The Bible tells us practically nothing about the details of the Hebrews’ stay in Egypt except near its beginning and ending, although a great deal is known from archaeology concerning the Egyptian Empire during those times. (Exodus 12.41) indicates that it lasted precisely 430 years, that it began after Joseph was taken into Egypt by the actions of his brothers, and that it ended when Moses was commissioned by Jehovah God to bring His people out of bondage.

The story of Joseph is a fascinating one. He was the son of Jacob and Rachel, being one of twelve brothers born of Jacob’s two wives and two concubines. Joseph was obviously Jacob’s favorite, an "honor" that was to bring him much grief at the hands of his jealous brothers. He was also a dreamer in both a figurative and a literal sense, causing his brothers to contemplate his murder and motivate them to scornfully abandon him in a well.

He was later fished out by a group of nomads heading for Egypt who sold Joseph to Potiphar, captain of the Egyptian guard, where he became a household slave. As if that were not enough humiliation, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, then when spurned, accused him of attempted rape. Surely Joseph’s subsequent imprisonment could have made him a bitter man by such unjust treatment, but the beauty of his true inner character became evident through these trials.

Nor did his steadfastness toward God go unrewarded, for he was eventually brought to an elevated position as the Egyptian Pharaoh’s right-hand man by the Lord’s providential care. When Joseph’s prediction of an extreme famine hit the entire region a few years later, his brothers were forced to come to Egypt for food. Guess who they had to face for that appeal? A lesser man would have seen this as an opportunity for sweet revenge, but Joseph saw it as God’s working when his brothers groveled before him after Jacob’s death. His assessment reveals His Godly attitude toward the whole affair.

Thus it was in this way that "Israel" and his family found themselves in a foreign land, away from their promised inheritance. Little could they know that what started out on such a note of forgiveness and protection would centuries later degenerate into a time of attempted genocide against them at the hands of a cruel despot.

The 430 year sojourn of "Israel" in Egypt officially began when Jacob and his family entered Egypt, enabling the following calendar summarizing the important events beginning and ending this period.

REDEMPTIVE PLAN