Exodus 12 Footnotes

12:40 How much time did the Israelites spend in Egypt? The Hebrew text used as the basis for English translations of this verse states literally that “the dwelling of the sons of Israel which they dwelt in Egypt was 430 years.” The Samaritan Pentateuch, on the other hand, states that the Israelites spent 215 years in Egypt. The difference in numbers may not be a true contradiction but the result of different ways of computing Israel’s time in Egypt. The Samaritan Pentateuch, following a very old tradition that is reflected in the NT (see Gl 3:17), probably arrived at the figure 215 by starting with the number 430 and then factoring in certain events associated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The editors of that version concluded that Jacob’s descendants spent 215 years in the land by taking into account the number of years between Abraham’s visit to Egypt and the birth of Isaac (25 years, see Gn 12:4; 21:5), Isaac’s age when Jacob was born (60 years, Gn 25:26), and Jacob’s age at the time he entered Egypt (130 years, Gn 47:9).

The Septuagint likewise clarifies the number 430 but does so in a different way. It expands the reading found in the Hebrew text, stating that “the dwelling of the sons of Israel, and of their fathers, which they dwelt in the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt, was 430” (italics added).

12:43,48 Although the OT requires non-Jews adopting the faith of Israel to be circumcised, the NT discourages the practice (1Co 7:18; Gl 5:2). The Prophet Jeremiah foresaw a time when God would make a new covenant that would replace the one he made with Israel at Mount Sinai (Jr 31:31). Jesus Christ brought that new covenant into being through his sacrificial death on the cross (Heb 9:15). Through Christ a new relationship exists between God and humanity (2Co 5:17; Gl 6:15), one that does not require men to be circumcised (Ac 15:1-21).