7985. It says that 'the dwelling of the children of Israel, when they dwelt in Egypt, lasted four hundred and thirty years', and in addition to this that 'at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even on this same day, all the hosts of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt'. But in actual fact the dwelling of the children of Israel from Jacob's going down into Egypt until the departure of his descendants at this time lasted no more than half that time, no more than 215 years, as is evident from chronological references in Sacred Scripture. For Moses was begotten by Amram, Amram by Kohath, and Kohath by Levi; and Kohath came into Egypt along with Levi his father, Genesis 46:11. Kohath lived 133 years, Exodus 6:18; Amram, who beget Aaron and Moses, lived 137 years, Exodus 6:20 and Moses was eighty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, Exodus 7:7. No mention is made of Kohath's age in years when Amram was born, or of Amram's when Moses was born. But the length of time the people were in Egypt was clearly not 430 years, since the ages of these three do not add up to as much as 430 years, only to 350, as one may see by adding the 133 years of Kohath's life to the 137 years of Amram's, and then these to Moses' 80 years when he stood before Pharaoh. And they are less than that if one adds the years from father's birth to son's. The length of time was 215 years, as chronological references show. But the time from Abraham's going down into Egypt to the departure of the children of Israel was 430 years, as again chronological references show. And from this it now becomes clear that 430 years here is used to mean the whole period of time beginning right back with Abraham, not with Jacob. These years have been marked out and referred to as 'the years of the dwelling of the children of Israel in Egypt' on account of the internal sense. In the internal sense those years mean a state made complete and the duration of vastation undergone by those belonging to the spiritual Church who were held back on the lower earth until the Lord's Coming, when they were delivered, matters regarding which, see 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932.