How Long Were We in Egypt?

How many years were the Children of Israel in Egypt? When we add the lifespans of Levi, Kehat, Amram, and Aaron, subtracting their years spent in Canaan, but not deducting the overlap between generations, we discover the years dwelt in Egypt were 430, and the years suffered in bondage were 400, exactly as written.

With this week’s Torah reading about the Exodus, follow along as we do the math and consider Daniel Langer’s suggested solution to an age-old question in his recent TRADITION essay, “Solving the Chronological Problem of the Bondage in Egypt” (Summer 2022)—now open access.