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58. How old was Benjamin when his clan migrated to Egypt? Genesis 44:20, 22 vs. Genesis 46:8, 21

At least it seems someone actually read the text this time. Although it doesn’t seem to have helped.

Genesis 44:20
And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age (Benjamin), who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mothers children, and his father loves him.

Genesis 44:22
But you said to your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.

Genesis 46:8
Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacobs firstborn.

Genesis 46:21
The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

None of these verses give any numerical indication of Benjamin’s age.

I’m assuming that the critic takes issue with Benjamin being referred to as “young” in Genesis 44, and then as having 10 sons in Genesis 46. Which issue would be more reasonable in a modern, western history, but that’s not what we’re reading.

First, let’s remind ourselves that “young” and “old” are relative terms.

When I was seven, I thought I’d never be old enough to drive. Now that I’m 28, 30 is looking younger and younger.

Benjamin’s father, Israel, was 130 when he moved his family to Egypt. What’s “young” to a 130 year-old man?

Benjamin didn’t stay home with his father in Genesis 44 because he was too young to make the journey. Joseph, Israels’ favorite son, was presumed dead, and Benjamin was the only other son Israel had by his favorite wife, Rachel – now deceased. He didn’t want to lose his second-favorite son just yet, if they happened to meet with trouble during the journey (Genesis 42:4).

If Benjamin had been a child, this reason for not sending him with his brothers would be weird and unnecessary. Who needs to give a reason for not sending their five-year-old on a cross-country tour for food? This wasn’t about age; it was about favoritism.

So about how old was Benjamin?

We can do a little research and come up with an estimate. First of all, we know how old Joseph was: 

• Joseph was 30 when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 41:46).
• There were then seven years of plenty.
• Joseph’s brothers came to him two years into the famine (Genesis 45:6).

So by the time Joseph’s family shows up, he’s 39 years old.

What’s the age difference between Joseph and Benjamin? That’s harder, but we know:

• Joseph is born in Genesis 30.
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• The remainder of Genesis 30 talks about Israel’s breeding project. We don’t know how long this lasted, but his flocks conceived and gave birth, so let’s call it a couple years just to be safe.
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• Then, Israel travels back to see his father in Canaan. It’s about 400 miles, according to Google Maps, between 31.6935295,34.84388289 (Canaan) and 36.86386408,39.03219672 (Paddan-aram). A similar distance on Google Maps – because, of course, Google Maps can’t give directions from Jerusalem to Turkey, suggests it would take someone just under a week on foot.
  .
  Google doesn’t account for sleeping and eating and potty breaks, of course. And I can’t imagine moving a small village of people with huge tents and thousands of animals and servants and children, so I’m willing to allow for more than a week.
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  The only commentator I could find who mentions the duration of the trip is Gill’s Exposition. Gill merely remarks that it was several years before Israel saw his father again, which must, then, include building a house and stables in Succoth, in Genesis 33, as well. Let’s call the whole journey back to Canaan three years, erring on the side of more time for the critics.
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•  In Genesis 35, Jacob goes to Bethel. Verse 6 tells us that Bethel is in the land of Canaan, so it wasn’t far. Google Maps puts the walking time from Canaan to Bethel (31.6935295,34.84388289) at 17 hours.
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• Later, in Genesis 35, Jacob travels to Ephrath (31.70536129,35.2102663) – half the distance from Canaan to Bethel, where Rachel gives birth to Benjamin.

So, unless I’m missing something big (which is completely possible), there are about five years between Joseph and Benjamin,

which makes Benjamin about 34 years old when his family moves to Egypt.

If you don’t like my assumptions, add a few years for goat breading or travel and Benjamin’s 30 when they move to Egypt. Fine.

We don’t know how many wives Benjamin had, or how old he was when he got them, but as the favorite living son of a very rich and powerful man, we have no reason to think that Benjamin was denied much. It’s perfectly possible that two or three wives could have produced 10 sons in as many years.