And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
And God spake on this wise. That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years - that is, speaking in round numbers, as in Genesis 15:13; Genesis 15:16. The exact period was 430 years (Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17). (Though the structure of the sentence seems to imply that they were not only 'brought into bondage,' but 'evil entreated' four hundred years it is to the former only that the four hundred years are intended to apply.)