GALATIANS—NOTE ON Galatians 3:17 came 430 years afterward. Paul is apparently referring to the Septuagint translation of Exodus 12:40, “The dwelling of the children of Israel... in Egypt and in Canaan was 430 years.” This would mean 430 years from Abraham to the exodus (the Hebrew text does not include “and in Canaan”). Another explanation is that Paul is not counting the time from the first promise to Abraham; instead he is counting from the last confirmation of that promise to Jacob before he went to Egypt in Genesis 46:3. This would then count the time in Egypt as the entire time from the “promise” to the “law.”

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