Now this I say, that the testament which was confirmed by God, the law which was made after four hundred and thirty years, doth not disannul, to make the promise of no effect.

“Thus God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that in his seed the blessing should come upon the heathen; and this blessing the Law cannot turn aside. As this example was not in all respects appropriate to the matter in hand, he introduces it thus, "I speak after the manner of men," that nothing might be deduced from it derogatory to the majesty of God. But let us go to the bottom of this illustration. It was promised Abraham that by his seed the heathen should be blessed; and his seed according to the flesh is Christ; four hundred and thirty years after came the Law; now, if the Law bestows the blessings even life and righteousness, that promise is annulled. And so while no one annuls a man's covenant, the covenant of God after four hundred and thirty years is annulled; for if not that covenant but another instead of it bestows what is promised, then is it set aside, which is most unreasonable.”

“If the law justifies, Abraham was not justified, since he lived long before the law. Since they cannot say this, they are forced to admit that a man is justified not by works of the law but by faith. And he compels us to understand that all the ancients who were justified were justified from the same faith. For as we are saved by believing partly in a past event, that is, the first coming of the Lord, and partly in a future one, that is, his second coming, they believed the whole of it, that is, both comings as events. The Holy Spirit reveals this for their salvation.”

“After the Apostle proved by authorities that the law does not justify, nor is necessary for justification, which is through faith, here he consequently shows the same thing by human reasons. And concerning this he does four things. First, he sets down a human custom; second, he takes up the divine promise, at the words "The promises were made to Abraham," etc.; third, he draws the conclusion, at "Now this I say," etc.; fourth, he shows that the conclusion follows from the premises, at "For if of the law," etc. He says therefore: I indeed spoke openly before according to the authority of Scripture, which was brought forth not by human will, but by the Holy Spirit, as it is said in 2 Peter 1:21; but now I speak according to man, and according to what human reason and custom hold. From this, indeed, we have an argument that for discoursing about the things of faith, we may use any truth of any science whatsoever. Deuteronomy 21:11: "If thou seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou lovest her, and wilt have her to wife, thou shalt bring her into thy house" — that is, if secular wisdom and knowledge should please you, you shall bring it within your borders — "who shall shave her hair," etc., that is, it will cut away all erroneous senses. And hence it is that the Apostle in many places in his epistles uses the authorities of the gentiles, as that in 1 Corinthians 15:33: "Evil communications corrupt good manners," etc., and that in Titus 1:11: "The Cretans, evil beasts," etc. Or, although reasons of this kind are empty and weak — because, as it is said in Psalm 93:11, "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain" — nevertheless no one despises or overrides a man's confirmed testament, because nothing human has such firmness as a man's last will; but someone would despise it, if he said that a man's testament, confirmed by the death of the testator and by witnesses, were not valid. If, then, no one despises a testament of this kind, saying that it need not be kept, or despises it by altering something in it, much more should no one despise or override the testament of God, by infringing it, or by adding to it or taking away from it. Apocalypse, last chapter: "If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his part," etc. Deuteronomy 4:2: "You shall not add to the word which I speak to you, nor shall you take away from it," etc. Consequently, when he says "The promises were made to Abraham," etc., he takes up the divine promise made to Abraham, which is as it were a certain testament of God. And first he expounds this promise or testament; second, he discloses the truth of the testament, at "He does not say: And to seeds," etc. He says therefore first, "The promises were made to Abraham," as if to say: just as a man's testament is firm, so the divine promises are firm. But did God make any promises before the law? Certainly, because to Abraham, who was before the law — namely, that God would not deceive — the promises were spoken, that is, made, both to him and to his seed, by God. But they were made to Abraham, as to the one to whom they were to be fulfilled; and to his seed, as that through which they were to be fulfilled. Now he says "promises" in the plural, because the promise concerning the blessing of the seed contained many things. Or because the same thing — that is, eternal blessedness — was frequently promised to him, as in Genesis 12:3, "In thee shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed"; likewise 15:5, "Look up to heaven, and number the stars," etc.; likewise in the same place: "To thy seed I will give this land," etc.; likewise 22:18: "I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven." These promises, therefore, are as it were the testament of God, because there is a certain ordinance concerning the inheritance to be given to Abraham and to his seed. But he discloses the truth of the testament when he says: "He does not say: And to seeds," etc. And indeed he discloses it by the same spirit by which the testament was drawn up. And this is clear from the words of the testament. "He does not say," he says, "and to seeds," as if referring to many — that is, as he would speak if it held true of many — "but as of one, who is Christ," because he alone is the one through whom and in whom all can be blessed. For he alone and singularly is the one who is not subject to the curse of guilt, even though he deigned to become a curse for us. Hence it is said in Psalm 140:10: "I am alone," etc. Likewise: "There is none that doth good," etc. Ecclesiastes 7:29: "One man among a thousand I have found" — namely, Christ, who would be without all sin — "but a woman among them all I have not found" — who would be wholly free of sin, at least original, or venial. He draws the conclusion, then, consequently, when he says "Now this I say: the testament," etc., where let us see in order what it is that he says. He says therefore that this is what God promised to Abraham, but this is the testament, namely, this promise concerning obtaining the inheritance. Jeremiah 31:31: "I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant," etc. "Confirmed" — this he puts down so that it might agree with what was said before. For above he had said, "a man's testament, confirmed," etc. "By God" — namely, who promised. And I say it was confirmed by an oath. Genesis 22:16: "By my own self have I sworn," etc.; Hebrews 6:18: "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie," etc. This testament, I say, the law does not make void — the law which indeed was made, and given by God through Moses. John 1:17: "The law was given by Moses," etc. "After four hundred and thirty," etc. And, as if expounding what he had said, he adds, "does not make void, so as to make the promise of no effect." For thus would the aforesaid testament become void, if the promise made to Abraham were made of no effect, that is, made in vain, as though the seed promised to Abraham were not sufficient for the blessing of the gentiles. But through Christ the promises made to the fathers were not made void, but confirmed. Romans 15:8: "I say that Jesus Christ was minister of the circumcision, to confirm the promises made to the fathers." And 2 Corinthians 1:20: "For all the promises of God are in him," etc. Now, what is said, "after four hundred and thirty years," agrees with what is found in Exodus 12:40: "The abode of the children of Israel, during which they remained in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." And Acts 7:6: "The Lord spoke" — namely, to Abraham — "that his seed would be a sojourner in a foreign land, and they would subject them to servitude for four hundred and thirty years." But against this is what is said in Genesis 15:13: "Know for certain that thy seed shall be a stranger, and they will subject them to servitude, and afflict them, for four hundred years." I respond. It must be said that if the computation of years is made from the first promise made to Abraham, which is read in Genesis 12, up to the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, when the law was given, then there are four hundred and thirty years, as is written here, and in Exodus 12, and Acts 7. But if the computation begins from the birth of Isaac, of which we read in Genesis 21, then there are only four hundred and five years. For twenty-five years passed from the promise made to Abraham until the birth of Isaac. For Abraham was seventy-five years old when he went out from his land, and the first promise was made to him, as is found in Genesis 12. But he was a hundred years old when Isaac was born, as is found in the same place, chapter 21. That there were, from the birth of Isaac until the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, four hundred and five years, is proved by this: that Isaac was sixty years old when he begot Jacob, as is found in Genesis 25; and Jacob was a hundred and thirty years old when he entered Egypt, as is found in Genesis 27. And thus, from the birth of Isaac until Jacob's entry into Egypt, there were a hundred and ninety years. But Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, as is found in Genesis 41. And afterward there passed seven years of fruitfulness and two of barrenness, until Jacob's entry into Egypt, as is found in chapter 45. Now Joseph lived a hundred and ten years, as is found in the last chapter of Genesis. From which, if thirty-nine years are subtracted, seventy-one years remain. There were, therefore, from the birth of Isaac until the death of Joseph, two hundred and sixty-one years. Now the children of Israel were in Egypt after the death of Joseph for a hundred and forty-four years, as Rabanus says in the Gloss. There were, therefore, from the birth of Isaac until the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt and the giving of the law, four hundred and five years; but Scripture did not concern itself with the minute details. Or it can be said that in the fifth year of Isaac, Ishmael was expelled, and Isaac alone remained as Abraham's heir, and from that time there were four hundred years. Then, when he says "For if of the law," etc., he shows how it follows from the premises that the law would make the promises void, if the law were necessary for justification, or for the blessing of the gentiles. He says therefore: truly the promise would be made void if the law were necessary. For if the inheritance — namely, of Abraham's blessing — were from the law, it would then no longer be from the promise, that is, from the seed promised to Abraham. For if the promised seed were sufficient for obtaining the inheritance of the blessing, justification would not come about through the law. But he destroys the consequent, when he says, "But God gave to Abraham," etc., that is, he promised that he would give — which was as certain as if he were giving it at once — through the promise, that is, through the promised seed. The inheritance, therefore — that is, the blessing — is not from the law; concerning which it is said in 1 Peter 3:9: "Unto this you are called, that you may inherit a blessing."”

“The covenant that was before of God in Christ If, as was said in verse 15, no one annuls the testament of a man, still less can the law, which came 430 years afterwards, annul the promise of God confirmed to Abraham in Christ Note that the Hebrew berith, the Greek diatheke , and the Latin testamentum , have all the same meaning of covenant, and that the diatheke , of the LXX. is identical with sunt hike, according to Jerome, Chrysostom, Theophylact, and GEcumenius. Budaeus proves the same from Demosthenes and Aristophanes. Cf. notes to 1 Cor. xi. 25. THE SOJOURN IN EGYPT 2/3 But S. Augustine understands the term of a will. “ Because? he says, " the death of the testator has the effect of confirming his will so the unchangeableness of God has the effect of confirming His promise .” An important question is here raised as to the date from which these 430 years should be reckoned, for the terminus ad quern alone is clearly defined in this passage, viz., the year when the law was given on Mount Sinai. S. Paul’s computation seems in conflict with Exod. xii. 40, which speaks of the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt as lasting 430 years, or, in other words, which represents the time between the going down of Jacob into Egypt and the Exodus as 430 years; but the Apostle seems to count the interval between Abraham and the Exodus as 430 years. But from Abraham to Jacob’s descent was 200 years, and therefore if Exod. xii. 40 is to be followed, the Apostle should have said 630 years. I reply briefly with S. Augustine (qu. 47 in Exod.); with Athanasius, or rather Anastasius, in his “Synopsis of Holy Scripture” (in loco) ; with Eusebius, in his Chronicon; with Rupert, Tostatus, Cajetan (in Exod.), that the computation of S. Paul is identical with that of Moses in Exod. xii. 40, and that both begin to reckon, not from the descent of Jacob into Egypt, but from the seventy-fifth year of Abraham’s life, when he was called from his country to go into Canaan. It was in that year that he received the blessings S. Paul is referring to, as is evident from the beginning of Gen. xii. 1. This appears from the obvious fact that the Hebrews did not dwell in Egypt 430 years ; for Kohath went down with his grandfather, Jacob (Exod. vi. 18). But Kohath lived 133 years, and his son Amram 137 years. When Moses, Amram’s son, went out of Egypt with the Hebrews, he was in his eighty-first year ; and if all these three are added together, we get 351 only. But we must deduct from this total the years that Kohath lived after begetting Amram, and that Amram lived after begetting Moses. From this it follows that the number of 430 must be reckoned from a date long anterior to the descent into Egypt, viz., from the migration of Abraham from Haran, and this the LXX. expressly say in their rendering of Exod. xii. 40 : “ But the sojourning of the children of VOL. 11. s 274 THE EPISTLE TO THE Israel which they and their fathers made in the land of Egypt and Canaan , was 430 years I 2. Moreover, the Apostle says here that the law was given 430 years after, not the descent of Jacob, but the promise to Abraham ; but the law was given in the same year that the Hebrews left Egypt, in the third month after their departure. Cf. Exod. xix. 1, and the notes to Exod. xii. 40”

“And this I say,.... Assert and affirm as a certain truth, that is not to be gainsaid; that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul; by "the covenant" is meant, not the covenant made with Adam, as the federal head of all his posterity; for this was made two thousand years before the law was given; nor that which was made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, for that itself is the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after this covenant; nor the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham, for that was not so long by some years, before the giving of the law, as the date here fixed: but "a covenant confirmed of God in Christ"; a covenant in which Christ is concerned; a covenant made with him, of which he is the sum and substance, the Mediator, surety, and messenger; and such is what the Scriptures call the covenant of life and peace, and what we commonly style the covenant of grace and redemption; because the articles of redemption and reconciliation, of eternal life and salvation, by the free grace of God, are the principal things in it. This is said to be "in Christ", , "with respect to Christ"; though the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions leave out this clause, nor is it in the Alexandrian copy, and some others; meaning either that this covenant has respect to Christ personal, he having that concern in it, as just now mentioned, and as it was made manifest and confirmed to Abraham, was promised in it to spring from him; or rather that it has respect to Christ mystical, as before, to all Abraham's spiritual seed, both Jews and Gentiles: and this is said to be "confirmed of God", with respect thereunto; which must be understood, not of the first establishment of the covenant, in and with Christ, for that was done in eternity; nor of the confirmation of it by his blood, which was at his death; nor of the confirmation of it in common to the saints by the Spirit of God, who is the seal of the covenant, as he is the Spirit of promise; but of a peculiar confirmation of it to Abraham, either by a frequent repetition thereof, or by annexing an oath unto it; or rather by those rites and usages, and even wonderful appearances, recorded in Gen 15:9 and which was "four hundred and thirty years before" the law was given, which are thus computed by the learned Pareus; from the confirmation of the covenant, and taking Hagar for his wife, to the birth of Isaac, 15 years; from the birth of Isaac, to the birth of Jacob, 60 years, Gen 25:26, from the birth of Jacob, to his going down into Egypt, 130 years, Gen 47:9, from his going down to Egypt, to his death, 17 years, Gen 47:28 from the death of Jacob, to the death of Joseph in Egypt, 53 years, Gen 50:26 from the death of Joseph, to the birth of Moses, 75 years; from the birth of Moses, to the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt, and the giving of the law, 80 years, in all 430 years. The Jews reckoned the four hundred years spoken of to Abraham, Gen 15:13 and mentioned by Stephen, Act 7:6 from the birth of Isaac; but they reckon the four hundred and thirty years, the number given by Moses, Exo 12:40 and by the apostle here, to begin from the confirming the covenant between the pieces, though somewhat differently counted; says one of their chronologers (f), we reckon the 430 years from the 70th year of Abraham, from whence to the birth of Isaac were 30 years, and from thence to the going out of Egypt, 400 years; and another (g) of them says, "they are to be reckoned from the time that the bondage was decreed, in the standing between the pieces; and there were 210 years of them from thence to the going down to Egypt, and these are the particulars; the 105 years which remained to Abraham, and the 105 years Isaac lived after the death of Abraham, and there were 10 years from the death of Isaac, to the going down to Egypt, and it remains that there were 210 years they stayed in Egypt:'' another (h) of their writers says, "that from the time that the decree of the captivity of Egypt was fixed between the pieces, to the birth of Isaac, were 30 years; and from the birth of Isaac to the going down of the children of Israel into Egypt, 400 years; take out from them the 60 years of Isaac, and the 130 years that Jacob had lived when he went into Egypt, and there remain 210.'' Josephus reckons (i) these years from Abraham's coming into the land of Canaan, to the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and makes them 430, agreeably to Exo 12:40 and to the apostle here, and to the Talmud; See Gill on Act 7:6. However, be these computations as they will, it is certain, that the law, which was so long after the confirming of the covenant to Abraham, could not make it null and void: or that it should make the promise of none effect; the particular promise of the covenant, respecting the justification of Abraham and his spiritual seed, by faith in the righteousness of Christ. (f) Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 7. 1. (g) Juchasln, fol. 156. 2. (h) Jarchi in T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 9. 1. (i) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 15. sect. 2.”

“Confirmed before of God in Christ - i.e. The promise of justification, etc., made to believers in Christ Jesus, who are the spiritual seed of Christ, as they are children of Abraham, from the similitude of their faith. Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned to him for justification; the Gentiles believed in Christ, and received justification. Probably the word Christ is to be taken, both here and in the preceding verse, for Christians, as has already been hinted. However it be taken, the sense is plainly the same; the promise of salvation must necessarily be to them who believe in Christ, for he is the promised seed, Gen 3:15, through whom every blessing is derived on mankind; and through his spiritual seed - the true Christians, the conquests of the cross are daily spreading over the face of the earth. The present unparalleled dispersion of the sacred writings, in all the regular languages of the universe, is a full proof that all the nations of the earth are likely to be blessed through them; but they have nothing but what they have received from and through Christ. Four hundred and thirty years after - God made a covenant with Abraham that the Messiah should spring from his posterity. This covenant stated that justification should be obtained by faith in the Messiah. The Messiah did not come till 1911 years after the making of this covenant, and the law was given 430 years after the covenant with Abraham, therefore the law, which was given 1481 years before the promise to Abram could be fulfilled, (for so much time elapsed between the giving of the law and the advent of Christ), could not possibly annul the Abrahamic covenant. This argument is absolute and conclusive. Let us review it. The promise to Abraham respects the Messiah, and cannot be fulfilled but in him. Christians say the Messiah is come, but the advent of him whom they acknowledge as the Messiah did not take place till 1911 years after the covenant was made, therefore no intermediate transaction can affect that covenant. But the law was an intermediate transaction, taking place 430 years after the covenant with Abraham, and could neither annul nor affect that which was not to have its fulfillment till 1481 years after. Justification by faith is promised in the Abrahamic covenant, and attributed to that alone, therefore it is not to be expected from the law, nor can its works justify any, for the law in this respect cannot annul or affect the Abrahamic covenant. But suppose ye say that the law, which was given 430 years after the covenant with Abraham, has superseded this covenant, and limited and confined its blessings to the Jews; I answer: This is impossible, for the covenant most specifically refers to the Messiah, and takes in, not the Jewish people only, but all nations; for it is written, In thy seed - the Messiah and his spiritual progeny, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. This universal blessedness can never be confined, by any figure of speech, or by any legal act, to the Jewish people exclusively; and, as the covenant was legally made and confirmed, it cannot be annulled, it must therefore remain in reference to its object. In opposition to us, the Jews assert that the Messiah is not yet come; then we assert, on that ground, that the promise is not yet fulfilled; for the giving of the law to one people cannot imply the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, because that extends to all nations. However, therefore, the case be argued, the Jewish cause derives no benefit from it; and the conclusion still recurs, salvation cannot be attained by the works of the law, forasmuch as the covenant is of faith; and he only, as your prophets declare, who is justified by faith, shall live, or be saved. Therefore we still conclude that those who are only under the law are under the curse; and, as it says, he that doeth these things shall live in them, and he that sinneth shall die, there is no hope of salvation for any man from the law of Moses. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaiming salvation by faith to a sinful and ruined world, is absolutely necessary, nor can it be superseded by any other institution, whether human or Divine. How we arrive at the sum of 430 years may be seen in the note on Exo 12:40 (note). Dr. Whitby also gives a satisfactory view of the matter. "The apostle refers to the promise made, Gen 12:3, since from that only are the 430 years to be computed, for then Abraham was 75 years old, Gen 12:4; from thence to the birth of Isaac, which happened when Abraham was 100 years old, (Gen 21:5), 25 years; from his birth to the birth of Jacob, 60 years, for Isaac was 60 years old when Rebecca bare him, Gen 25:26. From Jacob's birth to the descent into Egypt, 130 years, as he said to Pharaoh, Gen 47:9. The abode of him and his posterity in Egypt was 215 years; so that, with their sojourning in Canaan, was 430 years;" the sum given here, and in Exo 12:40 (note).”

“this I say--"this is what I mean," by what I said in Gal 3:15. continued . . . of God--"ratified by God" (Gal 3:15). in Christ--rather, "unto Christ" (compare Gal 3:16). However, Vulgate and the old Italian versions translate as English Version. But the oldest manuscripts omit the words altogether. the law which was--Greek, "which came into existence four hundred thirty years after" (Exo 12:40-41). He does not, as in the case of "the covenant," add "enacted by God" (Joh 1:17). The dispensation of "the promise" began with the call of Abraham from Ur into Canaan, and ended on the last night of his grandson Jacob's sojourn in Canaan, the land of promise. The dispensation of the law, which engenders bondage, was beginning to draw on from the time of his entrance into Egypt, the land of bondage. It was to Christ in him, as in his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac, not to him or them as persons, the promise was spoken. On the day following the last repetition of the promise orally (Gen 46:1-6), at Beer-sheba, Israel passed into Egypt. It is from the end, not from the beginning of the dispensation of promise, that the interval of four hundred thirty years between it and the law is to be counted. At Beer-sheba, after the covenant with Abimelech, Abraham called on the everlasting God, and the well was confirmed to him and his seed as an everlasting possession. Here God appeared to Isaac. Here Jacob received the promise of the blessing, for which God had called Abraham out of Ur, repeated for the last time, on the last night of his sojourn in the land of promise. cannot--Greek, "doth not disannul." make . . . of none effect--The promise would become so, if the power of conferring the inheritance be transferred from it to the law (Rom 4:14).”