The Judges of Israel: Ehud and his 80 years.The simple answer to the question of how long Ehud judged Israel is to be found in the Book of Judges Chapter 3 verse 30. The answer is '80 years'. Unfortunately this figure is conspicuously incorrect, if only because the total figures provided in the book of Judges for the Period of the Judges, is excessive of the time frame provided in 1 Kings 6:1, for both the Period of the Judges and the Monarchy of Israel to the 4th year of King Solomon.
The simple answer to the question of how long Ehud judged Israel is to be found in the Book of Judges Chapter 3 verse 30. The answer is '80 years'. Unfortunately this figure is conspicuously incorrect, if only because the total figures provided in the book of Judges for the Period of the Judges, is excessive of the time frame provided in 1 Kings 6:1, for both the Period of the Judges and the Monarchy of Israel to the 4th year of King Solomon.
1 Kings 6:1 can be made to read that 440 or 480 years transpired between the time that the Israelites under Joshua entered Canaan, and the 4th year of Solomon when the Temple was commenced.
According to the Bible - Principally the Book of Judges, 450 years transpired during the Period of the Judges. However, it must be borne in mind that there is no record in the Bible of the amount of time that Joshua or Samuel judged Israel, and nor is there a proper reference to the length of King Saul's reign.
The Biblical Data for the Period of the Judges is:
Judges - No Reference to Time frame for Joshua
Judges 3:8 - 8 years Serving Cushanrishathaim
Judges 3:11 - 40 Rest provided by Othniel
Judges 3:14 - 18 Serving Moab
Judges 3:30 - 80 Rest during Ehud's Lifetime
Judges 4:4 - 20 Oppression
Judges 5:31 - 40 Deborah
Judges 6:1 - 7 Midianite Oppression
Judges 8:28 - 40 Gideon
Judges 9:22 - 3 Abimelech
Judges 10:2 - 23 Tola
Judges 10:3 - 22 Jair
Judges 10:8 - 18 Oppression
Judges 12:7 - 6 Jephthah
Judges - 12:8 - 7 Ibzan
Judges 12:11 - 10 Elon
Judges 12:13 - 8 Abdon
Judges 13:1 - 40 Philistine Oppression
Judges 16:31 - 20 Samson 1 Sam 4:18 - 40 Eli
Judges/Samuel - No Time listed for Samuel
Total of time listed = 450 years
To calculate how much time elapsed between Entry into Canaan and Solomon's 4th year, we would have to add to these 450 years listed above, the following:
The Judgeship of Joshua The Judgeship of Samuel The Kingship of Saul The Kingship of David Plus the 4 years of King Solomon.
Whilst we have definite Biblical chronological references to David and Solomon, there are only extra-Biblical records upon which we can rely in determining the time periods for Joshua, Samuel and Saul. These indicate that Joshua was judge for up to 28 years; that Samuel was judge for 30 years; and that Saul reigned up to 22 years. A total of between 60 and 80 years. This increases the 450 years listed above to between 510 and 530 years.
To this must be added the 40 years for David and the first 4 years of Solomon, to give us a total of between 554 and 574 years to elapse between the Israelite entrance into Canaan and (incl.) the 4th year of Solomon. If the period of the Judges was 554 to 574 years, then clearly, something is wrong with the reference in 1 Kings 6:1 to a period of 440 or 480 years.
The first thing to note is that the Accepted version of 1 Kings 6:1 and the Septuagint, contain different language and a different figure.
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 Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
And it came to pass in the four hundred and fortieth year after the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the fourth year and second month of the reign of King Solomon over Israel, that the king commanded that they should take great and costly stones for the foundation of the house and hewn stones. And the men of Solomon, and the men of Hiram hewed the stones, and laid them for a foundation. In the fourth year he laid the foundation of the house of the Lord, in the month of Ziv, in the second month.
It is generally accepted today, that the Received Text's 480 years, is comprised of the 40 year wandering in the desert - plus - 440 years between Entry into Canaan and Solomon's 4th year.
This is not the perspective of the King's Calendar which measures Biblical years as years of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days; being 336 days in duration. The King's Calendar in measuring out the 480 years of the Received Text at 1 Kings 6:1 sees 480 artificial years transpiring between Solomon's 4th year in 970 BCE and 1412 BCE when the Israelites entered Canaan - a total of 443 solar years.
The primary text reading of 1 Kings 6:1 in both versions, is that parameters of the time period mentioned, are the actual Entry of the People of Israel into Canaan, and the commencement of the building of Solomon's Temple. It is only that the two figures differ by 40 years, that it has been assumed that the Septuagint is correct in it's reference to Entrance into Canaan and that the Masoretic version has been altered to include the 40 years of wandering.
However, the King's Calendar artificial calendar demonstrates the opposite. The King's Calendar dates for the Exodus, Entrance into Canaan and Solomon's 4th year are in keeping with every other traditional scholastic source, and yet it fits 480 artificial years into the 440 solar year time frame suggested by the Septuagint version.
It goes one step further however to suggest that the Septuagint was altered and that in it's original form, it read that 440 years transpired between Entrance into Canaan and Solomon's 1st year (when he announced his intention to build the temple). Note the redundant reference in the Septuagint to the 'fourth year'. Notice that Solomon's commandment to build a temple is given in the same listed year as the foundations were laid. Is that not odd?
The King's Calendar suggests that the original (Masoretic) version read 440 solar years to Solomon's first year at which time he commanded the assembly of all that was required to build the Temple. Later when the redactors inserted the artificial chronological details, (after the original Septuagint details were recorded) the round figure of 480 years neatly fitted in with the 4th year of Solomon when the temple foundation was laid.
At some point thereafter, having noticed the discrepancy between the two versions, someone corrected the Septuagint version, (changing 1st year to 4th year), having made the same assumption that many make today (that the Masorete includes the 40 years of Wandering).
Despite all of this however, is the fact that the combined total number of years allocated to the Period of the Judges by the Book of Judges, requires that well in excess of either the Septuagint's 440 years or the Masoretic 480 years transpire between Israelite Entrance into Canaan, and Solomon's 4th year. How can this be so?
The short answer.
Judges 3:15 records that G-d raised Ehud up to be deliverer and Judge of Israel, and that an 80 year peace ensued (Judges 3:30). Judges 4:1-2 gives the impression that this peace only lasted during Ehud's judgeship and so he must therefore have lived to at least 110 years of age.
Given that we are looking for an excessively listed period of time, it was assumed that it is unlikely that a 100+ year old leader was able to ensure peace while a younger leader was not and that therefore the excessive data relates to the 80 years ascribed to Ehud's judgeship; being but a transcription error for 18 years. (Many 'experts' say it was just 8 years.)
Having re-calculated the data provided in the Book of Judges, (Ehud 18 not 80 years) and adding to the overall total the 25 years (Antiquities 5:1:29) that Josephus ascribes to Joshua, it was calculated that 282 years transpire from the entrance into Canaan to the beginning of Jephthah's judgeship.
From that point the King's Calendar determined that from the beginning of Jephthah's judgeship to and including Solomon's 4th year, 198 artificial years elapse. (282 + 198 = 480)
Of these 198 years however, the Bible directly ascribes 175 years to specific people and events, leaving only 23 years over to cover the judgeship of Samuel and the Kingship of Saul. Even Josephus permits 32 years for their combined reign. (The only Biblical reference to Saul's reign is 1 Samuel 13:1 which is corrupt, stating that he was only one year old when he became king and reigned only 2 years).
The necessity to reduce further the period of the Judges required that there must be a further error in the figures. When one comes to Judges Chapter 13 (Hebrew Bible), one notices that Samson came upon the scene at a time of Philistine Oppression, and that the whole period of his judgeship was taken up with fighting that oppression. [We also note the continuing oppression during the judgeships of Eli and Samuel].
Since the period of the Judges contains an excess of data, it was presumed that the 40 years of Philistine Oppression mentioned in Judges 13:1 is not meant to be read as an independent time frame separate to that listed for the judges of Israel at that time, but as concurrent with their judgeships.
So the specifically mentioned 175 years from the time of Jephthah onwards was reduced by the 40 years mentioned in Judges 13:1 to arrive at a total of 135 specifically listed years, leaving a balance of 63 years to be filled by Samuel and Saul. For a discussion on how the 63 years was divided see:
Whilst any hint of 'error' in the Bible is anathema to some Christians, the fact remains that the composite totals provided for the Judges and kings of Israel is excessive of that allowed in 1 Kings 6:1.
There are only two ways to view the matter. The first is to try and remove all the periods of oppression listed in Judges, assuming them to be concurrent periods, and the second is to see in Ehud's judgeship, the likelihood that his 80 listed years is a transcription error.
If you check the data provided from the book of judges at the beginning of this article, you will find that there are 6 periods of oppression listed. Have fun trying to work it all out without changing Ehud's judgeship. Additionally remember that the only reference to Saul is corrupt, and that there is no chronological reference in Scripture to Joshua or Samuel. The King's Calendar ultimately removes 62 years from Ehud's judgeship, and the forty years listed in Judges 13:1.
It furthermore does not calculate Biblical years as standard solar years, but insists that 600 years before the Bible came into existence as the Bible, the chronological references were converted into an artificial calendar.
In Order for 1 King's 6:1 to be correct, the times frames provided in the Book of Judges must be excessive, and of all the judgeships, Ehud's 80 years is the most probable reference to have suffered from a transcription error.
Mingxing's company had booked him into the upmarket Kempinski Hotel in Wuxi and he organized and paid for one extra day so that we could go sightseeing. There are two photos in Part one that relate to the Kempinski Hotel Room, but this photo is of the lavish foyer of the Hotel as taken from the first floor landing above the coffee shop. Whilst the Big Buddha is the 'centerpiece' so to speak, the real spectacular is to be found in the Cultural Museum. This place is one helluva spectacular place inside. It sits directly opposite the replica of the Potala Palace, and when you enter you are required to put coverings over your shoes. I suspect that the real reason is to cut down on the cleaning bill. This place was crowded and all those people shuffling along wearing shoe protectors gave the marble floor a really high sheen.
The Fairy Island on the Lake Taihu. which used to be called the Three-Mount Island, is a group of well-known islands and islets in the famou s scenic spot of Lake Taihu.it lies in the lake, and is 2. 0 kilometers away from the Turtle Head Peninsual, which is in the northeast shore. The entire islands are made up of the islets such as Daji, Xiaoji, Dongya, Xiya, with a total area of 12 hectares. (From a Sign at Taihu.)
It was decided that unshod horses would not be allowed to be used in commercial ventures. People couldn't ride horses for a living; salesman couldn't load goods onto their horses; and horses could no longer pull carts. While it all seemed quite logical and humane, the unforeseen consequence of the law was that the supply of goods into and out of the town began to dwindle, until in the end, business after business went bankrupt. As time went by the whole city went bust until the only ones left were those who could not afford to move, and one of these was our blacksmith. One day, considering that since the council itself was now gone, the blacksmith decided to restart his business.
When excavating workers discovered the original Royal road and archaeological viewing platforms have been set up from both above and beside the original road. No charge! You can go down the ramp and clearly see the road and the accompanying signs/ The Chaotian Gate - During the Zhizheng Reign of Yuan Dynasty it was renamed to Gongbei Tower. It was destroyed in the 10th year (1474) of Chenghua Reign Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the next year. The building was destroyed again in early Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in the 25th year (1686) of the Kangxi Reign Qing Dynasty. It is known as Drum Tower.
Politically Correct activists fight many different causes but their bottom line strategy is to demonstrate that their opponents are "GUILTY" - guilty of anything and everything one can quickly think of so as to disempower those same opponents. Reaction formation generally speaking is accusing others of those things of which you yourself are guilty BUT which you find inexcusable within yourself. It’s rather like being a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One part of the character lives in the righteous, non discriminatory respectable world of PC but underneath there is a guilty secret that one doesn't want to let escape. It would ruin their image. And so they point the fingers of hatred at those guilty of the same thing - because in fact they "loath themselves".
Having stated that the Governor is one of the very first elected officials to take this action and that there is no play book to show him what to do next, the American Policy Center is calling on citizens to sign a 'Letter of Thanks' to Governor Bentley: If you care about protecting our Constitution and our way of live from attacks by the United Nations, then you must stand with Governor Bentley by signing and returning you "Letter of Thanks for Opposing United Nations' Agenda 21". The newsletter warns however that if Governor Bentley is left to fight alone, then he is probably doomed to be destroyed by the very powerful UN/Agenda 21 forces.
The original command to anoint Jehu as king over Israel (not Judah) was given to Elijah the prophet in 1 Kings 19:15-17 in which he is commanded to anoint Hazael as King over Syria (in place of BenHadad) and Jehu over Israel in place of Ahab's son Jehoram. And there is a promise from God that those who escape from Hazael will be slain by Jehu and those who escape Jehu will be slain by Elisha. But even though the Scripture talks about killing the King of Israel's heirs (the house of Ahab), no where does it say that anyone is to kill the King of Judah "Ahaziah", who was either Ahab's grandson, nephew or son-in-law. (2 Kings 8:18 makes his mother to be the daughter of Omri and therefore sister of Ahab and so he was Ahab's nephew, while verse 26 states that his mother was Ahab's daughter therefore he was Ahab's grandson but verse 27 refers to him as son-in-law).
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
General formula for Biblical Data conversion:
The formula for constructing the artificial calendar was:
'X' times 364 equals 'Y' days'Y' days divided by 336 equals 'Z' artificial years.Values are:'X' = any given number of 'real/solar' years364 = perceived days in the sectarian calendar'Y' = number of days calculated336 = number of days in an artificial year'Z' = artificial years = 1.083'X' and represents the original number of the converted years plus 8%.To reverse the process by hand:'Z' years times 336 equals 'Y' divided by 364 equals the Number of 'X' years converted.
To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5:Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE:
The Principle of Linear Causality
The King's Calendar is a very simple approach to Biblical Chronology. It substitutes a value of 336 days for every year listed in Scripture. As far as the Divided Kingdom is concerned, when you use this 336 day year value, the synchronisms actually work. To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5: Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE
Because it is a mathematical system, the King's Calendar must abide by certain mathematical rules, the most important of which, is that if you change any date for any day, month, or year every other day, month, or year is effected and must also change. It's like a 'domino effect'. Chronological references cannot be 'forced' to fit, and nor can they simply be ignored or 'compressed' as is the usual case with historians and archaeologists.
If any King's Calendar chronological determination disagrees with anything in the history books, it must argue the case as to why the history books are wrong, or why the evidence for an assertion is untrustworthy. If the King's Calendar successfully defends its' position, then the history books cannot be treated as definitive, and if the King's Calendar is 'proven' wrong, then every other chronological reference it provides is also wrong.
Because of this, the King's Calendar Chronological Reconstruction of Israel's history is unique, in that its' methodology can be scientifically (mathematically) tested and demonstrated to be either true or false. Its' chronological predictions are able to be 'proved' or 'disproved'.
Rules of Evidence Series at Kingscalendar.
Part 1. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 2. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 3. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 4. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology
