Continued: Chapter II-The Beginnings Of History


Beyond the mere fact of testing Abraham's faith we must see divine wisdom in the Lord's requiring him to offer his son as a sacrifice. There are a fitness and an appropriateness for every requirement which the Lord lays upon men. Since this is true, we shall seek for any clue, as we continue our studies, that might solve this problem.

The next dated event in the record is the death of Sarah which occurred when she was 127 years of age, and Abraham was 10 years her senior. Therefore this occurred in the year 2145 A.H. At this time Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite.

In the 24th chapter we have a record of the betrothal and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah and, following this in chapter 25, appears the record of Abraham's marrying Keturah. Finally at the age of 175 (Gen. 25:7) he was gathered to his fathers, in 2183 A.H.

This graphic section in which Abraham is the chief actor closes with 25:11,19. As we have seen before, this division of Genesis was attributed by Moses to Ishmael and Isaac.


VIII. THE HISTORY OF ISAAC AND JACOB


In 25:19b-37:1 we have an account of the lives of Isaac and Jacob. Of course there were people of lesser importance on the stage at this time but they occupied the central positions.

When Isaac, who was born in 2108 A.H., was threescore years of age, Esau and Jacob were born. Thus their birth year was 2168. Though Esau was the elder, by the electing grace and purpose of God he was set aside and Jacob was chosen as the one through whom the birthright and blessing should descend. From childhood Jacob manifested a quiet and meditative mood, whereas Esau, though jovial and jolly, had little appreciation of spiritual values; hence he recklessly threw away his birthright. Jacob, realizing its value, took advantage of his brother's weakness and procured it. He should not have done this, for the purpose of God had designed that he should have it. It is not necessary for one to plan and scheme in order to obtain the gifts of God. The Lord knows how to overrule and bring the blessing to those for whom it is intended. Thus Jacob made a serious mistake on this occasion, but God overruled.

There is in both the natural and the spiritual realms a law which is inviolable. It is utterly impossible to set aside this unchanging principle. It may be stated in these words: Man reaps exactly what he sows. This was true in Jacob's case. He deceived his father, taking advantage of his decrepitude. Deception was likewise practiced upon him later in life--in fact Jacob suffered the remaining part of his life for his having practiced deception. For instance, his uncle Laban took advantage of him and changed his wages ten times. There was no justification of his treating Jacob in this way, but God overrules and uses even the wickedness of men to praise Him and to carry out His will (Psa.76:10).

At this point we must work out the chronology in connection with Jacob's life. He was born in the year 2168 A.H. and was 130 years old when he went down into Egypt; hence the date of the descent to Egypt was 2298 A.H. At that time Joseph was 39. This conclusion is arrived at by a simple mathematical deduction. In the second year of the Egyptian famine in the days of Joseph, Jacob and his family went into Egypt (Gen. 45:6-47:9). Preceding this period there were seven years of plenty (Gen. 41:25-27). Joseph was 30 years old when he was brought out of prison and given the place of food-dictator (Gen. 41:46). By simple addition then we see that Joseph was 30 plus 7 plus 2 in the second year of the famine, at which time his father was 130. By subtracting Joseph's age from that of his father, we see that Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born; but he was born at the end of the 14th year of Jacob's laboring for Leah and Rachel (Gen. 30:25). This becomes clear when we read the last citation in its connection, because, when Joseph was born, Jacob entered into a bargain with Laban to serve him for the ring-streaked and spotted among the sheep and goats. This was the third contract into which he entered with Laban, having fulfilled the two former ones, each of which was seven years, for his two wives. The last six years therefore he served for his livestock; hence Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born. Since he served Laban 14 years for his two daughters, by subtracting these years from 91, we arrive at 77, the age of Jacob when he fled from home and went to be with his uncle Laban. Hence he left Canaan and went to Paddan-Aram in the year 2245. At the expiration of the 6 years, during which he labored for his livestock, he returned to Canaan in 2265.

Isaac died when he was 180 years old (Gen. 35:28), which was in 2288 A.H. As we shall see, Joseph was sold into Egypt in the year 2276; hence he had been there 12 years when his grandfather Isaac passed away.

IX. THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH

We have seen that the material constituting the first 36 chapters of Genesis was originally on clay tablets, the human authorship and ownership being attributed to Adam, Noah, Noah's sons, Shem, Terah, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, but the last fourteen chapters are not attributed in the text to any of the patriarchs. In this discussion we have seen that these chapters reflect entirely an Egyptian culture and civilization. Since they form the perfect connecting link between Genesis 1-36 and the book of Exodus, and since there was no one after Joseph so competent as Moses, a man versed in all of the arts and sciences of the Egyptians, to whom the precious, inspired documents, which had been handed down through the theocratic line, could be given, it is most highly probable that he was the one who by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote these 14 chapters giving the history of Joseph. Just as a piece of broken pottery fits the place out of which it came, so these chapters fit into the framework of the last part of Genesis and Exodus. Therefore we conclude that when these early revelations fell into Moses' hands, he by the Spirit of God made all editorial revisions that were necessary in order to make the geographical data intelligible to the Israelites whom he had led out of bondage through the wilderness and to the east side of Jordan. Hence he continued the narrative by giving us the history of Joseph.

Attempts have been made by rationalistically-inclined scholars to find a parallel between the story of the "twin brothers" of whom we read in the Egyptian annals and the Biblical account of Joseph and his experiences in the house of Potiphar. It takes a great flight of the imagination and an absorbing desire to find resemblances between the two stories. The only thing common to the Egyptian legend and the Biblical narrative is that there was a scandal in each case perpetrated by a lustful woman. Beyond this they have nothing in common.

The record of the seven years of famine is in perfect keeping with Egyptian history, for in the reign of king Zoser who reigned, according to the received chronology, about 2980 B.C.E., there was a famine of 7 years, during which time the Nile did not overflow. This caused a crop failure and great distress throughout the land, as is recorded on a stele discovered between the first cataract and the island of Elephantine.

A more striking example of a famine in Egypt and preparation made for it is found in the inscription of Baba of the city of El-Kab. After speaking of how he had been kind, gentle, and considerate of the town folk and how he had made preparation for certain ones, he concluded with these words: "I collected corn as a friend of the harvest-god. I was watchful in time of sowing. And when a famine arose, lasting many years, I distributed corn to the city each year of famine." This man Baba is believed to have written this inscription during the 18th dynasty, i.e., about 1500 B.C. or earlier. Brugsch, a number of years ago, pointed out the similarity between this inscription and the story of Joseph's conduct as recorded in Gen. 41:47-57. From this statement we can see that famines were possible and that preparations were made for them.

According to II Chronicles 16:9, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose hearts are perfect toward Him. According to the Biblical record, Joseph's heart was certainly perfect toward God and he had one object in view, namely, to do the will of God and to honor Him; hence the Lord used him in a most marvelous manner. Few men have suffered dishonor, ignominy, and shame together with persecution and have held themselves aloof from the world, living a clean, pure, separated life as did Joseph. God can and does use men of this type for the accomplishing of the highest plans and purposes in connection with the development of His plan of the ages.

Joseph was born in 2259, the year his father was 91. He was 17 when he was sold into Egypt, which was in the year 2276 A.H. Being purchased by Potiphar, he became a servant in this nobleman's house and remained there until a scandal was started by his master's infamous wife. At this time he was cast into prison. As to when he was thus incarcerated, the record is silent, but we know that he was released when he was 30. Thus he stood before Pharaoh in the year 2289 A.H. and became the food-dictator of Egypt. For seven years he garnered the harvests and preserved them in storehouses especially prepared for the purpose. Following these years of plenty were seven of famine. In the second year of it, i.e., 2298, Jacob and his family went down into Egypt at Joseph's invitation.

Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years; hence he died in 2315 A.H. Before his death, however, he blessed Joseph's two sons (Gen. 48), blessed his own sons by prophetic insight, and outlined the course of their history in the latter days.

Joseph lived to be 110 years of age (Gen. 50:26); hence his death year was 2369 A.H. This statement brings us to the close of Genesis, this wonderful Book of Beginnings. It recounts the history of 2369 years. As has already been seen, Genesis starts with that part of eternity called, "In the beginning." It therefore narrates the primeval disaster (Gen. 1:2), a period of six days of reconstruction, and 2369 years of human history.

Viewing Genesis from another point, we might say that chapters 1:1-2:4 give us God's simple, plain, unadorned statement of the beginning of the heavens and the earth and the original disaster followed by the reconstruction period. Genesis 2:4b-11:27a is God's revelation written by men in the theocratic line who lived amidst a Babylonian environment; hence in their records we see a Babylonian culture and civilization as the background. From 11:27b-37:1 the local coloring of the narrative is that of Palestinian civilization and culture. On the other hand, in 37:2-50:26 an Egyptian atmosphere pervades the entire narrative. This is exactly what one would expect in view of the development as it is narrated in the various documents of which the book consists.

Mathematics, we are told, is an exact science. Figures do not lie. All of the chronological data which are found embedded in the text of Genesis harmonize completely. If it were composed of documents, as is asserted by the radical critics, and is simply a hotchpotch of preexisting documents worked over and welded together by later redactors, there would not be the harmony of the numbers such as we see when the narrative is allowed to give its own message. Since the mathematical data and the chronological facts embedded in the text show a perfect harmony, we are to assume that the documentary theory in vogue today is contrary to the facts and creates, rather than solves, difficulties. All the evidence proclaims with no uncertain sound the fact that God's Spirit used these various men in the theocratic line to unroll a certain amount of His revelation, and that the Lord used Moses to weld these primitive tablets together into a literary unit, and to write the life of Joseph, which constitutes the connecting link between the primitive revelation and that delivered by himself to Israel.

X. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE PERIOD


Having discussed some of the major problems connected with the chronological issues of Genesis, I here submit a brief tabulation of the outstanding men and events presented in this marvelous Book.



XI. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE 400 AND THE 430 YEAR PERIODS

In Exodus 12:40,41 we have the following language: "Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt." In this passage we read of a period of 430 years. The above quotation is from the American Standard Revised Version which is in agreement with the rendering of the version published by the Jewish Publication Society of America. The King James Version translates it thus: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." The version of Isaac Lesser, differing somewhat from these, reads: "Now the time of the residence of the children of Israel, which they dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, and it happened on the self same day, that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt."

These various renderings cannot all be true to the facts, although they may be and are more or less accurate and true to the grammatical construction of the original text. The reading of the Revised Version agrees with that of the Jewish Publication Society, with the exception of the rendering of the sacred Name. These translations affirm that the children of Israel were in the land of Egypt for 430 years. Isaac Leeser favors this position although the language is rather ambiguous. According to the King James Version, the sojournings of the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Egypt, were 430 years--ordinary, literal years. This translation simply states that their sojournings were for 430 years and adds the information that they dwelt in the land of Egypt. This rendering is true to the syntax and grammar of the Hebrew text. So is the rendering of the Revised Version. The translation of the Jewish Publication Society is likewise true to the original text.

One may ask, "How can two conflicting readings be true to the original?" The explanation is to be sought in the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר which is rendered in the Revised Version by that and in the King James translation by who. In the Revision the antecedent of that is time, whereas in the King James Version the antecedent is the children of Israel. Another factor contributing to these various readings is to be found in the different meanings of the word rendered time in the Revised Version, and sojourning in the King James Translation. The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר is indeclinable and may have as its antecedent a noun in either the singular or plural number and also in either the masculine or feminine gender. Sometimes it is used adverbially in certain connections. Therefore, because of its great latitude, it has been rendered differently in the same passage by the various translators, since each viewed it from his peculiar standpoint. Since these two translations are grammatically possible, which one are we to accept? According to an acknowledged principle fundamental in all speech which I designate "The Golden Rule of Interpretation," we are to take the Scriptures in their plain sense, if possible. Therefore we are to take each word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the context indicate clearly otherwise. The word rendered sojourning in the King James translation and time in the Revised, is מוֹשַׁב. This noun comes from the verb יָשַׁב and primarily means "to sit, rest, dwell." This is the meaning inherent in the word. The idea of time is a derived and secondary meaning; therefore according to the rule just stated, we should adhere to the primary meaning unless there is justification in the context to warrant a departure from the customary sense, and to demand acceptance of a secondary signification. Is there such proof? One will seek in vain for it. Let us take its primary meaning. With this understanding, then, I accept the rendering of the King James Version, which declares that the sojournings of the children of Israel were 430 years. The clause, "who dwelt in the land of Egypt," is nonrestrictive; hence it adds a bit of additional information. The apostle Paul in Galatians 3:15-19 declared that there were 430 years from the promise which God made to Abraham (Gen.12:1-7) to the giving of the Law. Let us note that the initial date of this period is the call of Abraham, and the terminus is the departure of Israel from Egypt. Accepting this statement as true, I believe that he was speaking of the same period of time of which Moses wrote in Exodus 12:41,42. We have already seen that the promise was made to Abraham in the year 2083 A.H. when he was 75 years of age. Twenty-five years later, when he was 100, Isaac was born; hence the first 25 years of the 430 years passed before the birth of Isaac. Abraham was living in Hebron at the time Isaac was born. The latter was 60 years old when Esau and Jacob were born. Thus the year of their birth was 85 years after God's making the promise to Abraham. Jacob was 130 years old when he and his family went down into Egypt; hence we must add this number of years to the 85 that had already passed when he was born, which calculation makes a total of 215 years. Thus from the giving of the promise to Abraham to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt there were 215 years. Since the first 215 years of the 430 passed before Israel went into Egypt, they were there the latter half of this period, because they came out at the end of the 430 year period. It is therefore a serious mistake chronologically to affirm that the children of Israel were in the land of Egypt 430 years.

Other confirmation of this position is found in the promise which God made to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 15:12-21. "12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full."

We must note carefully the wording of this promise. The proper approach to the understanding of this prediction is to see the force of the original of verse 13 and its translation:

וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי־גֵר | יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה׃

"And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that
A. thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs,
B. And shall serve them;
B. And they shall afflict them,
A. Four hundred years."

This verse is in the poetical form known as an introversion. The first and fourth lines are parallel, the latter supplementing the information of the former; the second and third are parallel, the third completing the second. If we render this passage in plain prose, it should read as follows: "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs for four hundred years; and they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them."

We must note carefully that the prediction refers to Abraham's descendants--"thy seed." The next thing to note is that Abraham's seed are, according to this prediction, to be sojourners in a land that is not their own for four hundred years. The third item that is here revealed is that his seed shall serve others and shall be afflicted. A fourth fact of this prophecy is that the Lord threatened to punish the nation whom Israel would serve. The fifth consideration is that Israel should come forth out of her bondage with great sub-stance; and the sixth item given in verse 16 is that they should come forth in the fourth generation. The seventh and last element of this promise is that Israel should inherit the land "from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates."

When Isaac was weaned (Gen. 21:8-14), he was declared to be the seed, whereas Ishmael with his mother was cast out. The rejection of Ishmael and the appointment of Isaac as Abraham's seed were in accordance with the code of Hammurabi, which laws were in effect in Palestine at that time.

Since Isaac at the weaning time became the legal heir of Abraham, this instance must be the initial date of the 400 year period mentioned in this passage. Without doubt, the terminal date is that of Israel's exodus from Egypt. According to Rev. Anstey, the Hebrew mothers in patriarchal times weaned their children when they were between the ages of 3 and 5. Since Abraham was 75 when the promise was made to him, since he was 100 years of age when Isaac was born, and since children were weaned between the ages of 3 and 5, we must add from 28 to 30 years to this 400 year period to indicate the lapse of time from the giving of the promise to the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. If we accept 5 years as Isaac's age when weaned, we must add 30 to our 400 year period. This calculation brings our prophecy into harmony with both the statement of the apostle Paul and that of Moses, found in Exodus 12:41,42.

But one may object that according to this passage the sojournings of the children of Israel were 430 years, which period terminated with the Exodus. Hence, according to this argument, Moses had in mind only the descendants of Jacob and not all the patriarchs from Abraham at the age of 75 onward to the Exodus. If we take this interpretation, we have a clear contradiction between Exodus 12:40,41 and that found in Genesis 15. We cannot admit any error here, since all truth harmonizes. Whenever there is an apparent discrepancy and any of the terms are capable of several meanings, we must select that one which accords with all the known facts. An examination of the general application of the expression, "children of Israel," shows that it was sometimes used in the narrow sense to include only the descendants of Jacob, whereas in other connections it refers to and includes even Abraham, the great father of the Hebrew race. The solidarity and the continuity of Israel are the regular conceptions found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

In Exodus 12:40,41 Moses therefore was speaking of the sojournings of the Hebrew people from the time of the call of Abraham to that of their deliverance from Egypt, a period of 430 years. But in Genesis 15:12-21 God was simply talking about the sojournings and the wanderings of the seed of Abraham. This is a different statement altogether from that found in Exodus 12:40,41. Abraham was a sojourner in the Land of Promise when Isaac was born. Throughout his life he was a wanderer and a stranger in this land, because it was at that time under Babylonian control. Jacob, likewise, did not possess the land of Canaan but was a sojourner there. So were his sons. When they descended into Egypt they still were sojourners and possessed no certain country of their own. Therefore from the time of Isaac's being recognized as the seed of Abraham to the Exodus, the Chosen People were sojourners in a strange land and were subjected more or less to handicaps and persecutions. Since the call of Abraham was in 2083 A.H., and since Jacob went down into Egypt in 2298, Abraham and his seed were strangers in a land not theirs, i.e., in Canaan for 215 years. During the lifetime of Joseph the children of Israel were in favor in Egypt. Since he died in 2369, they enjoyed peace and prosperity there for at least 71 years. Their bondage, however, began when there arose a king over Egypt who did not recognize the services which Joseph had rendered to his nation (Ex. 1:8). At this time Moses was born in the midst of the persecution of Israel. Since he was 80 years of age at the time of the Exodus, he was born 80 years before that time. As we have already seen, the Exodus occurred 430 years after the promise made to Abraham in 2083 A.H.; therefore the Exodus occurred in the year 2513 A.H. Moses, being 80 years of age at this date, was therefore born in 2433 A.H. Again, since Joseph died in 2369 and Moses was born in 2433, there were 64 years intervening between the death of the former and the birth of the latter. As to Israel's condition in Egypt during at least the greater part of this period, we may infer that she probably enjoyed the favor which had been extended to her during Joseph's lifetime. Since Jacob and his sons entered Egypt in the year 2298 and since Moses led them out in 2513, they were in Egypt only 215 years. The popular conception therefore that Israel was in Egypt 430 years is untenable, there being no evidence to support this supposition.




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