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BIBLE CODE 251

CODE 166	CODE 196	CODE 228	CODE 243	CODE 251	CODE 294
CODE 427	CODE 490	CODE 590	CODE 666	CODE 01010	CODE 1260
CODE 1900	CODE 1975	CODE 2300	CODE 6000	FEAST CODE	RABBI CODE

Exodus to Era of Jerusalem - 251 Yrs.
by Floyd R. Cox

Here is a riddle wrapped within an enigma. How can we feel certain about when Creation took place (such as 4004 BC) if we don’t even know for sure when the Exodus from Egypt took place? A common belief is that the Exodus was in 1447 BC (479 years before the temple in 968 BC). An Exodus 192 years later, in 1255/1254 BC (251 x 5), fits the profile even better.

Repetition of 251 Years from the Exodus to the Era of Jerusalem

105 pages, 18 tables

251 or 479 or 590 years after the Exodus

Scholars debate whether this period from Exodus to David & Solomon should be 251 or 479 or 590 years, and we even find examples of each of these three beliefs in the first century. In Acts 13:20, the Judges lasted 450 years. But the temple was allegedly 479 years after the exodus (I Kings 6:1), only seven generations after Solomon’s ancestor at the Exodus.

The main problem is found in the period of the Judges. The Israelites were oppressed consecutively by six neighboring armies for 111 years altogether, and were rescued by judges that ruled 339 years. So there are three texts that render the period of the Judges three different ways.

Table 1. Three Basic Ways to Interpret the Judges
Exodus & Wilderness	40	40	40
Rulers during Joshua & Elders	43	43	43
Oppressions = 111 yrs., Judges = 339 yrs., and both down to Eli = 450 yrs.	111	+339	=450
From Samuel to when David captures Jerusalem (or to the temple)	57	57	57
From Exodus to the capture of Jerusalem (or to the temple)	251	479	590

Keys provided for calculating the period from the exodus to the temple are:

1. Jepthah was 300 yrs. after Joshua crossed the Jordan (Jud 11:26), 340 yrs. after the exodus.

2. There were 139 years between Jephthah and the temple (I Kings 6:1).

3. The judges ruled for 450 years (Acts 13:20), 339 years or 111 years (111 + 339 = 450).

4. The temple was 479 years (the 480^th year) after the exodus (1 Kings 6:1)

5. Classical Greeks, as Josephus, thought there were 590 years from the exodus to the temple.

These indicate there were also 100 (43 + 57) other years before and after the 111, 339 or 450 years as in TABLE 1.

Years from Adam to the fall of Babylon
The Original 427-Year Pattern

TABLE 2 shows that, 427 years after Noah’s flood, Abraham was age 75 (when his father died, when he first entered Canaan). It shows also that his 75^th year was 427 years before the Exodus. This would mean there were 854 years from the flood to the exodus. Moreover, it is believed there were 427 years from Solomon’s temple in 966 BC to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC.

The 427-year pattern is not quite as evident between Adam and the flood and the pattern between the exodus and Solomon’s temple.

Exodus 40

Jephthah 299

Other yrs 140

479

Exodus 40

Judges 111

Other yrs 100

251

Exodus 40

Judges 339

Other yrs 100

479

Exodus 40

Judges 450

Other yrs 100

590

TABLE 2. The Original 427-year Pattern from Adam to the Fall of Babylon

Adam

Flood

Abraham

Exodus

Temple

Fall of

Age 75

Founded

Babylon

539 BC

427 yrs.

479 – 52 =
427 yrs.

427 yrs.

427 yrs.+ 52
479 yrs.

427 yrs.

The 427-year pattern is not quite as evident between Adam and the flood and the pattern between the exodus and Solomon’s temple.

Nevertheless, here are some proofs there was originally a 427-year pattern:

1. I Kings 6:1 says there were 479 years between the exodus and Solomon’s temple, that is, Solomon founded the temple in the 480^th year. This is 52 years more than 427. But why would someone add 52 years? This will be covered.

2. Genesis 5 and 11 show there were 1656 years between Adam and the flood. If we add 52 years, we would have 1708 years, that is, 427 times four. But why would someone subtract 52 years? Will be covered below.

3. Regardless of the 52 years, there were 427 years times seven from Adam to the temple and 427 years times eight from Adam to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC.

4. Traditionally, we believe there were 1656 years from Adam to the flood and 479 years from the exodus to the temple. These together amount to 2135 years. This is 427 times 5.

5. The flood, Abraham’s calling, and the exodus were during sabbatical years. Sabbaticals are during years 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49, etc. Here is evidence that these events were during sabbatical years:

6. Shem was age 98 (7 x 14) at the flood, and Noah lived another 350 years (7 x 50) after the flood.

7. Abraham was called 427 years after the flood. Since 427 years equal 61 sabbaticals, this means that Abraham’s 75^th year and the exodus were both in sabbatical years if they began counting sabbaticals after the flood.

8. Traditionally, there were 2513 years (1656 + 854 + 3) years from Adam to the exodus. 2513 is equally divisible by 7. One version says it was 2450 years (49 x 50). These traditions contradict the notion that Abraham was called during a sabbatical 427 years after the flood. The contradiction lies in the belief that the exodus was 430 years after the Abraham’s second calling (Exodus 12:41). 430 is not equally divisible by 7. However, if Abraham were first called when he dwelled in Ur of the Chaldees at the age of 72, the exodus would be 430 years after his first calling. His second calling was likely 427 years after he was called in Haran (Acts 7:2-4).

9. Archbishop James Ussher said that Solomon founded the temple in his fourth year and dedicated it seven years later in a jubilee year. It seems appropriate that Solomon would found the temple in a sabbatical year, in 966 BC, when farmers were letting their land rest. We know there were sabbaticals in 966, 931, 868, 721, 623, 588, 574 and 539 BC. The one in 588 is mentioned in Jeremiah 34. The one in 574 is mentioned in Ezekiel 40:1. The one in 539 ended 70 years of serving Babylon as mentioned in Daniel 9:2.

Therefore, it is very likely that the original chronology of the Jewish people formed a sabbatical pattern of 427 years, but there are still a few questions to answer:

1. If the Masoreh Text (and the King James Version) has the correct 1656 years from Adam to the flood, why does the Samaritan Text and the Septuagint Text have different numbers of years between each generation? Would these depart from Moses’ original version if he had gotten the number of years directly from tablets preserved by Noah?

2. Why are there traditions that the flood, the exodus, the temple and the fall of Babylon were in sabbatical years?

3. Why would 52 years be added to the 427 years between the exodus and the temple? If we count the years of the judges consecutively as if each one ruled all of Canaan one at a time (like many have done during the later time of the Hebrew kings) then the judges ruled 339 years, and the period would be 479 years, as in TABLE 3.

4. Why does Acts 13:20 say the judges ruled for 450 years? The answer is again very simple. The period would include both the 339 years of judges and 111 years of oppressions (339 + 111= 450), but here again the periods must be counted in a consecutive manner as though judges and oppressions occurred one after another without any overlapping. There is no evidence that some judges did not rule at the same time as others in different parts of Canaan (see TABLE 3).

5. Why do recent bible chronologists suggest there were only about 250 years from the exodus to the temple? This is also simple. They believe the exodus was during the time of Pharaoh Rameses II. Israel left the city of Rameses during the exodus (Exodus 12:37). Rameses ruled from 1279 to 1213, and it would seem likely the exodus was in about 1217 BC (1217 – 251 = 966 BC). This version would only count the 111 years of oppressions and overlooked the 339 years of judges as in TABLE 3.

TABLE 3. Three Basic Ways to Interpret the Judges
Exodus & Wilderness = >>>	40	40	40
Rulers during Joshua & Elders = >>>	43	43	43
Oppressions = 111 yrs., Judges = 339 yrs., and both down to Eli = 450 yrs.	111	+339	=450
From Samuel to when David captures Jerusalem (or to the temple) = >>>	57	57	57
From Exodus to the capture of Jerusalem (or to the temple) = >>>	251	479	590

6. What would happen if Egypt suffered from 10 plagues at the exodus, or lost three million farmers and builders, or lost the firstborn of every family, or have massive amount of gold and jewels “spoiled”, or lost an entire army in the Red Sea? The answer is simple. We would expect to find a period of economic collapse and ruin in Egypt.

7. Did Egypt experience an economic downturn 251 years before the temple, 479 years before the temple or 590 years before the temple? No. In each case, Egypt remained strong and expanded its border all the way up to the Euphrates River, and the Pharaoh became remained wealthy.

8. What happened after 1393 BC, 427 years before the temple in 966 BC? We find evidence that Egypt began a significant reversal and decline. Pharaoh Amenhotep III (Amenophis III) remained the richest man on earth for 38 years, and the Israelites were in the wilderness 38 years (Deut. 2:14), but he withdrew from occupying the coast of Canaan up to the Euphrates. This enabled the Hittites (in today’s Turkey) to invade and conquer Mitanni and strengthen Assyria. The kings of Canaan wrote letters (the Amarna Letters) asking his son, Akhenaten, to return to Canaan and help them fight the Apiru (the Hebrews) who were invading them. Pleas ended after Akhenaten’s eighth year. Joshua’s conquest lasted seven years. After Akhenaten’s death, his widowed queen offered her throne to a son of a king of the Hittites if his son would only come to Egypt and marry her. She succeeded in having a son, “King Tut” (Tutankhamum), to succeed her in 1335 BC, and his amassed treasury likely came from various tombs built previously.

Therefore, it is very likely that some judges overlapped, that they ruled only 287 years (339 – 52 = 287), and there were only 427 years (479 – 52 = 427) between the exodus and the temple, and the original chronology of the Jewish people formed a sabbatical pattern of 427 years.

Years from Adam to the Temple
The Original 251-year Pattern

It is a mystery why a pattern of 251 years would be applied to how long the patriarchs lived. Noah was 502 when Shem was born, and Shem continued to live 502 years after the flood. The total lifespan of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was 502 years (175 + 180 + 147 = 502). There were 502 years from the fall of Babel to Joseph’s birth and 502 years from Abraham’s birth to the exodus. We can still find sufficient evidence of a 251-year pattern from Adam to the era of Jerusalem or the temple.

After the flood, Babel fell, and the nations were divided, when Peleg was born (Gen 10:25; I Chron. 1:19). If we count the years between Adam and Peleg (in Genesis 5 and 10 and 11) we find there were 1757 years, that is, 251 sabbaticals (251 times 7). From Adam to the birth of Abraham, there were 2008 years (251 times 8). From Adam to the birth of Joseph, there were 2259 years (251 times 9). From Adam to the exodus, there were 2510 years (251 times 10). The exodus was 430 years after Abraham was 72, as said above, after he was called out of Ur of the Chaldees.

How does the 251-year pattern dovetail with the 427-year pattern? 854 years (427 times 2 from the flood to the exodus) subtracted from 2510 years (251 times 10 from Adam to the exodus) results in having 1656 years (the period from Adam to the flood).

Again, Archbishop James Ussher said that Solomon founded the temple in his fourth year and dedicated it seven years later, in a jubilee year. If the exodus were in 1255 BC, there would be 251 years from the exodus to David’s capture of Jerusalem, 287 years to the temple and 294 years (six jubilees) until the temple was finished (and 1255 equals 251 times 5). But this would place the temple in 968 BC, and David would have conquered Jerusalem in 1004 BC. This sabbatical cycle dovetails and merges with today’s Jewish rabbinical chronology, which places the sabbaticals in 569 BC (Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years of madness), 520 BC (founding of the second temple), 422 BC (17 jubilees after 1255 BC), 331 BC (when Alexander captured Palestine) and 69-70 AD (the destruction of the temple). Second temple sabbaticals, therefore, are two years off compared with the sabbaticals of the first temple. The first and second temples were burned in the first year of the sabbatical cycle, 656 years apart. However, 658 years are divisible by seven, not 656.

TABLE 4. Sabbaticals after Joshua until 1975 AD

BC 1447		Exodus. Moses age 80; Joshua 56 or perhaps 20.
1408		Moses conquers east of Jordan and dies.
1407		1^st year: Joshua and Israelites cross the Jordan in conquest (1407 = 7 x 201).
1400		1^st sabbatical. Land divided by lot. First year of Othniel (elders and Judges) 14 years after 1407. First judge, Othniel, took Hebron before lots were cast (Josh 15:17), in the first of 339 years of Judges (Jud 1:13) (1400 – 339 = 1061). Tabernacle at Gilgal 14 years after 1407.
1393		2^nd sabbatical. Tabernacle at Shiloh (Josh 18:1). Joshua age 74 or 110 (Josh 24:29).
1386		3^rd sabbatical 21 years after 1407.
1358		1^st jubilee. Joshua perhaps age 110 if he were 20 at the exodus (20 + 40 + 50= 110). Perhaps Joshua was credited with Deborah’s destruction of Hazor, King Jabin and “everything that breathed” and burned the city (Compare Joshua 11:11 and Judges 4:23).
1159		Eli’s birth 98 years before 1061
300 years 1107		300 years after the conquest (Judges 11:26), Jephthah becomes a judge over Israel.
1106		23^rd sabbatical after 1407 BC. 301^st year after 1407 (Judges 11:26).
1101		Philistine oppression of Israel 40 years (1101 – 1061).
1101		Samson judges Philistines 20 years while Eli judges Philistines 40 years (1101 – 1061).
1061		A man of Benjamin (Saul?) with those using the Ark as an omen in a war against the Philistines before Eli died (I Sam 4:12). This type of the “day of Atonement” is between Joshua’s trumpets at Jericho and Solomon’s temple, feast of Tabernacles).
1061		Eli’s death after judging Israel 40 years. (1400 – 339 = 1061).
1061		Ark rests unmoved for 20 years at house of Abinadab (1061-1041) during Samuel’s rule.
1061		Samuel rules 339 (not 450) years after land was divided by lot in 1400 (Acts 13:20).
1046		Saul anointed King 339 (not 450) yrs. after 1386, 40 years before dying in 1006 (Acts 13:21).
1041		Saul rules, borrows the Ark as an Omen in war.
1011		David begins ruling in Hebron for 7 years over Judah (II Sam 5:4-5).
1008		57^th sabbatical. Samuel dies two years before Saul.
1006		Saul dies and his son, Ishboseth, begins to reign 2 years over Israel (II Sam 4:8).
1004		Ishboseth dies and David begins to rule over both Israel and Judah 33 years. Ark retrieved.
971		David dies and Solomon begins to reigns three years.
139 years 968		139 years after Jephthah, Solomon founds the temple in his 4^th year (I Kings 6:1).
141 years 966		9^th jubilee, 63^rd sabbatical/jubilee 441 years after Joshua (1407 BC) in Solomon’s 6^th year (441 = 49 x 9).
BC 574		Sabbatical/jubilee 14 years after the fall of Jerusalem (Ezek 40:1), 17 jubilees after Joshua .
52 jubilees		= 2548 yrs.
AD 1975		Sabbatical/jubilee 49 x 52 after 574 BC, 49 x 69 after Joshua, 49 years before 2024 AD
2024		Sabbatical/jubilee 49 x 53 after 574 BC, 49 x 70 after Joshua.

The Exodus to Temple Enigma

I Googled for “480 years from exodus to temple” and got 222,000 hits! This is evidence that, if the period were simple to understand, why isn’t there only one version? It is so confusing that everyone has a different view they want to share. In my view, in order to have 479 years (I Kings 6:1), the judges must be counted in a consecutive manner, without any overlapping. (Many chronologists also count the years of the kings in a consecutive manner.) The judges lasted 339 consecutive years; therefore, there were 140 other years before and after the judges (339 + 140 = 479).

Next, there were 139 years from Jephtah to the temple because there were 300 years from Joshua to Jephthah (Judges 11:26) (139 + 300 = 439). This means that the 111 years of oppressions would increase the period of the judges to 450 years (339 + 111 = 450). This view is found in Acts 13:20, and it ends with Samuel.

Therefore, the temple was in 968 BC. Jephthah was 139 years earlier, in 1107 (968 + 139 = 1107). Joshua was 300 years earlier than Jephthah, in 1407 BC.

Next, Samuel begins to rule after the death of Levi, 339 years after lots were cast to divide the land (Acts 13:20). The judges ruled after Othniel 339 years, until Samuel and Saul.

If we overlap the judges to fit within the 111 years of oppressions, from exodus to temple would be 251 years.

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