The 400 Years of Silence between the Old Testament
The concept of the "400 Years of Silence" refers to the period between the last prophetic writings of the Old Testament, typically considered to be Malachi, and the events of the New Testament. However, the actual duration and characterization of this period are subjects of debate among scholars.
The term "400 Years of Silence" is not directly derived from biblical text but is rather a historical construct. The number 400 is often associated with periods of testing, trial, or significant events in biblical narratives. For instance, the Israelites sojourned in a foreign land for 400 years, according to Acts 7:6, although this duration is specified as 430 years in Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17 [3]. The discrepancy is addressed by Adam Clarke, who notes that Stephen's use of 400 years is a round number, omitting the odd tens, a common practice among ancient writers [3].
The period between the Old and New Testaments is characterized by a lack of prophetic writings within the Hebrew Bible. The last prophetic book, Malachi, is generally dated to around 400 BCE. The subsequent period saw the rise of various Jewish sects and the influence of Hellenistic culture. Flavius Josephus's historical accounts provide valuable insights into this era, detailing events and figures that shaped Jewish history during this time [1, 2].
The significance of the number 400 or 430 is also seen in other biblical contexts. For example, Ezekiel 4:5 mentions 390 days (years) of punishment for Israel and 40 for Judah, totaling 430 years, a period associated with the covenant people's sojourn in Egypt [8]. Similarly, Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai, sustained by God without earthly sustenance, a pattern repeated in the fasting of Elijah and Jesus [5, 6].
Different traditions interpret the significance and duration of this intertestamental period in various ways. Jewish tradition, as represented by Rashi, focuses on the observance of Sabbatical and Jubilee years, linking the 70 years of Babylonian exile to the neglected observances [7]. Abraham Ibn Ezra discusses the 400 years mentioned in Genesis 15:13, suggesting it started from a specific event or date, with variations in interpretation regarding its beginning and end [4].
The characterization of the period as one of "silence" may be somewhat misleading, as it was a time of significant historical and religious development. The absence of prophetic writings within the Hebrew canon does not mean a complete lack of religious or literary activity. Instead, it highlights the transition from the prophetic era to the period of the Second Temple Judaism, which laid the groundwork for the emergence of Christianity.
Sources
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK IV, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Eight Years.—From The Rejection Of That Generation To The Death Of Moses.”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK IV, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Eight Years.—From The Rejection Of That Generation To The Death Of Moses.”
- Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 7:6: That his seed should sojourn in a strange land - See Gen 15:13, Gen 15:14. Four hundred years - Moses says, Exo 12:40, that the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt - was 430 years. See the note there. St. Paul has the same number, Gal 3:17; and so has Josephus, Ant. lib. ii. cap. 1, sect. 9; in Bell. lib. v. cap. 9, sect. 4. St. Stephen uses the round number of 400, leaving out the odd tens, a thing very common, not only in the sacred writers, but in all others, those alone excepted who write professedly on chronological matters.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Genesis 15:13: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. Until the end of this period (four hundred years) starting from this very day. 33 In Ex. 12:40, I.E. writes that the 400 years started with the birth of Isaac. Some versions have “from Isaac’s birth” in our text.”
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 9:9: 9:9 Covenant here refers to the promises God made with Israel nearly forty years earlier at Sinai (see 4:13). • The common biblical expression forty days and forty nights represents trial or testing (Exod 34:28). Moses’ fast was like Jesus’ fast (Matt 4:2). It is physically possible to go without food for forty days, but a person cannot ordinarily survive without water for more than a few days. Moses was directly sustained by God (cp. Matt 4:11).”
- Exodus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Exodus 24:18: Forty days and forty nights - During the whole of this time he neither ate bread nor drank water; see Exo 34:28; Deu 9:9. Both his body and soul were so sustained by the invigorating presence of God, that he needed no earthly support, and this may be the simple reason why he took none. Elijah fasted forty days and forty nights, sustained by the same influence, Kg1 19:8; as did likewise our blessed Lord, when he was about to commence the public ministry of his own Gospel, Mat 4:2. 1. Moses, who was the mediator of the Old Covenant, is alone permitted to draw nigh to”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on 2 Chronicles 36:21: all the days of its desolation it rested until the completion of seventy years [corresponding to] the Sabbatical and Jubilee years that Israel had neglected to observe in the land, and corresponding to them they were exiled for seventy years. The land of Israel rested for those seventy years. The Israelites provoked [God] in their land for 430 years. These included 390 years from the time they entered the land until the ten tribes were exiled therefrom, and they are explained (as follows): 243 years from the time Jeroboam ascended the thron”
- Ezekiel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ezekiel 4:5: three hundred and ninety days--The three hundred ninety years of punishment appointed for Israel, and forty for Judah, cannot refer to the siege of Jerusalem. That siege is referred to in Eze 4:1-3, and in a sense restricted to the literal siege, but comprehending the whole train of punishment to be inflicted for their sin; therefore we read here merely of its sore pressure, not of its result. The sum of three hundred ninety and forty years is four hundred thirty, a period famous in the history of the covenant-people, being that of their sojourn in Egy”