Study Megillah folio 17A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Why were the years of Ishmael mentioned in the Torah? For what purpose were we told the life span of that wicked man? In order to reckon through them the years of Jacob. As it is written: “And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years” (Genesis 25:17). How much older was Ishmael than Isa
And it was taught in a baraita: Jacob our father was 63 years old at the time he was blessed by his father, and at that same time Ishmael died. How is it known that these two events occurred at the same time? As it is written: “When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob…then Esau went to Ishmael an
If we calculate these 63 years and the 14 until Joseph was born, this means that Jacob should have been 77 at the time of Joseph’s birth. And it is written: “And Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:46). This indicates that Jacob should have then been at least 107 years
But it is written: “And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojournings are 130 years” (Genesis 47:8–9). Jacob indicated that he was 130 when he arrived in Egypt, which is different from the 116 years calculat
Rather, learn from here that the 14 years that Jacob spent in the house of Eber are not counted here. As it is taught in a baraita: Jacob was studying in the house of Eber for 14 years while in hiding from his brother Esau. If we were to calculate the life spans recorded in the Torah, we would find