Exodus 12:40

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 12:40 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
Exodus 12:40 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 12

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
40Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, etc.] The Septuagint version adds, “and in the land of Canaan”; and the Samaritan version is, “the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers, in the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt.” Agreeably to which are both the Talmuds: in one f380 of them the words are, “in Egypt and in all lands,” and in the other f381, “in Egypt, and in the rest of the lands;” and in the same way Aben Ezra interprets the words. And certain it is, that Israel did not dwell in Egypt four hundred and thirty years, and even not much more than two hundred years; but then they and their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelt so…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“the sojourning of the children of Israel . . . four hundred and thirty years--The Septuagint renders it thus: "The sojourning of the children and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt." These additions are important, for the period of sojourn in Egypt did not exceed two hundred fifteen years; but if we reckon from the time that Abraham entered Canaan and the promise was made in which the sojourn of his posterity in Egypt was announced, this makes up the time to four hundred thirty years.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Who dwelt - Read, which they sojourned. The obvious intention of Moses is to state the duration of the sojourn in Egypt. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“It was just four hundred and thirty years from the promise made to Abraham (as the Apostle explains it, Gal 3:17,) at his first coming into Canaan, during all which time the Hebrews, were sojourners in a land that was not theirs, either Canaan or Egypt. So long the promise God made to Abraham lay dormant and unfulfilled, but now, it revived, and things began to work towards the accomplishment of it. The first day of the march of Abraham's seed towards Canaan was four hundred and thirty years (it should seem, to a day) from the promise made to Abraham, Gen 12:2. I will make of thee a great nation. Exodus 12:42”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“12:40 According to the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, 430 years would cover the full period from the promise to Abraham (Gen 12; 15) until the Exodus. Cp. Gal 3:17; see further Exodus Book Introduction, The Date of the Exodus.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“The Samaritan Pentateuch reads, "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, was 430 years." The Alexandrine copy of the LXX has the same reading; and the same statement is made by the apostle Paul, in Gal 3:17, who reckons from the promise made to Abraham to the giving of the law. That these three witnesses have the truth, the chronology itself proves; for it is evident that the descendants of Israel did not dwell 430 years in Egypt; while it is equally evident, that the period from Abraham's entry into Canaan to the Exodus, is exactly that number. Thus, from Abraham's entrance into the promised land to the birth of…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification