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Year 1 of 400

Year 5 of Isaac

The 430 Years of Sojourn

Correct method (From Ur of the Chaldees):

Year 1 of 430

Abram leaves Ur at Age 70

KJV Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

incorrect method (From Haran - Ussher):

Year 1 of 430

Abraham leaves Haran at Age 75

Age of Jacob when entering Egypt	130	Gen. 47:9
He went the 2nd year of Famine	-2	Gen. 45:6
There were 7 years plenty before this	-7	Joseph's dream
Joseph was 30 when Jacob was 121	=121	Gen. 41:46
	-30
Jacob was 91 at birth of Joseph	=91
Jacob had served 14 years	-14	contracts with Laban
Jacobs age when marriage contracted	77
Levi was born third	+3	(Not the 10th Year. Page 21-22).
Levi born when Jacob was 80	80
Age of Levi when Jacob was 130	50	130 - 80 = 50
Levi's total life	137	Exodus 6:16
The number of years Levi lived in Egypt	88	137-50 + 1 = 88
Number of years Moses lived in Egypt	81	Including birth year.
The number of years between Levi's death and Moses' birth on assumption that they were in Egypt 430 years.	261
The number of years between Levi's death and Moses' birth on assumption that they were in Egypt 400 years.	231
Number of years in Egypt if 400 years counts from birth of Isaac, and 430 counts from Abraham leaving Ur.	210	Isaac to Jacob, 60 years, Jacob, to Egypt 130 years. 400 - 60 - 130 = 210.
Number of years between Levi's death and Moses' birth on assumption that they were in Egypt 210 years.	41
Minimum Implied age of Jochebed at Moses birth if they were in Egypt 400 years	251	(unreasonable = gap + 20 years)
Minimum Implied age of Jochebed at Moses birth if they were in Egypt 210 years	61	(reasonable = gap + 20 years)

Levi was 50 when Jacob went to Egypt, and so Levi spent 87 years in Egypt. Moses was 80 when the Exodus occurred. If they were in Egypt for 400 years, then the gap between Levi's death and Moses' birth is 400 - 87 - 80 = 233 years. But this supposes that Jochebed lived more than 233 years, and that she was able to bear children past 233 years of age. When we consider that Sarah was considered too old to bear at 99 and that she died when 127, about 283 years before Moses was born, it becomes apparent that 400 years is too long for the children of Israel to be in Egypt.

So, the 400 years in Egypt assumption must be based on a misunderstanding. Several texts are relevant:

KJV Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

1. It is evident that 400 years here begins with Isaac, who became the seed of Abraham at his birth. Isaac was forced to serve the Canaanites by digging wells for them, and then giving them up. Jacob was forced to serve Laban. Joseph was forced to serve Pharaoh. After his death, the sons of Israel were put to further service. So the 400 years of service includes all the service of Abraham's seed, and not just the part in Egypt after Joseph died. Part of the service was affliction. As soon as Abraham's seed, Isaac, was born, Ishmael afflicted him, then Isaac was afflicted by Abimelech.

2. It is clear that the 4th generation is counted from the generations that went to Egypt: Jacob, Levi, Jochebed and Moses. Jochebed was the daughter of Levi. No more generations can be added, or else God's word would have been false.

KJV Exodus 12:40 Now the sojourning (of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt), was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

The sojourning began when God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, 30 years before the birth of Isaac, and 5 years before the death of Terah. This is made clear in Galatians 3:15.

KJV Galatians 3:17 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.

Paul connects the sojourn of 430 years to the initial promise to Abraham, a call that the Scriptures place in Ur of the Chaldees before Abraham went to Haran (Gen. 15:7). For the sojourn began when they left the city-state of Ur. Consider that Gen. 12:1 says "had said unto Abram" referring to the call from Ur.

KJV Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

If Abraham was called out of Haran, it was at the most a reminder of an earlier call from Ur. The call was to Abraham, but Terah went along with it until he died in Haran. If Terah just left Ur on some whim, then how did Terah know they were going to Canaan? (Gen. 11:31). The answer is that the LORD had sent them in that direction.

If the phrase "children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt" seems odd, it is only because modern readers do not realize that Abraham had many other descendents, which had already become nations. It means the sojourning of Abraham and the descendants who became the nation of Israel ended after 430 years.

The actual time in Egypt was 210 years. The time from Isaac's birth to the Exodus was 400 years. Isaac lived 60 years and begat Jacob. Jacob lived 130 years and went to Egypt. 400 - 60 - 130 = 210.

Some mistakenly make it 215 years, because they think that Isaac did not become Abraham's seed until age 5, which is contrary to fact, and because they think Abraham was called out of Haran. The following text will refute this notion: