This is a detailed timeline study of the 400 years prophecy given to Abraham from Isaac to Exodus. Laying out the prophecy as a timeline reveals several interesting facts and several important lessons to learn. It begins from the birth of Isaac and ends when the children of Israel came out of slavery.
Note: The blue text are from Septuagint (LXX).
Years
Scripture Reference
Notes
(Gen 15:8,13-16) And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” … Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
The prophecy of 400 years begins with the birth of Isaac and ends with Exodus. For a more detailed explanation, please refer, The 400 Year Prophecy Mystery Explained
0
And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. (Gen 21:5)
Isaac was born when Abraham is 100 years old.
60
(Gen 25:26) Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Issac was 60 yers old when Jacob and Easu were born.
76
(Gen 25:7) This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.
Abraham died at 175 years when Isaac was 76 years old.
100
When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. (Gen 26:34)
Esau married Judith and Basemath when he was 40 years old. This is the 100th year into the prophecy.
131
Thus have I been twenty years in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flocks: and you have changed my wages ten times. (Gen 31:41)
Jacob came to Laban. This is based on backtracking from earlier findings which is 20 years prior to when he left him. If Jacob was 91 when he left Laban which is 151 years into the prophecy, then Jacob is 71 years old when he came to Laban.
145
(Gen 29:31-32) And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”
Reuben is born. The verse suggests that Leah had children only after Rachel was married to Jacob, because Rachel cannot know she is barren without getting married. This can only happen after 14 years of labor for two daughters of Laban, which is 14 years after he came to Laban. Hence, Reuben was born when Jacob was 85 years old.
146
(Gen 29:33) Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
Simeon is born. This should be minimum 10 months after Reuben is born. Hence, approx, it should be near year after Reuben is born.
147
And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. (Gen 29:34)
Levi is born. This should be minimum 20 months after Reuben is born. Hence, approx, it should be 2 years after Reuben is born.
148
(Gen 29:35) And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Judah is born. This should be minimum 30 months after Reuben is born. Hence, approx, it should be 3 years after Reuben is born.
148
(Gen 30:1,5-6) Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” … And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
Dan is born.
149
(Gen 30:7-8) And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
Naphtali is born.
149
(Gen 30:9-11) When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.
Gad is born. This should be atleast a year after Judah is born.
150
(Gen 30:12-13) And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.
Asher is born.
150
(Gen 30:17-18) And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
Issachar is born. This should be atleast a year gap after Judah is born.
151
(Gen 30:19-20) Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
Zebulun is born
151
(Gen 30:21) Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
Dinah is born
151
(Gen 37:3) Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
(Gen 30:22-25,41) Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach. So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.” And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country. … Thus have I been twenty years in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flocks: and you have changed my wages ten times.
Joseph was born. It is 39 years before Jacob came to Egypt. This is the same year when Jacob left Laban after being with him 20 years. This is based on backtracking from earlier findings below. If Jacob was 71 years when he came to Laban, he was 91 years old when Joseph was born. Hence, Joseph was indeed a son of old age for Jacob.
166
(Gen 34:8) But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. (Gen 35:18) And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
Dinah incident was just before Benjamin was born and before Joseph was sold into slavery. Dinah should have been atleast a teenager say ~15 years and Levi, Simon (her brothers) should have been in their early 20s for this event to happen.
167
(Gen 35:18) And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
Benjamin is born.
168
(Gen 37:2) This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
Joseph was 17 when he was sold to Egypt.
180
(Gen 35:28) Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
Issac died at 180 years.
180
(Gen 46:11) The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Kohath who was Levi’s son came to Egypt. Because Levi was born 43 years before they went to Egypt, Kohath must be in his childhood or early teens. Hence, it is reasonable to assume he age to be around ~10 years when he came to Egypt.
181
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. (Gen 41:46)
Joseph was 30 yrs old when he stood before the Pharaoh. This is 9 years before the prophecy happening.
191
(Gen 45:6) “For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. (Gen 47:9) And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
This was the 2nd year of famine (out of 7 plenty + 7 famine years). Joseph was 39 years old. Jacob was 130 years when he went to Egypt.
207
(Gen 47:28) And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
Jacob died at 147 years.
261
(Gen 50:23,26) Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees. … So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Joseph died at 110 years.
284
(Exod 6:16) These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
Levi died at 137 years.
313
(Exod 6:18) And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.
Kohath died at 133 years old. Kohath came with Jacob to Egypt when Levi was 43 years old. This means, Kohath could be a child ~10 years when he came to Egypt which is 201 (191+10) years into the prophecy.
320
(Exod 6:20) Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.
Exod 6:20 And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father’s brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister: and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years.
Moses is born. The 320 years into the prophecy is based on the fact that it fulfilled when Moses was 80 years old.
400
(Exod 7:7) And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. … (Exod 12:51) And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
Moses was 80 years old. The prophecy was fulfilled when Moses was 80 years old.
Here are some of the quick interesting facts:
Jacob married Leah at the age of 78.
Jacob had his first son after 14 years of labour for Laban’s 2 daughters at the age of 85.
Joseph was born when Jacob was 91.
Dinah was just a teenager around 15 years of age when she was violated by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite.
Benjamin was one or two years old when Joseph was sold into slavery.
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