Exodus 12
Ex. 12:40-42
"And the dwelling of the sons of Israel which they have dwelt in Egypt [is] four hundred and thirty years; (41) and it cometh to pass, at the end of four hundred and thirty years -- yea, it cometh to pass in this self-same day -- all the hosts of Jehovah have gone out from the land of Egypt. (42) A night of watchings it [is] to Jehovah, to bring them out from the land of Egypt; it [is] this night to Jehovah of watchings to all the sons of Israel to their generations" (YLT)
Commentary: the 430 years mentioned in verse 40 is the time of 'the sojourning of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt.' However, it is not the time of their stay in Egypt. 'Who lived in Egypt' is a non-defining clause: it provides additional information that does not determine the meaning of the entire statement. Therefore, Israel 'sojourned' or 'resided' for 430 years until the time of the Exodus. In Galatians 3:17, the apostle Paul talks about the same period of 430 years, stating that it began at the moment the covenant with Abraham was made as he entered the promised land. However, since Abraham and his descendants did not receive ownership of this land but always remained strangers, Exodus 12:40 states that Israel sojourned (resided) there for 430 years. The night of the Exodus was also the time when Israel actually entered into a covenant relationship with God, and also then, according to Paul's statement, the chosen nation observed, for the first time, the regulations associated with it (regarding Passover). Verse 41 further informs that the Exodus from Egypt took place on the very same day as Abraham's entry into the land and the beginning of the 'sojourning of the sons of Israel'.
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