The Date of the Exodus

Pillar-Dates

From the dates that Scripture specifically gives, there can't be any doubt about when the Exodus happened. The Exodus is a fundamental pillar in Biblical chronology and this article will attempt to demonstrate the clear timestamps from Creation to the Exodus. All that is being appealed to is what the Bible itself clearly reveals about these markers. Many people reject the Bible's chronology, but that is another debate. What this article points out is that the Scriptures present one indisputable revelation about the elapsed time between Creation and the Exodus, which is depicted in years, either from the Creation (AM), or Before Christ (BC).

The Date of the Flood

Genesis 5 gives us the genealogy from Adam to Noah. There is nothing complicated about tracking the births of those mentioned and therefore, the dates revealed in this chapter present us with fairly simple calculations. We are then told that the Flood came in the 600th year of Noah's life. When we add all of these numbers together, we see that the Flood occurred 1656 years after the Creation (at the beginning of AM 1657). How this is matched with the BC time scale could vary slightly. James Ussher, for example, dated Creation at 4004 BC and placed the Flood at 2348 BC. This writer has a BC date that differs slightly from Ussher's date, however, the explanation for this will have to wait for a future article (our AM dates are the same).

From the Creation of the world (AM) when Adam was created on day six, until Seth was born, was 130 years (AM 130). Many people have done the uncomplicated math presented in Genesis 5 and have arrived at the same date for the Flood in the 600th year of Noah's life (Gen.7:6). I suggest that when the Scriptures tell us that the Flood took place in the 600th year of Noah's life and then gives the exact day that the Flood started, i.e., "in the second month and the seventeenth day of the month," that these specifics are not measured from Noah's birthday, but by the yearly cycles set in motion at the Creation of the world - we are not told exactly which month Noah was born. So, in Noah's 600th year, which overlapped the beginning of a new year, on the seventeen day of the second month of this new year, the Flood began (Genesis 7:11).

The Flood is another major pillar in Biblical chronology, which is firmly set at AM 1657 or 2350/49 BC. Scripture also tells us when the Flood ended and when Noah left the Ark with his family (Genesis 8:13-16). The Flood lasted about a year.

Two Years After the Flood

We are then told that Noah's son, Shem, had a son two years after the flood, when he was 100 years old (Genesis 11:10), so the timeline continues to be revealed after the Flood so that we can track God's chronology. There is a question as to when these two years began to be counted. It appears that most people assume that the two-year clock begins when the Flood began. I suggest that since the earth was flooded for nearly a year, that it makes more sense to think that the counting should begin when the waters subsided and dried up, i.e., this was "after the Flood." Thus, the two years "after the Flood" begins to be counted in Noah's 601st year on the first day of the first month (AM 1658, Genesis 8:13), or even slightly before this at the end of AM 1657 (Genesis 8:11). This means that Shem's son, Arphaxad, could have been born (at the earliest), at the end of AM 1659 or 2347 BC (Ussher has 2346 BC).

Terah and Abraham

The Generation numbers in Genesis 11 are not complicated (vss. 10-26). The only potentially confusing detail is found in vs. 26 where we are told that Terah was 75 when he had three sons and Abraham is listed as the first of these sons. However, we learn elsewhere that Abraham being listed first in this verse is due to his prominence or importance and not due to his birth position. At the end of chapter 11 (vs.32), we are told that Terah died when he was 205 years old. We are also told that Abraham was 75 when his father died, thus, Terah was 130 when Abraham was born (AM 2009 or 1997 BC). Abraham left Haran for Canaan when he was 75 years old, in obedience to God's command (Genesis 12:4) - he was on his way to the land that God had promised him and his descendants. The Exodus was tied to this covenant promise.

Misunderstood Verses

There are three verses that speak about the same period of time however, they appear to give different lengths of time:

• "Then He said to Abram: 'Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.'" (Genesis 15:13).
• "But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." (Genesis 15:16).
• "Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." (Exodus 12:40).

Many people assume that God is speaking in round numbers, so that 400 years and 430 years are talking about the same body of time, one being specific and the other general, while the "fourth generation" is somewhat confused. The truth is, however, that all of these verses are extremely precise.

Being Strangers and Afflicted

In Genesis 15:13, God is talking to Abram about his descendants, starting with Isaac. God says that Abram's descendants would be strangers and also afflicted for 400 years. Being strangers refers to not yet having their own land even though it had been promised to them. Being afflicted began when Isaac was weaned and Ishmael reviled/persecuted him (Genesis 21:9; Galatians 4:29). Isaac was 5 years old and Ishmael was 19. Abraham was called to set out from Haran for Canaan when he was 75 (Genesis 12:1). Abraham had Isaac when he was 100 (Genesis 21:5). Isaac's 5th year was 30 years after Abraham set out for Canaan. Being afflicted refers to the 400 years from Ishmael's persecution of Isaac to the Exodus.

Those Who Lived in Egypt

Exodus 12:40 is talking about the 'sojourn' of God's people and identifies them, at the Exodus, as the people who were living in Egypt or who had lived in Egypt since they were about to depart from Egypt. The text is not telling us that Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. This period of 430 years began when Abraham set out for Canaan and ended at the Exodus. Jacob moved to Egypt with his descendants 215 years before the Exodus, which means that God's people wandered around before going to Egypt for 215 years. Abraham was born AM 2009 or 1997 BC. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 (AM 2109 or 1897 BC). Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born (AM 2169 or 1837 BC - Genesis 25:26). Jacob was 130 when he stood before Pharaoh (AM 2299 or 1707 BC - Genesis 47:9). From when Jacob stood before Pharoah AM 2299 until the Exodus at AM 2514 is 215 years.

The Fourth Generation

Genesis 15:16 is talking about Abraham's descendants returning to the Promised Land in the fourth generation after his death. Abraham lived for 175 years (Genesis 25:7). Isaac was born when Abraham was 100. Isaac was 60 when Esau and Jacob were born (Genesis 25:26). Thus, Jacob was 15 when Abraham died. The fourth generation after Abraham's death begins with Jacob's son, Levi. Levi (1st), had a son named Kohath (2nd), who had a son named Amram (3rd), who had as son named Moses (4th), Exodus 6:16-20.

God's Precision

Exodus 12:41 says that the Lord's people set out for the Promised Land on the "exact same day" that Abraham set out for the Promised Land 430 years earlier. Abraham's departure from Haran is another pillar in Biblical chronology, and the Exodus is inseparable from the Promise that initiated Abraham's journey. The Exodus took place on Nisan 15th which was the same day that Abraham left Haran. Abraham left Haran AM 2084 which was (by my reckoning), 1922 BC. 430 years after this, the Exodus took place on 15th Nisan AM 2514 or 1492 BC (Usher has it at 1491 BC). Paul also said there were 430 years between the Promise given to Abraham and Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai (Galatians 3:17; Exodus 19:1).

Solomon's Reign

Despite the fact that we have a clear, direct line from Adam to the Exodus, scholars either choose a 13th Century or a 15th Century date for the Exodus. The 15th Century date is said to be around 1450--1440 BC, which is obtained by counting backwards from an incorrect date for Solomon's reign. 1 Kings 6:1 tells us that it was 480 years from the Exodus until Solomon began to build the Temple in the 4th year of his reign. However, instead of counting from the Exodus to the beginning of the Temple construction, scholars choose "a generally agreed upon" date for Solomon's reign and count backwards in order to date the Exodus. For example, we read, "Since the dates for Solomon's reign are generally agreed to be ca. 971-931…the Exodus would be dated ca. 1450."[1] Solomon's reign, however, counting from the Exodus (AM 2514 or 1492 BC), began in AM 2990 or 1016 BC not 971 BC.

Dates are Anchors

These date-pillars serve as anchors for our faith - we have Creation, the Flood, Abraham leaving Haran for Canaan and the Exodus all with specific, trackable numbers (along with Solomon's reign, which then gives us David's and Saul's reigns). Either the Bible is correct about everything that it addresses (including specific dates), or it is untrustworthy in everything that it addresses (including the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice). Biblical chronology encourages us to trust every word that God has preserved as Scripture. Actually, its precision carries within it an added exhortation from God, charging us to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth - we are to believe everything He has said.

[1] Shea, W. H. (1979-1988). Exodus, Date of the. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 2, p. 233). Wm. B. Eerdmans.