430, 400, 210

The Torah describes the special covenant that was made between Hashem and Avraham Avinu. He was placed in a deep sleep and promised that the Land of Israel would be given to his seed, after having been slaves.

This event took place on Mount Chermon in the north of Israel. Most people associate this mountain with skiing, rather than the place of this momentous covenant.

It is important to know of this event in the context of explaining an apparent discrepancy, regarding the number of years the Jewish people spent in Egypt. There are three different places that give three different amounts of years.

It says that we left Egypt at the end of 430 years, 400 years, and that our stay in Egypt lasted 210 years. The explanation of this discrepancy is that 430 years was calculated from the event described at Mount Chermon. This was when Avraham was on his way to Israel. The 400 years was calculated from the birth of Yitzchak, when it became known that there would be an heir to carry on the teachings of Avraham. The 210 years was the actual amount that Yakov and his family spent in Egypt.

It is always interesting to learn of the motivation to convert. I had a student who was a scholar that carefully noted the discrepancies between the New and Old Testaments. When he was not given legitimate answers, he chose to embrace Judaism. Whenever we are confronted with apparent contradictions, we are able to give sufficient answers to all such questions. The Torah is truth and truth cannot be falsified.