Abraham to the Exodus

The period between Abraham and the Exodus from Egypt appears to be unsolvable. The Bible does not give Jacob's age at the birth of his sons. Instead the Bible gives a reference from Jacob's life to the Exodus directly. From that we can piece back together the years for the other events in the period.

The Abraham to Exodus part of the chronology is different than earlier parts because we are now entering heavy narrative in Genesis. The numbers we need to reconstruct this part of the time line must be found through careful reading.

We also find when we tackle this problem that there are several apparent problems in this part of the chronology that must be overcome.

Overcoming these problems is as much a study in how to study the Bible as it is a mathematical puzzle.

Our strategy here will be two fold. First, we take a quick pass through this part of the time line and find the year on Adam's calendar of the Exodus from Egypt. This can be easily established. Then we work through various "missing pieces" in order to find out when each of the men recorded in this part of the chronology actually lived.

What we find when we do this is some very surprising things about when various things happened in this part of Genesis

So, now, on to the Quick Pass at the Exodus date.

Quick Pass to the Exodus

There are just a few verses needed to span this section of the chronology to the Exodus. Recall, in earlier work we have established that Abraham was born in Adam's 8784th year. We will build from that year as we move towards the Exodus. We repeat the various verses we need to span this interval here for clarity.

1 Genesis 21:5 5וְאַבְרָהָ֖ם בֶּן־ מְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה בְּהִוָּ֣לֶד ל֔וֹ אֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֥ק בְּנֽוֹ׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 21:5 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.(KJV)

1 Genesis 21:5 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.(KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 21:5 5And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. (ASV)

1 Genesis 21:5 5And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (LAM)

1 Genesis 21:5 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (RSV)

1 Genesis 21:5 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.(NIV)

1 Genesis 21:5 5Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. (WEB)

1 Genesis 21:5 5Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. (WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 21:5 5And Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (BRB)

This is also repeated two other times.1 2 So we do not miss it. Abraham was considered very old to be having kids, both he and Sarah having laughed at the possibility and so the son's name Isaac means "laughter."

Since Abraham was 100, the year of Isaac's birth was 99 years after the year of Abraham's first year, the year he was born. So the year of Isaac's birth is 8784 + 99 = 8883 After Adam.

The next generation will see the birth of twins, which we turn our attention to next.

Twins Born to Isaac

The next generation is Jacob and Esau. They are born when Isaac is 60 years old.

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24וַיִּמְלְא֥וּ יָמֶ֖יהָ לָלֶ֑דֶת וְהִנֵּ֥ה תוֹמִ֖ם בְּבִטְנָֽהּ׃ 25וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ שְׁמ֖וֹ עֵשָֽׂו׃ 26וְאַֽחֲרֵי־ כֵ֞ן יָצָ֣א אָחִ֗יו וְיָד֤וֹ אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙ בַּעֲקֵ֣ב עֵשָׂ֔ו וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְיִצְחָ֛ק בֶּן־ שִׁשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בְּלֶ֥דֶת אֹתָֽם׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esaus heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. (KJV)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was 60 years old when she bare them. (KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esau. 26And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.(ASV)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all covered with ringlets of hair; and they called his name Esau. 26And after him his brother came forth, and his hand held Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah bore them. (LAM)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they called his name Esau. 26Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand had taken hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.(RSV)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.(NIV)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. 26After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.(WEB)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. 26After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.(WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 25:24-26 24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, look, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, all covered with ringlets of hair; and they called his name Esau. 26And after him his brother came forth, and his hand held Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah bore them. (BRB)

This too is reasonably easy to compute the year of birth. Isaac's year of birth was 8884 After Adam, which was his first year so 59 years later the twins are born. 8883 + 59 = 8942.

Jacob Blesses Pharaoh

Abraham's family grows large in Canaan. By this time there are about 70 people in it. But, times are not well. Famine has gripped the promised land and the family cannot survive on the land. Deliverance comes through a lost son who has ended up as prime minister of Egypt. To Jacob, now renamed Israel's, great surprise.

At the invitation of Joseph, the lost son, the rest of the family decides to move to Egypt to escape the famine. When they arrive in Egypt Jacob has an audience with Pharaoh.

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7וַיָּבֵ֤א יוֹסֵף֙ אֶת־ יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב אָבִ֔יו וַיַּֽעֲמִדֵ֖הוּ לִפְנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־ פַּרְעֹֽה׃ 8וַיֹּ֥אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֖ה אֶֽל־ יַעֲקֹ֑ב כַּמָּ֕ה יְמֵ֖י שְׁנֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ 9וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ אֶל־ פַּרְעֹ֔ה יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י מְגוּרַ֔י שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וּמְאַ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה מְעַ֣ט וְרָעִ֗ים הָיוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י חַיַּ֔י וְלֹ֣א הִשִּׂ֗יגוּ אֶת־ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵי֙ חַיֵּ֣י אֲבֹתַ֔י בִּימֵ֖י מְגוּרֵיהֶֽם׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (KJV)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How many are the days of the years of thy life? 9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (ASV)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How old are you? 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh. The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; few and difficult have been the years o my life. and I have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (LAM)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?" 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning." (RSV)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"

9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." (NIV)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'

9Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.' (WEB)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'

9Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.' (WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 47:7-9 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How old are you? 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh. The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years; few and difficult have been the years Oh my life. and I have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (BRB)

The year this happens is Jacob's 130th and so we need add 129 years to his first year to discover the year from Adam. 8942 + 129 = 9071.

Jacob's family would remain in Egypt and not return to Canaan for 430 years.3

Since 9071 was the first year in Egypt, they would remain there for another 429 years, making the last full year in Egypt 9071 + 429 = 9500.

In the year 9501 After Adam, at Passover, in the first month, the whole assembly of Israelites depart Egypt for the promised land. Note that the first year of Adam is the year 1, so the difference between this year of departure and Adam's first year is 9500 years exactly. This is interesting because there are further dates which will align on the half-millennium boundary we are seeing here. But, more on this later, back to our story.

Note that Jacob's family would leave 430 years later, to the very day.4 Since they left on the Passover, the 15th day of the first month, they must have arrived in Egypt on the 15th day of the first month in the year of their arrival, 9071. We assume it was sometime later in that year when Jacob had his audience with Pharaoh.

Now that we've made a quick trip to the Exodus, we need to back up and find out when the rest of the events of Genesis happened. There are some hard problems which must be solved before we can say we have it complete.

So, we turn our attention back to the time from Abraham to the Exodus again, this time taking a slower journey through this period, filling in some missing details.

Slow Trip to Exodus

The reason we had to take the quick trip through to the Exodus is because there appears to be a missing chronological key.

Jacob goes to Padan Aram and there agrees to work seven years for his future father-in-law in order to buy his wife, but in a honeymoon night mixup, he finds he's been slipped his beloved's sister. No matter, says father of the bride, take them both, but remain here working for me another seven years.

Jacob agrees, and in fact remains there another 13 years before returning home with wives, kids and flocks.

Throughout this dialog we are not told what age Jacob was when he started having kids, so we are unable, so it seems, to establish the time chronology through to the Exodus using the family genealogy recorded for us.

It turns out there is a date for this, but Jacob is not the one used to date the births of the sons. To find where that date is we need to start out ahead, at the Exodus and work backwards, finding out when his sons are born and thereby finding out what Genesis uses to date their births moving forwards across the time line.

Jacob's Family in Egypt

Late in the year 9500 Moses along with his older brother Aaron appear before Pharaoh. Over about one month's time they perform a series of miracles for Pharaoh, so he will believe that the God of the Bible was real, and so that Pharaoh would let the Hebrews out of Egypt to return to their homeland, Canaan.

2 Exodus 7:7 7וּמֹשֶׁה֙ בֶּן־ שְׁמֹנִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וְאַֽהֲרֹ֔ן בֶּן־ שָׁלֹ֥שׁ וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים שָׁנָ֑ה בְּדַבְּרָ֖ם אֶל־ פַּרְעֹֽה׃ (WLC)

2 Exodus 7:7 7And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.(KJV)

2 Exodus 7:7 7And Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.(KJV/NC)

2 Exodus 7:7 7And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.(ASV)

2 Exodus 7:7 7And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh. (LAM)

2 Exodus 7:7 7Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty- three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.(RSV)

2 Exodus 7:7 7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.(NIV)

2 Exodus 7:7 7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.(WEB)

2 Exodus 7:7 7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.(WEB/HNV)

2 Exodus 7:7 7And Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. (BRB)

We also find in Exodus chapter 6 the family record of Aaron and Moses, the records of which provide the overall life lengths of certain individuals. The following table contains those values.

Name Life Length
Levi 1375
Kohath 1336
Amram 1377

We are not told how old these men are at the time they become fathers, so we are being given a different set of data. The only thing we are being told is their overall life span times. This is interesting because it can be strung together no other way besides end-to-end.

These might be absurd data values, ones without meaning, but if this is so there was no reason for the Holy Spirit to allow them to remain. Why use valuable biblical column inches with details such as this?

A simple check that we are at least close involves simply adding these numbers together. 137 + 133 + 137 = 407 years. This, combined with either Moses or Aaron's age (83 years) at appearance before Pharaoh gives an answer at 490 years. This is not bad, if the Levi, the man in question went to Egypt at age 60 or so this works. But we want a precise answer, not a general one. This only tells us we are in the ball park.

Can we get more precise? Yes. Lets keep going with the math and solve this puzzle completely. We'll take that scripture intends us to string these names together end-to-end. But, which brother, Aaron or Moses, is the one we are to use at the end of this sequence?

There is no strong biblical answer for either. Moses gets the better press in his later life, but his older brother becomes the high priest which as an office would continue through many more generations.

There is a pattern that we see in other places that the older brother gets the birthright unless something upsets that pattern. Aaron will eventually forge a calf-idol, at the prompting of the people of Israel, but he is never explicitly thrown out of office for this, so we will follow the general pattern and favor the older brother here.

Without a strong case for either brother at this point, we need further confirmation, ie: a "back-check" where we revisit this and show it did turn out to be the right choice for some other reason. That other reason will turn out to be that our choice will agree across the time line to the one already developed.

We have enough data at this point to compute birth years for each of the men mentioned earlier.

Aaron appears at age 83 to Pharaoh in the year 9500, 82 years earlier would be his first year, the year he was born. 9500 - 82 = 9418.

Amram, Aaron's ancestor, lives 137 years, so his first year is 9418 - 137 = 9281. Note that there is no single year correction here because these lives are strung together end-to-end. We have no way to know what sort of correction to apply. It turns out none is needed.

Kohath, Amram's ancestor, lives 133 years, so his first year is 9281 - 133 = 9148.

Levi, Kohath's ancestor, lives 137 years, so his first year is 9148 - 137 = 9011.

So, what does this give us? Nothing in the lives of these men, appears to link to anything in Egypt, nor to the arrival in Egypt, so it must point at something else. But what?

The answer lies in the account of Jacob's sons. We now know when one of them was born. Can we tell when the others were born? Yes, we can.

Jacob's Sons

Jacob spent twenty years in Padan Aram.8 While he was there he worked 7 years for each daughter 9 for a total of 14 years10 he then worked six years for the flocks.11 In total, Jacob spent 20 years in Padan Aram12 working for Laban.

We have a few other details, that do appear to matter. The first is that he arrived in Padan Aram after the first month, 13 so the seven years he spends working for the first wife end early in his 8th year. His wedding week with Leah and his wedding week with Rachel are therefore somewhere early in the 8th year there.

Remember, that like Noah, the seed is planted in one year, and the baby born in the next, unless we are told otherwise. Nowhere in this account are we told otherwise. So, the first baby born is in Jacob's 9th year in Padan Aram. We are given a long sequence describing the births of the first 11 children.14 The last, born on the road home, is recorded separately.15 Since we are not told otherwise, we again assume the normal case, of one baby per year.

What is unusual about this case is that there are different mothers through this list. The mother than matters for us here is Leah, the mother of the first four boys. We assume she goes through the normal cycle, while Rachel watches jealously.

This pattern is interesting because one son we already have the birth year for. We've already shown Levi to be born in 9011 After Adam. That means we can chart it, and discover the birth years of each of the sons of Jacob. The following chart shows the result.

Jacob's Son Year Born
Reuben 9009 AA
Simeon 9010 AA
Levi 9011 AA
Judah 9012 AA
Dan 9013 AA
Naphtali 9014 AA
Gad 9015 AA
Asher 9016 AA
Issachar 9017 AA
Zebulun 9018 AA
Joseph 9019 AA
Benjamin 9020 AA

Since the first son was born in the 9th year in Padan Aram, this means that the first full year in Padan Aram must have been 9001 After Adam.

This is interesting since Jacob's dream at Bethel, were he saw a ladder was 500 years, almost to the day, as the Israelites departed Egypt for the promised land.

This is interesting data, and provides two more threads which we need to work through further. The first is that Joseph's birth year is given, and we also know details of his life and arrival in Egypt. Before we address Joseph, we need to find the forward key which gets the birth table we just presented, keyed to time working forward instead of backward from the Exodus. That key is Jacob's uncle Ishmael.

Uncle Ishmael

The chronology we are following is built around the family line from Adam through to the first high priest, Aaron. In all cases except for one, the time sequence at each generation is built from the time sequence of the one before. The one exception is Ishmael. We turn our attention now to Ishmael.

Ishmael's father, Abraham, was called to go to Canaan from this point, through the rest of his life, Abraham will hear from God.

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־ אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־ לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־ הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ 2וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃ 3וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ 4וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־ חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: 2and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing; 3and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (ASV)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1NOW the LORD said to Abram, Depart from your country, and from the place of your nativity, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you; 2And I will make of you a great people, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you: and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

4¶ So Abram did as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (LAM)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."

4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (RSV)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

4So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. (NIV)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now Yahweh said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed.'

4So Abram went, as Yahweh had spoken to him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran. (WEB)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed.'

4So Abram went, as the LORD had spoken to him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran. (WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 12:1-4 1NOW Yahvah said to Abram, Depart from your country, and from the place of your nativity, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you; 2And I will make you into a great people, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you: and in you will all the families of the earth be blessed.

4So Abram did as Yahvah had spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. (BRB)

Once in Canaan, the Lord continues to speak, telling Abraham that to his offspring God will give the land. 16

After Abraham has walked with the Lord for awhile, the Lord spoke again. This time is recorded for us as well.

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1אַחַ֣ר׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־ יְהוָה֙ אֶל־ אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־ תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃ 2וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהוִה֙ מַה־ תִּתֶּן־ לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־ מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר׃ 3וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־ בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי׃ 4וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־ יְהוָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־ אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ׃ 5וַיּוֹצֵ֨א אֹת֜וֹ הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַבֶּט־ נָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֗יְמָה וּסְפֹר֙ הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים אִם־ תּוּכַ֖ל לִסְפֹּ֣ר אֹתָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ כֹּ֥ה יִהְיֶ֖ה זַרְעֶֽךָ׃ 6וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לּ֖וֹ צְדָקָֽה׃ 7וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑יו אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר הוֹצֵאתִ֙יךָ֙ מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים לָ֧תֶת לְךָ֛ אֶת־ הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ 8וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהוִ֔ה בַּמָּ֥ה אֵדַ֖ע כִּ֥י אִֽירָשֶֽׁנָּה׃ 9וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו קְחָ֥ה לִי֙ עֶגְלָ֣ה מְשֻׁלֶּ֔שֶׁת וְעֵ֥ז מְשֻׁלֶּ֖שֶׁת וְאַ֣יִל מְשֻׁלָּ֑שׁ וְתֹ֖ר וְגוֹזָֽל׃ 10וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ ל֣וֹ אֶת־ כָּל־ אֵ֗לֶּה וַיְבַתֵּ֤ר אֹתָם֙ בַּתָּ֔וֶךְ וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אִישׁ־ בִּתְר֖וֹ לִקְרַ֣את רֵעֵ֑הוּ וְאֶת־ הַצִפֹּ֖ר לֹ֥א בָתָֽר׃ 11וַיֵּ֥רֶד הָעַ֖יִט עַל־ הַפְּגָרִ֑ים וַיַּשֵּׁ֥ב אֹתָ֖ם אַבְרָֽם׃ 12וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לָב֔וֹא וְתַרְדֵּמָ֖ה נָפְלָ֣ה עַל־ אַבְרָ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה אֵימָ֛ה חֲשֵׁכָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה נֹפֶ֥לֶת עָלָֽיו׃ 13וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־ גֵ֣ר׀ יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃ 14וְגַ֧ם אֶת־ הַגּ֛וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲבֹ֖דוּ דָּ֣ן אָנֹ֑כִי וְאַחֲרֵי־ כֵ֥ן יֵצְא֖וּ בִּרְכֻ֥שׁ גָּדֽוֹל׃ 15וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־ אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה׃ 16וְד֥וֹר רְבִיעִ֖י יָשׁ֣וּבוּ הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֧י לֹא־ שָׁלֵ֛ם עֲוֹ֥ן הָאֱמֹרִ֖י עַד־ הֵֽנָּה׃ 17וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בָּ֔אָה וַעֲלָטָ֖ה הָיָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֨ה תַנּ֤וּר עָשָׁן֙ וְלַפִּ֣יד אֵ֔שׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָבַ֔ר בֵּ֖ין הַגְּזָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ 18בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא כָּרַ֧ת יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־ אַבְרָ֖ם בְּרִ֣ית לֵאמֹ֑ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֗ נָתַ֙תִּי֙ אֶת־ הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את מִנְּהַ֣ר מִצְרַ֔יִם עַד־ הַנָּהָ֥ר הַגָּדֹ֖ל נְהַר־ פְּרָֽת׃ 19אֶת־ הַקֵּינִי֙ וְאֶת־ הַקְּנִזִּ֔י וְאֵ֖ת הַקַּדְמֹנִֽי׃ 20וְאֶת־ הַחִתִּ֥י וְאֶת־ הַפְּרִזִּ֖י וְאֶת־ הָרְפָאִֽים׃ 21וְאֶת־ הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ וְאֶת־ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י וְאֶת־ הַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֖י וְאֶת־ הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13And 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; 14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.(KJV)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, 1 born in my house is mine heir. 4And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of 3 years old, and a she goat of 3 years old, and a ram of 3 years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece 1 against another: but the birds divided he not. 11And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13And 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 400 years; 14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16But in generation 4 they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.(KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? 3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; But he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. 7And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. 10And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. 11And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. 17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. 18In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, 20and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, 21and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.(ASV)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1AFTER these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward is exceedingly great.

2¶ And Abram said, O LORD God, what will thou give me, for I will die childless, and Eliezer of Damascus, one of my household, will be my heir? 3And Abram said, Behold, thou hast given me no son; and, behold, one of the members of my household will be my heir. 4Then the LORD said to him, This man shall not be your heir; but your own son that shall come out of your own loins shall be your heir. 5And he brought him outside, and said to him, Look now toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them; and he said to him, So shall your descendants be. 6And Abram believed in the LORD; and it was counted to him for righteousness.

7¶ And he said to him, I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. 8And Abram said, O LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9And he said to him, Take for yourself a heifer, three years old, a three year old ram, a three year old she-goat, a pigeon, and a young dove. 10And he took to himself all these, and cut them in two, and laid each piece against another; but the birds he did not divide. 11And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12¶ And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and, lo, fear and a great darkness fell upon him. 13And the LORD said to Abram, Know of a surety that your descendants shall be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and shall be in servitude: and they shall afflict them for four hundred years; 14But I will judge the nation which they shall serve; and afterward they shall come out with great wealth. 15And you shall depart from this life and go to your fathers in peace; and you shall be buried at a good old age. 16And after four centuries, they shall return here; for the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet full.

17¶ And it came to pass that when the sun had set and it was dark, behold there appeared a smoking furnace and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19The land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Giants, 21The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (LAM)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?" 3And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir." 4And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir." 5And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chalde'ans, to give you this land to possess." 8But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" 9He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. 13Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years; 14but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphra'tes, 19the land of the Ken'ites, the Ken'izzites, the Kad'monites, 20the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Reph'aim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Gir'gashites and the Jeb'usites."(RSV)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

2But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

4Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

6Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

8But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

9So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years. 14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates -- 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."(NIV)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'

2Abram said, 'Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?' 3Abram said, 'Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.'

4Behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 'This man will not be your heir, but he who will come forth out of your own body will be your heir.' 5Yahweh brought him outside, and said, 'Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' He said to Abram, 'So shall your seed be.' 6He believed in Yahweh; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. 7He said to him, 'I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.'

8He said, 'Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?'

9He said to him, 'Take me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.' 10He took him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn't divide the birds. 11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him. 13He said to Abram, 'Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great substance. 15But you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age. 16In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.' 17It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.'(WEB)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'

2Abram said, 'Lord GOD, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?' 3Abram said, 'Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.'

4Behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This man will not be your heir, but he who will come forth out of your own body will be your heir.' 5The LORD brought him outside, and said, 'Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' He said to Abram, 'So shall your seed be.' 6He believed in the LORD; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. 7He said to him, 'I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.'

8He said, 'Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?'

9He said to him, 'Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.' 10He brought him all of these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn't divide the birds. 11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him. 13He said to Abram, 'Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth, 15but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age. 16In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.' 17It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.'(WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 15:1-21 1AFTER these things the word of Yahvah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward is exceedingly great. 2And Abram said, Oh Yahvah God, what will you give me, for I will die childless, and Eliezer of Damascus, one of my household, will be my heir? 3And Abram said, Look, you have given me no son; and look, one of the members of my household will be my heir. 4Then Yahvah said to him, This man will not be your heir; but your own son who will come out of your own loins will be your heir. 5And he brought him outside, and said to him, Look now toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them; and he said to him, So your descendants will be. 6And Abram believed in Yahvah; and it was counted to him for righteousness.

7And he said to him, I am Yahvah, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. 8And Abram said, Oh Yahvah God, how will I know that I will inherit it? 9And he said to him, Take for yourself a heifer, 3 years old, a 3 year old ram, a 3 year old she-goat, a pigeon, and a young dove. 10And he took to himself all these, and cut them in 2, and laid each piece against another; but the birds he did not divide. 11And when the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and, look, fear and a great darkness fell on him. 13And Yahvah said to Abram, Know for sure that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will be in servitude: and will be afflicted for 400 years; 14But I will judge the nation which they will serve; and afterward they will come out with great wealth. 15And you will depart from this life and go to your fathers in peace; and you will be buried at a good old age. 16And after 4 centuries, they will return here; for the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet full.

17And it came to pass that when the sun had set and it was dark, look there appeared a smoking furnace and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18On that day Yahvah made a contract with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19The land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Giants, 21The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (BRB)

Abraham is given a great thing at this point, but he does not follow through that belief with action and he proceeds to take matters into his own hand by marrying his wife's maid, Hagar.

This wedding takes place after he has been in Canaan for 10 years.17 Abraham was called to Canaan when he was 75 years old, as we've shown above. He remains there 10 years, or through his 85th year. Then, in the next year, his 86th he weds Hagar and in that same year has a son by her named Ishmael.18 The idea that this all happens in the same year is emphasized by an expression which says he slept with her, and she conceived19 emphasizing the sudden nature of this conception.

What this is telling us is that Ishmael, unlike the other people in our story, is identified as being born late in the year, in this case late in Abraham's 86th year, the same year the seed was planted. Since we know that Abraham's first year was 8785 AA we know his 86th year was 8784 + 85 = 8869. This time, we have a birth who's placement in the year is unusual, unusual enough that we must track it.

When in this year was Ishmael born? We are not given a date, but it must have been in what we would call the "fourth quarter" of the year, since it takes about 9 months to have a baby, for a conception to occur in the same year as birth requires the birth to be late in the year.

We are told that Ishmael will live for 137 years20 so what year is the last year of his life? To run this number out we stop for a moment and put his first year as the year 8871, though his first year did overlap into the previous year. His 137th year is then 9006, though we are running about a quarter year late, so Ishmael did not make it into the last quarter of that indicated year.

The last year that Ishmael's nephew Jacob works for his first wife is 9007 AA He weds and sleeps with his new wives early in 9008 and has his first child in the normal way in 9009. The year of Ishmael's death has the same purpose in this chronology as the 500th year of Noah. It is after this year that we should start looking for children.

Ishmael is the chronological key which links the time sequence going forward. His death foretells the soon coming twelve sons of Jacob, the patriarchs of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. This is an interesting coincidence. After Jacob had stolen Easu's birthright, Esau married back into Ishmael's family. Ishmael had been promised 12 rulers too, and Esau is being shown by the chronology that these could have been his if he had not despised his birthright.

Joseph in Egypt

As we saw earlier, Ishmael was the only man not in Aaron's genealogy who was used to establish the chronology between Adam and Aaron. Only one other man in this entire era, not in the chronology, has his life length given. This man is Joseph. Altogether, Joseph lives 110 years.21

What we turn our attention to now is the life story of Joseph, and show the various years in which the events of Joseph's life take place. What we'll learn from this is that there was an unusual chronology in the time of the famine in Egypt.

Joseph's Dreams

When Joseph was seventeen22 events began to unfold that would see him a slave in Egypt. After bringing a bad report to their father about their flock tending skills, Joseph's brother begin to hate him.

When Joseph begins to have dreams about his brother's and their eventually bowing down to him they only hate him all the more.

His brothers eventually conspire to kill Joseph, but Reuben the oldest, convinces them to put Joseph in a cistern. Before Reuben can rescue his brother, a caravan of Ishmaelites purchases Joseph as a slave and eventually sells him in Egypt. The price put on Joseph's head? 20 shekels. 23

This price, 20 shekels, appears to be giving us the age of Joseph when he is sold as a slave, one shekel per year. This is consistent with the Denarius/Day principle we saw earlier, this time it is one unit of currency for each year of life.

Joseph's story continues in Egypt were he ends up as a manager over the household of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.24 25 It is here, in Potiphar's service that Joseph learns the language and ways of the Egyptians. Then, through the lustful desires of Potiphar's wife, Joseph ends up in the king's prison.26

Joseph was so skilled in administration that he even ended up running the prison.27 This is important enough to mention that this is God preparing Joseph for his later life as prime minister of Egypt. Joseph starts out as a young man learning and being mentored by a member of Pharaoh's court. It continues with the rigors of prison and then will continue with his later job in Pharaoh's court.

After some number of years, Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker. His correct interpretations will warrant an invitation to interpret Pharaoh's dreams two years later.28 At that point Pharaoh is so impressed with Joseph that Pharaoh makes him prime minister of Egypt. The time when Joseph enters Pharaoh's service is Joseph's 30th year.29

We have already established that Joseph's first year was 9019 AA so his 30th year is 29 years later, or 9019 + 29 = 9048.

We have also already established that Jacob, Joseph's father, arrived in Egypt and blessed Pharaoh in 9071 AA

The difference between these two dates is 23 years, not what we would expect. It turns out this appears to be correct. Lets work through it in detail.

The last time that Joseph's brothers arrive in Egypt they are told that two years of famine have passed and that 5 years remain.30 The time it takes to go fetch Jacob, the family and flocks, is enough to push into a new year their arrival being in the middle of the first month, at the time of Passover. So we put 9071 as the 3rd year in the seven years of famine. This means that famine in Egypt was from 9069 through 9075. We also know that there were to be 7 years of plenty before the 7 years of famine, so 9062 through 9068 were those years of plenty when Joseph collected grain for sale through the famine.

If Joseph entered Pharaoh's service in 9048 and the time of plenty starts in 9062, what gives? We have a problem. Or do we? It helps here to look at the dreams of Pharaoh.

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים וּפַרְעֹ֣ה חֹלֵ֔ם וְהִנֵּ֖ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־ הַיְאֹֽר׃ 2וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִן־ הַיְאֹ֗ר עֹלֹת֙ שֶׁ֣בַע פָּר֔וֹת יְפ֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה וּבְרִיאֹ֣ת בָּשָׂ֑ר וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָה בָּאָֽחוּ׃ 3וְהִנֵּ֞ה שֶׁ֧בַע פָּר֣וֹת אֲחֵר֗וֹת עֹל֤וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן֙ מִן־ הַיְאֹ֔ר רָע֥וֹת מַרְאֶ֖ה וְדַקּ֣וֹת בָּשָׂ֑ר וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֛דְנָה אֵ֥צֶל הַפָּר֖וֹת עַל־ שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃ 4וַתֹּאכַ֣לְנָה הַפָּר֗וֹת רָע֤וֹת הַמַּרְאֶה֙ וְדַקֹּ֣ת הַבָּשָׂ֔ר אֵ֚ת שֶׁ֣בַע הַפָּר֔וֹת יְפֹ֥ת הַמַּרְאֶ֖ה וְהַבְּרִיאֹ֑ת וַיִּיקַ֖ץ פַּרְעֹֽה׃ 5וַיִּישָׁ֕ן וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֖ם שֵׁנִ֑ית וְהִנֵּ֣ה׀ שֶׁ֣בַע שִׁבֳּלִ֗ים עֹל֛וֹת בְּקָנֶ֥ה אֶחָ֖ד בְּרִיא֥וֹת וְטֹבֽוֹת׃ 6וְהִנֵּה֙ שֶׁ֣בַע שִׁבֳּלִ֔ים דַּקּ֖וֹת וּשְׁדוּפֹ֣ת קָדִ֑ים צֹמְח֖וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶֽן׃ 7וַתִּבְלַ֙עְנָה֙ הַשִּׁבֳּלִ֣ים הַדַּקּ֔וֹת אֵ֚ת שֶׁ֣בַע הַֽשִּׁבֳּלִ֔ים הַבְּרִיא֖וֹת וְהַמְּלֵא֑וֹת וַיִּיקַ֥ץ פַּרְעֹ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה חֲלֽוֹם׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 7And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. (KJV)

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1And it came to pass at the end of 2 full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river 7 well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3And, behold, 7 other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the 7 well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed time 2: and, behold, 7 ears of corn came up upon 1 stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, 7 thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 7And the 7 thin ears devoured the 7 rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. (KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass. 3And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of grain came up upon one stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. (ASV)

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1AND it came to pass, two years later, Pharaoh dreamed; and he was standing by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven beautiful and fat cows; and they fed in a meadow. 3And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean; and stood beside the other cows on the bank of the river. 4And the ill-favored and lean cows ate up the seven beautiful and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed a second time; and, behold, seven ears of grain were growing on a single stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, seven thin ears blasted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 7And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. (LAM)

1 Genesis 41:1-7 1After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,