http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=796&b=Acts
How Long Was the Israelites’ Egyptian Bondage?
by
Kyle Butt, M.Div.
Alden Bass
Bert Thompson, Ph.D.
[1] In Galatians 3:17, the apostle Paul stated that the Law of Moses
(which was given shortly after the Israelites’ exit from Egypt) came
430 years after God had made His covenant with Abraham. However, Moses stated in Exodus 12:40-41 that the children of Israel
dwelt in Egypt 430 years.
How can both passages be correct when it seems clear from a
straightforward reading of biblical chronology that a minimum of 215
years passed between the time God made His covenant with Abraham and the
time the Israelites (through Jacob) entered Egypt—thus making it appear
that the Israelites had to have been in Egypt
645 years (215 + 430)?
[2] Additionally, information in 1 Chronicles 6:1, 1 Chronicles
23:6-13, and Exodus 6:16-20 allows for a maximum time period of 352
years. How, then, can it be stated that the Israelites were in Egypt
430 years?
[3] Furthermore, in Genesis 15:13 Moses explained that the Israelites would be “sojourners in a land that is not theirs” for “
400
years,” and Stephen used the same figure in his speech in Acts 7:6 when
he said that the Israelites would be brought “into bondage” and treated
evil “for
400 years.” What is the truth of the matter? How, exactly, do all these passages fit together? How many years
were the children of Israel in Egypt?
The Exodus of the Hebrews from the hands of their cruel Egyptian
taskmasters is one of the most triumphant stories in Old Testament
history. This event was the beginning of Israel’s rise to power, and
proved to the then-known world that the living God had chosen the
descendants of Abraham as the people through whom He would bring the
Messiah. The Exodus and its aftermath were so monumental, in fact, that
it virtually overshadowed the history of the previous centuries.
But the exact length of the Israelites’ “sojourn” has been in the past,
and remains today, a matter of some controversy. Certain biblical
passages (e.g., Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6) seem to indicate a length of
400 years for the time period under consideration. Elsewhere (e.g.,
Exodus 12:40-41) the length of time appears to be 430 years. Still other
information (e.g., 1 Chronicles 6:1, 1 Chronicles 23:6-13, and Exodus
6:16-20) places an upper limit of approximately 350 years on the time
frame involved. In an article written more than thirty years ago (“The
Duration of the Egyptian Bondage”), chronologist Harold W. Hoehner
observed: “When one looks at the various passages of Scripture
concerning the length of Israel’s bondage in Egypt, one immediately
discovers that there are apparent disagreements in the biblical record”
(1969, 126:306). In his discussion on Exodus 12:40-41, renowned
commentator Adam Clarke noted: “The statement in this verse is allowed
on all hands to be extremely difficult, and therefore the passage stands
in especial need of illustration” (n.d., p. 358). Albert Barnes took
the same position in regard to Acts 7:6 when he wrote in his commentary
on that book: “Great perplexity has been experienced in explaining this
passage, or reconciling it with other statements” (1949a, p. 121). Those
“other statements” to which Barnes referred are the passages mentioned
in the above questions. Can the “apparent disagreements” between these
passages be resolved?
Yes, they can. However, some background information on each of these
passages is required in order to understand the problems posed by the
three questions above—and the solutions that we plan to propose.
First, we need to address the suggestion that there was a minimum of
215 years between God’s promise to Abraham and the entrance of the
Israelites (through Jacob) into Egypt. Such a suggestion is correct.
Various writers (e.g.: Barnes, 1949b, p. 343; Duncan, n.d., p. 4;
Hoehner, 1969, 126:308-309; Mauro, n.d., pp. 26-27) have explained how
the 215-year figure can be obtained quite readily from Scripture. By way
of summary, the information appears as follows:
Later in this discussion, we will return to the problem of the alleged
430 years of Egyptian bondage supposedly having to be added to that
215-year period. But for the present, we would like to examine the
problem of the limitation placed on the Egyptian sojourn by information
found in such passages as 1 Chronicles 6:1, 1 Chronicles 23:6-13, and
Exodus 6:16-20. Again, by way of summary, the information gleaned from
these texts is as follows:
-
The text in Genesis 46:11 indicates that Kohath, the son of Levi and
grandfather of Moses, apparently was born prior to Jacob moving to Egypt
with his sons (Genesis 46:11). If he had just been born at the time, and if he sired his son Amram the last day
of his life, then Amram could have been born no later than 134 years
after the entrance into Egypt (rounding a 9-month pregnancy upward to a
full year) because Kohath lived only 133 years (Exodus 6:18).
-
Amram (the father of Moses) lived 137 years (Exodus 6:20). If he had sired Moses the last day
of his life, then Moses would have been born no more than 272 years
after Jacob and his sons entered Egypt (133 +1 + 137 + 1 = 272).
-
Moses was 80 years old when Israel came out of Egypt (Exodus 7:7).
-
Add that 80 to the 272, and the total is a maximum of 352 years. As
Barnes noted: “From the account which Moses has given of the lives of
certain persons, it would seem clear that...the whole time thus mentioned, including the time in which the father lived after
his son, was only three hundred and fifty years” (1949a, p. 121, emp.
in orig.). Thus the suggestion that these passages “allow for a maximum
time period of 352 years” also is correct.
-
Additional information that delimits the number of years of the
sojourn can be derived from a source completely independent of
Kohath—Moses’ mother, Jochebed. The Bible mentions her twice, the first
instance being Exodus 6:20: “And 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 a hundred and thirty and seven years.” Jochebed is
named a second time in Numbers 26:59: “And the name of Amram’s wife was
Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt: and she
bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.”
Clearly, Jochebed (who was born in Egypt) was the daughter of Levi, the
sister of Kohath. With this information before us, let’s “crunch the
numbers.” Eleven of Jacob’s sons were born within a seven-year period.
Remember that as a bachelor, Jacob worked seven years for Laban in order
to “pay” for Rachel, but was tricked by Laban into marrying Leah. Then,
he worked for seven more years in order to marry Rachel. At the end of
this second seven years, he asked to depart from Laban with all of the
children who had been born to him and his wives (Genesis 30:25). With
Levi being the third son of Jacob/Leah (allowing approximately one year
for the births of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi), he could have been only
about four years older than Joseph, who was born near the end of the
seven-year period. As Joseph was 39 when Jacob came into Egypt (he was
30 when he appeared before Pharaoh [Genesis 41:46], plus seven years of
plenty, plus one more year before the famine was realized), Levi could
not have been more than 44 or 45 when he came into Egypt. Levi lived in
Egypt for 93 years (age at his death was 137 [Exodus 6:16], minus 44
[his age when he went into Egypt], which equals 93).
If Levi had conceived Jochebed
on the very last day of his life, then
Jochebed would have had to given birth to Moses when she was 257 years old in
order to get a period of 430 years for the sojourn in Egypt (93 years
that Levi lived in Egypt, plus Moses’ 80 years (Exodus 7:7) when he
arrived to deliver the children of Israel—93+80+257=430). Recalling the
fact that Sarah was only 90 when the miraculous birth of Isaac occurred,
it makes little sense to suggest that Jochebed gave birth to Moses when
she was almost three times as old as Sarah! Furthermore, we know that
life spans were far shorter than 257 by this time, and that the 430-year
sojourn does not (and cannot) fit with the genealogies—either through
Kohath or through Jochebed.
Where, then, do the figures of 430 years and 400 years fit into all of
this? Were the Israelites in Egypt 645 years? Or 430 years? Or 400
years? Or 215 years?
As we attempt to provide the answers to such questions, let us point out that
no one has stepped forward to suggest that the Israelites were in Egypt for
645 years.
Such a view is indefensible in light of the biblical evidence,
including (but not necessarily limited to) the scripturally imposed time
limit mentioned above of 352 years. There are, however, two major
viewpoints regarding the specific length of Israel’s sojourn. The first
suggests that the Israelites
actually lived in Egypt for 430
years. This view has been adopted by Archer (1994, pp. 205-212), Keil
and Delitzsch (1974, 2:29), Kitchen (1966, pp. 53-56), and Unger (1954,
pp. 106,150), among others. Yet, as David Rohl observed in his book,
Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest:
In most commentaries or popular books on the Old Testament you will
read that the Israelite Sojourn in the land of Egypt lasted four hundred
and thirty years. However, this figure is by no means certain. In fact,
there is clear evidence that the period of the Sojourn was no more than
two hundred fifteen years (1995, p. 329).
Dr. Rohl is correct on both counts. The idea which suggests that the Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt
is
presented in “most commentaries or popular books on the Old Testament.”
Nevertheless, there is “clear evidence” that the Israelites were in
Egypt for only 215 years, not 430. [We will deal with the matter of the
“400 years” of Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6 at a later point in this
article, since it turns out to be a separate issue altogether.] This,
then, is the second major view regarding the length of the sojourn, and
has been adopted by such scholars as Barnes (n.d., p. 121), Clarke
(n.d., 1:358), Henry (n.d., 1:322), Mauro (n.d., pp. 31-32), Rohl (1995,
pp. 329-332), and Thiele (1963, pp. 166-167), among others. But why—in
light of what appear to be clear statements of Scripture that assign a
period of 430 years to the sojourn—do such writers suggest that the
sojourn actually was half of that? An explanation is in order.
There is only one passage in the Old Testament that suggests a sojourn of 430 years—Exodus 12:40-41:
Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even
the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out
from the land of Egypt.
Those who suggest that the sojourn lasted only 215 years
believe—because numerous facts seem to demand it—that the time period of
“the sojourning of the children of Israel”
begins with the call of Abraham and God’s promise to him (Genesis 12:1-3),
and ends with the Exodus.
In other words, the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) sojourned in
Canaan for 215 years, and their descendants lived in Egyptian bondage
for an additional 215 years. The total, then, is the 430-year figure of
Exodus 12:40-41 (and Galatians 3:17). In his commentary on Acts, Albert
Barnes put it this way: “The question then is, how can these accounts be
reconciled? The only satisfactory way is by supposing that
the four hundred and thirty years includes the whole time from the calling of Abraham to the departure from Egypt”(1949a,
p. 121, emp. added). In addressing the text of Acts 7:6 in his
commentary on that inspired book, H. Leo Boles remarked: “Paul says that
the law came four hundred thirty years after the promise (Gal. 3:17);
so that
the four hundred years of Ex. 12:40 probably included the patriarchs’ residence in Canaan
(Genesis 15:13,14; Exodus 3:12)” [1941, p. 104, emp. added]. In his
commentary on Galatians, Barnes wrote: “The exact time here referred to
was probably when Abraham was called, and when the promise was first
made to him. Assuming that as the time referred to, it is not difficult
to make out the period of four hundred and thirty years” (1949b, p.
343).
But why is it “not difficult”? And what do we mean by our statement
that some scholars believe the sojourn lasted only 215 years because
“numerous facts” seem to demand it? What are those “numerous facts”? How
can the 215-year figure be defended?
First, it must be admitted forthrightly, in light of the information given above, that there is a
maximum
of 352 years available for the sojourn in Egypt, whatever that sojourn
might encompass. There simply is no way around that fact.
Second, Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, reviewed the time
element associated with the covenant between God and Abraham (given in
Genesis 15) when he wrote:
Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not,
“And to seeds,” as of many; but as of one, “And to thy seed,” which is
Christ. Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the
law—which came four hundred and thirty years after—doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect (3:16-17).
In discussing Paul’s observation, Philip Mauro wrote: “Here we see that
the 430 years began with God’s promise to Abram, made at the time he
entered into Canaan at the age of 75 (Gen. 12:1-4) and ended with the
giving of the law, which was the same year as the Exodus” (n.d., p. 27).
As we have shown above, it can be documented quite easily from
Scripture that the time from Abraham’s call to Jacob’s entrance into
Egypt was 215 years. Rohl therefore concluded:
Various passages in the book of Genesis have led scholars to determine
that the period from Abraham’s descent to Jacob’s arrival in the Land of
Goshen was two hundred and fifteen years and so the Sojourn in Egypt
(from Jacob’s arrival to the Exodus) lasted around the same length of
time—in other words, circa two hundred and fifteen years (1995, p. 331,
parenthetical item in orig.).
If the time period between Abraham’s call and the giving of the law
(which occurred roughly three months after the Exodus) was 430 years
(and Paul specifically remarked that it was), and if 215 of those years
had passed
before the Israelites went into Egypt (the time period
from Abraham’s call to Jacob’s entrance into the land of the Nile),
then that would leave only 215 years remaining for the Israelites’
sojourn in Egypt—which is exactly the time frame we believe the evidence
supports.
Third, in Genesis 15:16 it was prophesied that the Israelites would
return to Palestine during the lifetime of the “fourth generation”—which
they did, according to Exodus 6:16-20, Numbers 3:17-19, Numbers
26:57-59, 1 Chronicles 6:1-3, and 1 Chronicles 23:6,12-13
(Jacob-Levi-Kohath-Amram-Moses). As Hoehner (who does not even agree
with the 215-year view) admitted: “To fit four generations into a
215-year period is much more reasonable than a 430- year span” (1969,
126:309; see also Duncan, n.d.).
Fourth, secular research likewise has concluded that the Israelites
remained in the land of the pharaohs for 215 years. David Rohl, a
respected Egyptologist, is convinced that this is the proper
interpretation of the facts. In his book,
Pharaohs and Kings, he
undertook the challenge of reassessing the century-old Egyptian
chronology so that it could accommodate more accurately several new
archaeological discoveries. According to his research, Israel went down
into Egypt c. 1662
B.C., and was delivered by God through Moses c. 1447
B.C.—a span of 215 years (1995, pp. 329-332).
Fifth, there are other important historical and/or textual
considerations that need to be investigated in this matter. For example,
in
Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus wrote that the Israelites
“left Egypt in the month of Xanthicus, on the fifteenth day of the lunar
month; four hundred and thirty years after our forefather Abraham came
into Canaan, but
two hundred and fifteen years only after Jacob removed into Egypt” (II. 15.2). Rohl observed in this regard:
Now, according to the statements of Josephus himself, he had access to
very old documents formerly housed in the Temple of Jerusalem from which
to draw his account of early Israelite history. Josephus lived in the
first century A.D. and so his writings are dated
hundreds of years before the Masoretic text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Old
Testament) was completed in the fourth century A.D.
If his source documents were genuine, then the information he gives for
the duration of the Sojourn derives from a much earlier period than
that employed by the Masoretes when they made their version of the
history of Israel and a further several centuries before the earliest
extant copy of the Masoretic text (1995, p. 331).
In the Masoretic text of the Old Testament (to which Rohl referred, and
on which the biblical quotations given above have been based), Exodus
12:40 reads as follows: “The time that the children of Israel dwelt in
Egypt was
four hundred and thirty years.” Two other highly
reliable biblical texts, however, strongly suggest that this translation
is incorrect due to a critical omission. In both the Samaritan
Pentateuch and the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old
Testament), Exodus 12:40 reads as follows: “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” (see Clarke, n.d., pp. 358-359, emp. in orig.). William
Whiston, who translated the works of Flavius Josephus into English,
included a footnote at the bottom of the page accompanying Josephus’
comment (quoted above in regard to the Israelites’ 215-year stay in
Egypt). Whiston wrote:
Why our Masorete copy so groundlessly abridges this account in Exod.
xii,40 as to ascribe 430 years to the sole peregrination [travel by
foot—AB/BT/KB] of the Israelites in Egypt when it
is clear even by that Masorete chronology elsewhere, as well as from
the express text itself, in the Samaritan, Septuagint, and Josephus,
that they sojourned in Egypt but half that time—and that by consequence
the other half of their peregrination was in the land of Canaan, before
they came into Egypt—is hard to say (1974, 2:171).
Rohl suggested, however, that it really is not hard to say. In fact, he said:
It is fairly easy to see what happened in the interval between
Josephus’ day and that of the Masoretes. During the process of copying
down the original scrolls over the intervening centuries, a section of
text something on the lines of “and in the land of Canaan” had fallen
out (or had been edited out). This is confirmed by the Greek rendition
of the Old Testament (the Septuagint or LXX) which retains the original, full version of the passage (1995, p. 331).
In his commentary on the Pentateuch, Adam Clarke discussed this at length:
...the Samaritan Pentateuch, by preserving the two passages, they and their fathers and in the land of Canaan,
which are lost out of the present copies of the Hebrew text, has
rescued this passage from all obscurity and contradiction. It may be
necessary to observe that the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint has the
same reading as that in the Samaritan. The Samaritan Pentateuch is
allowed by many learned men to exhibit the most correct copy of the five
books of Moses; and the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint must also be
allowed to be one of the most authentic as well as most ancient copies
of this version which we possess (n.d., pp. 358-359, emp. in orig.).
Rohl wrote in agreement:
The Septuagint was first written down in the time of Ptolemy I during the third century B.C.
and the earliest surviving manuscript is again much older than the
earliest surviving Masoretic copy. The Samaritan version of the first
five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) is also considerably
more ancient than the Masoretic scriptures and it too retains the longer
rendition of the passage on the length of the Sojourn. Thus, three out
of four sources for the book of Exodus state that the
four-hundred-and-thirty-year interval represents the whole period from
Abraham’s descent into Canaan all the way down to the Exodus of Moses
and the Israelites from Egypt (1995, p. 331).
If Josephus, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Septuagint are correct
(and there is good evidence to indicate that they are) in stating that
“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,” then the alleged contradiction between Exodus 12:40-41
and Galatians 3:17 evaporates into thin air, and the 215-year figure for
the Israelites’ sojourn in Egypt can be accepted quite easily as both
credible and scriptural.
But where do the “400 years” of Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6 fit into
this scheme? As God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 15 while the patriarch
was dwelling among the terebinth trees at Hebron, the Lord said: “Know
of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not
theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them
four hundred years.” Here, God was permitting His faithful servant—through words spoken approximately two centuries
prior
to Israel’s entrance into Egypt—to peek into the future of his
descendants. Add to that the words of Stephen (in Acts 7:6) when he
said, looking back on Israel’s history: “And God spake on this wise,
that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should
bring them into bondage, and treat them ill,
four hundred years.” What is the meaning of these particular passages?
Some writers (e.g., Barnes, 1949a, p. 121; Boles, 1941, p. 104) have
suggested that the 400- year figure represents merely a “rounding off”
of the 430-year figure given in Genesis 15:13. But we think there is a
much better explanation, and suggest that there is a
fundamental distinction between the 430-year figure and the 400-year figure.
Notice that in Stephen’s speech he specifically stated that Abraham’s “
seed should sojourn in a strange land.” In his book,
The Wonders of Bible Chronology, Philip Mauro wrote:
But, in addition to this period of 430 years, there is another of 400
years, which also ended at the Exodus.... The period of 430 years
includes the sojourn of Abram and Sarah. That of 400, however, begins
with the experience of Abraham’s “seed.” This refers, of course, to
Isaac in the first place; for in Isaac the promised “seed” was to be “
called”; but the era is not that of the birth of Isaac, but that
when he was acknowledged the “seed” and the “heir” by the casting out of
Hagar and Ishmael. That took place at the time of the “great feast”
which Abraham made the day Isaac was weaned (Gen. 21:8-10). This is an
important event in the annals of God’s people, because of its deep
spiritual significance, as appears by the reference to it in Galatians
4:29,30.
From the foregoing Scriptures we are able to arrive at the date when
Isaac was weaned and Ishmael was cast out (whereby Isaac became the
acknowledged “seed” and “heir”). For there is a difference of thirty
years between the two periods. But we have already found that there were
twenty-five years from the call of Abraham (and God’s “ covenant” with
him) to the birth of Isaac. Hence, deducting 25 from 30 gives us 5 years
as the age of Isaac when Ishmael was cast out. There is no need to give
at greater length the proofs concerning the 400-year period (n.d., pp.
27, 28, emp. in orig.).
As Hoehner wrote: “In conclusion, the 430 years went from Abraham’s
call to the Exodus. The first 215 years was their sojourn in Palestine
and the last 215 years in Egypt. The 400 years was from the weaning of
Isaac to the time of the Exodus” (1969, 126:309). Our point exactly!
Some may ask, though, how the 215-year figure for the Israelites’ time
in Egypt can be squared with statements such as those in Genesis 15:13
and Acts 7:6, which seem to indicate that the Hebrews would be
“sojourners
in a strange land that is not theirs” where their enemies would “
bring them into bondage” and “
treat them ill”? In his commentary on Galatians, David Lipscomb addressed this point.
The law was given by Moses four hundred and thirty years after this
promise was made to Abraham (Ex. 12:40). Many interpret this to mean
that they sojourned in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. But they dwelt in tents and had no permanent habitation
during their sojourn in Canaan and Egypt and in the wilderness from the
call in Ur until the entrance into Canaan after the Egyptian bondage
(n.d., p. 231, emp. added).
Or, as Mauro stated: “This period of ‘sojourning’ of the people of God
is reckoned from Abraham’s entrance into Canaan, for then they (Abram
and Sarah, the beginnings of the family) became strangers and pilgrims
(Heb. 11:8-13)” [n.d., p. 27, parenthetical item in orig.]. In Exodus
6:4,
Canaan is referred to as “the land in which they dwelt
as sojourners.”
While it certainly is true that they were slaves in Egypt for a
considerable period of time (215 years), their oppression actually began
much earlier, and lasted much longer, than just those 215 years. In
fact, it would be accurate to say that the oppression began as early as
Ishmael, who was half Egyptian and who mocked Isaac, the son of promise
(Genesis 21:9). In Galatians 4:29, Paul discussed Ishmael’s ill
treatment of Isaac when he penned these words: “He that was born after
the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit.” That
“persecution” obviously continued, as is evident from the fact that
Egyptians felt it was a great abomination to eat with Hebrews (Genesis
43:32)—even until the time that Joseph came to power in their country.
Later, of course, the persecution culminated in the attempted
destruction by Pharaoh of the Hebrew male babies during Moses’ infancy
(Exodus 1:15-22). Thus, the “sojourning” and “ill treatment” did not
occur
only during Egyptian captivity, but actually had commenced much earlier.
Critics of the 215-year view, however, have suggested that the second
215-year period (i.e., the time spent in Egypt) would not allow for the
population explosion that obviously occurred while the Hebrews were
captives. Less than 100 went down into Egypt, and yet by the time they
left, they numbered more than 2 million (based on the figures in Numbers
1:46; cf. Archer, 1982, pp. 378-379). However, C.G. Ozanne, in his
volume,
The First 7,000 Years, has shed some light on this criticism.
Of course, the standard objection to this interpretation is the census
totals of male Levites in Numbers 3. In this chapter the total number of
Kohath’s male descendants “from a month old and upward” is given as
8600 (v. 28), these being divided between his four sons, Amram, Izhar,
Hebron, and Uzziel. Assuming that the total number is to be divided
evenly between the four sons, Amram must have had some 2150 male
descendants within a few months of the Exodus. At first sight this
figure may seem well-nigh impossible. When, however, it is broken down,
it begins to assume more reasonable proportions. Thus, supposing that
Amram was born fifty-five years after the descent into Egypt and that
forty years constitute a generation, it is only necessary to allocate
seven males to a family to arrive at a figure considerably in excess of
the desired 2150. On this reckoning Moses would have had 7 brothers (for
he himself may be ignored for the purposes of this calculation), 49
nephews, 343 great-nephews and 2401 great-great-nephews within the
allotted span. A total of 2800 is thus obtained, of which the vast
majority would still have been alive to see the exodus from Egypt.
Bearing in mind the greatly extended period of childbearing (Jochebed
was about 70 at the birth of Moses), the practice of polygamy (which
enabled Jacob to have eleven sons in seven years), and above all the
astonishing fertility of the Israelite women on which the Bible lays
special emphasis (cf. Gen. 46.3; Exod. 1.7,12,19; Deut. 26.5), the rate
of increase here suggested should not necessarily be thought incredible
(1970, pp. 22-23).
Thus, when
all of the biblical information is considered, it is
apparent that there is no contradiction between Exodus 12:40-41 and
Galatians 3:17. Nor is there any problem in regard to Genesis 15:13 and
Acts 7:6. As the late Bobby Duncan said when he ended his study of these
matters, “Isn’t it amazing how the Bible clarifies the Bible?” (n.d.,
p. 4). Amazing indeed!
REFERENCES
Archer, Gleason (1982),
Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Archer, Gleason L. (1994),
A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago, IL: Moody).
Barnes, Albert (1949a reprint),
Barnes’ Notes—Acts (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Barnes, Albert (1949b reprint),
Barnes’ Notes—II Corinthians and Galatians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Boles, H. Leo (1941),
Commentary on Acts of the Apostles (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate).
Clarke, Adam (no date),
Clarke’s Commentary on the Old Testament—Volume I: Genesis to Deuteronomy (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury).
Duncan, Bobby (no date), “The God of the Fourth Generation” (Adamsville, AL: Adamsville Church of Christ).
Henry, Matthew (no date),
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible—Volume I: Genesis to Deuteronomy (McLean, VA: MacDonald).
Hoehner, Harold W. (1969), “The Duration of the Egyptian Bondage,”
Bibliotheca Sacra, 126:306-316, October.
Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch (1974 reprint),
Commentary on the Old Testament—The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Kitchen, Kenneth A. (1966),
Ancient Orient and Old Testament (London: Tyndale).
Lipscomb, David (no date),
Commentary on Second Corinthians and Galatians (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate).
Mauro, Philip (no date),
The Wonders of Bible Chronology (Swengel, PA: Reiner).
Ozanne, C.G. (1970),
The First 7,000 Years (New York: Exposition Press).
Rohl, David M. (1995),
Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest (New York: Crown).
Thiele, Edwin (1963), “Chronology, Old Testament,”
Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, ed. Merrill C. Tenney (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Unger, Merrill (1954),
Archaeology and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Whiston, William, trans. (1974 reprint),
The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).