02.02. FROM THE DIVISION OF THE LAND TO SAMUEL THE PROPHET
CHAPTER 2. FROM THE DIVISION OF THE LAND TO SAMUEL THE PROPHET From this division of the land to the death of Joshua, and from then to the first captivity, the time is not given in the Old Testament. To this epoch there is an uninterrupted succession of periods. The New Testament enables us to continue the chain of inspired chronology, without any breach, from the creation to the time of Samuel the prophet. “And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.”
Acts 13:19-20. This period of 450 years, from the dividing of the land to Samuel, is thus filled up. “And it came to pass, a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.” Joshua 23:1. And “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old.” Joshua 24:20. The time of the death of Joshua is not given in the Scriptures. Josephus states that it was twenty-five years after the passage of the River Jordan. If so, he must have been six years older than Caleb, eighty-five at the death of Moses, and forty-five at the Exode; soon after which it is said of him, “Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
Exodus 33:11. The time given by Josephus is, therefore, a probable period for his reign, which would place his death A.M. 2579 . “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.” Joshua 24:31. “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim.” Judges 2:10-11. This brings us to the commencement of their first captivity, to which time, from the death of Moses, the duration is not given in the Scriptures. As all who were over twenty years of age at the Exode died in the wilderness, save Caleb and Joshua (Numbers 14:29), there could be none, save them, who were more than sixty at the Exode. Josephus makes eighteen years from the death of Joshua to this time; but he omits the eight years of Abdon’s judgeship (Judges 12:13), and gives a year to Shamgar (Judges 3:31). Rectifying these, eleven years are left for this interregnum, which will be thirty-six years from the death of Moses, — as in Dr. Hales, — seventy-six from the Exode, and thirty from the first division of the land. The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.... Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia.” Judges 3:7-8. A.M. 2590. “The children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.... And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz.”
Judges 3:8-9. A.M. 2598 . “And the land had rest forty years.... And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel.” Judges 3:11-12. A.M. 2638 . “So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera.” Judges 3:14-15. A.M. 2656. “And the land had rest fourscore years.” “And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan.” Judges 3:30; Judges 4:1-2. A.M. 2736. “Twenty years he oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.... And Deborah said unto Barak, Up: for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand.... So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan.” Judges 4:3-23. A.M. 2756 . “The land had rest forty years. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Judges 5:31; Judges 6:1. A.M. 2796 . “The Lord looked upon Gideon, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” Judges 6:14. “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel.” Judges 8:28. A.M. 2803. “The country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.” “And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went whoring after Baalim.” Judges 8:28, Judges 8:33. “And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king.” Judges 9:6. A.M. 2843 . “When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. “And he died.”
Judges 9:22-23, Judges 9:54. A.M. 2846 . “And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola.... And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died.” Judges 10:1-2. A.M. 2869. “After him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.” “And Jair died.” Judges 10:3, Judges 3:5. A.M. 2891 . “The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord.... And he sold them into the hands of the Philistines.... They vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years,” (Judges 3:6-8), to A.M. 2909.
Here the Lord raised up Jephthah, who, being demanded by the children of Ammon that he should restore the land to them that Israel took from them when they came out of Egypt, replied: “While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years, why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? Judges 11:26. To the beginning of the captivity, out of which they were just delivered, from the elders and anarchy, was three hundred and one years, according to this chronology. “So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. Judges 11:32. “Jephthah judged Israel six years” (Judges 12:7), to A.M. 2915 . “After him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.... And he judged Israel seven years” (Judges 12:8-9), to A.M. 2922 . “After him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years” (Judges 12:11); and died A.M. 2932 . “After him Abdon... judged Israel.... and he judged Israel eight years.”
Judges 12:13-14. A.M. 2940 . “The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years” (Judges 13:1), to A.M. 2980 .
During this bondage of forty years, Samson “judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.” Judges 15:20. Samson did not deliver Israel from the Philistines. The promise respecting him was, “He shall begin to deliver Israel,” etc. Judges 13:5. It was reserved to Samuel to complete their deliverance. Samson does not seem to have exercised the office of a civil magistrate, and could only have judged Israel by being their avenger, and an executor of divine justice. Many writers suppose Samson and Eli were contemporary, and that the administration of the civil and religious laws was committed to Eli. the precise time and extent of Samson’s administration is a subject of some perplexity. The marginal reading of Judges 15:20 is, “He seems to have judged southwest Israel during twenty years of their servitude of the Philistines,” making it quite limited. Dr.
Hales supposes it ended with their servitude; but no certain evidence of it exists.
Judges 1:1-36, Judges 2:1-23, Judges 3:1-31, Judges 4:1-24, Judges 5:1-31, Judges 6:1-40,, Judges 7:1-24, Judges 8:1-35, Judges 9:1-57, Judges 10:1-18, Judges 11:1-40, Judges 12:1-15, Judges 13:1-25, Judges 14:1-20, Judges 15:1-20, Judges 16:1-31, the history is continuous. With Judges 17:1-13 commences a second part of the book of Judges, where are recorded transactions which could not have been related in their chronological place without interrupting the narration of the simple succession of events. The time of the events here added is gathered with some certainty from the remark that, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6. The word ( melech ) here rendered king, says Dr. Clark, “is sometimes taken for a supreme governor, judge, magistrate, or ruler, of any kind... and should be so understood here.” From this it is generally conceded that the time of Micah, whose acts are here recorded, was previous to the Judges, and during the anarchy which followed the death of the elders who outlived Joshua. Consequently, the remaining portion of the Judges is not a continuation of the history, which closes with the sixteenth chapter, during the Philistine ascendancy. The book of Ruth is also a kind of appendix to the book of Judges. It begins with a time “in the days when the Judges ruled,” and “there was a famine in the land.” Bishop Patrick is of the opinion that these things came to pass in the days of Gideon, when the children of the East came and destroyed the increase of the earth, and left no sustenance for Israel nor for their cattle (Judges 6:3-4), the only famine noted during the Judges. Other writers locate the time differently. It is sufficient here to show that it is not subsequent to the death of Samson. The books of Samuel are a continuation of the book of Judges; but whether the first book begins where the sixteenth chapter of Judges leaves the narrative, is not undisputed. The history of the Judges ends with a period of forty years of Philistine oppression. The first book of Samuel begins with the history of Samuel, when Eli was judge. In 1 Samuel 4:1-22, we find Israel smitten by the Philistines, and the ark of God taken by them. 1 Samuel 7:1-17 shows that, twenty years after this, the Philistines are defeated, and no more trouble Israel. Mr. Brown, in his “Ordo Saeclorum,” a work of much research, thinks that this last servitude, which continued twenty years after the death of Eli, is that referred to in the book of Judges, as continuing forty years. Dr. Hales considers it another servitude, commencing at the death of Eli, forty years after the close of the one in the Judges. There are arguments in favor of each view. When the sons of Eli did wickedly, we read that “Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child” (1 Samuel 2:18), and that “Eli was very old; and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel.” 1 Samuel 2:22. “And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli,” and when he “was laid down to sleep... the Lord called Samuel; and he answered, Here am I” (1 Samuel 3:1-4), supposing Eli had called. At this time it was revealed to Samuel that an end was to be made of the house of Eli, “for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” 1 Samuel 3:13. “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 3:19-20.
Soon after this, “Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer.” “And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten.” “And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were slain.” “Now Eli was ninety and eight years old;” and when he heard that the ark of God was taken, “he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.” 1 Samuel 4:1, 1 Samuel 4:10-11, 1 Samuel 4:15, 1 Samuel 4:18. “The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months” (1 Samuel 6:1), after which they returned it to Israel to Kirjath-jearim. “And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years.” 1 Samuel 7:2. “And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to the Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.... And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel,... and they came no more into the coast of Israel.... And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.” 1 Samuel 7:5-15. The question to be decided here is, What event, in the time of Samuel, marks the termination of the 450 years of Acts 13:20, which extend to him, from the division of the land? To cover that period, we have the following items: — From the distribution of the land, to the death of Joshua, estimated at 19 years. From his death to the first servitude 11 years . The First Servitude — Mesopotamia 8 years .
Othniel 40 years.
Second Servitude — Moab 18 years.
Ehud and Shamgar 80 years.
Third Servitude — Canaan 20 years.
Deborah and Barak 40 years.
Fourth Servitude — Midian 7 years.
Gideon 40 years.
Abimelech 3 years.
Tola 23 years.
Jair 22 years.
Fifth Servitude — Ammon 18 years.
Jephthah 6 years.
Ibzan 7 years.
Elon 10 years.
Abdon 8 years.
Sixth Servitude — Philistines (including twenty years of Samson years.
Making to the close of this servitude 420 years.
Required to complete the 450 years 30 years.
Dr. Hales terminates the four hundred and fifty years at the call of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-21), which he places in the thirty-first year of Eli’s administration, making Eli succeed Samson, as judge, at the close of the Philistine bondage, and to continue ten years after the call of Samuel, who, Josephus asserts, was twelve years old when the Lord spoke to him — Josephus’ Ant., v, x, 4. From the termination of the four hundred and fifty years, of Acts 13:20, Dr. Hales assigns, — To the death of Eli 10 years . To the day of Mizpeh 20 years. To the election of Saul 12 years . To the election of David 40 years . [With the previous time — from the death of Terah — Dr. Hales agrees with the foregoing calculations. For the time previous to the call of Abraham, he adopts the Septuagint version, which is noticed in full on pp. 193-234. As a much shorter chronology is given by Archbishop Usher, and Sir John Marsham, for the period of the Judges, their views are presented in the Appendix.] Mr. Brown, on the other hand, supposes that Eli was contemporary with Samson, and that the four hundred and fifty years terminate at the day of Mizpeh, when it is said, “Samuel judged the children of Israel.” 1 Samuel 7:6. At whatever point in the history of Samuel they may terminate, they continue an unbroken chain of inspired chronology to more than three thousand years from creation, according to the following items: — YEARS A.M.
Creation Age of Adam at the birth of his son 130 “Seth 105 “Enos 90 “Cainan 70 “Mahalaleel 65 “Jared 102 “Enoch 65 “Methuselah 187 “Lamech 182 Noah at the Deluge 600 From the Deluge to the birth of Arphaxad 2 Age of Arphaxad at the birth of his son 35 “Salah 30 “Eber 34 “Peleg 30 “Reu 32 “Serug 30 “Nahor 29 “Terah at his death 205 From his death to the Exode 430 2514 In the Wilderness 40 To the division of the land 6 During the Judges to Samuel 450 Total 3009 years.