The slavery of Israel in Egypt.
 

The stories Joseph and Moses in Egypt, The Exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, are these accounts true?
Were the Hebrews ever held as slaves in Egypt? If so when?

According to historians, the records of ancient Egypt have no knowledge of any Joseph, Moses or the Exodus.
Therefore, is it right to relegate them to the fiction section, or put it down as myth?

As Christians, we believe that the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation are God inspired, and so there can be no mistakes, no contradictions and no fictional accounts.
Jesus Christ said and it is recorded in the Gospel of the Apostle John:

John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
 

The Bible in Genesis chapter 37, tells us that Joseph, son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, was sold into slavery by his brothers. He rose to a position of power under Pharaoh.
Eventually, Joseph was reunited to his brothers and his father Jacob and his family came to dwell in Egypt.

We are also told in scripture in the book of Exodus, that at a time when the Israelites were in slavery, God raised up a man by the name of Moses and delivered the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and took them to Caanan, (the promised land).

So, is any of this true and can it be proven.

According to the Bible, how long were the Hebrews captive, (in slavery), in Egypt.?

According to the biblical text, from the promises given by God to Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt, was 430 years.
The text reads that the Israelites dwelled in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41).
 

Exo 12:40  Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 

Exo 12:41  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 

Num 1:46  Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 

Mic 6:4  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 
1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 
 

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years.” (Genesis 15:13)

The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:40–41)

Acts 7:6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them 400 years.

Galatians 3:16–17 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

Exodus 12:40 (ESV) The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.

Genesis 15:13 (ESV)

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

The timeline below gives the years beginning with the age of Abraham at the time of the promises from God.
 

Years from the Promise

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Abraham: 75 God makes the promise to Abraham and he leaves Haran. Genesis 12:1-4

430 Years

Abraham: 75-85 God tells Abraham his descendants “will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there and they will be afflicted for 400 years.” Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6

430 – 10
420 Years
 

Abraham: 85 Abraham has lived in Canaan for 10 years and takes Hagar as his wife and she conceives Ishmael. Genesis 16:3–4

420
 

Abraham: 86 Ishmael is born. Genesis 16:15–16

419 Years.
 

Abraham: 100 - Ishmael: 14: Isaac is born. Genesis 21:5

419 – 14
405 Years.

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Abraham: 105 - Isaac: 5 - Ishmael: 19: Isaac is weaned and Ishmael mocks/persecutes Isaac. Genesis 21:8–9; Galatians 4:29

405 – 5
400 Years 30 years after the promise.
 

Abraham: 140 - Isaac: 40: Isaac marries Rebekah. Genesis 24:1–67; 25:20

400 – 35
365 Years
 

Abraham: 160 - Isaac: 60: Esau and Jacob are born. Genesis 25:26

365 – 20
345 Years
 

Abraham: 175 - Isaac: 75 - Jacob: 15 Abraham dies. Genesis 25:7

345 -15

330 Years
 

Isaac: 151-Jacob: 91-Joseph is born.

254 Years.

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Isaac: 168-Jacob: 108-Joseph: 17: Joseph is sold by his brothers and taken to Egypt. Genesis 37

254 – 17
237 Years.
 

Isaac: 180-Jacob 120-Joseph 29: Isaac dies.

Genesis 35: 28,29

225 Years.

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Jacob: 121-Joseph: 30: Joseph is made second in command by Pharaoh. Genesis 41:46

224 Years
 

Jacob: 130- Joseph: 39: Joseph reveals himself to his brothers two years into the famine with five years left.
Jacob meets Pharaoh. Genesis 45:4–6 Genesis 47:9

215 Years.

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Jacob: 147-Joseph: 56: Jacob dies. Genesis 47:28–49:33

198 Years.
 

Joseph: 110: Joseph dies. Genesis 50:26

144 Years

 

Only 64 years pass from the time Joseph dies to when Moses is born.. Exodus 6:16–20

 

Moses: 3 months: Moses is placed in a basket and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. Exodus 2

144 – 64
80 Years.
 

Moses: 80: Moses and Aaron speak to Pharaoh beginning the exodus from Egypt. Exodus 7:7; Exodus 12:40–41; Galatians 3:16–17

430 years after the Promise to Abraham, the Exodus occurred.

 

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There are archeological records that only supports Israel being in Egypt 215 years according to the documentary “Patterns of Evidence -Exodus-“ They arrived in 1665 B.C. and exited about 1450 B.C. Based on this, they were only there 215 years which confirms the Bible, The Greek Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Flavius Josephus also says 430 years after our forefather Abraham came into Canaan is when Israel left Egypt. This proves the 400 years and 430 years are separate events

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The Bible states:
Gal 3:16-17 says that the law came 430 years after Abraham received the promise of blessing (in Gen 12). 25 years passed before he his son Isaac was born, Isaac lived 60 years until his son Jacob was born, and Jacob (Israel) was 130 years old when he entered Egypt. That is, 215 years passed between Abraham received the promise, and Israel entered Egypt. Israel received the law the same year they left Egypt. Thus Israel was 430 - 215 = 215 years in Egypt.
 

The Jewish sages explain that the countdown of 400 years began with Isaac's birth. God's promise does not refer to Egypt by name, rather to a "land that is not theirs."
As soon as Abraham had a child, (Isaac), his seed were subjected to living in lands that were not theirs—including Canaan which wasn't "theirs" at the time.

Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob was born, and Jacob was 130 years old when he went down to Egypt. This means that 190 of the 400 years elapsed before the Israelites arrived in Egypt. So the Israelites were in Egypt for a total of 210 years.

There are those that say that there is no argument as to the time Israel spent in Egypt, because of the text in Exodus 12:40,41 which says that Israel dwelt in Egypt.
 

KJV Exo 12:40  Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 

Exo 12:41  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 

NET Bible 12:40 Now the length of time the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years.
12:41 At the end of the 430 years, on the very day, all the regiments of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt.

However, the question is the understanding of the translation. Is the verse referring to the whole time of the sojourning of the children of Israel, (Which was 430 years), which would include all the time from Abraham receiving the promise, when he was in Ur of the Chaldees, also including the time in Haran and eventually in Caanan, plus the time spent in Egypt, the first time that Abraham went to Egypt and then the time when Jacob (Israel) went to Egypt because of the famine..
Indeed all of this time was 430 years.

All these lands were not theirs. Acts 7:6 and whilst they were in these lands, they were afflicted.
Could it be that what the text means is, that the sojourning of the Israelites, (the ones that dwelt in Egypt for 215 years), was in total 430years.

From this we know that Abraham did not dwell in Egypt for all of this time, which is 430 years.
However we do know that Israel dwelt in Egypt from the time of Jacob to the time that Moses led them out.
We also know that when Jacob entered Egypt, Joseph was a man of importance.

Exo 1:1  Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 

But when Jacob and Joseph died, there arose a Pharoah that knew not Joseph.

Exo 1:6  And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 

Exo 1:7  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. 
Exodus 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

We see that this is the time of the slavery of Israel. Which was after the death of both Joseph and Jacob.

Exo 1:9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 

Exo 1:10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 

Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Exo 1:12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 

Exo 1:13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. 
 

It seems from this that the slavery in Egypt only lasted from the time that Jacob entered Egypt and Joseph died.
 

The sojourning of Israel was 430 years but the slavery in Egypt was only 215 years or less.
 

Flavius Josephus the historian, in his work Antiquities of the Jews — Book II, Chapter 15, 2, writes this:

2. They left Egypt in the month Xanthicus; on the fifteenth day of the Lunar month; four hundred and thirty years after our fore-father Abraham came into Canaan. But two hundred and fifteen years only after Jacob removed into Egypt. (34) It was the eightieth year of the age of Moses, and of that of Aaron three more. They also carried out the bones of Joseph with them, as he had charged his sons to do.

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The conclusion drawn from all this is that the Israelites sojourned in lands that was not theirs for 430 years but less than 215 years were spent in slavery in Egypt.

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