Tower Revisited

EXODUS TO SOLOMON Part 5 – Bro. David Rice

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EXODUS TO SOLOMON [Part 5] – By Bro. David Rice

[Part I]

[A]In previous issues we traced the years from Adam to the end of the Flood (1656), then to the Covenant with Abraham (427), then to the Exodus (430). We have but one period more to cover, to link the history of mankind from Adam to Solomon. This period is given in one text of scripture, namely 1 Kings 6:1.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah.

[B]The Exodus from Egypt occurred in the spring of the year, and the building of the temple began in the spring of the year also, commencing year number 480. Thus 479 complete years lapsed between the two events.

[C]The fourth year of Solomon commenced in Tishri of 967 BC. Thus the spring of that fourth regnal year was in 966 BC. Thus the date of Adam’s creation can be computed backward 966 BC + 479 + 430 + 427 + 1656 = 3958 BC. Six thousand years forward from that date bring us to 2043 AD [adding 1 year for the absence of 0 year between BC-AD divide] the anticipated date beginning the Millennium of Christ’s Kingdom.

A COMPLICATION

This is clear. The testimony of 1 Kings 6:1 is very direct. However, as is well known among students of Bible chronology, there is another text of scripture [Acts 13:20] which seems to differ. This has led to some confusion, and different opinions. The apparent disharmony has caused a great deal of discussion. It is this which appears to complicate the matter, which otherwise is clear and direct.

That other text is Acts 13:20. In this text Paul seems to say that the period of Judges is 450 years. But this is not consistent with the testimony of 1 Kings 6:1. The reason for this we illustrate below.

The first 40 years on the diagram above are the 40 years of Israel’s wandering in the Sinai. The next 6 were spent in conquering the land of Canaan before the land was divided among the tribes. Then began the period of judges, followed by the 40-year reign of Saul, the 40-year reign of David, and the first 4 years of the reign of Solomon.1{(1) To be precise, we should consider fractional years. This is almost never done, because it is detailed, and does not change the final result. But we will explain it briefly. A little over a year after the Exodus Israel left for the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 33:3, 10:11-13), where Moses sent out 12 men to spy out the land. Caleb was among them. He was 40 at the time, and 85 when the land was divided among the tribes (Joshua 14:7, 10). Therefore, the land was divided [45+1=] 46 years after the Exodus. The time was apparently after the spring / summer military season of the year, as Autumn approached that is, 46½ years after the Exodus, or 6½ years after crossing the Jordan River into Canaan. The regnal years of Saul, David and Solomon ran from Tishri to Tishri. Thus the four years of Solomon’s reign listed on the diagram begin in the Autumn, but end in the spring when the temple foundations were laid. In other words, the period was actually 3½ years rather than four. So the two parts of the diagram which involve fractional years are in one case ½ year greater, and in the other ½ year less. Six becomes 6½, four becomes 3½, but the sum is the same. Therefore, considering fractional years does not alter the overall result.}

If the period of Judges lasted 450 years, as suggested by Acts 13:20, and shown on the diagram, then as you can easily see, the total period of time from the Exodus through the fourth year of Solomon would be 580 years whereas 1 Kings 6:1 says it was 479 years.

Which is correct? Which is incorrect? How can we explain the apparent disparity, if both are sacred scripture?

The answer is relatively simple, even though not well known. Acts 13:20 is an account of a speech Paul gave impromptu [or spontaneously], in a synagogue of the Jews, which he attended as a visitor. As a matter of respectful custom he was asked if he had some word of exhortation for the gathering. He took the opportunity to briefly review the history of God’s leading of the Israelites through past times, and brought them up to Jesus who died for the forgiveness of their sins.

It was in this general review of Jewish history that Paul mentioned the period of Judges as 450 years. Paul was using a convention of the time, which was to describe the length of a period of history by summing the parts of that history that were known and recorded. This approach may not appeal to the western mind of today, but it was the custom of that time in the Middle East.

Using this approach, one finds that during the period of Judges the Old Testament provides 19 periods of time which tell us the length of oppressions, judgeships, and periods of relative peace. If one sums these 19 periods of time, the result is the number 450 exactly the sum reported by Paul. In the box below is a list of those 19 periods, and their sum.

[30]  

[In the above list, the verse reference for Rest under Ehud, is Judges 3:15,30 and not 20]

Thus Paul did not err, nor did the scripture err. Acts 13:20 reports exactly what Paul intended namely, the sum of 19 periods of time. But those 19 periods of time have some gaps unaccounted for, and several overlaps, so that the simple sum of the listed periods do not give us an accurate length of the entire period. Paul knew this. His subject was not chronology per se, and a precise count was not his concern in this general review of history he merely used the custom of his day, and prefixed the result with the word “about” to indicate the imprecision.

Note this point well the scripture is not in error. Acts 13:20 merely presents the accepted method of Paul’s day for expressing historical periods of the past.2 {(2) Another resolution is followed in the NIV and NASB [In Tamil Easy To Read] translations, which draw from different manuscripts than the common version in Acts 13:20. These translations place the 450 years, before the division of the land rather than afterward. Perhaps this is the solution. But there are two reasons why we think otherwise. (a) The source of the number 450 appears to be the sum of periods which followed the division of the land. (b) Since the Greek manuscripts underlying Acts 13:20 differ, one of them was changed. If the original said the 450 years, preceded the division of the land, there would be no apparent reason for someone to change it, and generate a conflict with 1 Kings 6:1. But if the original text put the 450 years, following the division of the land, then a thoughtful scribe, or collection of scribes, seeing the apparent conflict with 1 Kings 6:1, might have had a motive for re-expressing what they surmised was a mistake.}

THE OTHER OPTION

Another option for the problem is to simply dispute one of these texts. This is usually done by disputing the statement of 1 Kings 6:1. Sometimes this is done by supposing that the text was not original, and was added by a later editor, who made a mistake. However, there is no textual evidence for this it is simply an assumption.

Another method of disputing the text is to assume it was corrupted through copying at some time in the many centuries since its original composition. In this approach it is popular to suppose that one digit has been changed — that originally the text said 580th year, rather than 480th year — which would almost allow 450 years for the period of Judges.

This fails to grasp the source and reason for the figure in Acts 13:20, as explained above. In addition, there are two other weaknesses to this view.

(1) The difference cannot be explained as a simple one-digit error. The Hebrew texts extant today do not use digits for numbers, but write them out long-hand — such as four hundred eightieth year, rather than “480th year.”

(2) It is possible that in ancient times the scribes used a briefer method for writing numbers. A common method was to use the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet to represent the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400. In this case 580 would be written with letters representing the numbers 400, 100, 80. Therefore rather than mistaking one character for another, the error would be in dropping a character altogether —possible, but less likely.

But the actual difference is not simply 100 years, but more precisely 101 years. For in order to make a period of judges of 450 years, the number in 1 Kings 6:1 would have to read 581st year, instead of its present 480th year. The number 581 would be composed of the letters representing 400, 100, 80, 1. In other words, two characters must be dropped — which is much less likely.

WHAT ACTS 13:20 ACTUALLY SAYS

Those who insist the period of Judges was exactly 450 years fail to recognize what Paul actually says in Acts 13:20. First, Paul uses the word “about,” hos [in Greek], recognizing that the sum he reports is not the true length of the period. Vines Expository Dictionary says of this word, hos, “used of numerals it signifies ‘about.’” In verse 21 [Acts 13:21], when Paul reports the length of Saul’s reign, he does not use “about” because he is not reporting a sum of years.3 {(3) Paul does use the word “about” in Acts 13:18, about the time of forty years suffered (God) their manners in the wilderness. Israel’s wilderness wandering was 40 years, from spring to spring. But Israel was not always rebellious during that time thus about.}

Secondly, the period Paul comments on does not take us to the reign of King Saul. It takes us “until Samuel the prophet,” not “until King Saul.” When we understand the source of Paul’s information, it becomes clear why he takes the period until Samuel, but not through Samuel.

The number Paul reported, 450, is the sum of 19 periods — but the Old Testament does not give a number of years for Samuel. Thus Paul could not include Samuel in his tally. Paul’s sum takes us “until Samuel the prophet,” but no further.

This means that without 1 Kings 6:1, which spans the time from the Exodus to the fourth year of Solomon, there would be no way to know, from the Old Testament, the actual length of time that passed during this period.

If one disputes the integrity of 1 Kings 6:1, then one has no sure means of discerning the length of years from the Exodus to the Kingdom of Israel.

Thus the thread of chronology which God provides us, from Adam forward, would be broken, and we would be unable to count an accurate sum of 6000 years from Adam forward.

COULD THE JUDGES HAVE LASTED 450 YEARS?

There is good internal evidence from the Old Testament that the period of Judges, from the division of the land until the reign of King Saul, could not stretch as great a period as 450 years. This evidence we take up in the next issue.

(To be continued)

EXODUS TO SOLOMON

Part II (Continued from previous issue)

[D]In the previous issue, we discussed the apparent conflict of two texts, namely 1 Kings 6:1 and Acts 13:20. The first text yields 349 years for the period of Judges, and the second is sometimes thought to yield 450 years for the same period. How is this conflict resolved?

The article in our last issue explained that both texts are actually correct, once we understand what the writers intended. 1 Kings 6:1 gives a period of 479 years from the Exodus to the spring of the fourth year of Solomon. When we subtract from these 46 years from the Exodus to the Division of Canaan by Joshua, which precedes the period of Judges, and from the backside the 40 years of Saul, 40 of David, and 4 of Solomon, the remaining 349 years define the length of the Period of Judges [including Samuel the prophet].

Acts 13:20, on the other hand, simply reports the sum of 19 periods of time mentioned in Judges and 1 Samuel. It accurately reports the sum as 450 years. These 19 periods of time do not take us to King Saul, but rather to the Prophet Samuel, so the period referred to here is not quite the same period as referred to by the 349 years mentioned above. Also, within those 19 periods there are considerable overlaps. It is these overlaps which allow this text to accord with the testimony of 1 Kings 6:1. Thus one inspired text accords with another inspired text.

COULD THE JUDGES HAVE LASTED 450 YEARS?

However, in spite of the evidence we have examined, some of the dear brethren are attracted to the view that the Period of Judges, rather than lasting but 349 years until the first year of king Saul, instead endured for 450 years. Thus we renew the question, left over from last issue. Could the period of Judges have lasted 450 years? Other than 1 Kings 6:1, is there any other specific evidence in the Old Testament which shows this length to be too great for the period?

Yes. There are two areas of evidence on this question which agree that 450 years are too many. [1] One is from genealogy, and [2] the other is from the narrative of the Book of Judges itself. [The second evidence is covered in the next issue]

[1] EVIDENCE FROM GENEALOGY

In the closing verses of the Book of Ruth appears a genealogy of King David, traced back to Pharez, son of Judah, son of Jacob. [Ruth 4:18-22]

The reason for specifying this genealogy is clear. David was appointed by God as King of Israel to succeed Saul. David’s posterity was to hold the right of ruler-ship until Christ would come. It was important to show that David descended from Judah, for Jacob predicted in his closing years that the line of kings leading to Christ would come from Judah. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (Jesus) come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (as people gather to a king) (Genesis 49:10).

Here is that genealogy from Ruth 4:18-22. Now these are the generations of Pharez:

Evidently this is a complete and unabridged line of descent. This is important to its purpose, namely, showing an uninterrupted testimony of King David’s lineage from Judah, thus qualifying him to have the office he held. Also, this lineage agrees with the testimony of 1 Chronicles 2:5-12. [1 Chr. 2:5-15 Up to David]

The completeness of the lineage is also suggested by the number of generations involved. Some of our readers will be aware of the peculiar circumstances by which Judah fathered the twins, Pharez and Zerah. The account is in Genesis chapter 38. It is not complimentary of Judah. Nevertheless, it honestly records the incident because it is a necessary link from Judah to David. The matter seems to fall under the ban of Deuteronomy 23:2, A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Counting from Pharez forward, as the genealogy contained in Ruth does, we have these generations Pharez [1], Hezron [2], Ram [3], Amminadab [4], Nahshon [5], Salmon [6], Boaz [7], Obed [8], Jesse [9], David [10] – 10 in all. If Deuteronomy 23:2 means an illegitimate child and his descendants do not enter into the congregation of the Lord until1 the 10th generation, then David, being the 10th generation from Pharez would be qualified for the anointing of God. This is an additional evidence that the 10 generations are a complete and unabridged genealogy from Judah’s son Pharez, to and including King David. {(1) We seek the mind of the Lord on this, as every verse we study (Proverbs 25:2, Matthew 13:52). The connection of 10 generations in Deuteronomy 23:2, and 10 generations in the genealogy of David, lead us to embrace the connection between the two. (This connection is not original with us.) If the proscription of Deuteronomy 23:2 means the 10th generation is itself still debarred, then our point does not hold. Thus we are inclined to suppose the intent of the text is until the 10th generation. The word “to” appearing in many translation is not an independent word in the Hebrew text. Evidently it is inferred by the translators. We suppose the inference of “until” rather than “to” is equally feasible.} [In Tamil see Deu. 23:2 in Thiruvivilliam translation]

WHY ARE THESE TEN GENERATIONS IMPORTANT?

The reason this genealogy is important to our subject, is the part of the genealogy from Salmon through David — Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David — Salmon was one of the Israelites who participated in crossing the Jordan, taking Jericho, and conquering the land of Canaan. He actually married Rahab, the woman of faith who spared the spies Israel sent to spy out Jericho before that city was destroyed.

Therefore, these five generations, Salmon through David, span the Period of Judges, and onward into the reigns of Saul and David. This shows that the period of Judges could not have lasted for 450 years, for there are not enough generations to span the time. Indeed, there are barely enough to allow 349 years for the Period of Judges and even at that, the fathers in each case must have been very elderly at the birth of the next link in the genealogy.

Here are the specifics. Rahab was an adult woman when Jericho was conquered. She was contemporary with Moses, Aaron, and Joshua, who we know lived to the ages of 120, 123, 110 years respectively [Deu. 34:7; Num. 33:39; Josh. 24:29], so people were living longer then than now. How old might Rahab have been when she became the mother of Boaz? (Matthew 1:5). Suppose she was 20 when the Israelites took Jericho, and 60 when she gave birth to Boaz. That means 40 years after the taking of Jericho, or 34 years into the Period of Judges.

Since King David was 30 when he began to reign after the death of King Saul, and since Saul reigned 40 years (Acts 13:21), David was born 10 years after the Period of Judges. Now suppose that the Period of Judges was indeed 450 years as some suppose. That means from the birth of Boaz, until the birth of David, would be — 450 years, less 34 years, plus 10 years — 426 years.

These 426 years would be spanned by three persons — Boaz until the birth of Obed, Obed until the birth of Jesse, and Jesse until the birth of David. Is this possible? Really it is not. 426 years, divided into three parts, is 142 years each. Which means Boaz, Obed, Jesse, must have averaged 142 years each when their son was born. At this period of history, people were not living long enough. This disproves that the Period of Judges was 450 years long.

Unless … unless there were missing generations in the genealogy. Is this possible?

Let us examine this possibility. Was Salmon the actual father of Boaz? Matthew 1:5, 6 says, And Salmon begat Booz of Raheb; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias. In three cases the mother is mentioned, because of the peculiar circumstances (Rahab was of Jericho, Ruth was of Moab, and Urias’ wife Bathsheba was taken by David). Apparently Matthew believed that Boaz (Booz) was the actual son of Rahab and Salmon.

We know from the story of Ruth that Obed was the actual son of Boaz.

We know from the story of King David that he was the actual son of Jesse.

The only link left is from Obed to Jesse. Was Obed the actual father of Jesse, or merely a forefather of Jesse? We judge that he was the actual father, for three reasons. (a) There is no evidence from any other source to suggest otherwise. (b) Ruth 4:17 explicitly says of Obed, he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. (c) Probably the genealogy closing the book of Ruth was added by Samuel, the apparent author of the following books we know as first and second Samuel. Samuel would have known the name of the father of Jesse, because Samuel was contemporary with Jesse, he knew Jesse, he spoke with Jesse, and he knew Jesse was the father of God’s appointment for king. To pass over the name of Jesse’s actual father in the sacred record, when it was readily available to Samuel, would be improbable.

Thus we conclude again that the genealogy closing the book of Ruth is complete. Which means the Period of Judges was not as long as 450 years.

BUT WHAT OF 349 YEARS?

If the Period of Judges was 349 years, then the average age of Boaz, Obed and Jesse when the next link of descent was born would be 108 years. This also seems very old — but was it possible? Yes, it is possible. Jehoiada lived for 130 years [2 Chr. 24:15], somewhere during mid part of the period of Kings — this was extraordinary, but also much later than Salmon, Boaz, and Jesse. Moses, Aaron and Miriam all lived past 120, and Moses was not yet dimmed in strength or eye at the time. The generation after them could have lived equally long. Levi, the forefather of Moses, was perhaps 118 when his daughter Jochebed was born, who was the mother of Moses.2 {(2) Joseph was 39 when Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt. Levi was perhaps four years older than Joseph, so about 43 at the time. From then until the Exodus was 215 years. Of that period, Moses was born 80 years before the end. If we suppose Jochebed was 60 years old when she gave birth to Moses, then this was 75 years after her father Levi entered Egypt. Thus Levi would have been 43 plus 75, or 118 years of age, when his daughter Jochebed was born.}

Jesse had eight sons, and was esteemed an old man in the days of Saul when David, the last born, was still young (1 Samuel 17:12-14). Apparently Boaz was old when he married Ruth, for he was a man of substance and stature, and commended Ruth for not following the young men (Ruth 3:10). We do not know about Obed, but since the facts seem to require it, perhaps he also was old when Jesse was born. Thus, if the genealogy is complete, 349 years for the Period of Judges is possible. But 450 would not be credible.

This is one line of evidence the genealogy of David. There is a second line of evidence, internal to the Book of Judges, which is consistent with 349 years for the Judges, but not with 450 years. This second line of evidence we hold for the next issue.

NOT A TRIFLING MATTER

It is rare for a Christian publication to spend as much time, space, and thought on the subject of Bible Chronology as we do here. The reason we do is because we are at the very threshold of the Millennium — only 37 years [now only 18 years] distant, if we apprehend the divine word correctly. The importance of this matter to the closing work of this age should be apparent to all thoughtful Christians.

EXODUS TO SOLOMON

(Part Three)

This is part of our series on Bible Chronology. [E]In the first two segments of this portion, from the Exodus to the fourth year of King Solomon, we saw that the period of Judges lasted 349 years. That was the period of time from the division of Canaan among the Israelites after their conquest of the land, until the anointing of Saul as king of Israel.

1 Kings 6:1 is the text from which this period of 349 years is calculated. That text specifies that 479 years passed from the Exodus until the founding of Solomon’s Temple in the fourth year of his reign. From this we deduct the 40 years Moses led the Israelites in the wilderness, and the 6 years spent conquering Canaan, from the front part. We deduct the 40 years of Saul, 40 of David, and 4 of Solomon, from the back part. The portion remaining is 349 years, commonly called the “Period of Judges.” This is illustrated in the box below.

This differs from the number 450 used by Paul in Acts 13:20. As we observed earlier, Paul secured his number from a simple sum of 19 periods of time mentioned in Judges and 1 Samuel, which reach until Samuel’s judgeship. (Paul’s count takes us only until Samuel, because the Old Testament supplies no specific number of years for his judgeship.)

The reason the sum of the periods exceeds 349 years by so much is that many of those periods overlap one another. [F]In our last issue we observed that if these periods did not overlap, so that the Period of Judges lasted 450 years or more, the few generations from Rahab to David would be insufficient to span the distance. This is evidence that a shorter period is called for, such as the 349 years indicated by 1 Kings 6:1.

[2]There is also internal evidence in the Book of Judges for the shorter period. That internal evidence shows that various periods during the time of Judges did indeed overlap. That evidence is the subject of this article.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE

The Israelites frequently slipped into sin by following the gods of the Canaanites. For this reason, God would allow foreign armies to oppress them for a time, but when the Israelites cried to Jehovah for help, he would send a Judge to deliver them. This happened repeatedly. In each case we are told how long the oppression endured, who saved them, and usually how long the Israelites had peace thereafter. Here is a list of the first four episodes.

Following this, Abimelech, one of the sons of Gideon, exalted himself to be a king, but after three years he was killed in a period of civil war. So closes the 9th chapter of Judges. [Judg. 9:22,53-54,56] Two other judges followed, namely Jair and Tola. [Judg. 10:1,3] Then Israel slipped into idolatry again.

TWO OPPRESSORS

This time the idolatry was so severe, God allowed not one, but two oppressors to afflict Israel simultaneously, in two different parts of Israel. “The anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon” (Judges 10:7).

The narrative then discusses the Ammonite oppression in the eastern part of Israel. Its length was 18 years. [Judg. 10:8] It was relieved by Jephthah, as explained in the remainder of chapter 10, and chapters 11 and 12. [Judg. 10,11,12]

After completing the account of the Ammonite oppression, the Book of Judges then lists three judges who followed Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. These judged consecutively for 7, 10, and 8 years. [Judg. 12:8-9,11,13-14] So starting with the Ammonite oppression of 18 years, and including Jephthah’s judgeship of six years [Judg. 12:7], this accounts for 49 years since the beginning of the oppression.

PHILISTINE OPPRESSION

But what of the Philistine oppression? The Philistines were in the southwest of the land of Israel, near the original allotment of the tribe of Dan, and near the border of Judah. How long did this oppression last? How was it ended?

The writer of Judges returns to this matter at the beginning of chapter 13. He first repeats the cause of that oppression, namely the sins of the Israelites. “The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years” (Judges 13:1).

Now we learn for the first time the length of that oppression — 40 years. Then begins the story of Samson, a child promised to Manoah and his wife. God sent an angel to the wife of Manoah, who told her the child to be born shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:5).

It is clear from this that the oppression had already begun before Samson was born, and it would not end until after Samson had died — for he would only begin to deliver Israel. Thus his entire life was included within the 40 years of Philistine oppression. Judges 15:20 and 16:31 [Judg. 15:20; 16:31] tell us Samson judged Israel for 20 years, and the first text adds “in the days of the Philistines.”

Evidently Samson “judged” Israel in the sense of avenging them against the Philistines. This must have begun when Samson was a young man in his teen years, and had cause against the Philistines because of a young Philistine lady he courted for a wife. His service ended 20 years later when he collapsed the house of Dagon upon himself, taking with him 3000 Philistines, among them many leaders and nobles. [Judg. 16:27]

This must have substantially weakened their ability to oppress Israel, but it did not end the oppression. When did that Philistine oppression end? It must have ended soon after Samson’s death, because he was born during the oppression, lived to his late 30s, and died before the end of the 40-year oppression.

But how did it end? Who brought it to an end? Where is the account which describes this? The end of every other oppression is narrated in Judges. Where is the narration for the end of the Philistine oppression?

A BREAK IN THE NARRATIVE

The answer is hidden from the casual reader. But it is there. It follows in 1 Samuel 7:10-17. So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel (verse 13).  [1 Sam. 7:13]

The connection is hidden by the intervening chapters of Judges, and the story of Ruth. Those intervening narratives record three important episodes which all occurred much earlier in the period of Judges. Before going on to the history of Israel’s Kingdom, which began with Saul, these narratives must be included. They were not recited earlier, because they do not pertain to any specific judge. So they are appended here, before the Book of Judges closes, before proceeding on to other stories which take us into the Period of Kings.

[Episode 1] Judges chapters 17 and 18 [Judg. 17;18] describe how much of the tribe of Dan went into lasting idolatry. [Episode 2] Chapters 19-21 [Judg. 19-21] explain how the tribe of Benjamin was nearly exterminated. [Episode 3] The Book of Ruth explains the family history of King David.

With these vital pieces of history completed, the narrative then turns to Samuel, who led Israel at the end the Philistine oppression. He also was a child of promise, and he also was a Nazarite from the womb — just like Samson. [Judg. 13:5; 1 Sam. 1:11] In fact, the two were contemporaries, Samson evidently preceding Samuel by a little.

In this they are a picture of two others who would come much later to deliver God’s people. These were John the Baptist — also a child of promise and also a Nazarite — and Jesus of Nazareth, also a child of promise and an antitypical Nazarite. His consecration to God fulfilled what was represented under the Law by the vow of the Nazarite. These two contemporaries, John the Baptist and Jesus, brought Israel back to God, and into the blessings of the Gospel Age.

At the approach of the second advent of Christ another couplet of consecrated brethren did a parallel work for spiritual Israel. These were Bro. William Miller, leader of the Adventist movement in America who announced the soon coming of Christ, followed by Bro. Charles Russell, leader of the harvest movement who announced the actual return of Christ. But this digresses [or deviates from our Chronology focus]. We return to the narrative about the Philistines.

SAMUEL

While explaining the birth of Samuel as a promised child of Hannah, the first chapter of 1 Samuel necessarily introduces Eli who judged Israel as a priest during the time Samuel was born. Eli judged Israel for 40 years (1 Samuel 4:18). During this time Samuel grew under his tutelage [or guidance or coaching]. While Samuel was a young man, Eli fell and died when he heard the news that the Ark of God was lost to the Philistines in battle. [1 Sam. 4:17-18] 1 Samuel 4:9 tells us that at that time, the Philistines had already been oppressing Israel for some time. The ark was returned to Israel a few months later [1 Sam. 6:1], but then spent 20 years in Kirjath-jearim before the Philistines were finally vanquished (1 Samuel 7:3). [1 Sam. 7:2-3]

This means there were about 21 years from the loss of the ark (when Eli died), to the end of the 40-year Philistine oppression. Therefore, that oppression overlapped the last 19 years of Eli’s judgeship. Therefore, Eli’s judgeship began about 21 years before the Philistine (and Ammonite) oppression began, and about 22 years before Samson was even born. This is illustrated in the box at the bottom of this page [now below].

The Chart at the right [now above] illustrates the overlapping of Eli, the 40 year Philistine Oppression, the life of Samson, the life of Samuel, and the 18 year Ammonite Oppression. The key to Judges is recognizing that the Philistine Oppression of Judges 10:7, and the Philistine Oppression of Judges 13:1, are the same oppression. When this is understood, all the episodes in Judges fit readily into the 349 years allowed by 1 Kings 6:1.

Notice the number of overlapping periods. These overlaps are implicit in the history recorded in Judges. The 40 years of Eli’s Judgeship, the 20 years of Samson’s Judgeship, the 40 years of Philistine oppression, the 49 years of Ammon, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon — these all overlap. This is why the actual period of the Judges is so much less than the simple sum of all the periods listed in Judges and 1 Samuel.

[Additional Chart given below from Appendix C – Period of Judges, of The Stream of Time, By Bro. David Rice, page 109.]

Judges 11:26 says there were about 300 years from the time Israel came into the eastern part of their promised land, until the Ammonites oppressed Israel. Perhaps that figure is a round number, but the actual figure would be close. We will use it as though it were an actual figure, and the reader can make any mental adjustment he or she wishes.

Then from the division of Canaan among the Israelites, six years after they entered the eastern part of the promised land, until the beginning of the Ammonite and Philistine oppression, would be 294 [or 293 if 6.5 years is rounded to 7 years] years. This allows another 55 years until the 349 years of the Period of Judges ended when Saul was anointed king.

If Samuel was born a year after Samson, and Samson a year after the Philistine oppression began, then Samuel would be 38 when the Philistines were defeated, and about 53 when Israel demanded a king. By that time his grown sons had shown their bad characters. Samuel would live perhaps another 30 years,1 until about the age of 83.2 {(1) The reason we say Samuel lived about another 30 years after Saul was anointed, is that Samuel lived to anoint King David as a young man. Suppose Samuel lived until David was 20 years of age. That would be ten years before David became king at age 30 (2 Samuel 5:4). Since Saul reigned 40 years (Acts 13:21), there were 30 years from Saul’s anointing until that time. (2) If the 300 years of Judges 11:26 take us to the beginning of Jephthah’s judgeship, rather than the beginning of the 18-year Ammonite oppression, then Samuel would have been 18 years older than the ages we list.  This is possible. Eli died at the age of 98 by a fall. [1 Sam. 4:15] Samuel could have lived to be about the same age. If Samuel was born more than a year after Samson, and / or the 300 years Jephthah refers to were rounded off and were actually a little less, Samuel would have lived to his late nineties, as Eli did.}

THE SIGNIFICANT POINT

The significant point to notice is this. The overlaps described above, which seem evident from the text, limit the length of the period of Judges. From the division of Canaan, until the judgeship of Samuel — or even to the anointing of Saul — could not have been 450 years. For in that case Samuel would have lived to something like 183, rather than simply 83 — an impossible age for that time.

Thus the internal evidence from the Book of Judges is consistent with the testimony of 1 Kings 6:1.

Therefore, we have three witnesses to the shorter length of the period of Judges. (a) The explicit statement of 1 Kings 6:1, (b) the evidence of the genealogy leading to King David, (c) the internal evidence of the narratives in Judges and 1 Samuel. The latter two support the integrity of the testimony of 1 Kings 6:1.

Without God providing us the crucial testimony of 1 Kings 6:1, we might estimate the period from the Exodus to Solomon, but we would be at a loss to know the precise number of years. Thus we would be unable to determine a connected and reliable count of years from Adam forward through to Solomon. Remember that Acts 13:20, which has been relied upon by many, does not give us the necessary information. For (a) that text merely reports a sum of periods listed in Judges and 1 Samuel without regard to overlaps, (b) that text takes us until Samuel, rather than until Saul, and no text tells us the specific years of Samuel’s judgeship.

The testimony of 1 Kings 6:1 has been challenged, because of its apparent inconsistency with Acts 13:20. But now we see the reason for the difference. Now we see that both texts accurately report what they intend. Neither is in error. Neither sacred record need be disputed. The value of Acts 13:20 is that it assures us of the integrity of the periods listed in Judges. The value of 1 Kings 6:1 is that this text, and only this text, yields a precise figure to span the time from the Exodus to Solomon, thus bridging over any uncertainties in the Period of Judges. Let us therefore receive with appreciation what God has provided.

A CONNECTED THREAD

This finding connects the thread of Bible chronology from Adam, to the flood, to Abraham, to the Exodus, now to the reign of King Solomon near the time when the history of Israel is linked to the history of other nations. This allows us to assign an historical date. By this means the beginning of Solomon’s first regnal year can be dated to Tishri of 970 BC. Thus the spring of his fourth year, when Solomon’s Temple was founded, was in 966 BC.

From this date we can count backward through scriptural time to Adam and 6000 years forward from there take us to 2043 AD. Evidently that year will commence the long looked for Seventh Millennium the Thousand Years of Revelation 20:6.

That millennium will commence in a crescendo of troubles described as the seventh plague of Revelation 16. But shortly thereafter, the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ will begin to flow as a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1).

Then the weary world will realize the wonderful blessings God has for them. They will need but the humility to accept them by the means God offers them.

– By Br. David Rice – Part I from Faithbuilders Fellowship, April 2006 issue, Part II from Faithbuilders Fellowship, June 2006 and Part III from Faithbuilders Fellowship, July, August 2006 issue.

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Good subject.

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