Goshen #28

Goshen is the region of Egypt where the Israelites lived for several centuries, from the time of Joseph until the exodus. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he tells them to bring their father and all their households to live in the land of Goshen, near him, with their flocks and herds (Genesis 45:9-10). The name is used only in Genesis and Exodus and points to a pastoral district in the eastern part of the Nile Delta.

Biblical Significance

When Jacob arrives in Egypt, Joseph goes to meet him in Goshen, and he coaches his brothers to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds, an occupation the Egyptians found detestable, so that they may be allowed to settle apart in Goshen (Genesis 46:28-34). Pharaoh agrees and tells Joseph to settle his family “in the best of the land,” in the land of Goshen (Genesis 47:1-6). The same district is elsewhere called “the land of Rameses” (Genesis 47:11). Genesis records that Israel acquired property, was fruitful, and multiplied greatly there (Genesis 47:27).

Goshen appears again in the plague narrative. During the fourth plague, the Lord sets apart the land of Goshen, “in which my people dwell,” so that no swarms of flies come there (Exodus 8:22), and the Israelites’ livestock are spared in the plague on the cattle (Exodus 9:4-7). Goshen is also excepted from the plague of hail (Exodus 9:26). These distinctions are meant to show that the Lord acts with purpose toward Egypt and his own people. Later, Israel is forced to build the store cities of Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11), and the exodus begins from Rameses (Exodus 12:37).

Today

The traditional identification places Goshen in the eastern Delta, especially around the Wadi Tumilat, a fertile valley running from the Nile toward the Bitter Lakes. Excavations at Tell el-Dab’a, ancient Avaris, and nearby Qantir, the later Pi-Ramesses, have shown that this region held a large population of people from Canaan in the Middle Bronze Age, and the site later served as the capital of the Hyksos rulers. Some scholars see this as background to the biblical account of Israel in Egypt; others are cautious about connecting the archaeology directly with the biblical narrative or with a particular date.

The name Goshen itself is not securely attested in Egyptian texts. The ancient Greek translation of Genesis calls the district Gesem of Arabia. The proposals are reasonable, but the exact boundaries of Goshen remain uncertain.