What is…
Goshen

also known as: Gosen, the land of Goshen, the land of Rameses

Hebrew: גּשֶׁן —transliteration: Goshen (a proper name, and not originally a Hebrew name)

This is the name of 3 different biblical places.

  1. Goshen—a district in the eastern Delta region of the Nile River

    This place in ancient Egypt is where Jacob and his family settled with the help of his beloved and illustrious son Joseph. Their descendants remained here till the Exodus (Genesis 45:10; 46:28-29, 31, etc.)

    It is called “the land of Goshen” (47:27), and also simply “Goshen” (46:28), and “the land of Rameses” (47:11; Exodus 12:37), for the towns Pithom and Rameses lay within its borders; also Zoan or Tanis (Psalm 78:12).

    Land of Goshen in Egypt

    It lay on the east of the Nile River, and apparently not far from a royal residence. Goshen was a pastoral district, where some of the Pharaoh’s cattle were kept (Genesis 47:6).

    At that time, it was “the best of the land” (Genesis 47:6, 11), but it is now a desert.

    It is first mentioned in Joseph’s message to his father. It has been identified with the modern Wady Tumilat, lying between the eastern part of the Delta and the west border of Israel.

    The inhabitants were not exclusively Israelites (Exodus 3:22; 11:2; 12:35, 36).

  2. Goshen, a district in the ancient land of Israel (Joshua 10:41; 11:16)

    It was a part of the maritime plain of Judah, and lay between Gaza and Gibeon.

  3. Goshen, a town in the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:51)

More information

Article Version: January 17, 2025