histories of Israel and Egypt, I proceed to trace back the 
chronology of those nations from the earliest times in order to 
show how they mutually confirm and support each other. And 
to those who deny the application of Pharaoh Amosis to the 
“new king which knew not Joseph/' as recorded in the book 
of Exodus, I will ask them to give due weight to the argument 
derived from chronology both before and after the time of the 
Exode in favour of its truth; as also to the argument from 
history which has been so ably set forth by my friend Canon Cook 
in his valuable Excursus on Egyptian matters, given in vol. i. of 
the “ Speaker’s Commentary of the Bible." 
27. Having ascertained the date of the Exode as B.C. 1580, we 
count back the 430 years spoken of in Exodus xii. 40, in order 
to arrive at a Scripture date for the call of Abraham, and which 
must be dated as B.C. 2010. But as this relates to the duration 
of the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt, it will be neces- 
sary to examine the text with some care in order to ascertain 
the exact meaning of Scripture on this important point. The 
authorized version, as a translation of the Hebrew, reads the 
passage thus : “ Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, 
tvho dwelt in Egypt, was 430 years." And as some have con- 
tended that this means the Israelites were actually in bondage 
to the Egyptians during the whole of that period, it may be 
well to point out that our present reading does not necessarily 
imply this, for it merely asserts that though their “ sojourning" 
lasted for 430 years, it was only during a portion of that time 
that they dwelt in Egypt ; which view is confirmed by the 
inspired writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 9), who 
says : “ By faith Abraham sojourned in the Land of Promise, 
us in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and 
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." And this 
view is confirmed by the reading both of the Samaritan Penta- 
teuch and the LXX. version, all of which MSS., as the 
learned Kennicott* in his celebrated “Dissertation" has 
pointed out, are uniform on this matter, and read the text as 
follows : “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of 
their fathers, when they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in 
the land of Egypt, was 430 years." The New Testament 
confirms this reading by St. Paul's assertion in Galatians 
(iii. 1G, 17), that “the promises to Abraham and his seed 
were confirmed by the law (given at Sinai), which was 430 
years after " they had been first made. 
Kennicott, Dissert., ii. pp. 104-5. 
