It is commonly understood that Israel was enslaved in Egypt for 430 years. Or was it 400 years? From my personal research I have come to a conclusion that the sons of Israel did not really spend 400 or 430 years in the land of Egypt. Rather, they were in the land for a portion of that time only. Specifically, from the time that Jacob brought his whole family into Egypt to the time of their exodus, the people spent only about 215 years in the land. Having said this, let’s find out what the Bible says. But first let’s read what the Bible texts say.
13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
Genesis 15.13-14
40 Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41 And at the end of 430 years, on this very day, all the multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12.40-41
Two different subjects
The first thing we should notice is that the two references above refer to two different, although related, subject. In Genesis 15.13, although God spoke of Abraham’s descendants become strangers in a land that is not theirs, the number 400 years speak of their being “enslaved and oppressed” in that land. Hence,
“…where they will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years.”
On the other hand, Exodus 12.40 clearly speaks of the time of their stay, or sojourning, which means that the 430 years does not speak of the time of their bondage, rather, of their sojourn.
So, was Israel actually in Egypt for the whole duration of 430 years? The Septuagint version of the Old Testament has a different approach to this issue. It says:
40 And the sojourning of the children of Israel while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Chanaan, was four hundred and thirty years.
Exodus 12.40 | LXX Brenton En
Now, this sheds a new light to the narrative. The number years of their sojourn, which is 430 years, really includes the years of their stay in Canaan before Jacob migrated to Egypt with his family.
Number of generations from entry to exit
When Jacob entered Egypt the famine was already on its 2nd year and Joseph was 39 years old at time. Jacob himself was 130 years old. Now according to Exodus 6.14-20, there were 4 generations from Levi to Moses.
- Levi – he lived to the age of 137 years. he came into Egypt at the age of no more than 50 years.
- Kohath – he lived up to 133 years old. He was born before they entered Egypt.
- Amram – he lived up to 137 years old.
- Moses – he was 80 years old at the time of the exodus
Now, four generations are not enough to fill in the 430 years of stay in Egypt. You would have to line them up end to end to add up the number of years, which would be absurd. But if one would consider that the sojourn also includes the years they were in the land of Canaan, the accounts begin to fit well.
From when Abraham went down to Canaan to migration into Egypt
Let’s consider the family’s years of stay in the land of Canaan.
Abraham was 75 years old when he came to Canaan by God’s instruction. 25 years later, Isaac was born, that’s when he turned 100. Now Isaac was 60 years old when the twins Esau and Jacob were born. So, from Abraham’s entry to the birth of Jacob is 85 years.
Now, Jacob lives up to 147 years, but he was 130 when he brought the whole family into Egypt at the urging of his son Joseph, because the land was already 2 years into the famine. You add 130 years to 85 years and you get 215 years, the number of years the whole clan dwelt in Canaan before they migrated to Egypt. So, if the Septuagint account is taken into consideration, half of the 430 years were already spent in Canaan. This accounting makes more sense.
The years of oppression
Now, how do we account for the 400 years mentioned in Genesis 15.13? If the accounting of 430 years began with Abraham’s entry into Canaan, the oppression of his descendants should begin after they are born. In this case, Isaac was born 25 years into Abraham’s sojourn in Canaan. Now, we need 5 more years to arrive to the beginning of the 400 years.
In Genesis 21.8-13 an event was held in the house of Abraham to celebrate the time of the “weaning” of Isaac.
8 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking Isaac.
Genesis 21.8-9
Although the child’s age was not mentioned, it appears that this occasion was significant to the life of Isaac and to his family. It is not hard to consider that this event happened when Isaac was around 5 years old.
But what is even more significant here was the mention of Ishmael mocking Isaac, which Paul referred to as the son of a bondwoman persecuting the son of the free woman. (Galatians 4.17) The fact that Ishmael was born by Hagar the Egyptian vindicates the matter. Thus, the we can safely deduce that the 400 years of oppression against the children of Abraham began the day Isaac was weaned and ended on the day of the exodus.
Additionally, the enslavement of the children of Israel did not happen until after the death of Joseph when a new pharaoh arose “who did not know Joseph.” Also, hard bondage and the killing of male babies only began around the time of Moses’ birth, which was 80 years before the exodus.
Summary
In summary, the exodus marks the end of two important occasions in the history of Abraham’s family, namely:
- the 430 years of sojourn in the lands of Canaan and Egypt, and
- the 400 years of oppression and enslavement by the Egyptian people.
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