Goshen
The district of Egypt where Jacob’s family settled under Joseph and where Israel lived until the exodus. It lay in the eastern Nile Delta. Its exact limits are not known.
Genesis describes Goshen as a district of Egypt with good pasture, near enough to Joseph’s residence for his family to be close to him (Genesis 45:10) (Genesis 47:6). Jacob reaches it first on the road from Canaan, and Joseph goes up to meet him there (Genesis 46:28–29). The same district is called “the land of Rameses” (Genesis 47:11), and the Israelites later set out from Rameses at the exodus (Exodus 12:37). In the plague stories Goshen, where Israel lives, is spared (Exodus 8:22) (Exodus 9:26). These details point to the eastern side of the Nile Delta, toward the Sinai frontier, which is where the district is generally placed. The pin marks that general area and not a known boundary.
What happened here
- about 1898 BC to 1876 BC, traditional dateJoseph and the Descent into Egypt
Joseph, sold by his brothers as a slave, rises to govern Egypt and stores grain against a seven-year famine. He is reconciled with his brothers, and Jacob’s whole family settles in the land of Goshen.