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The 400 and 430 year periods serve the purpose of bridging the gap between
the time of Abraham and the Exodus (of the children of Israel from Egypt).
Many have advanced various theories or solutions to the twin periods of
'four hundred years' and 'four hundred and thirty years', but when one
considers these theories carefully they do not completely satisfy the
stated requirements.
The verses which mention these periods are as follows.
400 YEARS
Gen 15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your
descendants will be strangers in a land that is not
theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict
them four hundred years.
:14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge;
afterward they shall come out with great possessions."
Acts 7:6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants
would sojourn in a foreign land, and that they
would bring them into bondage and oppress them
four hundred years.
:7 'And the nation to whom they will be in bondage
I will judge', said God, 'and after that they
shall come out and serve Me in this place'.
430 YEARS
Exod 12:40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived
in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred
and thirty years - on that very same day - it came
to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out
from the land of Egypt.
Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it
is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed,
no one annuls or adds to it.
:17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred
and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant
that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that
it should make the promise of no effect.
In addition to these verses it is necessary to also consider the period of
450 years. (Quoted from NIV)
Acts 13:16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said:
"Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God,
listen to me!
:17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers;
he made the people prosper during their stay in
Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that
country,
:18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in
the desert,
:19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their
land to his people as their inheritance.
:20 All this took about 450 years.
:21 After this, God gave them judges until the time
of Samuel the prophet.
(Most translations follow this NIV rendering, but it should be noted that
the King James links the period of 450 years to the time leading up to the
arrival of Samuel.)
Following the more common rendering, as depicted by the NIV translation,
the structure of the period of 450 years is suggested to be:
Choosing of the Fathers to the Exodus 400
Wandering in the wilderness 40
Destroying of the seven nations 10
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450 Years
In summary, the main points concerning the twin periods of 400 years and
430 years can be listed as follows:
400 YEARS - 1) encompasses sojourning and bondage
2) involves Abraham's descendants, Gen 15:13
3) ends with the Exodus, Acts 7:6-7 & 13:17-20
4) begins with the choosing of the fathers!
(NB: The 400 year period initiates the longer
450 year period and since the 450 years
starts with the choosing of the fathers,
then the choosing of the fathers must
also be the event which begins the 400
years.)
430 YEARS - 1) encompasses sojourning
2) ends with the Exodus, Exod 12:40
3) begins at Passover (at the same time of
the year that Israel left Egypt, Exod 12:41
'that very same day')
4) begins when the Abrahamic covenant was
'confirmed'! Gal 3:17.
Since both the 400 and 430 year periods end at the Exodus, it is apparent
their starting points are 30 years apart.
Unfortunately, even armed with this knowledge, determining the events which
initiate the 400 and 430 year periods is still difficult.
However, rather than at this point entering upon a lengthy analysis, for
the sake of brevity the starting points are simply stated.
400 YEARS - *** The Birth of Jacob ***
The 'chose our fathers' in Acts chapter 13 is a
reference to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The 'descendants' mentioned in Gen 15:13 and Acts 7:6
were Isaac and Jacob.
The selection of Jacob occurred at his birth, Gen 25:23.
(At this time Isaac was 60 years old and Abraham was 160
years old; Gen 25:26, 21:5.)
430 YEARS - *** The Intended Sacrifice of Isaac ***
This event was a type of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
which also occurred at Passover.
Following the willingness of Abraham to offer his son
God made the prior promises to Abraham unconditional!
Gen 22:16 ... "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD,
because you have done this thing, and have
not withheld your son, your only son,
:17 in blessing I will bless you, and in
multiplying I will multiply your descendants
as the stars of the heaven and as the sand
which is on the seashore; and your descendants
shall possess the gate of their enemies.
:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed, because you have obeyed
My voice."
Consider also;
- Exod 32:13, 'You swore by Your own self'
- Heb 6:13, 'because He could swear by no one
greater, He swore by Himself'.
[ NB: The circumcision covenant, which is described
in chapter 17 of Genesis, did not cause the
the promises to Abraham to be unconditional. ]
Although not dated this event would have occurred when
Abraham was 130(160-30) years old! Isaac about 30 years
of age, an adult!!
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| The common, but ill-conceived,
portrayal of the intended
sacrifice falsely views Isaac
as a child.
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COMMON MISTAKES
1) Not recognizing that the term 'sojourn in a foreign land' could
include the prior sojourn in Canaan, not just the time spent in
Egypt.
2) Failing to recognise that the affliction suffered in Egypt never
spanned the entire period.
We only know for certain that the Israelites were afflicted the
last 80 years (length of life of Moses prior to the Exodus).
3) Not noticing that the length of the stay in Egypt could not have
exceeded 350 years (80 yrs + 137 yrs + 133 yrs).
Moses at the time of the Exodus was 80 years old.
Exod 7:7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-
three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
The father of Moses was Amram, who lived 137 years.
Exod 6:20 Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father's
sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses.
And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred
and thirty-seven.
The father of Amram was Kohath, who lived 133 years.
Exod 6:18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron,
and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were
one hundred and thirty-three.
Kohath had already been born when Jacob entered Egypt.
Gen 46:8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel,
Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: ...
:11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
4) Placing too much emphasis upon the text of Exodus 12:40-41, without
moderating it with the teaching of Galatians 3:17.
In Exodus 12:40 the 'who lived in Egypt' statement should be
considered a side comment and therefore not a clause which defined
the period of 430 years.
However, a strict interpretation of Exodus 12:40 would suggest that
the 430 year period could not begin until there came into existence
'children of Israel', ie until Jacob had at least two offspring.
This would be true if 'children of Israel' referred to the physical
seed of Jacob, but Gal 3:17 by starting this period with the
establishment of the Covenant advises us it is a reference to the
children of spiritual Israel (those of faith under this covenant).
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