Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
- KJV Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
- BSB Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
- NASB Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years.
- NLT The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Israelites had lived in Egypt four hundred thirty years.
Overview
This verse marks the length of Israel's sojourn, fulfilling God's word to Abraham about a long affliction followed by deliverance (Genesis 15:13). The precise figure shows that God's timetable, though long, is exact and faithful. Faithful interpreters differ on whether the 430 years cover the whole sojourn from Abraham or specifically the Egyptian residence; either way, the verse testifies to God's reliability across the generations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 15:13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
- Acts 7:6God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.
- Acts 13:17The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.
- Gal 3:16–17Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants ”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring ”, which is Christ.
- Heb 11:9By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
- Gen 12:1–3Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 12:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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