In Gal. 3:17, Paul the apostle says that a time of 430 years passed between the time of God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), and the giving of the Law to Moses. Is the time period 430 years? Did he make a mistake?
– Yohan, India
DR. GEORGY’S RESPONSE:
God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) were given about 2000 BC. The giving of the Law to Moses was around 1450 BC. The time that Paul the apostle refers to in Gal. 3:17 is not the initial giving of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12-15), but the later confirmation of the covenant to Jacob (Gen. 46), which was around 1877 BC. The Exodus event occurred around 1447 BC (1 Kings 6:1), and this would make the time period exactly 430 years. The text clearly says the 430 years from “the covenant that was confirmed before by God” (Gal. 3:17). Therefore, the time period is the final confirmation of the Abrahamic promises to the descendants (seed) of Abraham which takes place in Gen. 46:2-4 given to Jacob, a descendant of Abraham, and this was 430 years before the children of Israel came out of Egypt. Paul is correct when he writes that verse.
