“And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.”
King James Version (KJV)
3:17 And this I say - What I mean is this. The covenant which was before confirmed of God - By the promise itself, by the repetition of it, and by a solemn oath, concerning the blessing all nations. Through Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after - Counting from the time when the promise was first made to Abraham, #Gen 12:2|,3. Doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of no effect - With regard to all nations, if only the Jewish were to receive it; yea, with regard to them also, if it was by works, so as to supersede it, and introduce another way of obtaining the blessing.
Ga 3:17 And this I say. He returns to the argument introduced in Ga 3:15. The covenant . . . the law . . . cannot disannul. He has just shown that this covenant was not only with Abraham, but with his spiritual seed, and hence must continue in effect until Christ came. Hence the law, made over four centuries after the covenant was given, could not disannul it. The covenant made with Abraham is still in force. Four hundred and thirty years. According to Usher's Chronology, the promise was made to Abraham in B.C. 1921; the law was given at Sinai B.C. 1491; the interval is 430 years. But some have held that Paul made a mistake because in Exodus it said that Hebrews were in Egypt 430 years (Ex 12:12). The matter is easily explained. The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament is the one usually followed by Christ and his apostles. Its translators, following the Hebrew copy before them, render Ex 12:12, "The sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, was four hundred and thirty years". Whether this is right, or our Hebrew text, does not matter. Paul gave the usually received statement. His point was simply that the law was given many ages after the covenant with Abraham.