Hebrew Voices #38 – How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt (Rebroadcast)

How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt

In Hebrew Voices, How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt, Nehemia Gordon tackles the age-old conundrum of how to count 400 years. Burnice wrote: “Wow. Thank you for clarifying this.” I look forward to reading your comments!

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Hebrew Voices #38 – How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt (Rebroadcast)

You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Benjamin Netanyahu: Le ma’an Zion lo ekhesheh, u’l’ma’an Yerushalayim lo eshkot.

Announcer: You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia’s Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at nehemiaswall.com.

Michael: We have a warm and endearing letter sent in. “I gave you the chart at Passover that proved that Israel was enslaved in Egypt 400 years! Four days later, I sent an email to Nehemia Gordon. It’s been my experience that even the Karaites refuse the accept the whole truth of the Torah. I took exception to Michael’s teaching in the seminar by Dr. Miles Jones, that Israel was only enslaved 260 years, which is false doctrine!” Of course, Dr. Miles Jones is the one who trains second-graders on televised debates to defeat MENSA Society geniuses with calculators on advanced mathematical calculation. But of course, Miles Jones can’t count or anything, here. And then, “Any so-called scholar teaching otherwise is teaching falsely! Are you condoning that? Why have I not seen any effort to correct that which was erroneously taught? If A Rood Awakening can’t be trusted to correct a discovered error, what other falsehoods might be this organization hiding from us Torah fans? Tell the people the truth. What are you waiting for?”

Well, Nehemia? What are we waiting for?

Nehemia: You can’t handle the truth! No, look, what’s this guy’s problem? I mean, really? So, he has a disagreement how you understand certain verses in the Torah, and therefore you’re a false teacher, it’s false doctrine, you’re hiding from the people things… I mean, what are we talking about?

Michael: Yeah, and I remember…

Nehemia: How long…

Michael: …this one I learned like in second grade in Sunday school. This was our position, back then.

Nehemia: So, look. Here are the different verses. In Genesis 15:3 it talks about how God says to Avraham, He says… [laughing]

Michael: Back in Genesis, it’s a little early there.

Nehemia: He says, “Your descendants will be sojourners and slaves in a land that’s not theirs for 400 years.” And there are two parts to that. They’ll be sojourners and they’ll be slaves. Let’s read the verse. Let’s make sure we’re getting this all right, so we don’t have false doctrine! Like, seriously? This is such a…

Michael: Okay, you so-called scholar, let’s open up the Scriptures.

Nehemia: I don’t know, so what are we talking about here? So, let’s say we…

Michael: And I have to say, see, when Nehemia’s reading this stuff…

Nehemia: I don’t…

Michael: …he’s giving you the English. He’s just really…

Nehemia: Yeah.

Michael: …reading the English, but he’s reading the Hebrew.

Nehemia: Okay, so this is Genesis 13. “Vayomer l’Avraham, ‘Yehoa teda kiger ihiyeh ezarcha be’eretz lahem veavadum ve’inu otam arba me’ot shana.’” “And He said to Abraham, ‘You shall surely know that ger, a stranger or a sojourner, shall be your seed in a land that is not theirs and they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years.’”

So there are actually three things here. One is they’ll be a sojourner in a land that’s not theirs. Two, they will serve them, be slaves to them. And number three is, they’ll oppress them, and that’ll be for 400 years.

Michael: 400.

Nehemia: Does the 400 years cover the oppression and the slavery, or being the ger, the foreigner, the sojourner, the oppression? There are three different things and it doesn’t necessarily cover all of them. The point of it is, in verse 14, “And also that nation that they shall serve, I shall judge. And afterwards, they will go out with great property.”

And then He goes on and He says in verse 16, I’ll jump ahead, “And the fourth generation shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite will not be complete until here, until then.”

So, the point is, “Look, you’re not going to get this land that I promised you for another 400 years, because I can’t just wipe out the Amorites. They don’t deserve it right now. They maybe do, but I’m going to give them a chance. I’m going to give them 400 years of chances to repent, and only at the end of that will you be allowed to get this land.”

Michael: And we’ll go into slavery. We’ll come out in the fourth generation.

Nehemia: The fourth generation, right.

Michael: That’s another part of the mathematical…

Nehemia: That’s right.

Michael: …equation here.

Nehemia: Well… and so if you only have this verse – and we know about the exodus from Egypt – we might think they were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. That’d be a reasonable understanding. It might not be the only one, because you could say they were sojourners for 100 years, and then 300 years slaves, or they were sojourners for 100 years, slaves for another 100 years, bringing us to 200 years, and only the real oppression - because that’s the third thing, affliction – came later on in that process. I mean, those are all possibilities. I don’t know why…

Michael: Okay, just possibilities.

Nehemia: …holding these possibilities would make you a false teacher. Like, why is this such a critical issue that we’re throwing out these terms “false teacher, false doctrine”? That’s just so immature. I’m sorry, it really is. Like I don’t understand it. Like, it would be as if you were teaching that “the true Creator of the Universe is Satan”. That’s what it makes it sound like you’re teaching. Like, “What on earth are we talking about here?” We’re talking about how long were they slaves in Egypt.

Exodus 12 verse 41 says as follows. I’ll read it in the Hebrew if you want. We’re running out of time, I’ll read it in English.

Michael: No, go ahead.

Nehemia: “And it came to pass at the end of 430 years, on that very day all the hosts of Yehovah went out of Egypt.”

Okay, so if you only had Genesis 15:13 you could say, “Look, we don’t have to discuss this. It’s just so clear, we know it’s 400 years.” But now we’ve got another verse that talks about 430 years. And what that tells us is we need to throw the simplistic readings out of the window, because things are maybe more complicated than we thought. 400 years there, 430 years, Bible commentaries have written many, many, many pages on this topic. I once researched this in depth. And may people have written lots of different opinions on this. And there are all kinds of different solutions. One verse says 400 years, another says 430.

So, one solution is to say the 400 years begins with Isaac. The 430 years begins when God chose Abraham - or Abraham chose God, or Abram chose God. So that’s the gap of 30 years, because in Genesis he says, “Your descendants.” Well, Abraham’s not included in his own descendants. He is the father of the descendants.

Another possibility is to say, “No, it really was 430 years. And when God said ‘400 years’ He was rounding off.” Another possibility is to say, “It was 400 years, but they sinned, so they got an extra 30 years of hard time tacked on.” That’s actually one of the explanations of the Rabbinical Bible commentators, which is entirely possible. These are all very reasonable explanations. Why do we need to be throwing out terms like “false doctrine, false teacher”, when there are many different possibilities?

Michael: The Samaritans, they also have a…

Nehemia: Yeah, so...

Michael: …a tradition.

Nehemia: So, what they do is they add the words in verse 41. It says, “In the land of Egypt 430 years,” they say, add the words “and the land of Canaan.” Now, the words they add are the way that all Jews read it. Pretty much all Jews agree that the 430 years doesn’t only limit itself to the land of Egypt, but also Canaan. And by the way, you have this great video you sent me, which is called The Patterns of Evidence - Exodus.

Michael: Yeah, I actually have it right here.

Nehemia: And one of the things that we know from archeology is that the land of Canaan was actually under Egyptian rule during some of this period, that the Egyptians actually treated the Canaanite city states as vassals. So, Abraham, being a sojourner, and Isaac and Jacob, in the land of Canaan, that was actually… It’s like being in Puerto Rico and saying, “Oh, but you’re not in America.” Well, I mean, it’s under American rule.

Anyway, so here you have this 430 years, 400 years. If you look at Exodus 6 verses 16, 18 and 20, you’ll see that there’s the first three generations who are Levy, or Levi, or…

Michael: That’s right. And so, he was an adult when he came down there.

Nehemia: He was an adult and he lived to be 137 years, and then Kehat lived to be 133 years. Amram lived to be 137 years, same as his grandfather.

Michael: Right.

Nehemia: And Moses was 80 when they left Egypt. Add those altogether, you get 487. However, Levi wasn’t a baby when he came to Egypt - he was already an adult, and I think it’s safe to assume that Amram wasn’t on his death bed when he fathered Moses, and his grandfather wasn’t on his death bed, or Kehat wasn’t on his death bed, when he grandfathered Amram. So to get 400 years in Egypt itself would really be a stretch.

Michael: Right.

Nehemia: In other words…

Michael: And it’s just four generations, Levi has a daughter…

Nehemia: Yeah.

Michael: Yocheved.

Nehemia: Right.

Michael: …and she marries her nephew, who’s Amram.

Nehemia: Right.

Michael: They have Moses. Moses’ children are adults by that time.

Nehemia: Right. Well, we know Moses is 80 when they leave Egypt.

Michael: Yeah.

Nehemia: So the point is that there’s a bunch of very reasonable ways to read this. If you want to be hyper-literal and say they were 430 years in Egypt, then you’ve got this 133-year-old Kehat who’s fathering a child. It could be, it’s possible.

But if somebody doesn’t agree with that, are we going to call them a “false teacher” and label as false doctrine, and say, “You’re hiding things?” I mean, come on, guys. I’m not hiding anything. You’ve got homework, we’ve given you the verses, go work it out for yourself in fear and trembling, with prayer and study before the Lord. Can I get an Amen, Michael?

Michael: Amen! Amen.

Nehemia: Hallelujah.

Announcer: You have been listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia’s Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at nehemiaswall.com.

You have been listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon’s Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

We hope the above transcript has proven to be a helpful resource in your study. While much effort has been taken to provide you with this transcript, it should be noted that the text has not been reviewed by the speakers and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. If you would like to support our efforts to transcribe the teachings on NehemiasWall.com, please visit our support page. All donations are tax-deductible (501c3) and help us empower people around the world with the Hebrew sources of their faith!


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  • Jaime & Tanya Macias says:

    All the pictographs of the Hebrew Israelites that were enslaved in Egypt we’re black how is it that these show that they were white?

  • וְהוּא לְבַדּו אֱלהֵי says:

    The phrase “and observed their burdens” in the very same verse would indicate it was in the context of work. Besides, we have Shemot 1:13 that sets the entire context. How does one enslave people and make them work without abusing them? Nobody volunteers to be a slave.

    • Don Wood says:

      I have never failed to be blessed by any of Nehemiah’s teachings. I appreciate his honesty as well as his scholarship. morim kamokha lo kal limtzo Todah

  • Johnny Brown says:

    U did not answer question.
    I listened all the way but feel cheated.

    • rion says:

      answer 270 years. proof 270 +130 = 400 Jacob was 130 when they moved to Egypt. The 430 years was 400 +30 Isaac offered his life. All prophecies of importance have years and days. You must have 2 or 3 witnesses for proof of truth and it must be found in the word. We can not listen to our wives Gen.3:17a or men. We must be smarter the scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees ( religious leaders). 270 days From the start of the flood until the dove delivered the olive leaf. All prophecies start with a foundation and end with the summit pictograph BYET shalom clarkrion@gmail.com

  • Leaves Heal says:

    May Torah go out from Tziyon, and may humility be her chariot.

  • Robert K says:

    All I can say is, Amazing! I’ve often found this particular segment regarding the 400 years of slavery in Egypt to be rather challenging. Nehemia’s clarification makes the 400 year timeline much more plausible.

    Thank you Nehemia, for your diligence in “rightly dividing the word of truth”. Your love for the scriptures really shines through : )

  • David Fischer says:

    Your picture is interesting, especially since Exodus 5 seems to indicate that the Taskmasters of the Israelites were Israelites themselves. When the brick quota was not met, Pharaoh had the Taskmasters/Officers beaten, not the Israelites.

    • וְהוּא לְבַדּו אֱלהֵינוּ says:

      Shemot 2:11 is likewise interesting.

    • Rion Clark says:

      Interesting has logic needs 2 other proofs because Moshea killed a taskmaster to protect an Israelite. Which is counter punitive. Shalom

      • David says:

        Moses killed an Egyptian who was striking an Israelite. Where does it say the Egyptian was a Taskmaster? Where does it say the striking was work/task related? We have to be careful to stick with only the words we read.

        • Rion Clark says:

          thank you for the other scripture brings it together 2:11 & 5:14. to much Cecile B. TV for me on thinking of the task masters
          as Egyptians

  • David Fischer says:

    I think it’s obvious the 430 years is the sojourn, from the time Abram leaves to follow God in Canaan until the Exodus (400 years from the time God told Abram about this Promise – Gen 15:13). Abram was 75 at the start of the sojourn (Gen 12:4), Isaac was born 25 years later when Abraham was 100 (Gen 21:5) and Jacob was born 60 years later (Gen 25:26). Jacob was 130 (Gen 47:9) when he came to Egypt. Adding up the years: 25 + 60 + 130 = 215 years from Abram leaving Haran until Jacob entered Egypt (funny how 215 is exactly half of 430).

    Joseph was 30 when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream (Gen 41:46) and 39 when Jacob came to Egypt (seven good years plus two bad years – Gen 45:6). Joseph lived 110 years (Gen 50:26), or 71 years after Jacob entered Egypt. Joseph died (215 + 71) 286 years after Abram started his sojourn leaving (430 – 286) 144 years between Joseph and the Exodus. The Children of Israel did not immediately become slaves when Joseph died, not until another Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph (say 30-40 years minimum, a generation) so the Israelites were slaves in Egypt something around 100 years before the Exodus.

    Another way to look at this is the generations of Moses. Levi was around 5 years older than Joseph or about 44 when he entered Egypt. Gen 6 says: Levi (died 137 years) begat Kohath (died 133 years) who begat Amram (died 137 years) who begat Moses. Remember however, Amram married Jochebed, the sister of Kohath and daughter of Levi (Ex 6:20) so the generations are really Levi to Jochebed to Moses. Moses was 80 years old at the Exodus. This had to all happen in (215 + 44 – 80) 179 years from the birth of Levi to the birth of Moses. This 179 years for two generations (Levi & Jochebed) is very possible given their long life spans. If, however, the 400 years of Gen 15:13 applies to just the slavery in Egypt, then it is utterly impossible for the generations of Levi to Jochebed to Moses (80 years old) to cover 400 years. The 400/430 years have to include the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob generations. It was 430 years from the start of Abram’s sojourn to the Exodus and 400 years from the Promise to the Exodus. This is the only thing which works using all the scriptures.

    – David

    • Rion Clark says:

      David I like your theory shows the understanding that the years written in the bible have hidden truth as well as the obvious. Another truth the father does not change helps in understanding the deeper meanings in the word (my theory). So by the first pictograph of Gen1:1 gives insight the BYET means foundation & summit. All prophecy starts with a foundation (birth perhaps) & ends with its summit (death perhaps). Brashyt bra Elohim AT shamayim VAT earth. So first heaven then the earth. Just like the LORDS prayer “on earth like in the heavens”.
      So the first day & year & Jubilee & millennium of this prophecy was founded Gen.1:1 then ended Gen.1:5 year 1001 with the beginning of the second day & millennium. So Adam was formed during the 6th millennium, year 5967 (my theory). 2008 years later Abram was born still the 8th millennium year 7975 + 75 years later Abram left @ the end of the 160th Jubilee & the beginning of the 161st Jubilee year 8050. A important period of time for Elohim & man is 600 years. Adam was taken to Eden when he was 22 (my theory) Enoch was born 600 years later 300 years after he fathered his son Methushelah he was taken. Noah was taken 600 years after he was born in the ark. 600 years after Abram was born Israelite’s were taken into the promised land year 8575. And of course 602 years after the last Hebrew tribe year 605BCE was removed from the promised land Yehoshua was born 3BCE. Now read what Jonny Brown’s reply. Shalom

  • Gail Lee says:

    I have always wondered if Moshe prolonged the deliverance of the Israelites. He was in the perfect position to lead them out of Egypt before he murdered and had to flee Egypt, but instead it was 40 years later.

  • Rion says:

    Gen. 15:3 400 years 4 Generations Jacob to Levi = 1st generation
    Ex. 12:1 430 years Isaac’s offer of sacrifice = 30 years from “offer” to Jacob birth
    Levi to Kohath = 2nd Generation Kohath to Amram 3rd generation
    Amram to Moses 4th Generation Moses left Egypt when 80 years old Jacob arrived when he was 130 years old. 400-130=270 years in Egypt. Your math man said 260 years. His error is 2 fold in when Adam was formed by 14 years also when Y’shua was born by 4 years. My bible proof 3 fold. From the flood until the dove gave Moses the olive leaf 270 days. All prophecies in years for the major fulfillment has a shadow fulfillment in days. My second is birth to death of Levi 137 years + Kohath 133 years = 270 years then Kohath 133 + Amram 137 years = 270 years so the count front to rear or rear to front is 270 years just like the 5 books of the Torah 5 persons = 4 torah’s 1 YHVH. My third is 80 X 5 = 400. Matches with psalms.

    • David says:

      How can Jacob to Levi be the first generation when Isaac wasn’t even born yet when the promise was made?

      • Rion Clark says:

        Thanks for your reply & question. Gen.15:12-18 read carefully. A deep sleep frightening like death (my theory) your seed to be sojourners in a land not theirs 400 years. You are to go to your fathers in peace buried at a good old age (175). Look at your hand 5 is complete the generations spoken of are the spaces of time between your fingers four generations yet five 80’s. Banded 7 times the tree add Abram & Isaac. The 430 year was Isaac’s offer of sacrifice when he was 30 the age Able died. Then verse 18 “I have given this land to your seed” is still not fulfilled from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. So the seed of Abraham had to go to Jacob when Abraham died 75 years after the birth of Isaac when his son Jacob was 15 years old. Proof is understanding transferring the seed read the story about the seed of the father of the 3 sons 2 killed by Yehovah 1 for dumping the seed on the ground. Then his father passed the seed to who he thought was a harlot for the price of a goat giving his amulet ring and 2 other items. Shalom

      • Rion Clark says:

        Abraham son was Esau
        Sarah was Chawah for Issac who was #21. Eve name was woman then Chawah for Able who was #1. Then Enoch was #7. Then Eber was #14 he gave wine & bread to Abraham who gave him 10% of all. Melchizedek was his Eber’s title.