Bar-Ilan University
Parashat Hashavua Study Center
Parashat Bo 5771/ January 8, 2011
Lectures on the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan,
Israel. A project of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish
Studies Center, and the Office of the Campus Rabbi. Published on the Internet under the
sponsorship of Bar-Ilan University's International Center for Jewish Identity. Prepared for
Internet Publication by the Computer Center Staff at Bar-Ilan University. Inquiries and
comments to: Dr. Isaac Gottlieb, Department of Bible, gottlii@mail.biu.ac.il
The Length of the Bondage in Egypt
Eng. Avraham Lavi
Hod Ha-Sharon
Statement of the difficulties
In the Covenant of the Pieces (brit bein ha-betarim) it says: “Know well that your
offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and
oppressed four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13), while in this week’s reading it says:
“The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty
years; at the end of the four hundred and thirtieth year, to the very day, all the
ranks of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:40-41). Alongside,
commentators have calculated the length of time the Israelites dwelled in Egypt
according to the list of generations explicitly mentioned in the Torah and found that
the exile in Egypt lasted no longer than 210 years (and by other calculations, 240
years; see Ralbag. There are also other computations). Thus we have at least three
contradictory numbers to be reconciled: 400, 430, and 210.
The main explanation of the differences in numbers can be found in Rashi’s
commentary (on Ex. 12:40-41, Gen. 15:13), and Radak’s commentary to Genesis
15:13: 430 years elapsed from the covenant of the pieces until the exodus from
Egypt, 400 years from the birth of Isaac to the exodus, and 210 years of actual
bondage in Egypt, the time span having been shortened because of the hardship of the
bondage.
Some commentators (as well as translators of the Torah, see further) solve the
difficulties presented above by adding words that do not appear in Scripture. For
example, the clause, “the Israelites dwelled in Egypt,” is rendered as, “the Israelites
dwelled in Egypt and Canaan” (Ibn Ezra’s short commentary, Ex. 12:40), or, “the
1
Israelites dwelled in Egypt and in other lands” (loc. sit. Note that the land of Canaan
was considered part of Egypt, being under Egyptian hegemony), or, “that the
Israelites dwelled in Egypt as well as the other periods of time that they dwelled as
strangers in a land not theirs” (Rashi, Ex. 12:40). Perhaps these commentaries rely
on the principle that the Torah has a paucity of information in one place and a wealth
in another, and therefore the texts from Genesis are interlaced with what is written in
this week’s reading. The text is treated in like manner by the Septuagint and many
commentaries. These commentaries resolve certain difficulties but create others. In
what follows we shall attempt to show that each of the three numbers listed above
relates to a completely different matter. These are the questions that must be
addressed:
1) How can one say the period the Israelites dwelled in Egypt comes to 430 years
starting from the time of Abraham (the covenant of the pieces), when this
week’s reading states explicitly that we are dealing with the Israelites, i.e., the
children of Jacob, which means one cannot begin calculating from the time of
Abraham?
2) How can one say that the exile in Egypt was shortened to 210 years on the
grounds that the Lord had pity on the Israelites because of their toil? Was the
Lord not capable of foreseeing that their bondage would be hard? How could
the Holy One, blessed be He, have given Abraham misinformation?
3) How can one reckon 400 years from the birth of Isaac when the time the
Israelites dwelled in Egypt was said to have lasted 430 years?
4) On what grounds did translations and commentators on the Torah add words
that are not hinted at in any way by the verse itself?
Here are some answers:
1) In the covenant of the pieces it says: “Know well that your offspring shall be
strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four
hundred years.” Note that 400 years refers to “they shall be enslaved and
oppressed,” meaning that it was the length of the period of bondage and
oppression beginning with Isaac (“for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be
continued for you”) until entering and apportioning the land, since before that
time they were in “a land not theirs.” Let us compute the length of these
periods.
a. They were said to have spent 430 years in Egypt. Subtract 90 from
this number for the length of Joseph’s rule, but add 13 years for the
length of Joseph’s enslavement. We come up with 353 years.
b. Jacob worked as a bondsman for Laban 20 years. Proof of Jacob’s
oppression and bondage can be found in verses that tell how Jacob fled
from Laban, who had not allowed him to leave. The definition of
slavery can be extended to intimidating a worker to prevent him from
leaving, thus exploiting his labor. At Genesis 31:22-23, Sforno
explains: “Aside from not telling him [Laban] that he wished to leave;
and all this he [Jacob] did, not to act immorally but because he was
forced.” On the words, “Jacob stole the mind of Laban the Aramean,”
Sforno adds, “the cheater” (Heb. ramai, a play on Aramean), which
explains why Jacob had to flee.
c. Add Jacob’s nine years of suffering, which number we arrive at by
subtracting from the 22 years of mourning for Joseph (Jacob having
2
assumed he had died) the 13 years of Joseph’s bondage, which have
already been counted.1
This brings us to a subtotal of 9+20+353=382years for the period
of bondage, oppression and suffering.
d. To bring this number up to the 400 years during which Abraham’s
offspring were “in a land not theirs,” we must add another 18 years.
This number is comprised of short periods of oppression which cannot
be computed precisely due to a lack of historical data. The object of
this article, however, is to show that the numbers that appear in the
Torah are perfectly feasible as stated. These years can be accounted
for by the periods described in the paragraphs that follow. Throughout
all these years the children of Israel were in a land not theirs, even if
technically they were in the geographic area of Israel.
e. Genesis tells of Isaac’s men quarreling with Abimelech’s men. This
story testifies to true oppression. The oppression of the Israelites
began before the death of Joseph, thus prolonging the years of exile.
Several hints of this can be found in Scripture. In the beginning of the
book of Exodus it says, “Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that
generation. But the Israelites were fertile and prolific; they multiplied
and increased very greatly, so that the land was filled with them. A
new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Ex. 1:6-8).
Rashi, citing Rav and Shmuel (Sotah 11a), says: “One said actually a
new king, the other, new decrees.” Regarding the words, “who did not
know Joseph,” he says: “He pretended not to know him.” From these
commentaries we may conclude that the decrees predated the death of
Joseph by several years.
The time spent by the Israelites in the wilderness was also “in a land not
theirs,” especially the periods when they were smitten by plagues after
having sinned.
2) The 430 years the Israelites dwelled in Egypt can be explained in several
ways.
a. Several generations are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, rather,
only the most important of them.2 Thus, the number 210 is only
representative, denoting some of the years that the Israelites dwelled in
See Genesis 37:34-36: “Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and observed mourning for
his son many days. All his sons and daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted,
saying, ‘No, I will go down mourning to my son in Sheol.’ Thus his father bewailed him.” Rashi
interprets “many days” as 22 years of solemn mourning; see loc. sit. for the calculation.
2
Through an analysis of Seder Olam, Shadal arrives at the conclusion that the Torah did not mention
all the generations in succession, but only the more prominent ones. Levi, Kohath, and Amram were
not necessary grandfather, son and grandson; there may have been other generations in between who
were not mentioned, nevertheless the Torah says that Kohath was the son of Levi, etc., just as we are
called the children of Jacob. By assuming this we can explain the vast number of Israelites in the
exodus, since 430 years is sufficient time to reach such numbers without resorting to miracles such as
the birth of sextuplets. It should be noted that I Chronicles (6:7-8) lists ten generations from Kohath,
each son in succession: Kohath, Amminadab, Korah, Assir, Elkanah, Ebiasaph, etc. Need we say that
Amminadab is the same as the Izhar mentioned in the Torah, as Radak explains? The Torah itself
provides a similar example. Genesis mentions the names of the main offspring of Cain and the three
sons of Adam: Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, Lemech (Gen. 4:17-22), Seth, Enosh, Kenan,
Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lemech (Gen. 5:12-26). Similar and even identical names
appear here: Lemech twice and Enoch twice, but they belong to different generations.
1
3
Egypt, when in actual fact they were in Egypt 430 years, as Scripture
says.
b. Note the differences between the verses. One says, “The length of
time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty
years” (Ex. 12:40), while the other says, “At the end of the four
hundred and thirtieth year, to the very day, all the ranks of the Lord
departed from the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:41). The first verse mentions
“Egypt,” while the second says, “land of Egypt.” The latter refers to
the state of Egypt that was along the Nile, whereas “Egypt” refers to
the Egyptian empire whose influence extended over extensive territory
and which included vassal protectorate states.3 This distinction
explains two difficulties with one blow: 1) Why did commentators use
the concept of greater Egypt (which included Egypt and other states)?
To include the periods when the Israelites were not in Egypt proper but
were in her sphere of influence, and thus from 210 years reach 400 and
even 430 years. 2) This assumption also explains the words added to
Scripture, as they appear in various commentaries.
3
Borders were not clearly delineated in those days, and were also much in flux. Greater Egypt
included areas to which its economic influence extended. The fact is that people came from the entire
surrounding area to purchase grain in Egypt. Similar examples can be found in our day and age. For
example, we might speak of Great Britain as an all inclusive concept, and Britain when referring only
to England. Australia consists of the states that comprise it as well as territories which legally are not
strictly speaking part of Australia but are referred to by all as such.
4