Genesis 25:17

 Genesis 25:17

And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

a. ASV: And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered unto his people.   [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT:  And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years; and he expireth, and dieth, and is gathered unto his people; [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And Ishmael lived 137 years; then his spirit left him, and he died and was gathered to his kindred.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: These were the years of Ishmael’s life: one hundred years, thirty years, and seven years, and he expired and died, and was gathered unto his people.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

e. Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web: www.chabad.org; Online English Translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible):  And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred years and thirty years and seven years; and he expired and died and was gathered to his people.  [English Translation, Ⓒ Copyright The Judaica Press All rights reserved.]

1. “And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years…”

a. [And] these [are] [Strong: 428 'el-leh ale'-leh prolonged from 411; these or those:--an- (the) other; one sort, so, some, such, them, these (same), they, this, those, thus, which, who(-m).]

b. [are the] years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]

c. [of the] life [Strong: 2416 chay khah'-ee from 2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:--+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

d. [of] Ishmael [Strong: 3458 Yishma`e'l yish-maw-ale' from 8085 and 410; God will hear; Jishmael, the name of Abraham's oldest son, and of five Israelites:--Ishmael.]

e. [an] hundred [Strong: 3967 me'ah may-aw' or metyah {may-yaw'}; properly, a primitive numeral; a hundred; also as a multiplicative and a fraction:--hundred((-fold), -th), + sixscore.]

f. [and] thirty [Strong: 7970 shlowshiym shel-o-sheem' or shloshiym {shel-o-sheem'}; multiple of 7969; thirty; or (ordinal) thirtieth:--thirty, thirtieth.]

g. [and] seven [Strong: 7651 sheba` sheh'-bah or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw'}; from 7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number:--(+ by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times).]

h. years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]

1). This is a time marker that helps to put events in chronological order. Isaac was 14 years younger than Ishmael. Isaac was born when Abraham was about 100 years old (Genesis 21:5). Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). Isaac was 123 and would live for 57 more years (Genesis 35:28). Jacob and Esau were 63 when Ishmael died, for when they were born Isaac was 60 (Genesis 25:26). Ishmael died 14 years before jacob was sent to Padan-aram.

2). Finis Jennings Dake: That Jacob was 77 years old at this time seems evident from a study of several passages. It is necessary to take into account the age of his son Joseph at the time he (Jacob) went down to Egypt with his family and figure back to this time. From Genesis 41:46-54 and Genesis 45:5-9 we learn that Joseph was 30 years old “when he stood before Pharoah”, at the beginning of the 7 plenteous years. After those 7 years and two more years of famine, Joseph was 39, his brothers, their families, and their father Jacob, came down to live with Joseph in Egypt. Jacob was then 130 years old, Genesis 47:9. This means that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph was born in Haran. It was then that Jacob wanted to return to his own people in Canaan, but Laban persuaded him to remain 6 more years, (Genesis 30:25-28; Genesis 31:38-41). Since the entire stay in Haran was 20 years, of which 6 were spent after Joseph was born, then we know that joseph was born in the 14th year of Jacob in Haran. Counting back 14 years from his age of 91 at joseph’s birth, we thus find him about 77 when he first came to Haran looking for a wife. He returned to Isaac and Esau after the 20 years with Laban.   

2. “...and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.”

a. [and he] gave up the ghost [Strong: 1478 gava` gaw-vah' a primitive root; to breathe out, i.e. (by implication) expire:--die, be dead, give up the ghost, perish.]

b. [and] died [Strong: 4191 muwth mooth a primitive root: to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill:--X at all, X crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), X must needs, slay, X surely, X very suddenly, X in (no) wise.]

c. [and was] gathered [Strong: 622 'acaph aw-saf' a primitive root; to gather for any purpose; hence, to receive, take away, i.e. remove (destroy, leave behind, put up, restore, etc.):--assemble, bring, consume, destroy, felch, gather (in, together, up again), X generally, get (him), lose, put all together, receive, recover (another from leprosy), (be) rereward, X surely, take (away, into, up), X utterly, withdraw.]

d. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

e. [his] people [Strong: 5971 `am am from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:--folk, men, nation, people.]