I got an email from a reader, John, asking about two things:
- What are the time period of 430 years and the promises referred to in Galatians 3:17?
- In the Septuagint, Exodus 12:40 mentions a 430 year time period also, but also says that the nation of Israel sojourned in Egypt and Canaan (as opposed to just Egypt found in your English Bible). Explain.
Here was my response after some research:
The two covenants (or promises) that Paul is referring to are the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3) and the Mosaic Covenant (or the giving of the Law in Exodus 19-24). The 430 year period between them is probably referring to the last time God reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob (Genesis 46:1-4) until the Mosaic Covenant (giving of the Law in Exodus 19). I think the years were roughly between 1876 BC to 1446 BC.
As for the Septuagint version, I would be careful following that version.The Septuagint was not meant to be a version for extreme accuracy, but was a version for the layperson to read. Most of our Old Testament English translations are based off of the Masoretic Texts which were copied down with unbelievable accuracy. The words “and Canaan” probably do not appear in the majority of manuscripts which is why they were not included in English translations today. However, it could be referring to the period when Joseph lived in Egypt but his family still lived in Canaan.
There are also a number of other references to time periods around the Exodus. Some say 400 years and another says 450 years. The below image and quote I got from Soniclight.com’s commentary might help reconcile the time period of the Exodus.
Scholars have debated hotly and still argue about the date of the Exodus. Many conservatives hold a date very close to 1446 B.C. Their preference for this date rests first on 1 Kings 6:1 that states that the Exodus took place 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. That year was quite certainly 967 B.C. Second, this view harmonizes with Judges 11:26 that says 300 years elapsed between Israel’s entrance into Canaan and the commencement of Jephthah’s rule as a judge. Most liberals and many evangelicals hold to a date for the Exodus about 1280 B.C. This opinion rests on the belief that the existence of the city of Raamses (1:11; et al.) presupposes the existence of Pharaoh Ramses II (ca. 1300-1234 B.C.). Also followers of this view point to supposed similarities between the times of Pharaoh Ramses II and the Exodus period. Another view has also been popularized that places the Exodus about 1470 B.C.