How Old Was Jacob When He Died?

Jacob was 147 years old when he died. Genesis 47:28 says the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years, after he had lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt.

The verse that answers the question

Genesis 47:28 is explicit: “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.” The text does not require calculation for the final age; it states it outright.

Seventeen years earlier Jacob had entered Egypt at 130 and been presented to Pharaoh. Those seventeen years complete the total of 147.

Where Jacob died and was buried

Jacob died in Egypt, but he charged Joseph not to bury him there. Joseph had him embalmed, and the family carried him up to Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, where Abraham and Isaac had been buried.

Before his death Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons and his own sons, and he asked to be gathered to his people. Genesis closes his life with the fulfilment of that request.

How this fits the wider timeline

Joseph was about thirty-nine when Jacob entered Egypt, so Joseph was about fifty-six when Jacob died seventeen years later. Jacob’s age of 147 also anchors earlier estimates such as his age when Joseph was born and when Isaac died.

For the full sequence of ages, see Jacob’s timeline and the related age articles linked below.