Genesis 15:13

Gen 15:13 And 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;

Ver. 13. Know of a surety, that thy seed.] Must first suffer, before they can enter; and so be conformed to Christ their Captain, who was "perfected by sufferings," {Heb 2:10} and came not to the Crown but by the Cross. Difficile est ut praesentibus bonis quis fruatur et futuris; ut hic ventrem, illic mentem reficiat, ut de deliciis ad delicias transeat; ut in coelo et in terra gloriosus appareat , saith St Jerome. Through many tribulations we must enter into heaven. He that will go any other way, let him (as the emperor said to the heretic) erect a ladder, and go up alone {a}

{a} Erigito tibi scalam, et solus ascendito. - Const. Mag.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 15:13. Thy seed shall be strangers — So they were in Canaan first, Psa 105:12, and afterward in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. The inconveniences of an unsettled state make a happy settlement the more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on earth. And they shall serve them — So they did the Egyptians, Exo 1:13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites, Gen 9:25, proves the distress of Abram’s seed: they are made to serve; but with this difference, the Canaanites serve under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing. And they shall afflict them — See Exo 1:11. Those that are blessed and beloved of God are often afflicted by wicked men. This persecution began with mocking, when Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, (Gen 21:9,) and it came at last to murder, the basest of murders, that of their new-born children; so that, more or less, it continued four hundred years.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:13-16 Not even 400 years of bondage could interfere with God’s plan to fulfill the covenant.

15:13 oppressed: The same word is used in Exod 1:11-12. Egypt, like predatory birds (Gen 15:11), would try to destroy Israel and hinder the covenant’s fulfillment. • Apparently 400 years is a round number (also Acts 7:6; cp. Exod 12:40; Gal 3:17). Using the chronology in the Hebrew text, the family moved to Egypt around 1876 BC, and the Exodus occurred around 1446 BC (though many scholars date the Exodus later, around 1270 BC; see Exodus Book Introduction, “The Date of the Exodus”).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Counting from the birth of Isaac to their departure out of Egypt: Which declareth that God will suffer his to be afflicted in this world.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. Four hundred years] "Which began," says Mr. Ainsworth, "when Ishmael, son of Hagar, mocked and persecuted Isaac, Ge 21:9; Ga 4:29; which fell out thirty years after the promise, Ge 12:3; which promise was four hundred and thirty years before the law, Ga 3:17; and four hundred and thirty years after that promise came Israel out of Egypt, Ex 12:41."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) Four hundred years.—The exact duration of the sojourn in Egypt was 430 years (Exo_12:40-41), and with this agrees the genealogy of Jehoshua (1Ch_7:23-27).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. a stranger] The word used (gêr) (LXX πάροικος) means more than a “sojourner” (cf. Gen_23:4, Exo_2:22).

A stranger (gêr) is properly a guest residing in another country, whose rights are in a sense protected. He may be merely a temporary sojourner (tôshâb). But as a “stranger” (gêr) he has a recognized status in the community. As a “sojourner” (tôshâb), he has none; he is a mere social “bird of passage.” The difference is that between a “resident foreigner” and “a foreign visitor.”

and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them] The personal pronouns in English are ambiguous. There is a change of subject. Israel shall be slaves to the people of a land that is not theirs, i.e. to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians shall afflict them. The LXX δουλώσουσιν, “they, i.e. the Egyptians, shall make bondmen of them, i.e. the Israelites,” gives a different turn to the first clause, and avoids the interchange of subject and object: cf. the quotation in Act_7:6.

four hundred years] See note on Gen_15:16. The figure agrees in round numbers with the number of 430 years assigned, in Exo_12:40, to the sojourning of Israel in Egypt. Cf. Act_7:6; Gal_3:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge,.... It is not said "the land" in which they were strangers, though God did judge, condemn, and punish the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and drove them out of it, to make way for Israel; but the "nation" they should "serve", meaning the Egyptians, to whom they became servants, and were very hardly and severely used by them; those the Lord threatens to enter into judgment with, and take vengeance upon them, as he did by inflicting the ten plagues on them, which brought them at last to be willing to let Israel go:

and afterward shall they come out with great substance; as they did after the four hundred years were ended, and after the Egyptian nation was judged and punished; then they came out of Egypt, with much gold, silver, jewels, and raiment, which they borrowed of the Egyptians, who were spoiled by them, though very justly; this being but a payment of them for the hard and long service with which they had served them; see the exact fulfilment of prophecy, Exo 11:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Strangers, and under bondage, &c. This prediction may be dated from the persecution of Isaac by Ismael, in the year 2112, till the Jews left Egypt, 2513. In Exodus xii., and St. Paul, 430 years are mentioned; but they probably began when Abram went first into Egypt, 2084. Nicholas Abram and Tournemine say, the Hebrews remained in Egypt full 430 years. from the captivity of Joseph; and reject the addition of the Septuagint which adds, "they and their fathers dwelt in Egypt, and in Chanaan." On these points, we may expect to find chronologists at variance.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In a land that is not theirs, i.e. in Canaan and Egypt; for though Canaan was theirs by promise, to be fulfilled in after-times, yet it was not theirs by actual donation and possession; but they were strangers in it, Gen 17:8; Psa 105:11-12.

Four hundred years, exactly four hundred and five years; but a small sum is commonly neglected in a great number, both in sacred and profane writers. There were four hundred and thirty years between the first promise, or between the renewing and confirming of the promise by the gift of Isaac, and Israel's going out of Egypt, or God's giving of the law, Exo 12:40; Gal 3:17; but part of this time Abraham with his son Isaac lived in much honour and comfort; but after Isaac grew up, the affliction here mentioned began with Isaac in Canaan, and continued to him and his posterity in Egypt till this time was expired.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Thy seed shall be a stranger — The Egyptian bondage is here foretold. That oppressive, but important, period in the history of the chosen seed, and its duration, is stated in round numbers as four hundred years. In Exo_12:40, it is said that “the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” There we have the exact statement of history; here the more general one of prophecy. For the question of chronology here involved, see note on Exo_12:40.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety literally, knowing know (cf. Gen_2:17; vide Ewald"s "Hebrew Syntax," that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land which is not there (literally, not to them, viz., Egypt, or Egypt and Canaan, according to the view which is taken of the point of departure for the reckoning of the 400 years), and shall serve them (i.e. the inhabitants of that alien country); and they (i.e. these foreigners) shall afflict them three different stages of adverse fortune are described:

(1) exile;

(2) bondage;

(3) affliction (Murphy);

or the two last clauses depict the contents of the first (Kalisch)four hundred years. The duration not of their affliction merely, but either of their bondage and affliction, or more probably of their exile, bondage, and affliction; either a round number for 430 (Calvin, Rosenm Keil, Alford), to Be reckoned from the date of the descent into Egypt (Kalisch, Lunge), as Moses (Exo_12:8-9) and Stephen (Act_7:6) seem to say, and to be reconciled with the statement of Paul (Gal_3:17) by regarding the death of Jacob as the closing of the time of promise (Lange, Inglis); or an exact number dating from the birth of Isaac (Willet, Murphy, Wordsworth), which was thirty years after the call in Ur, thus making the entire interval correspond with the 430 years of Paul, or from the persecution of Ishmael (Ainsworth, Clarke, Bush), which occurred thirty years after the promise in Gen_12:3.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thy seed shall be strangers - So they were in Canaan first, Psalm cv, 11, 12, and afterwards in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. The inconveniences of an unsettled state make a happy settlement the more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on earth. And them they shall serve - So they did the Egyptians, Exod. i, 13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites, chap. ix, 25, proves the distress of Abram's seed: they are made to serve; but with this difference, the Canaanites serve under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing. And they shall afflict them - See Exod. i, 11. Those that are blessed and beloved of God are often afflicted by wicked men. This persecution began with mocking, when Ishmael the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, chap. xxi, 9, and it came at last to murder, the basest of murders, that of their new born children; so that more or less it continued 400 years.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The founding of the Covenant

v. 13. And 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;

v. 14. and also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. The Lord Himself gives the explanation of some of the symbolical acts connected with the establishing of the covenant between Him and Abram. The latter should know for sure that his descendants would be strangers in a strange land for a matter of four hundred years, until the Lord Himself would execute judgment in their behalf and bring them out of the house of bondage, not empty, but with considerable property.

v. 16. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. Abram himself would not be obliged to share in the afflictions which would come upon his children, but would die in peace, at an advanced age.

v. 16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. The generations at that time were still reckoned at approximately one hundred years, and so four generations would represent, in round numbers, four hundred years. By that time the iniquity of the Amorites, here named as the representatives of all the Canaanites, would be fulfilled, and their annihilation by the children of Israel would come upon them as the judgment of the Lord.

v. 17. And 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. These happenings completed the symbolical events connected with the founding of the covenant between the Lord and Abram. A smoking furnace, like that used in potteries, and a torch, or cresset, passed between the halves of the animals, symbols of the glory of the Lord in fire. The animals thus are a type of the descendants of Abraham, of the children of Israel, as they were tortured almost unto death, especially by the Egyptians. The birds of prey are pictures of these enemies of Israel. That these vultures were driven away indicates that the Lord would deliver His people for the sake of the promise made to Abram. The great darkness and the horror pointed to the severity of the miseries and tribulations which would strike the Israelites. But that finally the glory of the Lord passed between the halves of the animals showed that God would at the last bring help to His people and deliver them from the hands of all their enemies.

v. 18. In 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; these two rivers would he the southern and northern boundary lines of the kingdom of Israel respectively, the brook of Egypt, the Wady el Arisch, or Rhinocolura, and the Euphrates:

v. 19. the Kenites, in the southeastern part of Canaan, and the Kenizzites, probably west of them, and the Kadmonites, toward the Euphrates,

v. 20. and the Hittites, especially numerous in what was afterward Northern Galilee, and the Perizsites, in what was later Eastern Samaria, and the Rephaims, in the Perean country east of the Jordan,

v. 21. and the Amorites, in the region west of the Dead Sea, and the Canaanites, in the upper valley of the Jordan and in the plain of Sharon, and the Girgashites, west of the Sea of Galilee, and the Jebusites, in what was later Northern Judea. The Lord purposely enumerates peoples living in every part of Canaan, in order to impress upon Abram the completeness of the possession which his descendants would enjoy. His promises never return to Him void, and He has a way of overcoming our weak faith by the perfection of His fulfillment, beyond all that we ask or understand.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

כי גר יהיה זרעך THAT THY SEED SHALL BE A STRANGER — From the birth of Isaac until Israel left Egypt was a period of 400 years. How so? Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born, and Jacob when he went down to Egypt himself stated, (Genesis 47:9) “The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years”, making together 190 years. In Egypt they were 210 years — corresponding to the numerical value of the word רדו (see Rashi in Genesis 42:2) — making altogether 400 years. If, however, you say that they were in Egypt 400 years — well, Kohath was one of those who went down to Egypt with Jacob; go and add up the years of Kohath (130), those of Amram (137), and the 80 years that Moses was old when Israel left Egypt, and you only have about 350, and you really have to deduct all the years that Kohath lived after Amram was born, and those that Amram lived after the birth of Moses (Megillah 9a).

בארץ לא להם IN A LAND THAT IS NOT THEIRS — It does not say here in the land of Egypt but in a land that is not theirs; for soon after Isaac was born it states, (Genesis 21:34) “And Abraham sojourned (ויגר) [in the land of the Philistines]”; in regard to Isaac it is said, (Genesis 26:3) “Sojourn (גור) in this land (Canaan)”, and of Jacob Scripture states, (Psalms 105:23) “Jacob sojourned (גר) in the land of Ham”, whilst of his sons it is said, (Genesis 47:4) “To sojourn (לגור) in the land (of Egypt) have we come”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

THAT THY SEED SHALL BE A STRANGER. This is a verse that is to be transposed, its purport being that “thy seed shall be a stranger for four hundred years in a land that is not theirs, and they shall enslave them, and they shall afflict them.” He has thus not specified the length of the period of servitude and affliction.There are many cases in Scripture where verses must be transposed if they are to be interpreted properly. Thus: There came unto me the Hebrew servant, who thou hast brought unto us, to mock me; And all countries came into Egypt to buy corn to Joseph;, 41:57. The meaning being: “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph.…” For whosoever eateth leavened bread, that soul shall be cut off from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day; In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats; Come, and hearken, and I will declare, all ye that fear G-d, what He hath done for my soul; They cry unto Me, My G-d we Israel know Thee; And they shall be Mine, saith the Eternal of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure, and I will spare them. There are many other such verses.The sense of the verse is: “Even though I tell you that I have given this land to your children, you should surely know that before I give it to them they shall be strangers for four hundred years in a land not belonging to them, and they shall also enslave them and afflict them.”Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the verse should be interpreted as follows]: “You should surely know that your children shall be strangers in servitude and affliction until the end of a four hundred year period commencing from this day of the covenant.” If so, G-d informed Abraham of the time of the redemption, but He did not inform him of the exact length of the exile. This too is correct.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Know for sure. God’s main point here was that the inheritance of the Land had to wait until the sin of the Emorites was complete (v. 16). Along the way, however, He revealed the suffering that would befall some of Avraham’s offspring when they failed to live up to their obligations.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויאמר...בארץ לא להם, which will never be theirs. G’d describes the lands in which the Israelites will be exiled as countries which were not included among those of which G’d had said that Avram’s descendants would inherit them. They would remain strangers in a country or countries not theirs until the conclusion of the period of 400 years of which G’d speaks here. G’d speaks of 400 years and an additional 30 years commencing now that G’d revealed this to him. [his descendants could not begin to be exiles until Yitzchok was born, 30 years after the date of this vision. Ed.] This prophecy was fulfilled, the Jewish people leaving Egypt at the conclusion of 400 years after the birth of Yitzchok, or 430 years from the date of these revelations. On the face of it, in light of Avram having been 75 years old when he migrated from Charan, we can only account for 425 years from that time until the redemption of the Israelites from Egypt. We need to assume therefore that the vision involving the 400 years was experienced by Avram while in Charan, five years before he moved to Canaan. At any rate, G’d did not elaborate how many of these 400 years would be spent in Egypt, or even if any would be spent in Egypt. Our sages however, (Seder Olam chapter 3) have said that 210 years of the 400 are accounted for by the stay in Egypt, basing themselves on an allusion contained in the numerical value of the word רדו being 210. (compare Genesis 42,2 רדו שמה). The details of the 400 years are as follows: we start with Yizchok’s birth. He was 60 years at the time Yaakov was born, and Yaakov, by his own account was 130 years old when he answered Pharaoh’s question as to his age. We therefore have the first 190 years accounted for as predating the descent of the family to Egypt. It is totally impossible to believe that the 400 years referred to by G’d’s announcement to Avram were all spent in Egypt, seeing that Kehot, a grandson of Yaakov was among those who moved to Egypt with his family, and his age at death is given by the Torah as 133 years. We know that Moses was 80 years at the time when he made his first appearance before Pharaoh, about a year before the Exodus. If the Israelites had stayed in Egypt for 400 years, then Amram, Moses‘ father, even if he had been born during the last year of the life of Kehat would have lived for 187 years assuming that Moses was born during the last year of Amram’s life. Both of these assumptions are highly unlikely, as is the likelihood of Amram living more that 187 years without the Torah mentioning any of this. In fact, the Torah specifically states that Amram lived to the age of 137 (Exodus 6,20) It is most likely therefore, that the count of 400 years does indeed begin with the birth of Yitzchok. As long as Avram’s descendants were so few in number, they most certainly deserved to be described as “strangers” even in the land of Canaan, seeing they did not own even a small part of it. If you add the fact that Yitzchok spent many years in the land of the Philistines, and Yaakov spent 20 years with Lavan in Aram, a land which would never be part of Eretz Yisrael, neither of them could truly be perceived as a resident of the land of Canaan.

ועבדום, the Egyptians will enslave them, and will oppress them. It is not unusual to apply the prefix ב to people who have been enslaved, as we find a similar construction in Leviticus 25,39 לא תעבוד בו עבודת עבד, “do not make him perform the menial duties performed by a slave.” Or Jeremiah 34,10, לבלתי עבד בם, “not to keep them enslaved.” The word עבדם i.e. עבודה is used to describe the status of the person described, whereas the word וענו refers to the manner in which such slaves would be treated.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.