Genesis 47:11

The land of Rameses. Two views concerning this statement are held by critical scholars. According to some, it constitutes strong evidence for a variant tradition regarding the settlement of the Israelites in Egypt, inasmuch as the land has thus far been called Goshen (vs. 1, 6). Others have drawn the conclusion that it indicates the time when the children of Israel were in Egypt as that of the Ramessides. The first Ramses began to reign in 1320 B.C. The first argument is unacceptable because Moses was sole author of Genesis, and the book is a historical narrative and not a collection of traditions. Neither can the second argument be accepted, for it would bring chronological confusion to this section of the OT narrative. It must therefore be assumed that the term “land of Rameses” was a later name for the older term “land of Goshen,” and accordingly represents the effort of a copyist to identify “Goshen” for his readers. By the same procedure we might say today that New York was founded by the Dutch, although the city they founded was known as New Amsterdam. Our statement would nevertheless be considered not only correct but even desirable, for the name New Amsterdam would have no meaning for many modern readers.