Hebrew word · H1657

גֹּ֫שֶׁן

goshen

Goshen

A proper noun naming a region in the eastern Nile Delta where Israel lived in Egypt (Gen 45:10; 46:28–47:27; 50:8; Exod 8:22; 9:26). A town and district in southern Judah also bear the name (Josh 10:41; 11:16; 15:51).

Appears 15 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Goshen = "drawing near"

a region in northern Egypt, east of the lower Nile, where the children of Israel lived from the time of Joseph to the time of Moses

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 45:10

Range of meaning

A proper noun naming a region in the eastern Nile Delta where Israel lived in Egypt (Gen 45:10; 46:28–47:27; 50:8; Exod 8:22; 9:26). A town and district in southern Judah also bear the name (Josh 10:41; 11:16; 15:51).

Against the English

All the major versions simply carry the name over. Some say 'land of Goshen' and some say 'region of Goshen'. 'Region' captures that it was a district within Egypt.

Used elsewhere in the period

No certain Egyptian name matching 'Goshen' has been found. The Septuagint calls it 'Gesem of Arabia'. Arabia was the name of an eastern Delta district (nome) in the translators' Ptolemaic period, so this shows where Jews in Egypt placed it about the 3rd century BC. The Egyptian report in Papyrus Anastasi VI (late 13th century BC) describes Semitic herders (Shasu from Edom) being let past the border fortress at Tjeku, generally identified with biblical Succoth, to the pools of Per-Atum in the Wadi Tumilat 'to keep them alive and to keep their flocks alive'. It shows the eastern Delta serving exactly this purpose for herders from Canaan.

From the study of Genesis 47:4

Range of meaning

A district in the eastern Nile Delta. It is usually placed around the Wadi Tumilat, which runs from the Nile eastward toward the Sinai frontier. Genesis 47:11 calls it 'the land of Rameses'.

Against the English

All versions transliterate it as 'Goshen'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint calls it 'Gesem of Arabia' (45:10; 46:34), reflecting how Jews in Egypt saw it as the eastern, 'Arabian' side of the Delta. At 46:28 it adds 'Heroonpolis, in the land of Rameses'. No Egyptian source certainly names 'Goshen'. Egyptian records do show Asiatic herders being admitted to this frontier zone in times of need. Papyrus Anastasi VI (late 13th century BC) reports Edomite pastoralists allowed past the fortress of Tjeku 'to the pools of Pithom… to keep them alive and to keep their cattle alive'.

From the study of Joshua 10:41

Range of meaning

A place-name with two separate uses: (1) the district in the eastern Nile Delta where Jacob's family settled (Gen 45:10; 47:27; Exod 8:22; 9:26); (2) a town in the southern Judean hill country (Josh 15:51, listed with Debir, Holon and Giloh) and the district around it, 'the land of Goshen' (Josh 10:41; 11:16).

Against the English

Every English version simply writes 'Goshen'. Without a note, most readers think of Egypt.

How it drifted

English Bible readers learn the Egyptian Goshen first, from Genesis and Exodus, so they carry that picture into Joshua. Because the same name was used for two places, it reads as if it were the same place.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josh 15:51 places a town Goshen in the hill-country district south and southwest of Hebron. One proposed site is near ed-Dhahiriyeh, but this is uncertain. Josh 11:16 repeats 'all the land of Goshen' in the summary of the whole conquest, next to the Negev and the lowlands. Greek manuscripts of Joshua appear to spell this name differently from the Egyptian Goshen of Genesis (Gesem), but the spellings vary.

Where it appears

Genesis · 10

  1. Genesis 45:10 גֹּ֗שֶׁן Goshen

    You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.

    Here: A grazing district in the eastern Nile Delta, on the side of Egypt nearest Canaan. This is the first time it is named in the Bible.

  2. Genesis 46:28 גֹּ֑שְׁנָה גֹּֽשֶׁן׃ Goshen towards, Goshen

    Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,

  3. Genesis 46:29 גֹּ֑שְׁנָה Goshen towards

    Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

  4. Genesis 46:34 גֹּ֔שֶׁן Goshen

    you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

  5. Genesis 47:1 גֹּֽשֶׁן׃ Goshen

    So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”

  6. Genesis 47:4 גֹּֽשֶׁן׃ Goshen

    Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”

    Here: A region in the eastern Nile Delta on Egypt's frontier with Asia, good for grazing. Joseph had already proposed it (45:10; 46:34). Asking for it formally lets Pharaoh grant it officially (47:6).

  7. Genesis 47:6 גֹּ֔שֶׁן Goshen

    the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

  8. Genesis 47:27 גֹּ֑שֶׁן Goshen

    Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.

  9. Genesis 50:8 גֹּֽשֶׁן׃ Goshen

    along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 8:22 גֹּ֗שֶׁן Goshen

    But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.

    Here: The district in the eastern Nile Delta where Joseph had settled Jacob's family as herdsmen (Gen 45:10; 46:34; 47:6). Inside Egypt, yet now to be treated as if it were not Egypt.

  2. Exodus 9:26 גֹּ֔שֶׁן Goshen

    The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 10:41 גֹּ֖שֶׁן Goshen

    Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

    Here: A district in the southern hill country of Judah, named after a town called Goshen (Josh 15:51). It is not the Goshen in Egypt where Jacob's family settled. It marks the southern end of the second, inland range.

  2. Joshua 11:16 הַגֹּ֔שֶׁן <the> Goshen

    So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,

    Here: A district in the southern hill country or northern Negev of Canaan, probably named for the town of Goshen listed among Judah's hill towns (Josh 15:51). It is not the Egyptian Goshen where Israel lived in Genesis–Exodus. It already appeared as the southern limit of the campaign in 10:41.

  3. Joshua 15:51 וְגֹ֥שֶׁן and Goshen

    Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.