How Long Did The Israelites Eat Quail

How long were the Israelites in Egypt?

Using their ain family tree to resolve a contend

Published: 21 September 2021 (GMT+10)

Using their own family tree to resolve a dispute

Effigy 1: Israelite family trees that span the Sojourn and/or Exodus. This is not fully comprehensive but there is enough information here to inform us almost the length of the Sojourn.

In that location is a long-standing and rigorous debate well-nigh the length of time the Israelites spent in Arab republic of egypt. God promised Abraham that his descendants would exist affected for 400 years. His grandson, Jacob, moved the family unit to Arab republic of egypt where they were afflicted. The Bible then gives us some apparently conflicting information. In 1 identify, information technology seems to say the 430-year clock started ticking when Jacob entered Egypt. In another place, it says it started when God made the hope to Abraham. The deviation betwixt Abraham and Jacob amounts to most 215 years. So, they were either in Egypt for 215 or 430 years. Which is it?

This discussion is of import for several reasons. First, the Bible is not supposed to contain contradictions. Second, the presence or absenteeism of two extra centuries strongly affects our ability to square biblical and secular history. And third, the question about their time in Arab republic of egypt is part of the calculation of the age of the universe! There are additional questions about the historical background of their time in Arab republic of egypt (i.e., who was the pharaoh of Joseph and who was the pharaoh of the Exodus?), but these are outside the scope of this article. If you are interested in those questions, beginning encounter the fantabulous review written by Gary Bates Egyptian chronology and the Bible—framing the issues. Our Tour Arab republic of egypt booklet contains additional (and fascinating) information on the topic.

At first glance, it seems that God's promise that the Israelites would be oppressed sojourners in a foreign land started when Jacob entered Egypt. Many Bible commentaries, articles, and sermons have made such claims. Other scholarly sources, withal, including the famous "4004 BC" age-of-the-earth calculation of Archbishop James Ussher, take assumed the clock started ticking when God initially fabricated the promise to Abraham.

At that place are several ways to resolve the effect. First, we demand to see how other biblical authors handled the question. Second, nosotros need to examine the internal data and come across if the dates and names line up on one side or the other. Being that this is such a weighty affair, and since many smart people have debated almost this over many centuries, permit the states approach the question charily. To exist honest, nosotros want to stretch biblical history out every bit far as possible. There are many secular challenges to the biblical timeline, and they only get easier when we take more time. Even so, despite the temptation to lean toward a longer timeframe, we are reminded of the passage in Judges 6. In that location were too many soldiers with Gideon when they went up to attack Midian. God reduced that number from 32,000 to a mere 300, to attack a host that numbered "like locusts" and like "the sand on the seashore". The attack was successful. Considering this, maybe we should not worry nearly how much time we desire and simply let the text speak for itself.

The biblical text

First, consider what God told Abraham:

And so the Lord said to Abram, "Know for sure that your offspring will be sojourners in a state that is not theirs and will be servants at that place, and they will exist afflicted for four hundred years. But I volition bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and after they shall come out with bully possessions. As for you, you shall get to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good quondam historic period. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not still complete." (Genesis 15:thirteen–xvi)

Abraham was living in the south of Israel. He did not own the land but was simply temporarily settled in that location every bit he waited for God to prove him the state he was promised before he left his homeland (Genesis 12:ane). He and his offspring were already living in a land that was not theirs, only they were non being "afflicted". Withal, some scholars reference the account of Ishmael mocking Isaac (Genesis 21:9) or the Philistine'due south stealing Abraham'south water supply (Genesis 21:25) or the time when they chased Isaac away and stopped up his wells (Genesis 26:14–xvi) as examples of "disease". Note that Abraham has already spent some time in Arab republic of egypt (Genesis 12:10–20).

We know the Israelites were afflicted after they moved to Egypt during Jacob's lifetime:

And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of State of israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of State of israel work equally slaves and fabricated their lives biting with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of piece of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. (Exodus 1:12b–14)

Yet, they were not afflicted when they first arrived. The affliction did non begin until a pharaoh arose that did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:8), and Joseph lived for about 90 years after Jacob arrived (see below). If they had to be afflicted for 400 years, their time in Egypt would take to be at least 490 years long, which goes against what the text specifically says. Thus, it appears they were wandering and experiencing periodic persecution since the time of Abraham. Simply consider the statement made later on they left:

The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:40–41)

This certainly reads like the people were in Arab republic of egypt for a total 430 years. But notation that the word "Israel" specifically designates Jacob and his descendants. Abraham and Isaac were technically not Israelites.

On the other hand, consider the words of Paul in the New Testament:

Now the promises were made to Abraham … the law, which came 430 years subsequently … (Galatians iii:16–17)

Paul seems to be proverb that the clock started ticking with Abraham, not Jacob. How, and so, could the people of "Israel" have lived in Egypt for 430 years?

Exodus 12:forty has given scholars difficulty for centuries, even predating the seeming disharmonize raised past Galatians 3. In fact, the Greek Septuagint (Seventy), which was translated a few centuries earlier the New Testament was written, and the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), which also predates the New Testament,¹ say:

At present 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.² (emphasis added)

Of the three major textual traditions, ii (the Lxx and SP) more hands allow for a 215-year Sojourn. We are not trying to cast doubt on the style our Bibles, which are based on the Masoretic text, read. It is besides quite possible that the other traditions added these phrases to clear up a textual puzzle. All we are trying to say is that this is a difficult passage that is open up to several possible interpretations. In that location is not space here to go into every aspect of textual criticism. If you are new to debates such as this, see How can we be sure nosotros have the Discussion of God?

Is information technology 400 or 430?

There is no discrepancy between the "400" year argument (Genesis 15:13; Acts vii:half dozen) and the more specific "430" years (Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17). The authors of these passages certainly knew these numbers were in that location and saw no problem including them both. This could exist a thing of numerical rounding (where 430 becomes "400"), or the 400-yr clock could take started at a different fourth dimension than the 430-year clock. For case, the Exodus could have been both 430 years from God'south hope to Abraham and 400 years from the birth of Isaac.

Note that Genesis 15:13 specifically says that Abraham's offspring (i.e., the not-notwithstanding-built-in Isaac and his descendants) will be affected wanderers for 400 years. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5). If the promise was made to Abraham 30 years prior to that, in that location is no conflict. Merely at that place are too multiple 'calls' of Abraham. Start, something propelled Abraham's father Terah to leave his homeland and become to Canaan. He did not arrive very far, dying in Haran (Genesis 11:31). Was this the 'call' of Abraham? If so, we cannot hands date information technology. After this, God chosen Abraham out of Haran and promised to brand of him a not bad nation. This happened when he was 75 (Genesis 12:1–4). He would accept been 105 years old xxx years later on, then some commentators say the "400-year" clock started with the weaning of Isaac (at about the age of five), which was also associated with the mocking of Isaac past his older one-half-blood brother Ishmael (Genesis 21:nine).

God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham in Genesis 12:vii. On another visit, He restated both the 'smashing nation' and the 'land' promises (xiii:14–17). In Genesis xv. during a dark dream, God makes the promise that Abraham's descendants would be sojourners and afflicted for iv hundred years. God likewise says that he would estimate the nation they served (true), that they would come out with great possessions (also true, see Exodus 12:35–36), and that they would return to the Canaan (i.east., the Promised State) in the fourth generation. These other visits by God and the one prophetic dream are not dated. Information technology is withal not easy to reconcile the 400- and 430-twelvemonth clocks, and Isaac has to be weaned while still a child, only if these events are packed into a few short years in that location is non much of a trouble.

How do you become 215 years?

If the Israelites were non in Egypt for 430 years, how long were they at that place? To answer this, we have to make some quick calculations. If the 430-year clock starts when Abraham is 75, nosotros accept the nativity of Isaac 25 years subsequently, the nascence of Jacob when Isaac is 60 (Genesis 25:26), and the entry of Jacob into Arab republic of egypt when he is 130 (Genesis 47:9). Thus, it was 25 + 60 + 130 = 215 years from Abraham to Jacob's entry into Egypt.

If the clock starts subsequently, for instance after the "flaming torch" dream in Genesis fifteen, we still accept a 430-year time between the promise made to Abraham and the giving of the law, but the time in Egypt is lengthened a footling. Thus, "215" is non an absolute number, merely it is the traditional supposition, and then we decided to utilize it throughout this article.

Just four generations in Egypt?

According to Genesis 15:16, they were supposed to come up back in the 4^th generation. Was this 'four generations' from Abraham or 'four generations' after they entered Egypt? Since Abraham was already a wanderer, and since he knew nothing near the family'south future stay in Egypt, how would he take interpreted God'due south words? In this context the give-and-take "generation" cannot mean "virtually 25 years" because 25 x four does not equal 400. Some people believe at that place are "missing generations" in the biblical genealogies. How does that fit into the "4^th generation" scheme? This can be answered by carefully paying attending to the genealogical data given to us in the Bible.

The biblical data

Anyone who has tried to read through the Bible knows that there are many sections that seem to be nothing but a long listing of names. They are difficult to pronounce and tedious to read through. Even so, those names are often linked to important events, and we can often ameliorate sympathise a passage when we better understand the background of the people involved in the story. This is definitely true for the time period of the Egyptian Sojourn and the Exodus.

Considering all the information given, we can build a family tree for all the Israelite family lines that go from Canaan, to Arab republic of egypt, through the Exodus, and back to Canaan later the conquest of Jericho (figure 1). At first glance, this appears to be a real genealogy with no room for missing generations. If we simply had the direct line of Moses, there would be more room for arguing. Yet, in that location are multiple lines described here. They mutually interact and support each other, with no contradictions or difficulties. Anyone who has spent fourth dimension working on their personal genealogy can appreciate how difficult family records tin can be. Imagine how difficult a time you would have if i of your ancestors decided to skip over people in the family tree. Thus, the biblical genealogy would be incredibly opaque if the people recording the data were skipping over random people. It would not even be easy to practise if they were skipping over only specific people, considering so many siblings, uncles, nieces, etc., are mentioned.

We withal accept to figure out what God meant when He said they would render in the 'fourth generation'. In any population, there volition exist a tremendous overlap in the generation count. The oldest child of an oldest child will be living alongside the youngest child of a youngest child, etc. In fact, the distribution will take on the shape of a bell bend (see Patriarchal drive in the early post-Flood population, figure 8). Thus, "in the 4^th generation" is a bit ambiguous. In the Israelite genealogy, four generations from Abraham just gets y'all to around the time they entered Arab republic of egypt. From Jacob, however, it is only iv generations to Moses, who did not quite get in back to Canaan. And four generations from the sons and/or grandsons of Jacob who went down into Egypt effectively spans their fourth dimension in Egypt along multiple lines. Thus, the Israelites could have returned to Canaan after four generations from the people who arrived in Arab republic of egypt. Yet, this would preclude missing generations and simply works in the short Sojourn model.

Figure ii: A timeline of the long Sojourn showing the maximum bridge of the people in Moses' family. "Missing generations" are required in this scenario.

The family tree in figure 1 is a bit hard to understand due to its complication. For instance, Hezron had at least four wives, iii of whom gene into the tree (represented by the horizonal dotted line), only merely one of whom is named. Worse, the line of David goes back to Hezron, but the wife is not named. Even worse, later Hezron died, his son Caleb married one of Hezron's wives (1 Chronicles 2:24) and had at least 1 son past her. Even so, this relationship is not shown because the genealogical data for that line is incomplete. We also included a bump in the long horizontal line that connects Aaron to his wife, Elisheba, then that it did not expect like she married Achan. If more names were included in the biblical information, information technology might non have been possible to actually draw this tree!

Information technology is also skilful to signal out that this is non a family tree of all Israel. It is not even a representative family tree of your average Israelite family. Instead, it represents the leadership construction of the burgeoning nation. As such, but people with the highest status are represented. These included old people, considering they are the heads of their clans, and people who are the fewest generations removed from the Patriarchs, because they would naturally have a higher condition. At that place would exist many, many people who are farther downwards the line but who are not included in the data. Thus, nearly of the lines listed simply crave a few generations to span the Sojourn and the Exodus.

The number of generations, however, is yet a concern. On one extreme, the line between Joseph and Joshua contains 11 generations. Joshua was a beau at the starting time of the Exodus, pb the Israelite invasion of Canaan, and lived for several more decades (Judges 2:8). He was likewise chosen as i of the spies to search out Canaan early. These men were called "chiefs" (Exodus 13:1–2). Is it possible that he was the eldest son in a long line of eldest sons, in other words, the heir to the chiefdom of his tribe? If so, in a brusk Sojourn, that would amount to just almost 22 years per generation. In a long Sojourn, assuming no missing generations, this would require 46 years per generation. The brusque Sojourn seems to fit the data ameliorate.

Figure 3: A timeline of the short Sojourn showing a range of options for the people in Moses' family unit. No missing generations or other exegetical tricks are required to span this flow.

On the other extreme, consider Joshua'south relative, a woman named Sheerah.^three She and Joshua both descend from Joseph's grandson Beriah, only there are eight boosted generations in Joshua'south line. She was given state among the tribal allotments afterwards the invasion of Canaan (1 Chronicles 7:24). Was this done in her retentivity, or was she really however alive? Other women were given state,⁴ so she does not stand out in this regard. Her age, however, is a question. She had to be less than 20 (Numbers 14:29) near the commencement of the Exodus, then she would have had to exist born to her father when he was a very old man. This is non impossible, simply it is questionable. However, people who were fewer generations removed from one of Patriarchs would take had a higher status than about of the other people in the population. If she was truly the not bad-granddaughter of Joseph, she would accept been held in loftier regard. Information technology might exist possible to invoke missing generations in her lineage, only this would not explicate why she was seen as special.

The classic argument, however, deals with Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam. According to the Bible, their gramps was Levi, who was built-in in Haran (Genesis 29), long earlier the Israelites arrived in Egypt. Since Levi's grandson Amram married the daughter of Levi (i.e., his own aunt; Exodus 6:twenty), Levi was also their bang-up-grandfather. Nosotros know the ages of all these people when they died, where they were born, etc. Thus, we can take that information and utilize it to a timeline. Figure two shows what happens when we try this with a 430-yr-long Sojourn. Even if we stretch things out to their maximum values, we cannot span the unabridged menstruum. If Kohath was born in Canaan the year before they arrived in Egypt and if Amram was conceived the year Kohath died, there is still a gap of approximately 70 years that cannot be covered. Consider too that Jochabed, a daughter of Levi, would accept eventually gone through menopause. We practice not know how long she lived, only if her lifespan was similar to her contemporaries, she also cannot span the gap to her ain children.

Withal, when we consider a short 215-year Sojourn, the data align perfectly (figure iii). In fact, Miriam, who nearly survived the 40-twelvemonth Exodus, could accept had early memories of Kohath, who was born earlier the Israelites arrived in Egypt.

Consider the number of people for whom we take a genealogy and the fact that every one of these genealogies suggests a brusque Sojourn. Perhaps Paul actually did mean to say the clock started ticking with Abraham in Galatians three.

Additional name lists

In that location is one more than blazon of data nosotros can consider. There are a number of additional people for whom we take genealogies and who can also be pegged to a specific time. In other words, we can count up the number of generations and divide them past a known period of time. This might tell usa which model (long or short) is more reasonable. Many of these people lived in the fourth dimension of King David, but we besides accept a listing for all the subsequent kings of Judah and many of the priests that served them. We may not necessarily know the yr they were built-in, the year they died, or how long they lived, but we can still calculate an average estimate generation fourth dimension when a person lived through a known historical upshot.

Nevertheless, there are ii problems with this second data set. First, consider the genealogy of Jesus given to us in Luke 3. There are 54 generations listed between Jacob and Jesus. The 215-year difference between the long and short Sojourn models becomes almost irrelevant (i.eastward., there is only a 4-twelvemonth difference in the average generation times between the 2 models). Second, the people moving into Egypt were living longer than people live today. The of import leaders in Israel (the people for whom we have lifespan information) were non that many generations removed from Noah. Thus, you can't necessarily dissever the timespan by the number of generations because the early generations lived so much longer than the latter ones. In the end, the additional genealogical data are not very useful for these purposes.

Virtually of the data for figure 1 is included in the give-and-take higher up. If yous want to double bank check annihilation, it is not hard to find information for the listed individuals online. To recreate figures ii and 3, you will need these data:

• Judah and Joseph were built-in in Haran, probably within the beginning seven years after Jacob started having children (Genesis 29:31–30:26, "for whom I have served you" indicates the stop of the xiv-year period of service) just definitely earlier 20 years had passed (Genesis 31:38)
• Joseph was 17 when he has his showtime two dreams (Genesis 37:two) and was soon sold into slavery in Egypt.
• Joseph was 30 when he entered Pharaoh's household (Genesis 41:46).
• Joseph met his brothers in the two^nd twelvemonth of the famine (Genesis 45:vi), which started after vii years of plenty, thus he was virtually 39 years old.
• Jacob was 130 when he arrived in Arab republic of egypt (Genesis 47:9).
• Ages at death: Jacob was 147 (Genesis 47:28), Joseph was 110 (Genesis l:26), Levi was 137 (Exodus 6:16), Kohath was 133 (Exodus 6:18), Amram was 147 (Exodus 6:20), Aaron was 123 (Numbers 33:39), and Moses was 120 (Deuteronomy 34:6), Joshua was 110 (Judges 2:viii).
• Moses' sister was at least former plenty to take a reasonable conversation with Pharaoh's daughter when Moses was a infant (Exodus 2). Yet, the sis in this passage is non named (neither are Moses' begetter or mother, and there is no mention of Aaron). During the Exodus, Moses' sister Miriam died just a few months before he did. Assuming the older sis in Exodus 2 was Miriam, she was at least 120 + a few years one-time when she died. Thus, we are claiming she was well-nigh 126 when she died, merely her verbal age is unknown. We do know that Aaron died at the age of 123 only a few months earlier Moses died at 120, so he was older than Moses.

Conclusions

The question of how long the Israelites were in Arab republic of egypt cannot be known with absolute certainty. However:

1. The genealogical data piece of work perfectly with a short Sojourn.
2. The statement of Paul in Galatians 3 strongly suggests the clock started ticking with Abraham.
3. Information technology would exist very difficult to create a consistent family tree for these people if in that location were 'missing' generations in the data.
4. A short Sojourn meets the criteria that they would return to Canaan afterwards iv generations had passed.

This is non something we feel one should exist dogmatic well-nigh, merely for the reasons listed above we lean toward a brusque Sojourn.

References and notes

1. For a detailed word of the actuality (or lack thereof) of the 70 and SP, see Cosner, 50. and Carter, R., Textual traditions and biblical chronology, J Creation 29(ii):99–105, 2015. For information well-nigh the LXX vs MT contend, run into Cosner, L. and Carter, R., Is the Septuagint a superior text for the Genesis genealogies? Creation.com, 25 September 2018. Render to text.
2. Run into Butt, Yard., How Long was the Israelites' Egyptian Sojourn? ApologeticsPress.org, 2001. Return to text.
3. All spellings follow the ESV, yet the references to the aforementioned people in separate passages tin be spelled differently. Render to text.
4. E.k., the five daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1–11) and the daughter of Caleb (Joshua 15:18–19), only only in the context of matrimony. Return to text.

Source: https://creation.com/how-long-were-the-israelites-in-egypt

Posted by: mosiermonts1973.blogspot.com

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