And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
And God said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that doesn't belong to them. They will be slaves there, and the people will mistreat them for four hundred years.'
God is telling Abram that his descendants will spend 400 years as slaves in a foreign land before being freed.
📚 Historical Context
This prophecy was given to Abram (later Abraham) during a covenant ceremony around 2000 BC. God was foretelling the Israelites' future enslavement in Egypt, which would later be fulfilled when Jacob's family moved to Egypt during a famine and eventually became enslaved there. This prediction came to pass centuries later when Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage.
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