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No.24. The Forty Years, from the Exodus
to the border of Canaan (Exod. 12: - Josh. 5:).
pp. 201 - 204
While the book of Genesis forms a part of the Pentateuch and was written by Moses,
the book of Exodus, which we are about to study is the first book that contains the great
leader's name. The genealogy of the book of Genesis leads us steadily on, with every
date checked and accounted for until in the last chapter we arrive at the year 2369 since
Adam, with Joseph's age as 110 years. When we turn to the book of Exodus, however,
we are at a loss. There is no connexion established between the closing verses of Genesis
and the opening of Exodus so far as chronology is concerned. All we know is that a
change of dynasty has taken place, "A new king who knew not Joseph" has arisen and
Israel are seen to be in affliction in the land of Egypt. The problem before us is how are
we to bridge the gulf and establish a true connexion with the dates that subsequently
appear in Exodus and onward. We have all the material to hand, although at first it does
not appear very evident.
We have already seen that from the call of Abram at the age of 75, to the Exodus of
Israel from the bondage of Egypt was 430 years. The proofs of this are given in earlier
articles of this series. It is again asserted by Scripture for Exod. 12: 40 says: "Now the
sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty
years". The call of Abram took place in the year 2083 (Gen. 11: 31; 12: 1; Acts 7: 4).
If we add 430 to this date, it will give us 2083 + 430 = 2513 as the date of the Exodus.
In Exod. 2: 11 we read: "It came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown."
How old was Moses "when he was full grown"? It would be fruitless to speculate. Any
age, say 21 or 33 would be just as reasonable a guess as another.
Stephen in his speech before the high priest said:
"And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words
and deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his
brethren the children of Israel" (Acts 7: 22, 23).
We must remember that Stephen spoke in the presence of his most bitter enemies, and
that the slightest mis-statement that he made would have brought them down upon him
like a pack of howling wolves. There may have been preserved records that were
accessible at the time of Stephen, he may have spoken by direct inspiration of God, or he
may have accepted the tradition of the Rabbis on this point. This does not mean that by
accepting tradition, Stephen would have been wrong, for tradition can and is sometimes
right. As for example the traditional names of the magicians of Exodus, Jannes and
Jambres, are endorsed by the apostle Paul.
Dr. Lightfoot quotes from Beresh Rabba and Shemoth Rabba: