Bible Timeline · About 400 years in Egypt

Israel Becomes Slaves in Egypt

After Joseph died, Jacob's family grew into a great people in Egypt. A new king who did not know Joseph forced them into slavery and ordered their baby boys killed. God had told Abraham his descendants would be enslaved 400 years, and Exodus 12:40 counts 430 years in Egypt.

Read it in the Bible: Exodus 1:1-22 Exodus 2:23-25 Genesis 15:13-16 Exodus 12:40-41 Galatians 3:17 Genesis 50:24-25

After Joseph died, the family of Jacob grew into a huge nation in Egypt. Then a new king came to power "who did not know Joseph." Afraid of how many Israelites there were, the Egyptians forced them into hard labor building store cities, and Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew baby boy thrown into the Nile. God had told Abraham this would happen, saying his descendants would be enslaved for 400 years. Exodus 12:40 says Israel's stay in Egypt lasted 430 years. This dark chapter sets the stage for Moses and the Exodus.

How Did the Israelites Become Slaves in Egypt?

At first, Egypt was a place of rescue. Jacob's family of seventy settled in Goshen, in the fertile Nile delta, and they were honored because of Joseph. Over time, they grew enormously.

but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Exodus 1:7

This was God keeping His promise to Abraham to make his family as many as the stars. But to Egypt's rulers, it looked like a threat.

Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. Exodus 1:8

That is one of the saddest sentences in the Bible. All the good Joseph had done was forgotten. The new king worried that the Israelites might join Egypt's enemies in a war. So he decided to wear them down with forced labor.

What Did the Israelite Slaves Build?

So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. Exodus 1:11

Store cities held grain and supplies for the army and the government. The Israelites made bricks from mud and straw and worked in the fields.

They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. Exodus 1:13 to 14

The plan backfired. Exodus 1:12 says the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied. You cannot stop a promise of God with a work schedule.

Which Pharaoh Enslaved the Israelites?

The Bible does not name him. Egyptian kings were usually just called Pharaoh, which means "great house." Scholars have suggested different kings, depending on when they date the Exodus. The Owner's Manual gives two dates for the Exodus: about 1446 BC from 1 Kings 6:1, or about 1270 BC in the time of Ramesses II.

The traditional early date: If the Exodus was about 1446 BC, the oppression came under kings of Egypt's powerful Eighteenth Dynasty. Some link the "new king who did not know Joseph" to the change of power when native Egyptian kings drove out the Hyksos, foreign rulers with roots in Canaan and Syria who had controlled northern Egypt until Ahmose I defeated them around 1540 BC.
The later date: Those who place the Exodus about 1270 BC point to the city name Rameses and think the builder king was Ramesses II or his father Seti I, who built heavily in the delta.

Those on the early date side note that Rameses may be a later, updated name for the place, the way Genesis 14:14 uses the later name Dan. Both views are held by faithful scholars.

How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt?

The Bible gives two numbers, and both are meaningful.

Then Yahweh said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. Genesis 15:13

Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all Yahweh’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:40 to 41

Most readers see 400 as a round number and 430 as the exact count. Bible scholars hold two main views of the 430 years:

The long stay: Israel lived in Egypt the whole 430 years. With an Exodus about 1446 BC, Jacob arrived about 1876 BC. This timeline follows that count.
The short stay: The 430 years count from Abraham's arrival in Canaan, leaving about 215 years in Egypt. The ancient Greek translation of Exodus 12:40, the Septuagint, reads "in Egypt and in the land of Canaan," and Paul counts 430 years from the promise to the Law in Galatians 3:17.

Either way, Israel was in Egypt for many generations, long enough to forget Joseph and long enough to grow from seventy people into a nation.

Why Did Pharaoh Kill the Hebrew Baby Boys?

When hard labor did not work, Pharaoh tried something worse. He told the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every baby boy at birth.

The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. Exodus 1:17

These two women defied the most powerful man on earth. When Pharaoh asked why, they said Hebrew women gave birth before the midwife could get there. God blessed them and gave them families of their own. It is worth noticing that the Bible records the names of two midwives but never bothers to name the Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.” Exodus 1:22

That command is the setting for the birth of Moses in Exodus 2, which you can read about on the next page of this timeline.

Did God Forget Israel in Egypt?

It might have felt that way for generations. But Exodus 2 shows that God was listening.

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Exodus 2:23 to 24

God had told Abraham the slavery was coming, and He also promised the ending in Genesis 15:14: "I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions." Joseph knew it too. On his deathbed he said, "God will surely visit you," in Genesis 50:24.

Why Israel's Slavery in Egypt Matters for You Today

The slavery in Egypt became the picture of what sin does to all of us. It makes life bitter and keeps us from being free. The Exodus became the picture of rescue. Jesus died at Passover, the feast that remembers the night God set Israel free, and He said in John 8:36 that if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

It also shows that a long wait is not the same as being forgotten. Four hundred years is a very long time. But God was counting the years, right down "to the very day." He heard the groaning then, and He hears it now.

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Questions People Ask

How long were the Israelites slaves in Egypt?

Genesis 15:13 says 400 years, a round number, and Exodus 12:40 says Israel lived in Egypt 430 years. Many take this as the full time in Egypt, while others count the 430 years from Abraham, leaving about 215 years in Egypt. The years of harsh slavery were part of that total.

Who was the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph?

The Bible does not name him. Those who date the Exodus about 1446 BC look to Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, sometimes linking the change to the defeat of the Hyksos. Those who date it about 1270 BC point to Seti I or Ramesses II.

Who were Shiphrah and Puah?

Shiphrah and Puah were Hebrew midwives who refused Pharaoh's order to kill Hebrew baby boys, in Exodus 1:15 to 21. The Bible says they feared God, and God blessed them with families of their own.

Why did Pharaoh enslave the Israelites?

Exodus 1:9 to 10 says the new king feared the Israelites had grown too many and might join Egypt's enemies in a war. He tried to control them with forced labor, and when that failed, he ordered their baby boys killed.

Sources

← Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace Moses Is Born and Saved From the Nile →

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