apart and spared from several of the judgments on Egypt, including the flies, livestock death, and hail (Exodus 8:22; 9:26)
- Israel lived in Goshen for roughly 400 years, growing from a small clan into a large nation before the Exodus (Exodus 1:1-14; 12:40)
History
- Population
- Home to the growing Israelite population during the Egyptian sojourn, described as multiplying from seventy persons to a nation numbering in the hundreds of thousands by the Exodus
- Industry
- Prime pastureland for shepherding; later a corvée-labor region where Israel was forced into brick-making and building store cities
- Coordinates
- 30.5500° N, 31.9833° E
Scripture references
- Genesis 45:10
- Genesis 46:28-34
- Genesis 47:1-11
- Genesis 50:8
- Exodus 8:22
- Exodus 9:26
- Exodus 1:7-14
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
In Goshen, Jacob's family put down roots and flourished in a foreign land — where are you being asked to grow somewhere unfamiliar?
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