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;
Parallel translations
- WEB He 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.
- BSB Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
- NLT Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 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
God foretold that Abram's descendants would be enslaved and afflicted in a foreign land for four hundred years. He revealed hardship before deliverance.
Overview
The Lord discloses the future bondage in Egypt long before it occurs, showing His sovereign foreknowledge over history. The promise comes wrapped in a warning of suffering, teaching that God's purposes often pass through affliction. This prophecy assures that even Israel's slavery lay within God's plan, leading toward the exodus and ultimately toward redemption in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Acts 7:6–7And 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.
- Exod 1:11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
- Exod 12:40–41Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
- Acts 7:17But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
- Gal 3:17And 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.
- Exod 1:1–2Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
- Lev 19:34But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
- Gen 17:8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
- Exod 23:9Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- Ps 105:11–12Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
- Heb 11:8–13By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
- Deut 10:19Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
- Exod 5:1–23And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
- Ps 105:23–25Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
- Exod 22:21Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 15:13 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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