Here we meet with some inclusive periods, which we must seek to understand.
Notice that the pointing of this passage in our Bibles seems to restrict the four hundred years to their being afflicted. But it will be seen that this is not so: the 400 must apply to the whole sentence.
These two passages seem to say that the time that the children of Israel were in Egypt was 400 or 430 years.
But we read in Galatians 3:17, that the law was given 430 years after the promise to Abraham. Now the promise to Abraham was long before Israel went into Egypt; and the giving of the law was after Israel left Egypt: so that the actual sojourn in Egypt could not have been nearly so long as 430 years, according to Galatians 3 This difficulty has been often met in a very summary but ruthless manner, by supposing the passage in Galatians a mistake. But God never makes mistakes, and all Scripture is God-inspired. We must, therefore, seek for some explanation that will give to each passage its true meaning.
In doing this it is well, at the outset, to see if there are any other passages that will throw light upon them.
In Gensis15:16, we read, respecting the sojourn of Israel in Egypt, that “in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” But in the ordinary course of things then existing there would be in 430 years about eleven generations instead of only four, reckoning that most persons married and had their first child when about forty years old.:
Generations
Jacob’s son Levi
1
Levi’s son Kohath
2
Kohath’s son Amram
3
Amram’s son Moses
4
Or, as Levi must not be reckoned (because he went into Egypt with Jacob), then we know, by Moses being 80 years of age at the Exodus, that there was ample time for another generation to have been born to make the fourth. Therefore, it seems literally correct that they were brought out in the fourth generation; but this would make the time much shorter than 430 years for the actual sojourn in Egypt.
Levi not being one of the four, would give an additional generation (and in some cases there may have been still another), and this would greatly aid in meeting the difficulty which some have felt in about seventy souls (besides the wives) increasing, in the supposed shorter period, to 603,550 males, “from twenty years old and upward,” two years after the Exodus, and this, too, without the tribe of Levi (Num. 1:45-4745So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; 46Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 47But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. (Numbers 1:45‑47)).
But, further, the mother of Moses (Jochebed) was Levi’s daughter (Num. 26:5959And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. (Numbers 26:59)); Amram having married his own aunt (Ex. 6:2020And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20)). Now, Levi lived only 137 years in all; and supposing (it may be approximately proved) that he lived in Egypt 88 years, Jochebed was born during these years, and her son Moses was 80 years old at the Exodus; so that she must have been 262 years of age at least when Moses was born, if they continued in Egypt 430 years. But this is quite improbable, for Abraham was “old” to have a son when he was 100 years of age. But if Moses was born when his mother was about 47, then they could not have been in Egypt more than about 215 years. And if we thus suppose that the time of the actual sojourn in Egypt was 215 years, the other 215 years (to make up the 430 in all) is shown thus Years.
Jacob, when he stood before Pharaoh, was————-
130
Isaac, when Jacob was born, was—————————-
60
Abraham, when Isaac was born, was———————-
100
290
The promise was made to Abraham when he was—-
75 215
But, if this is so, the other passages that seem to speak of 400 and 430 years as the duration of the sojourn still demand our consideration.
Exodus 12:4040Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40), is more definite, “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years. Observe that this passage does not say that they were in Egypt 430 years; but the sojourning of those who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years; so that there is no difficulty in the period named. The difficulty is in the words “Children of Israel,” because we cannot strictly include in this term Abraham and Isaac, and without the sojourning of Isaac and that of Abraham from the promise we cannot make up the 430 years.
The Samaritan Pentateuch and many copies of the LXX have an addition here which altogether meets the difficulty. It reads, “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, was 430 years.” This may have been the true text; but if it was, it is difficult to account for its omission in the Hebrew; and it is also omitted from the Vulgate, Arabic, and Syriac versions; while it is very easy to conceive of the addition being made to meet the difficulty. We prefer adhering to the Hebrew text, and taking the term “Children of Israel” as including Abraham and Isaac, and the time of their sojourn, — as is certainly done in Galatians 3. The promise was made to Abraham, and he was the first of these separated people; and, though the name of Israel was given to his grandson, still the term “Children of Israel” became the common name for the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Thus we find the Jews saying, “We have Abraham [not Isaac or Jacob] to our father.” So that it does not seem to be doing violence to Scripture to include Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the common term “Children of Israel.”
Thus we believe that the period of 430 years refers to the sojourn of Abraham from his call; the sojourn of Isaac; the sojourn of Jacob; and the dwelling in Egypt, until the Exodus.
The line of blessing runs through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is called Israel, and his children become the chosen nation of God (Deut. 14:22For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:2)). They sojourn in Egypt, and, being greatly oppressed, are brought out by God, judgment being executed on Egypt.