1847. 'For four hundred years' means the duration and state, that is, of the temptations. This is clear from the meaning of 'four hundred', a number which has the same meaning as forty, that is to say, the durations and the states of temptations, dealt with in 730, 862. In the Word the durations of temptations, whether brief or extended, are described by 'forty'. In the literal sense these words have regard to the length of time the sons of Jacob were in Egypt, which, as is clear from Exodus 12:40, was four hundred and thirty years, although this great length of time, as has been noted already, was measured not from the time of Jacob's arrival in Egypt but from the time of Abram's sojourning there. Four hundred and thirty was measured from the latter event because this number embodies the temptations which were represented by their slavery in Egypt, and also after that by the afflictions they endured for forty years in the wilderness.