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NASB | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished)." [Josh 24:15] |
Subject: How long is a Biblical Generation ? |
Bible Note: Hi biblicalman, - You wrote, “I don't remember mentioning Passover? You must have misread what I said.” You cited the 400 years that ended in Egypt and in the next line you cited the 40 years in the wilderness. In the former you said a generation was 100 years and in the latter 40 years. These two periods of time were separated only by the Passover. Then you cited the genealogy of Joshua as representing 40 years as a generation. This genealogy includes both the 400 years that ended in Egypt and the 40 years in the wilderness. Your interpretation of these verses is contradictory and confusing. You are reading a definition of “generation” into the scriptures that simply does not exist. - You wrote: “I fail to see where I am misquoting Scripture. It says 'strangers in a land (singular) which is not theirs where they would serve them and would be afflicted for four hundred years, and also THAT NATION whom they serve will I judge, and afterward they will come out with great substance '. Clearly one nation was in mind.” I will agree with you that “on the face of Genesis 15:13” it appears that the Israelites were strangers in Egypt on land not their own and were enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. However, other scriptures contradict this interpretation. It seems that you recognize this because you understand that the generations of Moses, as written in Ex. 6:16-20 could not extend over 400 years. Therefore, you came to the conclusion that the genealogy of Moses and Aaron was shortened. It is also contradicted by Paul in Gal. 3:16-17 where it confirms that from God’s covenant with Abraham, made at the time of his offer of Isaac, till the time of the Passover was 430 years. Also, see Ex. 12:41. The Israelites were not strangers (sojourners) nor did they travel from place to place in Egypt. They came to Egypt as the invited guest of the Pharaoh himself and were given the best land on which to live. They did not fall into oppression until after the death of Joseph at the age of 110 years (Ex 1). How then can Genesis 15:13 be interpreted to be consistent with the other scriptures? The Bible does this itself in Ex 6: 4-5. Read these scripture together: - Genesis 15:13 “God said to Abram, ‘know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years’. “ - Exodus 6:4 “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned.” - Exodus 6:5 “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. See also: - Genesis 17:8 “the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan” - Genesis 23:4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you” - Genesis 28:4 “the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham - Genesis 37:1 “where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. For your consideration, Holmes |