Date

Problem: In Galatians 3:17 Paul takes the 430 years of Exodus 12:40-41 to refer to the period from the day God appears to Abraham and he leaves for/into Canaan to the day of the Exodus. This is the most logical interpretation because Genesis 15:13 says his descendants will be “sojourners in a foreign land” for 400 years; Abraham is 75 when he leaves Haran (Gen. 12:4), and Isaac is born to him when he’s 100 (Gen. 21:5). This leaves us with 405 years technically, which is why some older commentators supposed that the 400 years began when Ishmael teased a 5-year-old Isaac (Gen. 20:9 – Ishmael laughed, presumably at Isaac’s expense). This is neither possible nor necessary to prove – 405 years can easily be rounded to 400 to carry the same sense, much like other ages and numbers are.