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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(who prevails with
God
). Name given to
Jacob
(
Gen. 32:28; 35:10
28
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Genesis 32:28)
10
And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. (Genesis 35:10)
); became national (
Ex. 3:16
16
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: (Exodus 3:16)
); narrowed to northern
kingdom
after the revolt of the
ten
tribes from
Judah
(
1 Sam. 11:8
8
And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. (1 Samuel 11:8)
;
2 Sam. 20:1
1
And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. (2 Samuel 20:1)
;
1 Kings 12:16
16
So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. (1 Kings 12:16)
), with
Shechem
as capital (
1 Kings 12:25
25
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. (1 Kings 12:25)
), and
Tirzah
as royal residence (
1 Kings 14:17
17
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; (1 Kings 14:17)
); afterward, capital at
Samaria
(
1 Kings 16:24
24
And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. (1 Kings 16:24)
). Kingdom lasted 254 years, with 19 kings, B. C. 975-721, when it fell a prey to the Assyrians. The returned of
Israel
blended with those of Judah.
“Israel” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
Name
given to
Jacob
after “a
man
” had wrestled
with
him
, to whom he clung when he was by him crippled. It signifies “a
prince
of
God
,” and it was said, “as a prince hast thou
power
with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” It thus indicated
the
way of
blessing
with regard to the nation in which God’s government in the
earth
was to be established. The
twelve
sons of Jacob became the heads of
the
twelve tribes
, and
they
and their descendants were called the
children
of
Israel
, or simply Israel. At the division of the
kingdom
, the
ten
tribes were called “Israel,” and the two tribes “
Judah
,” though
this
distinction is not at
all
times
rigidly adhered to: thus the
princes
and kings of Judah are called princes of Israel, and kings of Israel (
2 Chron. 12:5-6
5
Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6
Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous. (2 Chronicles 12:5‑6)
;
2 Chron. 21:2
2
And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. (2 Chronicles 21:2)
;
2 Chron. 28:19
19
For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord. (2 Chronicles 28:19)
). So those who returned from exile, though they were in the main of the two tribes, are called people of Israel, or Israel. In
the prophets
also
, though the ten tribes are not called Judah, the two tribes are at times called Israel. The ten tribes in the prophets are
often
spoken of as
EPHRAIM
, which was the
chief
of the ten. Though Israel was reckoned as ten tribes, it is most probable that the
portion
of
Simeon
, being situated on the extreme
south
, was united to Judah, as well as the territory of
Dan
in the S.W., though the people of Simeon may
have
scattered themselves among the
other
tribes, and those of Dan have gone
north
and joined their tribe
there
.
THE
KINGDOM OF
ISRAEL commenced when
Jeroboam
was made king, to whom it was promised that his
house
should be established if he followed the
Lord
. He, on the contrary, to
prevent
the people going to
Jerusalem
, immediately
set
up the golden calves at Dan and at
Bethel
. The kingdom was given
up to
idolatry
, and a series of judgments followed.
Baasha
murdered Jeroboam’s
son
and successor; and his own son and successor was
slain
by
Zimri
; Zimri was killed by
Omri
, and after a civil war of four years with
Tibni
, Omri became king and reigned with his successors forty-five years, ending with
Jehoram
the son
of
Ahab
. He and the survivors of the house of Ahab were slain by
Jehu
directly or indirectly, and Jehu began the 5th dynasty, B.C. 884. He and his successors reigned, with varying judgments upon them,
for
a hundred and twelve years.
Zachariah
was the last, being the fourth successor of Jehu, as God had said, 2 Kings 15:12: he reigned
only
six
months
and was murdered by
Shallum
. During another fifty years the kingdom was spared: but there was no
repentance
.
About
B.C. 740 the two and a half tribes
east
of the
Jordan
were carried into
captivity
, and Israel became tributary to
Assyria
.
Hoshea
murdered
Pekah
, and after nine years of anarchy succeeded to the
throne
. He revolted against Assyria, trusting to
Egypt
; but
Samaria
was taken, and Israel carried into captivity. Thus ended the kingdom of Israel (B.C. 721). From about B.C. 784 to 725
Hosea
was God’s
prophet
in Israel. He solemnly pleaded with them, protesting against their
evil
ways, and was
ever
ready to help them to
turn
to God, though his efforts were, alas, in vain (
2 Kings 17:13-18
13
Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
14
Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
15
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.
16
And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
18
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. (2 Kings 17:13‑18)
;
Hos. 13:16
16
Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. (Hosea 13:16)
;
Hos. 14:1-9
1
O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2
Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3
Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5
I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6
His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
9
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. (Hosea 14:1‑9)
).
Israel when carried away were placed in
Halah
and in
Habor
by the
river
of
Gozan
(in the neighborhood of the river Khabour, an affluent of the river
Euphrates
), and in the cities of the
Medes
. As far as is known they never returned, though doubtless individuals found their way back in the days of
Ezra
and
Nehemiah
, and in the four hundred years that followed before the Lord appeared. Jews from those districts were present on the
day
of
Pentecost
; but as a body they are still commonly regarded as “the Lost Tribes.” God knows where to find them when His set
time
of blessing arrives. The twelve tribes
surely
exist, and remnants of them will again
come
into the land (
Ezek. 48:1-29
1
Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2
And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3
And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4
And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5
And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6
And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7
And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8
And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9
The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10
And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.
11
It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12
And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13
And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14
And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the Lord.
15
And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16
And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17
And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18
And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19
And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20
All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21
And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22
Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23
As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24
And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25
And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26
And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27
And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28
And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29
This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 48:1‑29)
;
Matt. 19:28
28
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)
;
Acts 26:7
7
Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. (Acts 26:7)
;
James 1:1
1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (James 1:1)
;
Rev. 7:5-8
5
Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
6
Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
7
Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
8
Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:5‑8)
).
The ten tribes will be dealt with differently from the two, who were in the land when the Lord was presented to them, and who rejected Him, and demanded His
crucifixion
. The ten tribes will, by a
mighty
hand and with fury poured out, be brought into the
wilderness
, and there God will plead with them, cause them to pass under the rod, and
bring
them into the
bond
of the
covenant
; but the rebels will be purged out (
Ezek. 20:34-38
34
And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
35
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
36
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.
37
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
38
And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 20:34‑38)
). The question as to the wounds in the hands of the Lord, which He received in the house of His “friends” is connected with Judah, who will be judged when in the land, and only
one
third
of them after being refined, will be owned as God’s people (
Zech. 13:6-9
6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
7
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. (Zechariah 13:6‑9)
). When God thus purges and restores a
remnant
of all the tribes, and brings them into full blessing in the land, the name of ISRAEL will embrace them all as it did at the first, and God will be their God forevermore (
Ezek. 37:1-28
1
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
4
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
7
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
15
The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16
Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?
19
Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24
And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28
And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. (Ezekiel 37:1‑28)
).
“Israel in Egypt” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The
details of the history of
Israel in
Egypt
are few. When
Joseph
was in
power
,
Jacob
and his whole
household
settled in the land:
there
they
multiplied and became a
great
nation. In
time
a king reigned who knew not Joseph, and the people were reduced to cruel bondage. Through
God
’s intervention and after dire judgments upon the
Egyptians
, the Israelites were
delivered
. See EGYPT and JOSEPH.
A question not easily answered is, How
long
were the Israelites in Egypt? In
Genesis 15:13
13
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (Genesis 15:13)
and
Acts 7:6,
6
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. (Acts 7:6)
the period seems to be stated as four hundred years.
Exodus 12:40
40
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40)
says “the sojourning of the
children
of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years”; and
Galatians 3:17
17
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Galatians 3:17)
declares that the
law
was given four hundred and thirty years after the promise to
Abraham
. The promise to Abraham was long before Israel went into Egypt, and the law was given after they came out; so that according to
this
passage
their sojourning in Egypt must
have
been much less than four hundred years. A much shorter period is implied in
Genesis 15:16,
16
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (Genesis 15:16)
which says of Israel in Egypt that “in the fourth
generation
they shall
come
hither again”; and if we
turn
to
Exodus 6:16-20
16
And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.
17
The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.
18
And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.
19
And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:16‑20)
we find exactly four generations, thus:
Jacob’s
son
Levi
.
Levi’s son
Kohath
.
Kohath’s son
Amram
.
Amram’s son
Moses
.
Or, if we start
with
Levi, who entered with Jacob, there was ample time
for
Moses to have had a son, as he was eighty years old at the Exodus. Now if we
reckon
that at that time a
man
had his first son when he was forty years of
age
, there would have been
ten
generations in four hundred years. Further, the
mother
of Moses (
Jochebed
) was Levi’s
daughter
, (
Num. 26:59
59
And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. (Numbers 26:59)
), Amram having married his own aunt (
Ex. 6:20
20
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20)
). Levi lived
only
a hundred and thirty-
seven
years in
all
, and supposing (it
can
be approximately proved) that he lived in Egypt eighty-eight years, Jochebed was born during those years. If Moses was born when she was forty-seven years of age, and Moses was eighty years old at the Exodus, these sums (88 + 47 + 80 = 215 years) show that Israel may have been in Egypt
about
two hundred and fifteen years, and this is the period now generally supposed.
If we admit this to be the time of the occupation, we must endeavor to see how it agrees with the four hundred and thirty years of
Galatians 3:17
17
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Galatians 3:17)
.
YEARS
Age of Abraham when
Isaac
was born 100
Age of Abraham, when the promise was given 75
25
Age of Isaac when Jacob was born 60
Age of Jacob when he stood before
Pharaoh
130
Sojourn of Israel in Egypt 215
430
If then this be the
correct
period, how does it agree with
Genesis 15:13
13
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (Genesis 15:13)
and
Exodus 12:40
40
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40)
? In
Genesis 15:13
13
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (Genesis 15:13)
and
Acts 7:6,
6
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. (Acts 7:6)
nothing is said about
Egypt
: “Thy
seed
shall be
a
stranger
in a land that is not theirs.” This was said to Abraham, and may include the whole period from the birth of Isaac to the Exodus, which according to the above was four hundred and five years—thus agreeing with the round
number
of four hundred years.
Exodus 12:40
40
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. (Exodus 12:40)
is worded differently: “The sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” The
Samaritan
Pentateuch
and the LXX add the words “and of their
fathers
in the
land
of
Canaan
”; but these words are not in the Arabic,
Syriac
, or Vulgate versions; and may therefore have been added to
meet
the apparent difficulty. It is better to
take
the four hundred and thirty years as including the
sojourn
of Abraham (
after
the promise), and of Isaac, and of Jacob, though strictly speaking Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not “children of Israel.”
The conclusion that the sojourn in Egypt was really for two hundred and fifteen years creates another difficulty in
some
minds, namely, the great increase of the Israelites during that period.
Exodus 12:37
37
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. (Exodus 12:37)
speaks of there being 600,000 men, besides children, at the Exodus.
Numbers 1:46
46
Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. (Numbers 1:46)
gives the number more exactly as 603,550 from twenty years old and upwards that were able to go to war. This has been calculated to signify a total of about two million men, women, and children, without the descendants of Levi. Is this a greater number than could be the descendants of those who entered Egypt? This may be reckoned in two ways: if we deduct thirteen from the seventy—for the family of Levi and for those who could not be called heads of families at that time (
Deut. 10:22
22
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude. (Deuteronomy 10:22)
), the result gives fifty-seven heads of families; and if each had 14 children,
In one generation there would be 798
In the
second
11,172
In the
third
156,408
In the fourth 2,189,712
To reckon fourteen children to each may seem a large number, but it must be remembered that there was the plurality of wives, and
scripture
speaks of their multiplying
exceedingly
(
Ex. 1:7,12,20
7
And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. (Exodus 1:7)
12
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. (Exodus 1:12)
20
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. (Exodus 1:20)
).
The increase may be reckoned in another
manner
by the population. If the above fifty-seven are multiplied by 3.3 it gives as the population at the commencement (excluding Levi, and his descendants, as above) 188 persons. Suppose the population doubled itself in fifteen years (as it has been known to do in some places), the number in two hundred and ten years would be over
three
million. There is therefore no difficulty in the increase of the people.
Israel in Egypt is typical of mankind in
the
world
, under the power of
Satan
, before being sheltered under the
blood
of
Christ
, and redeemed by the power of God.
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Number:
3478
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Transliteration:
Yisra’el
Phonic:
yis-raw-ale’
Meaning:
from
8280
and
410
; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: --Israel.
Potts’
Bible Proper Names
:
A prince prevailing with God:―symbolic name of Jacob, Gen. 32:28. {Princeps prevalens Deo}
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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