Datingthe Books of the Bible
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
, [Author, Moses].
The life of Mosesextended for 120 years (Deut. 34:7). The first forty years (1525-1485 BC) were spent in thecourts of Pharaoh leaning all the wisdom of Egypt. (Acts 7:22). The next forty years (1485-1445BC) found Moses in the desert of Midian as a shepherd. (Ex. 2:15; Acts 7:30) During the finalforty years (1445-1405 BC) of his life, Moses led the children of Israel in the Sinai wilderness. Itwas during this time
(1445-1405 BC)
that the Lord gave Moses the Law.
Joshua,
[Author, Joshua].
The events of the Book of Joshua cover a forty-year time period
(c.1407-1367).
This date is established from 1 Kings 6:1 and counting backwards. According tothat passage, the fourth year of the reign of Solomon was also the 480
th
year since the children of Israel had left the land of bondage, Egypt, or 1447 BC. The forty years of wandering in thedesert would establish the dates suggested here. The author of Joshua is Joshua.
Judges,
[Author, Unknown].
The
Book of Judges
covers a period of about three hundred yearsreaching from the death of Joshua in 1367 BC until the days of Samuel (c. 1064-1044 BC)
Ruth,
[Author, Unknown].
The opening verses place Ruth in the period of the judges during atime of great famine. According to Judges 6:3-6, such a condition exited during the days of theMidianite oppression, c. 1150 BC.
1-2 Samuel
, [Author, Unknown].
According to Jewish tradition, Samuel did write the earlierportions of 1 Samuel, (11
th
century BC) which was honored by the prophets Nathan and Gad.(Cf. 1 Chron. 29:29) The final editing of the two books probably took place after the death of Solomon in 931 BC since 1 Samuel 27:6 speaks of the kingdom being divided. Almost a centuryof Hebrew history is covered (c. 1064-971 BC) as the era of the judges comes to an end and amonarchy is established.
1-2 Kings,
[Author, Unknown].
The two books of Kings record the history of the Jews from thedays of Solomon (971-931 BC) to the break up of the kingdom under the reign of Rehoboam.The narrative continues through the history of the two nations until the Northern Kingdom(Israel) falls in 722 BC and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) in 586 BC. About 385 years arecovered.
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