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Is The Hebrew Word For “Tower” (Migdol) A Loan Word From
Egyptian?
B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, March 2, 2022
I was shocked. I was in a meeting where someone made a claim that migdol, the word for “Tower” in Genesis 11, “…is an Egyptian loan word”. They proceeded to give a definition I’ve never heard; naturally, it piqued my interest.
I’ve studied the
subject of the Tower of Babel for about 15 years, worked with Hebrew scholars,
theologians, and historians on the subject, and have published on it
extensively, including a popular book on the subject.
The person claiming this then proceeded to develop an
understanding of the Tower of Babel in
light of neo-definition of the word as opposed to the Hebrew definition. Although
both words mean tower, the definitions vary more than one might think—for
instance, the Egyptian definition suggested a tower included things like a
sandbar in a river.
Then the new conclusions, based on this new definition, were
used in part to derive a Tower of Babel to be starkly different that anything
you might have imagined. But the argument was framed as saying the Israelites
were “Egyptized” due to the time in Egypt.
Nevertheless, this threw up a big red flag to me. First, I
wanted to check their claim that migdol really
was a loan word from Egyptian. Secondly, wanted to know why this was done.
One of the first places I looked was respected Hebrew
Lexicon Brown-Driver-Briggs.[1]
It gives no indication that migdol is
a loan word from Egypt. To the contrary, the Hebrew word migdol is a Hebrew word with Hebrew variations and Hebrew derivations
from other distinctly Hebrew words.
Next, I checked the Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, OLB Hebrew Lexicon, NAS Hebrew Lexicon, Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, Lexique Hebreu, HALOT (pp. 543–544),
DCH (5:130–132), TDOT (8:69–73), NIDOTTE (2:841–842), and none said it was an Egyptian loan word.[2]
Each one consistently gave definitions like: 1. Tower 2. Elevated Stage and 3.
Raised bed (of flowers).
These lexicons were consistent that the Hebrew word migdol, is related to several other
Hebrew words which is typical for normal Hebrew words (migdal, gadol, godel gadel) and migdol
itself derived from the root Hebrew word “to grow up” (gadal). A tower is aptly named since it is a building that was
built up above the surrounding structures.
I also decided to check another languages that we know
derived from Eber the son of Selah that had no
influence from Egypt to see if they used migdol. Biblical Hebrew was ancient Israelite Hebrew—it does have
distinctions from modern Hebrew. Arabic is a language of Eber that came down
through Ishmael. Though it could be
tainted with Egyptian words since he was half Egyptian himself—his mother Hagar
was Egyptian.
I decided to look to the Chaldean languages. The Chaldeans
were of Eber’s lineage (descendants of Eber and Peleg; think “Eberew” or “Heberew”).
The name Chaldeans and Chaldea is derived from the name Chesed[3]
and was used by Nahor, the brother of Abraham, for one of his sons (Genesis
22:20-22).
The Chaldeans were Hebrews (descendants of Eber) and
therefore spoke a version Hebrew. Abraham, for instance was a Hebrew and was
called out of Ur of the Chaldeans (e.g., Genesis 11:28-31; Nehemiah 9:7), which
was his ancestral family area. The variant languages of Heber change through
the years of course. Aramaic, a form of the Chaldean language was similar and
yet distinct enough from the language of Judah in Isaiah 36:11.
The Chaldeans were never in Egypt and were not influenced by
the Egyptians in any significant way. Naturally, any Middle Eastern nation is
going to have some remedial contact with other nations, but Chaldea was never
in a position like the Israelites, to be “Egyptized”.
The Chaldean language was the Hebrew form that prevailed and
became dominant during the Babylonian Empire. It became the common trade
language of the day for many places that Babylon had conquered. After the
Babylonian Empire was dissolved into the Persian Empire, its Chaldean language,
though not without its variations, continued as the trade language in many
parts of the Middle East even Galilee and Israel up until Christ’s earthly ministry.
The Chaldean language split into variants such as Eastern
and Western Chaldean (sometimes called East and West Chaldee). West Chaldean
which was dominant in the lands of Aram (one of Noah’s grandson’s progeny who
mixed with some of Togarmah’s descendants) became known as “Aramaic” (with a
variation known at Syriac) and there are a few passages in the Old Testament
that use the Aramaic form of Chaldean (Ezra 4:8 – 6:18; Ezra 7:12-26; Daniel
2:4-7:28; and Jeremiah 10:11). Christian Professor Philip Schaff who was first
chair of Hebrew and Cognate Languages at Union Theological Seminary and was
involved in the Revised translation of the Bible (1888) writes in 1904:
“The
principal languages or the Aramaic group are the ARAMAIC proper, of CHALDEE,
and the SYRAIC. They differ mainly in pronunciation and spelling.”[4]
So, what word does the Chaldean languages use for Tower? The
Aramaic Lexicon and Concordance says it is[5]:
·
(Eastern) MaG,D'LaA
·
(Western) MaG,D'LoA
Hebrew languages do not have vowels but vowels or vowel
points are added them to give us an idea of the pronunciation. So basically,
this is MGDL. If you can’t tell, this is essential transliterated as magdal and
magdol. It is the same basic word we find for Biblical Hebrew (MGDL) which is מגדל
migdal mig-dawl’ also (in pl.) fem. מגדלה migdalah mig-daw-law’.
Therefore, there is no reason to presume this word is
anything other than a Hebrew word found in variant forms of Heber’s
descendants’ language.
Was it a simple mistake? If one looks at Egypt, they have
towers too. They also have a word similar to the Hebrew word for tower
too.
Dr. David A. Falk of the University of British Columbia who
is an expert in Egyptian studies write on The
Torah website while discussing towers in Egypt that:
“The native Egyptian words for
“tower” are ḫtm and swnw.”[6]
He also points out
something unique when discussing migdol in Egypt. Dr. Falk write:
“The idea that Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon were lookout posts fits with
a third toponym in this same section, Migdol, one of the fortresses on the Way
of Horus, a road that was guarded by several fortresses intended to control the
flow of traffic from the Levant. The Egyptian version of this name, mˁktir actually
derives from a Semitic loan word מגדל, “tower.””[7]
He points out that
the Egyptians borrowed the word from the Hebrews since they are not using their
native words in certain instances. This is an important reflection. We need to
exercise caution instead of naively saying the Israelites in Egypt borrowed a
word from Egyptian, when in fact, it could easily be the other way around. In
this case, we can ascertain that it was borrowed from the Israelite Hebrew.
So, was it a simple
mistake? I hope so.
[1]
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody
Massachusetts, 1906 (2005, Ninth Printing), pp. 153-154, 550.
[2]
All of these were checked in Online Bible Software, accessed November 3, 2021
or reference given in the text.
[3]
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, Notes on Job 1:17 says, “The
Chaldeans.—Literally, Chasdim, or descendants of Chesed (Genesis 22:22; see
Note on Job 1:1). This name reappears in the classic Carduchia and in the
modern Kurdistan, as well as in the more familiar Chaldæa; it being a
well-known philological law that r and l and r and s are interchangeable.”, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/job/1-17.htm;
John Gill’s Commentary notes on Job 1:17 also affirm this relationship when he
says, “these Chaldeans or Chasdim were the descendants of Chesed, a son of
Nahor, who was brother to Abraham, Genesis 22:20, who settled in the east
country, not far from Job”, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/job/1-17.htm.
[4]
Philip Schaff, Theological Propaedeutic, Sixth Edition, Charles Scribner’s Sons
Publishers, New York, 1904, p. 116.
[5]
Aramaic Lexicon and Concordance, Entry: Tower, Accessed November 4, 2021, https://www.atour.com/cgi-bin/dictionary.cgi?string=tower&Search_Field=Meaning.
[6] David
A. Falk, "What We Know about the Egyptian Places Mentioned in Exodus"
TheTorah.com (2018).
https://thetorah.com/article/what-we-know-about-the-egyptian-places-mentioned-in-exodus.
[7] Ibid.
Long or Short Sojourn By Chronological Derivation Strictly
Via The Biblical Text
B. Hodge, November
1, 2021 (Originally Published July 15, 2016)
Biblical Authority
Ministries
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Titus 3:9 NKJV
But avoid foolish disputes,
genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are
unprofitable and useless.
There is a major dispute among Christians regarding the
genealogical data over how long the Israelites were in Egypt. It is hard to
believe that people spend so much time on a chronological dispute, but in
recent years, I’ve been pushed into this debate several times. My preference is
to avoid spending any significant amount of time to the
subject. My hope is not to get caught up in this debate any longer than
necessary.
And lastly by observation, the debate often entails people
referring to other people’s opinions (e.g., Jones, Roshi, Cassuto, Ussher,
Josephus, or a specific commentator, archaeologist, professor, Christian
leader, etc.) as an authority on this issue to settle the alleged problem; so
I’m not going to do that. I am going to stick strictly with what God says on
the subject and leave the opinions aside of historians, scholars, commentators,
archaeologists, professors, and so on. This is not to neglect their value, but it
is to avoid muddying the waters.
The fact is we have people on both sides of this debate who
are experts in their field. But God is the greatest expert and it is His Word
that is to be counted above all. This doesn’t neglect that various ancient
texts of Scripture will be used, but people like Josephus, Jack Riggs, John
Gill, Adam Clarke, Paul J. Ray Jr., etc. will not be used as an end-all-be-all
argument or refer to their comments as a final authority. Even discussing what
all their opinions are would turn this into an extensive book to tell you what
different people have held to for thousands of years. But they all boil down to
two camps – a long or short sojourn.
Let’s clarify on a misconception right up front. Both camps
have the same length of sojourn—430 years. The difference is where was
that sojourn? Was it in Egypt only or was it in Egypt and Canaan.
Those who hold to a “long” sojourn has 430 years strictly in Egypt where the
time in Canaan was not seen as part of the sojourning. Those
adhering to the “short” sojourn count the 430 years as the total duration of
sojourning in both Egypt and Canaan.
Hence, those who have a “long sojourn” have an overall
longer duration from Abraham to the Exodus (time in Canaan + 430 years in
Egypt = total time) and the short sojourners have a shorter total duration
time (time in Egypt and Canaan = 430 years).
WHAT IS THE DEBATE OVER?
As mentioned, this sojourn question is arguably the most
hotly debated chronological issue in biblical chronology. In
short, it is over the issue of “how long was Israel in Egypt?” prior to the
Exodus. So the debate is: was Israel in Egypt for 430 years (long sojourn)[1] or
was there 430 years from the point when the promise was given to Abraham to
when the Law was given (where the actual time in Egypt would have only been 210
years; short sojourn)? This comes from looking at passages like:
Exodus 12:40-41 NKJV
40 Now the sojourn of
the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty
years — on that very same day — it came to pass that all
the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
Galatians 3:16-17 NKJV
16 Now to Abraham and
his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of
many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I
say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later,
cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it
should make the promise of no effect.
This is a big deal because it looks like an insurmountable
biblical contradiction on the surface. This is another point that makes this a
hot discussion point on each side of the debate as biblical Christians readily
affirm the Bible has no legitimate contradictions—whether they believe in a
long or short sojourn. So this needs to be dealt with to get a proper
understanding of what is going on. Let’s look at some relevant passages to get
started and follow what is going on chronologically.
THE PROMISE
When was the promise first given to Abraham? It was given in
Genesis 12 when Abraham was 75 (Genesis 12:4).
Genesis 12:1-7 NKJV
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a
land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you
And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who
bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of
the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him,
and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed
from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife
and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered,
and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the
land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the
land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the
Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said,
“To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the
LORD, who had appeared to him.
According to Paul in Galatians, this begins the countdown
for the 430 years. Paul mentioned that the total sojourn from the Promise (between
Abraham and Christ, His Seed) to the Exodus (when the law was given) was 430
years[2]:
Galatians 3:16-18 NKJV
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were
the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one,
“And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot
annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should
make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is
no longer of promise; but God gave it
to Abraham by promise.
THE PROMISE REITERATED AND EXPANDED TO ABRAHAM IN GENESIS
15 AND 17
Genesis 15:13-16 NKJV
13 Then He said to Abram: “Know
certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs,
and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 “And also
the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with
great possessions. 15 “Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace;
you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 “But in the fourth generation they
shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
At this stage the promise is reiterated, but several years
have passed (about 10 years for Genesis 15). However, the promise is expanded
and its final reiteration to Abraham per Genesis 17:21-26 is about 24 years
after the initial promise. In Genesis 15, we find that Abraham’s descendants,
obviously through the child of promise[3] (Isaac;
and could not rightly begin until the child of promise was born), will be
persecuted or oppressed for 400 years.[4]
Abraham did not have the child of promise yet and so this
couldn’t be a possibility until Abraham was 100 years old—when Isaac was born
(25 years after the initial promise given in Genesis 12). When Abraham was 99
years old, the promise was reiterated to him in Genesis 17 (the whole chapter)
and the following year, Sarah gave birth in her old age to Isaac.
Note that Isaac’s birth was 25 years after the promise was
first given to Abraham. Yet the reiterated promise was that Abraham’s descendants would
be oppressed or persecuted for 400 years. So the oppression could not be
possible until Abraham has the child of promise. Furthermore, does this mean
that every moment of every year the descendants of Abraham will be oppressed
for that 400 years? By no means! It gives an overall boundary of the first
persecution to the last persecution in question.
When was the first time, according to the Bible,
that one of Abraham’s descendants was oppressed and persecuted? The first
persecution came to Abraham’s descendant Isaac by the half-Egyptian Ishmael in
Genesis 21:8-9 and Galatians 4:28-30 when Isaac was weaned in his very early
years. It was enough of a persecution in the eyes of Sarah and Abraham that the
Lord affirmed to Abraham to do as Sarah wanted and banish the child and his
mother from them!
This was the first affliction by one of Egyptian heritage to
Abraham’s descendants of promise. Recall that Ishmael did not live under the
promise and is an outsider to the promise and was treated as
an outsider to the promise and the descendants of promise. The Lord made this
clear when Abraham plead to have Ishmael be the child of promise (Genesis
17:18-19).
Isaac’s weaning stage would be about 30 years after the
promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.[5] This would put Isaac at about age
4-5, depending on what time of the year he was born and what time of the year
he was weaned.[6] So
there is 400 years to go when the oppression ends. Stephen, in the New
Testament (Acts), testified to Israel’s High Priest about Abraham saying:
Acts 7:6-7 NKJV
6 “But God spoke in this way: that
his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them
into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 ‘And the nation to whom
they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall
come out and serve Me in this place.’
Clearly this is discussing the reiteration of the promise
when the Lord reveals to Abraham that his descendants will
be in bondage or persecuted, which was not stated in the original promise
(Genesis 12) but in the reiteration of the promise in Genesis 15 and 17. So
Stephen was perfectly accurate to state 400 years of oppression at
this stage and is extremely accurate, being 30 years after the original promise
beginning with Isaac’s persecution by the half-Egyptian, Hagar’s son Ishmael.
So the time markers given in Scripture for these events are
spot on without contradiction at this stage. Some Christians have remarked that
Genesis 15 and Stephen were actually rounding off the 430 years to merely be
400 but that is not the case after carefully considering what
the text says and what the text doesn’t say.
Both Genesis 15 and Stephen were being extremely precise as
to how long the persecution of Abraham’s descendants would be,
neither the time in Egypt nor the total time of sojourn. Perhaps there was
confusion because both ended at the same time, with the Exodus. But a close
examination of the text shows great precision.
4TH GENERATION
We also learn in the reiterated promise that in the fourth
generation of being strangers in a land not their own (Egypt)
they will return to Canaan (which would be their own possession). Clearly,
Canaan was not in mind as that fourth generation would be the eldest of the
generations to return to Canaan from the nation in question.
Joseph, the son of Jacob (Israel) was the first in Egypt
(being the precursor to the whole nation’s arrival). So the sons of Jacob make
their way to Egypt through Joseph and survive. Here are some genealogical lists
as given in Scripture:
Table 1 Genealogical Data according to the Bible
|
Judah’s line (e.g., Luke 3) |
Joseph’s line (Genesis 50:23, 1 Chronicles 7:20-27) |
Levi’s line (Exodus 6:16-20, with ages) |
|
|
1 |
Abraham |
Abraham |
Abraham |
|
2 |
Isaac |
Isaac |
Isaac |
|
3 |
Israel (Jacob) |
Israel (Jacob) |
Israel (Jacob) |
|
4 |
Judah |
Joseph |
Levi (137) |
|
5 |
Perez |
Ephraim |
Kohath (133) and Jochebed |
|
6 |
Hezron |
Ephraim child (e.g., Shuthelah) |
Amram (137) |
|
7 |
Ram |
Ephraim’s grandchild (e.g., Bered) |
Moses (120) |
|
8 |
Amminadab |
Ephraim’s great grandchild (e.g., Tahath) |
Gershom and Eliezer |
If we begin with Joseph and his brother’s as the first
counted generation in Egypt, then the fourth generation would be Ram, Ephraim’s
grandchild (Bered), and Moses.
However, if it is counted from Joseph’s and his
brother’s children, who spent much (if not all) of their life in
Egypt, as opposed to Canaan, then the fourth generation would be counted from
Perez, Ephraim, and Kohath to Amminidab, Ephraim’s great grandchild (Tahath)
and Gershom and Eliezer. Although time-wise, it makes sense that Ephraim’s
great grandchild and Moses were all living at about the same time—there is
nothing wrong with people of multiple generations co-living.
Moses’s generation underwent persecution of having the baby
boys killed and thrown into the Nile, when he was a newborn—this was after Pharaoh
had ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys, which failed. Although, that
means that the generations still alive (e.g., Moses’s father Amram, grandfather
Kohath or Tahath whose father was Bered, and grandfather
Shultelah and great grandfather Ephraim) were also affected by this oppression.
The affliction included being both (1) slaves and (2) watching the persecution
and murder of their descendants.
This later count for the fourth generation makes good sense
because the promise given to Abraham was that the fourth generation would come
into Canaan (Genesis 15:16), not just exit Egypt and the older
generation (which included Moses’s generation) was left to die in the
wilderness due to their disobedience to God (Numbers 14:34). So we know which
generation entered into Canaan so we merely count backwards for four
generations (bolded in the table above).
Now let us keep something in mind. The first generation to
be able to return to Canaan was to be the fourth generation. But does that mean
that the kids of the fourth generation (the fifth generation) didn’t come into
the Canaan (the Promised Land)? Of course they did too—they all came at once!
What this limitation is that the earliest generation to return
to Canaan was the fourth, but their subsequent descendants, who were
contemporaneous with them, were also obliged to come as well.
Well how many generations was that? It likely varied
extensively. Moses, living like the Egyptians for 40 years, had no children
yet. But the Israelites were growing under the Lord’s increase immensely. So
there could have been many contemporaneous generations after this fourth
generation. We know of Joshua’s genealogy, and he was contemporaneous with
Moses, yet younger. His lineage is revealed in 1 Chronicles 7:22-27 as:
Then Ephraim [1 Gen] their father mourned many days, and his
brethren came to comfort him. And when he went in to his wife, she conceived
and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah [2 Gen], because tragedy had come
upon his house. Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth
Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; and Rephah [3 Gen] was his son, as well as Resheph,
and Telah [4 Gen] his son, Tahan [5 Gen] his son, Laadan [6 Gen] his son,
Ammihud 7 Gen] his son, Elishama [8 Gen] his son, Nun [9 Gen] his son, and
Joshua [10 Gen] his son.
Joshua was the 10th generation from Joseph
(having his son Ephraim as the first generation). So Joshua, who was
contemporaneous with Moses and yet was the 10th generation, led
the 4th generation and their descendants into conquest of the
Promised Land.
Keep in mind that Joseph met his great grandchild through
Ephraim and his grandchildren through Manasseh. But more descendants were
coming rapidly even after Joseph died. But Joseph and some of his great
grandchildren were at one point contemporaneous. So the Israelites hadn’t
entered into slavery and bondage in Egypt yet as that occurred later when a
pharaoh came to power when Joseph (and his brothers) was no longer alive
(Exodus 1:6-8). And Moses was 80 at the time of the Plagues and Exodus (Exodus
7:7) so keep this information in mind and yet he was 40 when he first became a
father in Midian.
Now let’s pause—as everything seems to be moving in perfect
harmony at this stage with the chronology and following what is occurring
(e.g., the fourth generation (with their descendants will come to Canaan). I
say this as a precursor. This next verse is the one that seems to throw a huge
“monkey wrench” into the situation.
LIVING IN EGYPT 430 YEARS?
Exodus 12:40-41 NKJV (Time
of the Sojourn from the Promise to release from Bondage)
40 Now the sojourn of the children
of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came
to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years — on that
very same day — it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went
out from the land of Egypt.
Arriving at Exodus 12, it seem a new limitation is suddenly
thrown into the mix that was unexpected. It seems as though the text just
switched to say the children of Israel were in Egypt for 430
years! So what gives? I want the readers to know that it is this passage alone that
seems to introduce the alleged conflict.
So what do many Christians do? Many Christians take this
verse as the accurate one and try to reinterpret each of the other verses
we have already discussed. This view holds that the Israelites were in Egypt a
full 430 years. Again, this is called the “long sojourn”.
HOW DO SOME TRY TO GET AROUND THIS?
MAYBE THIS VERSE IS ACCURATE AND PAUL ISN’T SO PRECISE?
In other words, long sojourners take the
time from Joseph and his brothers in Egypt until the Exodus to be 430 years and
then add extra time on to that to go back to the Promise.[7] This
would be over 600 years from the time of the promise to Abraham and the giving
of the Law. Of course, this causes problems with Paul’s clear statement
Galatians 3:16-18 that it was 430 years from the promise given to Abraham to
giving of the Law during the Exodus.
Defending this view, I have heard several Christians suggest
that the promise to Abraham was not meant to be counted from Abraham but
instead from Judah, whom they argued was the seed in Galatians 3
and quoted the beginning of Galatians 3:16 (“Now to Abraham and his Seed were
the promises made….”).
They assumed that the promise was to be counted from
Abraham’s descendant (seed) Judah (who went to Egypt) in trying to put the 430
years that Paul mentioned [from the Promise to the Exodus (giving of the law)]
strictly into Egypt.
These Christian brothers assumed that the last reiteration
of the promise was to Judah (Genesis 46:2–4), therefore, the seed in Galatians
was actually Judah, not Christ. Now I am going to be bold here—these types of
mental gymnastics are uncalled for and make a mockery of the Scriptures.
There is only one seed in Galatians 3 and that is Christ and
Paul made that perfectly clear in Galatians 3:16 if the entire verse is read [Now
to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to
seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ].
The reason for this argument for the seed to be Judah was to
try to get 430 years from one of Jacob’s sons who went to Egypt to the time of
the Exodus. So the whole reason was predicated on the fact they were trying to
fit 430 years of time in Egypt for the Israelites. Of course that means that
the Promise to Abraham that the fourth generation in the land not their own
(Egypt) would leave and come to Canaan, was purely false too.
Consider one more aspect. If we begin oppression in Egypt
with Judah, then this is a problem, as Judah was not oppressed. Oppression of
the children of promise by the Egyptians did occur until after Judah and his
younger brother Joseph had died. So this option is simply not tenable.
GAPS IN THE GENEALOGIES?
Another problem also arises for the long sojourn position.
The ages of Levi’s descendants and his children down to Moses cannot even come
close to 430 years once they are raised and have children (Moses was over 40
when he had his first child with Zipporrah in Midian).
Table 2 From Kohath to Gershom and Eliezer
|
1st |
Kohath (max age 133) |
|
2nd |
Amram (max age 137) |
|
3rd |
Moses (120) (at age 40 he had his first son) |
|
4th |
Gershom and Eliezer (Generation that entered Canaan) |
But this generational problem is much worse than initially
recognized. If some Christians argue that the Israelites were in
oppression by Egypt for 400 years (rounding) or 430 years
specifically, then that timeframe could not be counted until after Joseph
died. So there would be 430 years from the first oppression in Egypt (which
began with Moses’s generation) until the Exodus. This is impossible since Moses
came out of the Exodus and he only lived 120 years!
But the generational problem gets even worse than this!
Other Christians, many of whom I greatly respect by the way, readily try to
assert that there were gaps in the genealogies of the Israelites listed in
Egypt. For example, one scholar supporting the long sojourn reports:
“The name Amram of vs. 20 may be a
conflation of the name of the Amram who was the head of one of the
third-generation families of Levi, with the name of a later Amram who was the
father of Moses and Aaron. There was a tendency among the Levites to name their
sons after their forefathers (cf. 1 Chr 6:7–13; Lk 1:5, 59–61). Thus, several
generations appear to have been telescoped here, with Amram, the father of
Moses and Aaron, probably being at least the grandson of the original Amram, if
not even a later descendant.”[8]
So the solution is to allegedly have more than one Amram and
have gaps in the genealogies. This is hugely problematic! First, it would no
longer be the fourth generation that would be exiting Egypt and coming into
Canaan, it would also mean Paul was in error in Galatians 3 for 430 years from
the promise to Abraham to the giving of the law in the Exodus. But it also
causes problems with other passages. Considers Moses mother for example.
Moses’ mother was Jochebed. We often think of Moses’ mother
actions when she put him in basket (ark) and floated him in the Nile and
Pharaoh’s daughter found him (Exodus 2:1-10). But we know more about her as
well—her genealogical data. The Bible says:
Exodus 6:20 NKJV
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.
Numbers 26:59 NKJV
The name of Amram’s wife was
Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she
bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.
Moses father, Amram married his aunt Jochebed. She was the
daughter of Levi (see also Exodus 2:1). Levi was the son of Jacob. This means
that Levi was both Moses’ grandfather and great grandfather!
If one argues, then that there were other Levi’s as
well in the same lineage, then it makes part of the biblical text meaningless. The
Bible went to the effort of making it clear that Jochebed was born in
Egypt, in contrast to the possibility that she may have been born elsewhere
(e.g., the land of Canaan where Levi originally fathered three of her brothers
[Gershon, Kohath, and Merari] per Genesis 46:7-11). If she were a born of a
later Levi, supposedly after a long time in Egypt, then why would this text be
necessary?
Look also to Moses’ brother Aaron. Who was Aaron’s wife? The
Bible reveals:
Exodus 6:23 NKJV
Aaron took to himself Elisheba,
daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab,
Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
As a reminder, Judah’s lineage to Amminidab is:
|
Judah’s line (e.g., Luke 3) |
|
Abraham |
|
Isaac |
|
Israel (Jacob) |
|
Judah |
|
(1) Perez |
|
(2) Hezron |
|
(3) Ram |
|
(4) Amminadab |
Elisheba was Amminadab’s daughter (5th Generation)
and was the sister of Nahshon (5th Generation). Nahshon was the
leader of the forces of Judah for the conquest (Numbers 2:3) and is the lineage
of Christ down to Boaz and finally David (Ruth 4:18-22, Luke 3:32-38).
Knowing this, there is no way there are large numbers of
genealogical gaps between “alleged Amram’s” or “alleged Levi’s”. There was one
Amram, one Levi and the genealogy of Moses’ mother refutes this idea of
multiple Amram’s, multiple Levi’s and multiple gaps in the Bible’s genealogies.
If there are gaps in the genealogies between Levi’s (e.g.,
Joseph’s) generation to Moses’s generation at the Exodus 430 years later, then
that could be 10-11 generations (at a 40 year slow generation
time), 14-15 generations (at a 30 year medium generation time)
up to 28-29 generations (at a 15 year fast generation time;
see Genesis 17:2).
Since only two names are given in the Bible between Levi and
Moses (Kohath and Amram), then there could be a minimum of 8-9 or maximum of
26-27 missing names within the long
sojourn reckoning! If there are 8-27 missing generation here, then what
does they say about Luke 3:23-38 which gives a continuous line from Jesus
Christ to Adam, without these alleged missing generations
[Judah (to Egypt), Perez (to Egypt), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab,
Nahshon (leader at the Exodus)]?
So if we take this tact (called the long sojourn) with the
Israelites in oppression for 400-430 years in Egypt, we begin to introduce
significant problems and conflicts elsewhere in the text of Scripture. The
actual solution to properly understand Exodus 12:40-41, though, is much simpler
and doesn’t damage the text.
THE ANCIENT TEXT: SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Now let’s look at this relevant passage in more detail and
look at the ancient textual witness. There are textual variants for Exodus
12:40 when we consult other ancient texts. The Masoretic text and the Samaritan
Pentateuch were Hebrew texts (Hebrew and Samaritan Hebrew) and the Septuagint
(LXX) was an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Here is how ancient
Hebrew or Greek variations read within
the NAS (bolded):
EXODUS 12:40-41 NAS
Masoretic (Hebrew text)
40 Now the sojourn of the children
of Israel “who lived in Egypt” was four hundred and thirty
years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty
years — on that very same day — it came to pass that all
the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
Samaritan Pentateuch (Hebrew
text)
40 Now the sojourn of the children
of Israel “and of their fathers who lived in the land of
Canaan and in the land of Egypt” was four hundred and thirty years. 41
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty
years — on that very same day — it came to pass that all
the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
Septuagint (Ancient Greek text)
40 Now the sojourn of the children
of Israel who lived in the land of Egypt and in the land of
Canaan was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass
at the end of the four hundred and thirty years — on that very same
day — it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from
the land of Egypt.
As you can see from the verse variants in question, there is
an issue over where these 430 years is to occur. It was both
Egypt and Canaan according to the other ancient
witnesses of the Old Testament. When looking at the ancient text, they are
actually mixed—some say just Egypt others say Egypt and Canaan (or vice versa;
Canaan and Egypt)—but which is to be preferred? The one that solves the problem
and doesn’t introduce conflicts elsewhere of course.
Table 3 Ancient Greek and Hebrew Text Traditions
|
Ancient text |
Date of copies |
Language |
Egypt Only |
Egypt and Canaan/Canaan and Egypt |
|
|
1 |
LXX (Septuagint) |
200 B.C. – A.D. 400 |
Greek |
Some copies |
Some Copies |
|
2 |
Masoretic |
A.D. 500-900 |
Hebrew |
All MSS |
|
|
3 |
Samaritan Pentateuch, A.D. 1100-1200 (earliest copies) |
A.D. 1100 –1200 |
Hebrew (Samaritan dialect) |
All MSS |
|
|
4 |
Dead Sea Scrolls (4 QExod), 250 B.C.-A.D 70, Hebrew |
250 B.C. – A.D. 70 |
Hebrew |
One copy |
|
|
5 |
Letter to the Galatians by Paul |
A.D 1st Century – A.D. 400[9] |
Greek |
All copies (from promise to Abraham to the Exodus) which
includes both Canaan and Egypt) |
So texts either gained information or lost it during
transmission here. Keep in mind that it is easier for a copyist to lose text,
than to come up with it, especially when that is not what they are supposed to
be doing! From a big picture, the texts that have both Egypt and Canaan are
preferred, not just for this reason, but because it solves the problem.
This sheds immense light on the issue. 430 years, was not
just the time in Egypt, but also Canaan. Abraham received the promise, while
being called into Canaan. This solves the alleged contradiction entirely! In
fact, this solves the entire dilemma.
There was 430 years of sojourning in Egypt and Canaan from
the Promise in Genesis 12, which includes Abraham, to the giving of the Law at
the Exodus. There was 400 years of mistreatment to Abraham’s descendants
beginning with Ishmael (the half Egyptian) toward Isaac until the last
persecution during the Exodus (again with the Egyptians).
The statements in the text are actually accurate and
extremely precise. This puts the time of the Israelites in Egypt at 210 years
specifically. This is called the “short sojourn” and there is no
contradiction and no problem—even with Moses, Paul, Stephen, and so on. There
are no generational problems and timeline conflicts.
But there is more. The land of sojourning was also included
the land of Promise according to other passages in the narrative.[10]
Genesis 17:8 NASB
“I will give to you and to your
descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God”.
Genesis 28:4 NAS
“May He also give you the blessing
of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the
land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham”.
Exodus 6:4 NAS
"And I also established My
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they
sojourned.
If there was any question whether the sojourning included
Canaan—the Bible solves it when we interpret Scripture (e.g., Exodus 12:40)
with Scripture (e.g., Genesis 17:8, 28:4, and Exodus 6:4). Canaan was considered
part of the sojourning of Abraham and his descendants! Even Jacob recognized
his own sojourning was not strictly in Egypt. He said:
Genesis 47:9 NAS
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The
years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been
the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived
during the days of their sojourning”.
Jacob only lived a total 17 years in Egypt, and yet he
recognized his own portion of the sojourning as being 130 years of duration so
far (Jacob died 17 years later at 147 in Egypt per Genesis 47:28).
Objection: why
does it state…“children of Israel” in Exodus 12:40?
Recall that Exodus 12:40-41 NKJV says:
40 Now the sojourn of the children
of Israel “and of their fathers who lived in the land of Canaan and in
the land of Egypt” was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at
the end of the four hundred and thirty years — on that very same
day — it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from
the land of Egypt.
If the 430 years of sojourn was meant to be counted from
Abraham to the Exodus, why does it say “children of Israel”? Abraham is not
among the children of Israel. Doesn’t this prove that the children of Israel
were in Egypt for exactly 430 years?
The answer to this is actually revealed in the context. But
first, some variant texts have “and of their fathers”, which does include
Abraham—and Jacob again recognized that he was part of the sojourn (Genesis
47:9). Regardless though, the context reveals that we are discussing the end of
the sojourn, “And it came to pass at the end of the four
hundred and thirty years” and who this now pertains to,
which is the children of Israel. Why is this significant?
Abraham had a lot of descendants. For example there were
the:
This passage delineates whom the children of promise were
(children of Israel) and that the end of the 430 years has finally come to the
descendants of promise. This excluded these other descendants
of Abraham. These others (Ishmaelites, Edomites, Midianites, etc.) were also
descendants of Abraham, but not of promise that was through
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel.
So now, at the very end of the sojourn, we find confirmation of
who the descendants are at the end of this 430-year sojourn beginning
with Abraham. After all, the Midianites, Ishmaelites, Edomites, and so on were
never strangers in a land not their own[11],
nor oppressed and afflicted for 400 years, and were not brought out of a nation
that was then judged. We know without question [due to this verse] exactly who
it was—the children of Israel. They were the ones on the back end of the
promise and none of the other descendants of Abraham.
THE MAIN OBJECTION!
The main objection I’ve found is summed up in this question:
how could there be 603,550 males over twenty years of age in Numbers 1:1-3;
2:32 in just a few generations? Hence, long sojourners again appeal to an
actual 430 years strictly in Egypt under oppression to get such numbers basing
it on natural population growth variation we have in the world today.
In modern estimations, the world’s population doubles about
every 35-39 years. In the 1960’s, it was peaking about 35 years[12] but
due to factors like immense abortion and negative growth rates in some
countries, the rate has slightly slowed to about 39 years currently.[13]
We know that Abraham’s progeny who went to Egypt was 66 people and with
Joseph’s family it makes about 70 (Genesis 46:26-27). Here is a chart of
doublings that have to occur to get the required number of people to make 603,550
males per the book of Numbers.
Table 4 Doublings
|
Number of doublings |
People beginning with 70 |
|
1 |
140 |
|
2 |
280 |
|
3 |
560 |
|
4 |
1120 |
|
5 |
2240 |
|
6 |
4480 |
|
7 |
8960 |
|
8 |
17,920 |
|
9 |
35,840 |
|
10 |
71,680 |
|
11 |
143,360 |
|
12 |
286,720 |
|
13 |
573,440 |
|
14 |
1,146,880 |
|
15 |
2,293,760 |
So 14-15 doubling times would be required to get the numbers
if about half are males at age of counting. The long sojourner would argue that
it is more feasible with 430 years strictly in Egypt. Using 14 doublings, this
would make [430/14] = ~31 years per doubling which is comparable, but a little
faster than, the current world growth range which again varies from 35-39 years
currently. So it is argued that this is a confirmation of the 430 years, as
opposed to 210-215 years, of sojourn strictly in Egypt buy the short
sojourners.
However, this conclusion is without warrant. Consider the
Lord’s prophetic promise to Abraham and then Isaac.
Genesis 13:16 NKJV
“And I will make your descendants
as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then
your descendants also could be numbered.
Genesis 22:17 NKJV
“Blessing I will bless you, and
multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate
of their enemies.
Genesis 26:4 NKJV
“And I will make your descendants
multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these
lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
And this came true. God is
the one responsible for multiplying Abraham’s descendants and this exceeding
increase came to Israel. And the Egyptians recognized this and wanted to do
something about this population explosion occurring with the Israelites—hence
enslaving them and trying to kill their baby boys in an effort to control them!
Exodus 1:7 NKJV
But the children of Israel were
fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and
the land was filled with them.
Exodus 1:12 NKJV
But the more they afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of
Israel.
Exodus 1:20 NKJV
Therefore God dealt well with the
midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.
Now is this increase a problem? No. It is not a problem for
an all-powerful God to make the promise and keep it. There is no problem for
God to make the Israelites as numerous as He promised. It would only be a
problem if God hadn’t kept his promise, but that did not occur.
This would only be a problem if we allege that God had no
part and that the increase of Israelites could only be done by human means.
That is, by naturalistic means. But this population growth is no problem
whatsoever for God as the promise was fulfilled. After the Exodus, the Lord
comments:
Deuteronomy 1:10 NKJV
The LORD your God has multiplied
you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.
So if 210 years are in mind for the sojourn in Egypt, then
what would the doubling rate be? Using 14 doublings, this would make [210/14] =
15 years per doubling which is obviously faster than the current world growth
range which again is 35-39 years. You would easily be able to see the increases
as the hand of the Lord with this figure! But is it possible?
Yes it is. In fact, the current population growth rate (as
of 2015) of the country of Afghanistan is faster than this at 14.8 years![14] It
is not at all impossible but clearly within the bounds of national growth rates
observed today. Yes it is exceedingly faster, but this is exactly what the Lord
declared He would do with the Israelites.
So this is actually a much better confirmation of what was
occurring because unlike the slightly faster growth rate (~31 year doubling),
the Israelites really were growing rapidly (~15 years doubling) as God
promised. Joshua was in the 10th generation, while 4th generation
was still alive (and much of the 3rd generation was still alive
too) so this is reasonable and expected here. Joshua was not the youngest one
going into the Promised Land either! There were plenty of younger generations contemporaneous
with him as well for him to be old enough to be a significant military leader. Having
multiple generations as contemporaneous is not a problem. So this overall
population objection to a short sojourn is really not a big deal.
CONCLUSIONS
The long sojourn introduces biblical conflicts whether
genealogically, generationally, chronologically, or neglects that God rapidly
multiplied the Israelites. It further causes disruptions of clear passages like
Paul’s boundary conditions of 430 years from the promise to Abraham to the
giving of the Law and that Canaan was included as the part of the land of
sojourn.
The short sojourn makes sense of the biblical data when
taking into account the variant ancient readings that mention that the sojourn
included Egypt and Canaan. Any alleged problems disappear when
looked at biblically and logically.
Now as a side note, readers should be aware that long and
short sojourners are not enemies. We are brothers and though
we do not agree with one another, this is not a reason to “go start a new
church” over the issue. So keep this in mind on this chronological debate.
Table 5 Summary Timeline
|
Countdown (years; when applicable) |
Event |
Notes |
Reference |
|
430 |
Initial Promise, Sojourn begins |
Abraham, 75 years old |
Genesis 12:1-7 |
|
420 |
Reiteration of the Promise |
Abraham, 85 years old |
Genesis 15:13-15 |
|
419 |
Ishmael born (half-Egyptian) |
Abraham, 86 years old |
Genesis 16:16 |
|
406 |
Final reiteration of the promise to Abraham |
Abraham 99 years old |
Genesis 17 |
|
405 |
Isaac, child of promise born |
Abraham, 100 years old |
Genesis 17:19-21; 21:3-5 |
|
400 |
Isaac, child of promise first persecuted by Ishmael, the
half-Egyptian; Ishmael and Hagar (his Egyptian mother) are banished as a
result; BEGINNING OF PERSECUTION OF ABRAHAM’S DESCENDANTS |
Isaac weaning age (which is very young)[15] perhaps
4-5 years old making Abraham 105 years old |
Genesis 21:8-14 |
|
340 |
Jacob and Esau born |
Isaac was 60 |
Genesis 25:26 |
|
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob |
|||
|
330 |
Abraham dies |
Abraham, 175 years old |
Genesis 25:7-10 |
|
Jacob renamed Israel |
Genesis 32:28 |
||
|
Israel has 12 sons (Levi, Joseph, Judah, etc.; Benjamin
last) |
Genesis 29-30; 35:16 (Benjamin) |
||
|
249 |
Joseph born |
Jacob/Israel, 91 year old |
Genesis 37:3[16] |
|
232 |
Joseph sold into slavery; finally to Egypt |
Joseph 17 years old |
Genesis 37:28; Genesis 37:2 |
|
220 |
Isaac dies |
Isaac, 180 years old; Jacob/Israel, 120 years old Joseph 29 years old |
Genesis 35:28 |
|
219 |
Joseph in position of power in Egypt |
Joseph, 30 years old |
Genesis 41:41 Genesis 41:46 |
|
219-212 |
Seven years of Plenty |
Joseph, 37 years old |
Genesis 41:47 |
|
210 |
Israelites into Egypt (2 years into the 7 years of famine) |
Jacob, 130 years old Joseph, 39 years old |
Genesis 45:9-46:7; 45:6-11 |
|
193 |
Jacob dies in Egypt |
Jacob, 147 years old; after 17 years in Egypt Joseph, 56 years old |
Genesis 47:28 |
|
Levi fathers Kohath (born in Canaan per Genesis 46:7-11) |
Ephraim fathers Shuthelah (possibly before coming to
Egypt?) |
Genesis 50:23, 1 Chronicles 7:20-27; Exodus 6:16-20 |
|
|
Levi fathers Jochebed who was born in Egypt |
Shuthelah fathers Bered |
Genesis 50:23, 1 Chronicles 7:20-27; Exodus 6:16-20 |
|
|
Kohath fathers Amram |
Bered fathers Tahath |
Genesis 50:23, 1 Chronicles 7:20-27; Exodus 6:16-20 |
|
|
139 |
Joseph (and his brothers) had died |
Joseph, 110 year old |
Genesis 50:26 |
|
Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites |
Exodus 1:8-14 |
||
|
81?-80 |
Persecution of baby boys in Egypt |
Just before and after the birth of Moses |
Exodus 1:15-22 |
|
80 |
Moses born to Amram |
Moses, 0 years old |
Exodus 2:1-10 |
|
40 |
Moses flees Egypt |
Moses (40 years old) |
Exodus 2:15 |
|
0 |
10 plagues |
Moses 80 years old |
Exodus 7:7 (beginning) |
|
0 |
Exodus from Egypt/Giving of the Law |
Moses, 80 years old; Last persecution of Israelites by
Egypt |
Exodus; Exodus 20 |
|
+40 |
Fourth generation was the first permitted to enter into
Canaan (with their descendants of course) |
Moses died 120 years old; Joshua leads the fourth
generation and their descendants into Canaan |
Numbers 14:34, Deuteronomy 1:35; 2:14; |
|
+45 |
7 Canaanite tribes destroyed and land distributed; about
450 years after the promise given to the fathers (plural meaning at least
Abraham and Isaac) and this is 450 years after Isaac was born |
Caleb was 85 now (40 when he spied out the land, 40 years
after the wandering, and 5 more years after conquest and now the land
distribution) |
Joshua 13:1-7, 14:7, Act 13:16-19 |
|
+480 |
Solomon is in his 4th year as king |
Temple began to be built; Okay—so this one is for fun! |
1 Kings 6:1 |
[1] 430
years is a minimum in this view as many hold that 400 (rounding) or 430 years
(exact) was their specific time in oppression,
hence the 430 doesn’t begin to count until after Joseph dies and the oppression
begins.
[2] The
reason I start with Paul here is that there are no variant texts of the numbers
given in the Galatians passage.
[3] Otherwise,
Ishmael and the sons with Keturah would also be consider sons of promise as
would their descendants, but they are not.
[4] Thus,
it cannot be in reference to Abraham’s descendants through Hagar or Keturah.
[5] In
Jewish tradition, weaning was often between 18 months and 5 years old. It
usually involved a child who had their teeth and could eat normal foods without
the fear of problems. It was essentially beyond the fragile time when young
children had high infant mortality rates and thus seen as a time to celebrate
such an accomplishment. For more please see: What was the significance of
weaning a child in the Bible (Genesis 21:8)?, Got Questions Ministries, 2015, http://www.gotquestions.org/weaning-child-Bible.html.
[6] If
Isaac was born at the end of one year and weaned at the beginning of another
year, that could only be just over 3 years of actual duration while
encompassing a 5 year time lapse.
[7] Others
insert the 430 years after Joseph’s death because that was when the oppression
begins which adds 430 years between Joseph and Moses. Also the overall time
would be more than 700-800 years from the promise to Abraham to the Exodus.
[8] Paul
J. Ray, The Duration of the Israelite Sojourn In Egypt, Associates for Biblical
research, January 5, 2012, http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2012/01/05/The-Duration-of-the-Israelite-Sojourn-In-Egypt.aspx.
[9] By
A.D. 400 Koine Greek (biblical Greek), was essentially became a dead language.
[10] Moses
knew what a sojourn was as he also partook one in Midian (Exodus 2:22).
[11] They
often intermarried with the local pagan tribes and became part of the land.
[12] Population
Growth Rates, About.com, 2015, http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/populationgrow.htm.
[13] Silvio
Famularo, Where have all the people gone? Creation, 31(2):18-19, March 2009.
[14] Population
Growth Rates, About.com, 2015, http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/populationgrow.htm.
[15] 1
Samuel 1:23-24
[16] Calculations
further based on Genesis 35:28, Genesis 37:28; Genesis 37:2, Genesis 41:41,
Genesis 41:46, Genesis 41:47, Genesis 45:6-46:7, Genesis 47:28; See also, Age
of the Earth as Tallied from Creation to the Captivity using Biblical
References, B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, August 14, 2020, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2020/08/creation-to-captivity.html,
specifically the section “How did you get the age of Joseph?”.