Pastor John,
re: the history between Joseph’s death and the story of Moses and the Exodus
You have said that it was approx. 300 years of Hebrew slavery. Jimmy Swaggart wrote that some scholars say that it was merely 160-200 years. Is there a Bible verse that proves your view? Please show me for the benefit of our class here.
Brad
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Hi Brad.
Here is what I have actually said about the time Israel spent in Egypt:
- God told Abraham that his seed would be in Egypt 400 years: “Your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them. And they shall oppress them 400 years” (Gen. 15:13b).
- It appears that Moses delayed that prophecy by killing an Egyptian and having to flee from Egypt for a while, thus bringing the total years that the Israelites stayed in Egypt to 430 years (Ex. 12:40–41).
- Jacob was 130 when he brought his family to live in Egypt (Gen. 47:9 and lived his last 17 years there.
- Joseph was about 39 at the time Jacob entered Egypt. He was 30 when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams (Gen. 41:46), and then seven years of plenty and two years of famine came, before Jacob moved to Egypt where Joseph was.
- The book of Genesis ends with the death and burial of Joseph at the age of 110 (Gen. 50:22, 26). So, at the end of Genesis, the Israelites had been in Egypt about half a century.
- The book of Exodus begins many years before the birth of Moses, but we are told that Moses was 80 years old when he led Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 7:7).
- So, this is what I have taught my Old Testament classes: When we turn the page from Genesis 50 to Exodus 1(well, really, Exodus 2), approximately 300 years have passed.
- That is my “view”.
You’ll find that “some scholars” will say just about anything on any given topic. Confusion abounds among biblical scholars at almost every turn.
So, be advised that when anyone is first studying the Bible, he should concentrate entirely on the Bible! He should use a Bible with no footnotes or commentary by “experts”, and simply trust Jesus to guide him. If a student does not do that he will be confused by information that is not of God, and it will be harmful to his soul.
Stay away from commentaries!
Pastor John