Another account that is sometimes used in support of the long sojourn, that of Israel being in Egypt for 430 years, are the verses of Acts 13:17-20,
Acts 13:17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Acts 13:18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
Acts 13:19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Acts 13:20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Acts 13:21 And from there they asked for a king. And God gave Saul the son of Kish to them, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
The important time reference of interest is that found in verse 20 - "about the space of 450 years". From the text above, it appears that these ~450 years refers to the period of the judges over Israel, a period which began when Israel entered the land of Canaan and lasted until Samuel announced that Saul had become king over the nation of Israel. However this view results in a problem when compared to 1 Kings 6:1,
1 Kings 6:1 KJV And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
In this verse we find that Solomon's 4th year is also the 480th year since the Exodus. Knowing there was a four year co-regency between King David and his son Solomon (1 Kings 1:30-48), and that King David reigned for 40 years (2 Samuel 5:4), we can date the start of David's reign to the 440th year after the Exodus. We also know Saul reigned the 40 years prior to David (Acts 13:21), so the start of King Saul's reign over Israel (and the end of the period of the Judges) was in the 400th year after the Exodus. We can determine in a similar manner when the period of the Judges began knowing that Israel wandered in the wilderness under Moses for 40 years following the Exodus before they entered into the land of Canaan (Numbers 32:13). It was at this point, in the 40th year after the Exodus that Moses died and the period of the Judges, beginning with Joshua, started. Thus the period of the Judges would be from the 40th year after the Exodus until the 400th year, or a total of 360 years. But this result appears to conflict with the total given in Acts 13:20, where we are told this period is about 450 years. Thus an apparent discrepancy of ~90 years, which is not insignificant. This is depicted in the timeline below:
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Post Exodus Timeline
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Year 0 - Exodus
Year 40 - Israel entered Canaan
: - period of the Judges (360 years)
Year 400 - Saul became King of Israel
Year 440 - David became King of Israel
Year 476 - Solomon's first year, co-regent with King David
Year 480 - Solomon's fourth year, temple foundation laid 480 years after Exodus (1 Kings 6:1)
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Now some have proposed including Israel's 40 years in the wilderness, under the leadership of Moses, under the period of the Judges. But this has two problems, first, the King James Bible reading makes it appear that the 450 years starts after Israel was in the land of Canaan, so including Israel's 40 years in the wilderness under Moses would not make sense. The second problem is that even if 40 years is added to the 360 found above, it still falls 50 years short of being ~450 years, which is still a significant difference.
Based on this problem a different understanding for Acts 13:20 has been proposed, and that is that the ~450 years is actually the time span covering the 3 events mentioned in the proceeding verses, Acts 13:17-19, which include the sojourning of Israel in Egypt, Israel's wandering in the wilderness, and Israel's fighting to gain control of the land of Canaan in order to divide the land for an inheritance. This would give a total of 477 years based on the sum of the following:
> sojourning of Israel in Egypt was 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41)
> Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (Numbers 32:13)
> the land of Canaan was divided to Israel in the 47th year after the Exodus (Joshua 14:7-10, Deuter 2:14, see Appendix)
This interpretation is actually supported by the original Greek text, which is rendered in the following manner in the LITV and YLT:
(YLT) Act 13:20 `And after these things, about four hundred and fifty years, He gave judges--till Samuel the prophet;
(LITV) Act 13:20 And after these things, as four hundred and fifty years passed, He gave judges until Samuel the prophet.
Both translations follow the original Greek better than the King James translation, and show that the period of about 450 years may very well refer to the duration of "these things", the things just mentioned in the prior three verses. This understanding of Acts 13:20 is certainly valid and is very compatible with the long sojourn view of Israel being in Egypt for 430 years, while the short sojourn view would fall far short.
Appendix - Israel Conquered Canaan in 7 Years
Israel proceeded to divide the land of Canaan among the various tribes in the 47th year following the Exodus, which was the 7th year after they entered Canaan. In the following account Caleb is speaking to Joshua:
Joshua 14:7 Forty years old was I [Caleb] when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
Joshua 14:8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
Joshua 14:9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
Joshua 14:10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
In these passages Caleb mentions several important time clues, the first being his age when Moses sent him to spy out the land of Canaan, i.e., 40 years old. Then Caleb mentions that this day is 45 years after that event, and Caleb is now 85 years old. Caleb also mentions that Moses sent him out to spy the land from Kadesh Barnea. We find in another time reference to Kadesh Barnea in Deuteronomy 2:14,
Deuteronomy 2:14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
In this instance, the period of time from Kadesh Barnea until Israel crossed into Canaan (over the brook Zered) was 38 years. And since the total time from the Exodus until Israel entered Canaan was 40 years, we know Israel was at Kadesh Barnea 2 years after the Exodus. Now recall above that it was 45 years later that Caleb and Joshua are discussing Caleb's inheritance, the same time that all of Israel's inheritances were being assigned. This means this event occurred in the 47th year after the Exodus, or the 7th year after Israel entered into Canaan. Thus we have the total time span from Israel first entering into Egypt until they received their inheritance in Canaan was 477 years, or roughly 450 years.
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