Here’s a letter pointing out a possible error and an overlooked fact.
I have really enjoyed using the Bible Timeline along with my studies, and appreciate this awesome resource. It really helps to have a clearer picture of all of the events and how they relate to one another. Thank you for the PDF version of the timeline. This is a great bonus!
I know that the timeline states that there may be inconsistencies due to a number of different factors, but I was curious about one in particular and hoping you could explain it to me.
In Exodus 12:40 it says that the Israelites lived in Egypt for a total of 430 years to the day when Moses lead them out. On the timeline there is only about 200 years between the time when they came to Egypt and the Exodus of Moses. This seems like a big discrepency, and I’m am interested to know why this doesn’t appear to line up with scripture. I understand the enormous task of trying to put all of this information on a single resource, and I know it can’t be 100% accurate due to conflicts in the historical record. I was just hoping you could help clear this up for me.
The dating of the time in Egypt – either 215 or 430 years – is one point of contention among those striving to develop a Biblical chronology.
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We used James Ussher’s chronology for our biblical dates. As you know, his chronology is the most widely accepted. The question becomes why did he place the dates when he did. Bishop Ussher worked with a variety of biblical manuscripts and historical resources. The verses mentioned do say the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years in the Masoretic text.
Other manuscripts (the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint) add the words “and Canaan” after Egypt in the above quote, so that it reads “the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt and Canaan was 430 years”. This made the beginning of the 430 year period when Abraham arrived in Canaan. This is 215 years earlier than Jacob’s arrival in Egypt, and would shorten the Israelites’ period in Egypt to 215 years (215 + 215 = 430). This was the view taken by James Ussher.
However, in Acts 7:6, Stephen states that Abraham’s descendants were to be “enslaved and mistreated four hundred years”. But then in Galatians 3:16-17 Paul makes reference to a 430 year period from Abraham leaving Haran to Moses receiving “The Law”. As you can see, biblical chronologists work to coordinate all the verses and use multiple sources.
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The 430 years of Ex 12:40-41 begins at Jacob’s birth. Jacob entered Egypt at the age of 130; and 2238 years after Adam sinned. They spent 260 years in Egypt and 40 in the wilderness. However, the time spent in the wilderness is included in the 430 years of Ex 12:40-41. And, the 480 years of 1KI 6:1 begins at the END OF Exodus in BCE 1438; which occurs 2538 years after Adam sinned.
Where do you get that info from Earl?
The promise was made to Abraham and confirmed to jacob ps105:9-10, confirmation is last statement, last statement of God was made to Jacob of the same, when God said, do not fear to go Egypt , after that 430 years passed and then law was given, Paul talked about two things in one thing: promised made to Abraham, promised confirmed to jacob for law IChr16:16-17, ps105:9-10
The children of Israel, not Jacob, neither Isaac, none Abraham, Gen15:13-16 was told that his seed will be in strange land, and afflicted for 400 years in that land, and on fourth generation came back to Mamre where Abram was living, so Abram, Isaac and Jacob were not inclusive in 430 in Egypt. And Paul was talking about promise made to Abram, and that promise confirmed. The text say, the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was 430 years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise none effect.
Paul illustrated this by verse 15 say, if the covenant is confirmed, no one to disannul. The scripture make it clear that the promise was made to Abram, but confirmation was made to Jacob for the law, hence after God talked to Jacob at Beersheba, next communication was law to Moses, so Paul was confirming Exod12:40, 41, Gal3:15-17.
Ex. 12:40
Earl, the Septuagint contain the answer. The later translations lost (in capitals) part of the verse:
Exodus 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in CANAAN AND Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
The breakdown is 215 years in Canaan and 215 years in Egypt. And they left Egypt on the same day that they moved into Egypt.
The 215-215 even split doesn’t seem correct
Using the Septuagint interpretation of 430 years in Canaan and Egypt
along with the Book of Jubilees to set the years (sorry I know some don’t want to consider it as canon)
Counting Abraham and Isaac as part of the Children of Israel
Abraham’s Covenant Dream and Promise from God
Jubilees 14:1 In the 4th year of this week ( this was week 3 of Jubilee 40)
40 Jubilees x 49years + 2 weeks of 7 years + 4 years into week 3 = the year (AM 1978)
Jacob entered Egypt in the 2nd year of the 4th week of Jubilee 45
(Jubilees 45:1)
that is year 44 Jubilees x 49 years + 3 weeks of years 7 years + 2 years = year (AM 2179)
So 201 years completed from the Promise to Abraham to AM 2179
the year 2179 was already partially over so the count then restarts first day of AM 2180
229 years further were completed in Egypt to total 430 years completed
this takes us to year AM 2180 +229 = AM 2409
so 430 years full were completed.
then Moses came back to Egypt in the next year (AM 2410)
Jubilees 48:1 (angel speaking to Moses at Sinai ) …thou didst go and dwell here 5 weeks and one year and didst return to Egypt in the 2nd week, in the 2nd year in the 50th Jubilee
49 Jubilees x 49 years + 1 week of 7 years + 2 years = AM 2410
The Exodus took place on the same day as Jacob entered Egypt 430 full years were completed scince the Promise (completed years were 2179 to 2409) they were now in year 2410 but it was not a completed year yet.
One additional thing to remember.
In Jubilees these were not Roman based years or Rabbinical Jewish based years started after the Babylonian Exile.
Jubilees used the original Hebrew years of 364 days (each quarter was two months of 30 days and one month of 31 days) total 364.
So to convert to Roman BCE you need to multiply by 364/365.25 = ( .9924357)
Perhaps I’m wrong James Usher certainly has credentials but I use the Creation date AM 1 as being the year 3867 BCE this means AM 2410 for theExodus was 3867 -2410 = 1457 BCE in Hebrew years
converting to Roman based years = 1457 x .9924357 = 1446 BCE
Solomon’s Temple then as 977 Hebrew or 970 BCE
Biblical months start with the crescent of the new moon. As a lunar cycle averages a little over 29.5 days, a Biblical month was either 29 or 30 days long. The year commenced with the month of the barley harvest – required for the wave sheaf offering after Passover. Thus, some years had 13 months. It was a lunar agricultural calendar which God implemented.
The Temple was started 480 after thr Exodus ENDS in BCE 958 and 3018 after Adam fell (and time on earth) began. 6000 – 3018 would mean that Christ would return 2982 years after BCE 958; or in the year CE 2924. On the Hebrew calendar this is Tishri 10, 5785 (the day of atonement) or Yon Kippur.; which begins at sunset on Tishri 9. On our calendar this is the 11th of October, 2024.
It is an interesting question, but the answer seems inadequate to me for the following reason: Abraham was NOT an Israelite, Issac was NOT an Israelite. They were Hebrews, but not Israelites. The sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt had to start with Jacob and his sons moving to Egypt. And, if you would say “the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt and Canaan,” it still has to start with Jacobs return to Canaan from Haran, because before that there were no IsraelITES in Canaan.
The sojourn of the Israelites had to start with the children of Jacob, because Jacob WAS Israel, and his children were the ISRAELITES (children of Israel). Abraham and Isaac were Hebrews, but NOT Israelites. The verses in question say “Israelites” or “children of Israel,” not “Hebrews.”
I think you made a good point.
The text says, the children of Israel, not Israel, neither Isaac, none Abraham.
Thanks
A couple of problems:
First: Abraham could not be referred to because he wasn’t an Israelite or of the “children of Israel”. Jacob, his grandson, was renamed Israel. So the children of Israel entered Egypt when Joseph (his son) was sold into Egypt
Second: Ex 12:40 does say that they were in there for 430 years. The addition that is suggested “and Canaan” cannot be made because the very next verse says that “at the end of the 430 years” …they “went out of the land of Egypt”. No mention of Canaan there.
Gen 15:13 is a prophesy that they will be slaves for 400 years there. They sojourned there longer because at first they were not slaves but later became such.
It is very clear from those verses that they were in Egypt for 430 years.
Guy…your comment is both rational and realistic. It aligns with scripture.
400 years and 430 years are not the same time frame. 400 years is when the Israelites were scattered all over the face of this earth in the land of captivity.
According to the Samaritan Pentateuch Exodus 12:40 “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and fathers of them, who dwelt in Canaan and in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”
430 years before the exodus was when God spoke to Abram at the age of 70 saying that his seed would dwell in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. The exodus occurs 400 years after the birth of Isaac.
Esau and Jacob are said to be living in “the land wherein they were strangers”.(Gen 36:7) Also, when Abraham purchases land to bury Sarah he claims to be a stranger and sojourner. (Gen 23:4)
https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=SPE|reference=Exod.12&options=VNHUG
I think your overall argument has merit as the Hebrew has no preposition attached to the 400 years of Genesis 15:13 so it could in my view as much be “in 400 years” as “for 400 years” But your assertion that Abram was 70 when God spoke to him makes little sense to me as a way of also explaining 430 v’s 400 since in Gen 12:4 he is already aged 75.
First of all, I want to address Abraham being a Hebrew, verses the offspring of Jacob being the children of Israel. Abraham was the father of the promise. It was him that God blessed. He begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob. There would have been no children of Israel if the seed of Abraham wasn’t blessed. In Genesis 39:17 Joseph, the son of Jacob was called a Hebrew. In Exodus 1:15 the midwives in Egypt were called Hebrews. Exodus 2:11, Moses witnessed an Egyptian striking one of his Hebrew brethren. The Children of Israel were Hebrews.
Second, Moses spent 40 years in Egypt, the second was in Midian, and the third was in Egypt/Wilderness. Moses died at the age of 120 years. If the 430 years began with Jacob, would it compute for 3 to four generations to pass, or would it make more sense to back it up to Abram?
Hi friends, we’re forgetting that in Canaan the bones of the forefathers were resting! GOD is not the GOD of the dead but of the living! So Abraham’s Isaac’s and Jacob’s bones represents their lot, their ancestry, their bloodline which were given the promises! Egypt represents the flesh but Canaan represents their lot or better said, the promise that their spirit (bones) would resurrect again in the future!
Does it NOT SAY…that Jacob was MISTREATED as a SLAVE & even his Wife SAID it that her Father was ABUSING of them!!!
Galatians 3:16-17 (KJV)
16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17. [And this I say, ] that[ the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.]
Act 7:6 God spoke to him in this way: `Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated for four hundred years.
7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, `and afterwards they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
Stephan’s speech to the Sanhedrin. His face was like that of an angle, that is he was lit up with the Holy Spirit, so we know his words were true.
God told Abraham that they would be OUT OF THE COUNTRY for 400 years, not there in Canaan. They would come back to Canaan after that time.
They were in Egypt for 430 years, they became slaves within the 1st 30 years or so, during the lifetime of Joseph. They likely sold themselves to Pharaoh, same as the Egyptians did.
I’ll believe the Holy Spirit every time.
Dick, I really don’t see how you arrive at the Hebrews being slaves during Joseph’s lifetime. Why would his father have been afforded a state funeral ending in Canaan, and be mourned by so many senior members of Pharaoh’s government if that were so? (Genesis 50:1-14) Also how could 70 people entering Egypt (Genesis 46:27) become a takeover security threat for the nation in just 30 years? (Exodus 1:7-9)
Check the genealogy of Levi, who came out of Canaan with his father Jacob and the rest of the family.
Exodus 6:16
Levi-Kohath-Ishar-Korah.
This is the Korah of the rebellion, which occurred after the exodus.
Numbers 16:1 gives the same list only in reverse order.
Genesis 46:11 gives us Levi and his son Kohath as leaving Canaan.
There do not seem to be be any missing names in these lists.
Only 4 generations (and two of them already alive at the move to Egypt) are not sufficient for 430 years.
Genesis 15:16 makes it clear that Abraham’s descendants would come out of Egypt in the fourth generation. Exodus 6:14-25 gives not only the four generations but also their life spans: Levi – 137 years, Kohath – 133 years, Amram – 137 years (first three); Aaron is the fourth generation and Aaron was 83 (3 years older than Moses) at the start of the Exodus. Kohath was among those who entered Egypt (Gen 46:11). His 133 years plus Amram’s 137 plus Aaron’s 89 total only 359 years. The sojourn in Egypt could not have been 430 years.
Hi Randall – There is certainly some debate about this. You can see some ideas laid out about it here https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/how-long-were-the-israelites-in-egypt/. You can find additional resources by searching the question. Thank you for your thoughts!
I have really enjoyed digging into this. I am still not fully persuaded by the answersingenesis link although it is well argued. My reservations are (1) I don’t clearly see the 64 year gap between the death of Joseph and the birth of Moses except as a plug number that fits and (2) the taunting of Ishmael (albeit of an Egyptian mother) who was immediately expelled hardly seems like the beginning of oppression, especially as Ishmael and Isaac buried Abraham together. I am drawn to the central argument of Drew Washicheck, esp as in Gen 14:4 the translation of in the 13th year omits the preposition for “in” in the Masoretic text, meaning that Gen 15:13 also without a preposition around the 400 years could logically be translated the same way. So I lean towards that as the best and most straightforward explanation unless someone can show me that the 64 years asserted by Ainsworth can be proven.
Genesis 25:21-23New International Version (NIV)
21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
Could the main point of Exodus 12:40 be that they sojourned for 430 years? What if it could be understood to mean that Israel and his children were without a homeland, and they sojourned 430 years in foreign lands (lands that have been included as part of Egypt at various times) then ending in the exodus from Egypt? Then the meaning of Exodus 12:41 is after 430 years, “even the selfsame day it came to pass”, the selfsame day would mean the same day that Jacob (Israel), also the nation of Israel, was born (430 years earlier) probably either Nisan 15 following Passover Seder (when they started their journey), also the First Day of Unleavened Bread or perhaps Nisan 22 when tradition has it they passed through the Red Sea, just after the Last Day of Unleavened Bread (exactly 430 years after Jacob was born).
In Genesis, we read that Jacob was 130 years old when they entered Egypt. That would mean that they were in Egypt itself for 300 years.
I’ve been studying this for a while and both sides of the argument have strong points to back their arguments. I’m interested in joining this discussion and getting to bottom of it. I strongly believe there is a mystery surrounding this controversy. The key to it is hiding in the Scriptures and we need to keep digging until we find it. I will share later my personal view. For now, I just want to see who are still engaged in this discussion.
The children of Israel spent 501 years in Egypt, this starts from the begining of Jacob stay in Egypt down through to the end of the slavery period i.e not counting the 215 years Abraham and Jacob spent in Canaan (from 2023 to 2238) before Jacob ( Israel himself came into Egypt with his family) . As a dedicated Bible reader, I rely on Scripture to understand the 430 years mentioned in Genesis 15:13, And not understanding it exactly is not a key to eternal life, So everyone can be a scholar in this field if you countlessly read your Bible over and over again…
First, they would be strangers, and then they would face affliction. This clear statement confirms the duration of their slavery in Egypt, without needing external sources.
According to my Bible timeline:
– Abraham moved to Canaan at age 75 from Haran (Genesis 12:4), 2023 years after creation.
– Joseph died in Egypt at 110 years old (Genesis 50:22), 2309 years after creation.
– Slavery began 30 years after Joseph’s death, at 2339 years after creation based on my theory because I believe whatsoever the Bible says not minding external or archeological sources.
– This slavery lasted for 400 years, as stated in Genesis 15:3.
– Adding the 30 years between Joseph’s death and the start of slavery, we get 430 years, as mentioned in Genesis.
– The 480 years mentioned in 1 Kings 6:1 refers to the time from the Exodus to the 4th year of Solomon’s reign, covering the beginning of the 40 years after coming out of Egypt through the wilderness, the periods of Joshua, judges, Ruth, Samuel, Saul, David, and up to Solomon’s 4th year.
Hi Charles,
I have Abram birth 1946 after creation plus 75 = 2021 and you have 2023 which is a 2 year difference.
For Joseph birth I have a birth 2195 after creation plus or minus 2 years of when the famine became sore likewise his death date calculated the same way provides 2305 plus or minus two years, compared to your 2339 which is a.34 year difference.
This means I have a sojourn start date as 2236 years after creation. The departure from Egypt date is less certain and requires estimation, which I used 480 years of 1 Kings 6 divided by the 12 generations, equalling 40 per generation. This left me with an estimated departure from Egypt date as 2349 and an estimated 113 years in total. This seems to fit a four generations from 17 years before Jacob’s death thru, Levi, Kohath, Abram to 80 year old Moses.
This leaves me well short of the 430 years figure. The sheer number of those coming out of Egypt requires at least 4 generations of 12 births to get close to the 600,000 men on foot but 5 or 6 generations would allow that number with less births. This could point to a lost generation which I sometimes see in some family trees of family history research.
I see above there also may well be a translation issue from earlier texts which may account for at least half of the 430 years.
I find the genealogies interesting but not instructive of very much on their own. The covernents provide so much more in explaining the current state of the world and our current trajectories.
Thanks be to God.
*
Jacob, Levi, Kohath, Amram to Moses.
My phone changed Amram to Abram.