How Long Were the Children of Israel in Egypt? And in Bondage?

Ask any professing believer the question, “How long were the children of Israel in Egypt?”, and the answer is most likely to be either 430 or 400 years. If you ask the follow-on question, “How long were they in bondage in Egypt?”, the answer is likely to be the same. But are these the correct answers? If we do some math, it quickly becomes clear that it can’t be anything like that amount of time.

“And Canaan”

The issue begins with the “traditional” (corrupted) Masoretic text¹, which omits some highly relevant words. The King James translation of the Masoretic text of Exodus 12:40 reads as follows:

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40 KJV)

The Brenton (BES²) translation of the Greek Old Testament text for Exodus 12:40, however, correctly translates the crucial detail that’s omitted from the Masoretic text and, thus, all Masoretic-based translations of the Old Testament.

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 BES)

Here’s the underlying Greek for Exodus 12:40, from the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint or LXX). The two key words are:

1. Αἴγυπτος (Αιγυπτω) Egypt
2. Χαναάν Canaan

η δε κατοικησις των υιων Ισραηλ, ην κατωκησαν εν γη Αιγυπτω και εν γη Χανααν, ετη τετρακοσια τριακοντα, (Exodus 12:40 LXX)

The English translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch (SPE³) also contains the crucial detail omitted from the Masoretic text.

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. (Exodus 12:40 SPE)

Although the Greek and Samaritan texts are both clear that the 430 years of sojourning was in Canaan and Egypt, the Samaritan text has yet more crucial detail.

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. (Exodus 12:40 SPE)

The clause “and fathers of them” shows us that the 430 years of sojourning being addressed not only applies to the children of Israel (Jacob’s children, grandchildren, and so on), but also to their fathers, which includes Jacob, himself, his father Isaac and, of course, Abraham. In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul confirms the 430 years as being the length of time between the promises given to Abraham (the year he entered the land of Canaan) and the giving of the law (the year of the exodus).

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. 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. (Galatians 3:16-17 KJV)

The Four Hundred and Thirty Years

Let’s look at the timeline of events over the course of the 430 years between the promises and the law. Abraham was 75 when he entered Canaan and was given the promises.

And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father, and come into the land which I will shew thee. [2] And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. [3] And I will bless those that bless thee, and curse those that curse thee, and in thee shall all the tri BES of the earth be blessed. [4] And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan. [5] And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Charrhan, and they went forth to go into the land of Chanaan. [6] And Abram traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Sychem, to the high oak, and the Chananites then inhabited the land. [7] And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to thy seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. [8] And he departed thence to the mountain eastward of Baethel, and there he pitched his tent in Baethel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12:1-8 BES)

Abraham was 85 years old when Sara gave him her handmaid, Agar, who bore Ismael when Abraham was 86 years old. These two events were 10 and 11 years after the promises, respectively.

So Sara the wife of Abram having taken Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Chanaan, gave her to Abram her husband as a wife to him. (Genesis 16:3 BES)

And Abram was eighty-six years old, when Agar bore Ismael to Abram. (Genesis 16:16 BES)

Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, 25 years after the promises.

And Abraam was a hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him. (Genesis 21:5 BES)

Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born, 85 years after the promises.

And after this came forth his brother, and his hand took hold of the heel of Esau; and she called his name Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca bore them. (Genesis 25:26 BES)

Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold by his brothers to the Ismaelites and taken into Egypt.

[2] And these are the generations of Jacob. And Joseph was seventeen years old, feeding the sheep of his father with his brethren, being young; with the sons of Balla, and with the sons of Zelpha, the wives of his father; and Joseph brought to Israel their father their evil reproach. [4] And his brethren having seen that his father loved him more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him. [27] Come, let us sell him to these Ismaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren hearkened. [28] And the men, the merchants of Madian, went by, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ismaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt. (Genesis 37:2, 4, 27-28 BES)

Abraham was 175 years old when he died, 100 years after the promises.

And these were the years of the days of the life of Abraam as many as he lived, a hundred and seventy-five years. (Genesis 25:7 BES)

Isaac was 180 years old when he died, 205 years after the promises.

And the days of Isaac which he lived were an hundred and eighty years. (Genesis 35:28 BES)

Joseph was 30 years old when Pharao gave him authority over the crops at the beginning of the seven years of plenty.

And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharao, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharao, and went through all the land of Egypt. And the land produced, in the seven years of plenty, whole handfuls of corn. (Genesis 41:46-47 BES)

Joseph was 37 years old at the end of the seven years of plenty and the beginning of the seven years of famine. Joseph was, therefore, 39 years old after two years of the seven years of famine. This was the same year Jacob came into Egypt.

[4]And Joseph said to his brethren, Draw nigh to me; and they drew nigh; and he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom ye sold into Egypt. [6] For this second year there is famine on the earth, and there are yet five years remaining, in which there is to be neither ploughing, nor mowing. [11] And I will nourish thee there: for the famine is yet for five years; lest thou be consumed, and thy sons, and all thy possessions. (Genesis 45:4, 6, 11 BES)

Joseph was 39 years old and Jacob 130 years old when he and all the children of Israel went into Egypt, 215 years after the promises. This is when the sojourning in the land of Egypt began.

And Pharao said to Jacob, How many are the years of the days of thy life? And Jacob said to Pharao, The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned. (Genesis 47:8-9 BES)

Jacob was 147 years old when he died after living for 17 years in Egypt, 232 years after the promises.

And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob’s days of the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven years. (Genesis 47:28 BES)

Joseph died when he was 110 years old, 286 years after the promises and 144 years before the exodus and the giving of the law.

And Joseph died, aged an hundred and ten years; and they prepared his corpse, and put him in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:26 BES)

After Joseph’s death, an unspecified length of time passed between his death and the coming to power of the Pharao who didn’t know Joseph. During this time all of Joseph’s generation also died, and the children of Israel increased and multiplied.

And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel increased and multiplied, and became numerous and grew exceedingly strong, and the land multiplied them. (Exodus 1:6-7 BES)

After this unspecified time, the Pharao who didn’t know Joseph was concerned about the children of Israel being many and stronger than the Egyptians. And so he set task-masters over them. This is the beginning of their bondage.

And there arose up another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. And he said to his nation, Behold, the race [γένος, genos: nation, tribe or family, not race] of the children of Israel is a great multitude, and is stronger than we: come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest at any time they be increased, and whensoever war shall happen to us, these also shall be added to our enemies, and having prevailed against us in war, they will depart out of the land. And he set over them task-masters, who should afflict them in their works; and they built strong cities for Pharao, both Pitho, and Ramesses, and On, which is Heliopolis. (Exodus 1:8-11 BES)

The year that Joseph died — 286 years after the promises and 144 years before the law — is the earliest possible start of the bondage, without taking into consideration the unspecified length of time for the rest of his generation to die, the children of Israel to multiply, and for the new Pharao to arise. Moses was born during the time of bondage and 80 years before the exodus, which means he was born 350 years after the promises. Thus, the latest possible start of bondage is the year that Moses was born.

And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao. (Exodus 7:7 BES)

Thus, the total number of years that the children of Israel were in bondage was no more than 144 years and no less than 80 years.

The Four Hundred Years

In addition to the period of 430 years between the promises and the law, Genesis 15 mentions a period of 400 years. At first, this might seem contradictory. Was it 430 years or was it 400 years? As God is not the author of confusion both must be true and, therefore, the onus is on us to search the scriptures to see how these two apparently different periods of time are both true. First, let’s look at the scriptures that mention the 400 years.

And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13 BES)

Stephen also speaks of these same 400 years in Acts 7.

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. (Acts 7:6 KJV)

Clearly, these 400 years are contained within the 430 years. Additionally, the 400 years cannot be referring to the length of time that the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt. As we’ve seen in stepping through the scriptures, the children of Israel were in Egypt for 215 years and in bondage no more than 144 years and no less than 80 years. Let’s look at Genesis 15:13 again with a different focus.

And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13 BES)

If we pay attention to the antecedent, “thy seed”, it’s clear that the 400 years begins with Abraham’s seed, in contrast to the 430 years which began with the promises given to Abraham. Although Ismael was born to Abraham 11 years after the promises, the seed in question here is Isaac.

But God said to Abraam, Let it not be hard before you concerning the child, and concerning the bondwoman; in all things whatever Sarrha shall say to you, hear her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. (Genesis 21:12 BES)

Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old, 25 years after the promises and 405 years before the giving of the law. So we’re close to accounting for the 30-year difference. If the 400 years began five years after Isaac was born, the only conclusion is that the 400 years began when Isaac turned five years old. While there is no scripture that specifies what happened when Isaac was five years old, there is the following verse that mentions the day Isaac was weaned.

And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraam made a great feast the day that his son Isaac was weaned. (Genesis 21:8 BES)

If you research the weaning age of children at the time, you’ll find many sources agree that five years was the average weaning age, which aligns perfectly with the 400 years beginning when Isaac turned five years old. While this answers the timing, we need to also understand the significance of what happened when Isaac was five years old. Let’s continue with the next two verses.

And Sarrha having seen the son of Agar the Egyptian who was born to Abraam, sporting with Isaac her son, then she said to Abraam, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not inherit with my son Isaac. (Genesis 21:8-10 BES)

Paul references Genesis 15 in his epistle to the Galatians.

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. (Galatians 4:22-23 KJV)

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (Galatians 4:29-30 KJV)

In Genesis 21 we see that Ismael “sported” with Isaac the same day that he was weaned. And in Galatians 5 Paul confirms that Ismael persecuted Isaac, equating Ismael with the son born after the flesh and Isaac with the son of promise, or him that was born after the Spirit. Let’s look at the the Greek words underlying “sporting” in Genesis 21, and “persecuted” in Galatians 5.

The underlying Greek word for “sporting” is παιζοντα, which comes from the root παίζω (paizo, G3815), which is defined as follows:

1. to play like a child 2) to play, sport, jest 3) to give way to hilarity, esp. by joking singing, dancing

The underlying Greek word for “persecuted” is ἐδίωκεν, which comes from διώκω (diōkō, G1377), which is defined as follows:

1. to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away
2. to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after 2a) to press on: figuratively of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal 2b) to pursue (in a hostile manner)
3. in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one 3a) to persecute 3b) to mistreat, to persecute on account of something
4. without the idea of hostility, to run after, follow after: someone
5. metaph., to pursue 5a) to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire

From these two definitions, we can see the specific meanings that match are “jest and joking” and “harass, trouble, mistreat”. Thus, when putting these two parts of scripture together, we can see that Ismael jested with or mistreating Isaac from the day he was weaned, which was very likely the day he turned five years old.

Let’s return to the 400 years in Genesis 15, this time referring to the Thomson (CTB⁴) translation of the Greek, as it shows the difference that punctuation makes. [The Greek text had no punctuation, and so all punctuation, or lack thereof, is a translational decision.]

and it was said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed shall sojourn in a land not their own. And they shall be enslaved and afflicted and humbled. Four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13 CTB)

Breaking this down, Abraham is told the following:

1. His seed will sojourn in a land not their own. This was fulfilled from Isaac onwards.
2. His seed will be enslaved in a land not their own. This was fulfilled from the unspecified length of time after Joseph’s death onwards.
3. His seed will be afflicted in a land not their own. This was fulfilled from Isaac onwards.
4. His seed would be humbled in a land not their own. This was fulfilled from Isaac onwards.
5. All of the above would take place over the course of 400 years, beginning the day that Isaac was weaned.

All to say, the 30-year difference between the 430 years and the 400 years is accounted for by the former beginning from the promises and latter beginning from the day Isaac was weaned at five years old. Praise God for this clarity!

The 430-Year Timeline

Here’s a summary of all of the above in bullet points for ease of reference.

The First 215 Years: Sojourning in Canaan

• The promises: were given to Abraham when he was 75 years old, the year he entered Canaan
• 11 years after the promises: Ismael was born in the land of Canaan when Abraham was 86 years old
• 25 years after the promises: Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old
• 30 years after the promises: Isaac was 5 years old when Ismael began to persecute, humble and afflict him
• 85 years after the promises: Jacob was born when Isaac was 60 years old
• 100 years after the promises: Abraham died when he was 175 years old
• 176 years after the promises: Joseph was born when Jacob was 91 years old
• 193 years after the promises: Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold to the Ismaelites
• 205 years after the promises: Isaac died when was 180 years old
• 206 years after the promises: Joseph was 30 years old when he was given authority over the crops, at the beginning of the seven years of plenty
• 213 years after the promises: Joseph was 37 years old at beginning of the seven years of famine
• 215 years after the promises: Joseph was 39 years old two years into the seven years of famine

The Second 215 Years: Sojourning and Bondage in Egypt

• 215 years after the promises: Jacob was 130 years old when he went into Egypt
• 215-232 years after the promises: Jacob lived (sojourned) in Egypt for 17 years
• 232 years after the promises: Jacob died when he was 147 years old
• 286 years after the promises: Joseph died when was 110 years old (earliest possible start of the time of bondage)
• 286-430 years after the promises: There were 144 years between Josephs’ death and the exodus
• 64 years between the death of Joseph death and the birth of Moses: The bondage of the children of Israel started within these 64 years (the events that took place after the death of Joseph and prior to the beginning of bondage were: 1) all in Joseph’s generation died, 2) the children of Israel multiplied, 3) a new Pharao arose in Egypt)
• 350 years after the promises: Moses was born (the latest possible start of the time of bondage)
• 430 years after the promises: Moses was 80 years old at the time of the exodus, the same year he was given the law

Footnotes

¹ The Masoretic text is the result of the work of a group of Jewish scribe-scholars known as the Masoretes (aka “Masters of the Tradition”), who developed the text (using a combination of manuscripts and oral tradition), between the 7th and 10th century — that is, between 600 and 900 years AFTER Jesus walked the earth. Two points: 1) oral tradition is inherently problematic, 2) the Masoretes rejected Jesus as the Christ, and had every reason to obfuscate certain parts of the scriptures. Praise God, however, that, despite their corruptions, the key message of the Bible remains intact for the many believers who never even learn of the issues with the text that underlies the overwhelming majority of Bible translations from the 15th century onwards.

² BES: Brenton English Septuagint

³ SPE: Samaritan Pentateuch in English

⁴ CTB: Charles Thomson Bible