What is the context?
During the night Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and orders Israel to leave, taking the families, flocks and herds. He asks for a blessing as well. The Egyptians urge the people to go quickly, afraid that further death will follow if they remain.
Israel leaves in haste, carrying dough before it has been leavened. They also receive silver, gold and clothing from the Egyptians, whose favor the LORD has given them. Their departure with possessions recalls the promise in Genesis 15:13–14.
The journey begins from Rameses to Succoth. The account numbers about 600,000 men, besides women and children, and includes a mixed multitude with them. Their unleavened bread is tied directly to the urgency of leaving before they could prepare provisions.
The account gives 430 years for Israel’s stay in Egypt and emphasizes that the departure takes place to the very day. The night is to be remembered as a vigil to the LORD, who watched over them to bring them out. The ending turns the event into an observance for generations to come.
How is this passage commonly understood?
The chronology is read in two main ways. Keil and Delitzsch understand the 430 years as the time spent in Egypt and allow that genealogies may omit intermediate generations. Calvin and Wesley count the period from the patriarchs’ sojourn through the Exodus, drawing on Galatians 3:17. The BSB retains the statement that Israel’s stay in Egypt was 430 years. These explanations differ over how that statement relates to the other chronological passages.
The shared emphasis is God’s faithfulness in bringing the promised people out. The account also links the haste, the unleavened bread and the possessions they receive with the circumstances of their departure.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Genesis 15:13–18 had joined oppression, judgment of the enslaving nation, departure with possessions and the promised land. The Exodus brings those promises into view as events begin to unfold.
Galatians 3:15–18 places the promise in a still larger setting. Paul identifies the promised seed with Christ and argues that the law given later does not cancel God’s earlier promise. Beyond the chronological question, the New Testament directs attention to the continuing faithfulness of God and the inheritance He grants through His promise.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.