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In this section we will cover the Judges
of Israel; you can find this in the book of Judges in
the Bible. I have had to use a little speculation; the
Bible does not give us enough information to map this
part of the timeline accurately. This does not affect
the overall timeline as the Holy Spirit has supplied us
a reference point after the Judges. We can find this in
1 Kings 6:1.
1 Kings 6:1
“Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth
year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of
Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over
Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month,
that he began to build the house of the LORD.”
From this passage of scripture we are given some
important information: we are told that King Solomon was
ruling Israel in the fourth year of his reign; and 480
years have passed since the children of Israel left
Egypt (the Exodus).
It is difficult to match the times given in the Book of
Judges to the time span given in the book of Kings. What
is clear is that the Bible does not give sufficient
information for this time period to map a timeline
accurately. That being said I have listed the Judges of
Israel and the time periods that each one judged Israel
for. It is possible that some of the time spans listed
in the book of Judges, overlap other time periods, but I
have not been able to find significant information to
decipher where such overlaps would begin and end.
The book of Judges lists several rebellions, and then
the Judges that God raised up to overcome them, but
there is no indication of any overlap in these time
spans. Josephus the Roman historian attributes 476 years
from the death of Moses to the Death of Eli (the last
Judge of Israel). However, if this was correct there
would be far more than 480 years between the Exodus from
Egypt to the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign. The
children of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years,
King Saul ruled Israel for 40 years, and King David
ruled Israel for 40 years. This would add at least 120
years to the 476 years estimated by Josephus. This would
make a total of 596 years from the Exodus to the
beginning of King Solomon’s reign over Israel, and is
therefore inconsistent with 1 Kings 6:1.
Matthew Henry in his commentary breaks the 480 years
down as follows.
40 Years to Moses (Israel in the wilderness)
17 Years to Joshua
299 Years to the Judges
40 Years to Eli
40 Years to Samuel and Saul
40 Years to David
4 Years to Solomon
There is a possible plus or minus one year error in the
calculations for the reign of the judges of Israel. This
can be accounted for depending on how you treat Shamgar,
whose rule or leadership lasted less than 1 year.
Shamgar definitely judged Israel for several months, so
do we add a year in or leave it out?
I have laid out the succession according to the order
and period each Judge is attributed in the book of
Judges; I have assumed that the rebellions by Israel and
the length of them listed in the book of Judges
overlap’s each judge’s rule over Israel. This gives us a
succession that seems to fit the 480 years period of
time mentioned in 1 Kings 6:1, although I am still not
convinced that this is as accurate as it could be. So if
readers find some biblical or historical information for
this period of time feel free to drop me a line.
During my research I did find a small amount of evidence
to suggest that there was an overlap of Samson and Eli,
as Samson spent a large amount of time in prison, and in
exile. I was unable to find any fixed time periods or
dates for this hypothesis.
Before we place the Judges of Israel on our timeline, we
need to calculate the birth and or death of Joshua.
Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of Israel
(Deuteronomy 31:14, Deuteronomy 31:23)
Deuteronomy 31:14
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold the time for
you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves
at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.’ So
Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the
tent of meeting.”
And
Deuteronomy 31:23
“Then He (the Lord) commissioned Joshua the son of
Nun, and said, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall
bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to
them, and I will be with you.’”
After this Moses farewelled the people he had led for 40
years, and then he went up from the plains of Moab, unto
the mountain of Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1). Moses died on
the mountain and God buried him for his body was not
found (Deuteronomy 34:5).
The Bible does not tell us when Joshua was born, nor
have we been told how old he was when any of the events
during the Exodus story took place. We are told how old
Joshua was when he died, the book of Joshua 24:29 tells
us that he died when he was 110 years old.
Joshua 24:29
“And it came about after these things that Joshua the
son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one
hundred and ten years old.”
When I was researching this, I found other Bible
commentators claimed Joshua was the leader of Israel
after Moses’ death, for anything from 17 to 29 years’.
The only reference I could find giving any dates was
from the writings of Josephus (Josephus wrote history
for the Romans around the first century AD). Josephus
writes that Joshua lived with Moses for 40 years (the
forty years in the wilderness after the Exodus from
Egypt), then he led Israel for 25 years.
As this calculation will affect where we begin and end
the reign of each judge, I have decided to go with the
17 years for Joshua. The reason I chose 17 years and not
25 years as mentioned by Josephus is due to another
problem we will come up against later when we need to
calculate how long the reign of King Saul was, (anything
from 32 years to 40 years - the most common figure used
being 40 years). I will talk more on this issue when I
get to King Saul.
From this we can calculate the following.
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|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Joshua |
110 |
2460 |
1551BC |
|
Moses died 2553 years after creation, or
1458BC, Joshua led Israel for 17 years after his death,
therefore we can calculate Joshua’s birth and death
dates.
Thus, 2553 years after creation + 17 Years = 2570 years
after creation. Joshua died 2570 years after creation.
If we subtract 110 years from 2570, we find that Joshua
was born 2460 years after creation, or 1551BC.
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Joshua
was 93 years old when Moses died |
|
2553 |
1458BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Othniel |
40 |
2570 |
1441BC |
|
Joshua died 2570 years after creation,
plus 40 years takes us to 2610 years after creation.
Judges 3:10-11
“(v10) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and
he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave
Cash-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so
that he prevailed over Cash-rishathaim. (v11) Than the
land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz
died.”
Othniel judged Israel for 40 years, ending 2610 years
after creation.
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| Othniel judged Israel for
40 years |
|
2610 |
1401BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Ehud |
80 |
2610 |
1401BC |
|
Judges 3:30
“So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of
Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.”
Ehud judged Israel for 80 years, ending 2690 years after
creation.
|
| Ehud judged Israel for 80
years |
|
2690 |
1321BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Shamgar |
<1 |
2690 |
1321BC |
|
Judges 3:31
“And after him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who
struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad; and
he also saved Israel.”
A number of the commentators I came across during my
research did not even list Shamgar; the Bible does not
tell us anything about him, other than he came after
Ehud and killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
Josephus the Roman historian, records that he dies in
the first year of his government over Israel, how many
months he ruled for is not clear.
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Deborah |
40 |
2690 |
1321BC |
|
Judges 5:31
“Thus let all Thine enemies perish, O Lord; But let
those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its
might. And the land was undisturbed for forty years.”
Deborah was the only woman Judge, she judged Israel 40
years, ending 2730 years after creation.
|
| Deborah judged Israel for
40 years |
|
2730 |
1281BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Gideon |
40 |
2730 |
1281BC |
|
Judges 8:28
“So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and
they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land
was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.”
Gideon judged Israel for 40 years, ending 2770 years
after creation.
|
| Gideon judged Israel for
40 years |
|
2770 |
1241BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Abimelech |
3 |
2770 |
1241BC |
|
Judges 9:22
“Now Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.”
Abimelech judged Israel for 3 years, ending 2773 years
after creation.
|
| Abimelech judged Israel
for 3 years |
|
2773 |
1238BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Tola |
23 |
2773 |
1238BC |
|
Judges 10:1-2
“(v1) Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah,
the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save
Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of
Ephraim. (v2) And he Judged Israel twenty three years.
Then he died and was buried in Shamir.”
Tola judged Israel for 23 years, ending 2796 years after
creation.
|
| Tola judged Israel for 23
years |
|
2796 |
1215BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Jair |
22 |
2796 |
1215BC |
|
Judges 10:3
“And after him, Jair the Gileadite arose, and judged
Israel twenty two years.”
Jair judged Israel for 22 years, ending 2818 years after
creation.
|
| Jair judged Israel for 22
years |
|
2818 |
1193BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Japhthah |
6 |
2818 |
1193BC |
|
Judges 12:7
“And Japhthah judged Israel six years. Then Japhthah the
Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of
Gilead.”
Japhthah judged Israel for 6 years, ending 2824 years
after creation.
|
| Japhthah judged Israel
for 6 years |
|
2824 |
1187BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Ibzan |
7 |
2824 |
1187BC |
|
Judges 12:9-10
“(v9) He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom
he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought
in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he
judged Israel seven years. (v10) Then Ibzan died and was
buried in Bethlehem.”
Ibzan judged Israel for 7 years, ending 2831 years after
creation.
|
| Ibzan judged Israel for 7
years |
|
2831 |
1180BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Elon |
10 |
2831 |
1180BC |
|
Judges 12:11
“Now Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; and
he judged Israel ten years.”
Elon judged Israel for 10 years, ending 2831 years after
creation.
|
| Elon judged
Israel for 10 years |
|
2831 |
1170BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Abdon |
8 |
2841 |
1170BC |
|
Judges 12:13-14
“(v13) Now Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite
judged Israel after him. (v14) He had forty sons and
thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he
judged Israel eight years.”
Abdon judged Israel for 8 years, ending 2849 years after
creation.
|
| Abdon judged Israel for 8
years |
|
2849 |
1162BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Samson |
20 |
2849 |
1162BC |
|
Judges 15:20
“So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the
Philistines.”
And
Judges 16:31
“Then his brothers and all his father’s household
came down, took him, brought him up, and buried him
between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his
father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.”
As I mentioned earlier in this book, there could be an
overlap between Samson and Eli. Samson spent a large
amount of his time in the pursuit of Delilah, apparently
a very beautiful woman. He was confined to a Philistine
prison after she betrayed him. I did find one or two
Bible commentators who suggested this but could not find
any factual biblical or historical evidence to support
this idea.
Samson judged Israel for 20 years, ending with his
spectacular death 2869 years after creation.
|
| Samson judged Israel for
20 years |
|
2869 |
1142BC |
|
|
|
Name |
Reigned |
Years From Creation: |
Year BC |
| Eli |
20 |
2869 |
1142BC |
|
1 Samuel 4:18
“And it came about when he mentioned the ark of God
that Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and
his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and
heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.”
Eli judged Israel for 40 years, ending with his death
2909 years after creation (1102BC).
|
| Eli judged Israel for 40
years |
|
2909 |
1102BC |
|
Eli raised and trained Samuel, who became
the first of the prophets that would parallel the Kings
who would soon begin to rule Israel.
The age of the Judges began with Othniel and ended with
Eli’s death, making a total of 14 judges, spanning from
2570 years after creation (1441BC) to 2909 years after
creation (1102BC). Therefore the Judges of Israel judged
Israel for a total of 339 years.
During this era Israel spent many years serving the
Kings that ruled the nations around them; these periods
are often referred to at the servitudes. The following
is a list of the nations Israel served and the length
they served them for.
-
Mesopotamia (Syria) 8 years - Judges
3:8
-
Moab 18 years - Judges 3:14
-
Canaan 20 years - Judges 4:3
-
Midian 7 years - Judges 6:1
-
Philistine and Ammon 18 years -
Judges 10:7-8
-
Philistine 40 years - Judges 13:1
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