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Timeframe from Exodus to Jesus' Crucifixion

The timeframe from the Exodus to Jesus' crucifixion spans a significant period in biblical history, with various chronological calculations offered by ancient and modern scholars. The Exodus, meaning "departure" or "outgoing," marks the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt [7, 10].

According to 1 Kings 6:1, the building of Solomon's Temple began in the 480th year after the Exodus. Using a common chronology that places the fourth year of Solomon's reign around 1012 BC, the Exodus is calculated to have occurred in approximately 1491 BC [3]. Easton's Bible Dictionary similarly places the Exodus around 1490 BC, noting the 480 years before the Temple's construction [4]. However, some Egyptologists propose a later date, around 1300 BC [3]. The period of the Israelites' sojourn in Egypt is stated as 430 years in Exodus 12:40 [4]. This 430-year period, according to the Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch, covers the time from God's promise to Abraham until the Exodus [11]. Genesis 15:13-16 also mentions a period of 400 years of oppression, which is often considered a round number for the 430 years [14]. Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, notes that the interval from Isaac's death to the Exodus was 220 years [1, 2]. He also describes the period from the Exodus to the rejection of that generation as two years [8, 9].

The crucifixion of Jesus is a pivotal event in the New Testament. Mark's Gospel records Jesus' crucifixion as occurring at the third hour, or nine o'clock in the morning, while John 19:14 gives the time as around the sixth hour, or noon. These are understood as rough estimates of time [16]. Crucifixion itself was a method of capital punishment originating with the Medes and Persians, spreading through Alexander the Great, and becoming dominant in the Roman Empire until its ban in AD 337 by Constantine. It was characterized by its slow, shameful, and torturous nature [12].

Prophetic timelines in the Old Testament are sometimes used to calculate the period leading to Christ. Daniel 9:25 speaks of a period of "seventy weeks" (490 years) from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem until the Messiah [17]. Adam Clarke, a Methodist commentator, suggests that if one reckons back 490 years from the death of Christ, which he places at the Passover in the 4746th year of the Julian period, it leads to the time of this command [17]. The "seventy years" of exile mentioned in Jeremiah 25:11 is another significant prophetic period, fulfilled either from 605 BC to 538 BC or from 586 BC to 515 BC, or symbolically representing a perfect lifetime of judgment [13].

The concept of "exodus" also takes on theological significance in the New Testament. Luke 9:31 describes Jesus' departure from this world as "his exodus," signifying his death, resurrection, and ascension as God's new and greater act of deliverance, paralleling the Old Testament Exodus from Egypt [15]. Josephus also records various historical intervals, such as the 32 years from the banishment of Archelaus to the departure from Babylon [5, 6].

Sources

  1. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK II, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Two Hundred And Twenty Years.—From The Death Of Isaac To The Exodus Out Of Egypt.”
  2. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK II, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Two Hundred And Twenty Years.—From The Death Of Isaac To The Exodus Out Of Egypt.”
  3. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Exodus, The — of the Israelites from Egypt. the common chronology places the date of this event at B.C. 1491, deriving it in this way:--In (1 Kings 6:1) it is stated that the building of the temple, in the forth year of Solomon, was in the 480th year after the exodus. The fourth year of Solomon was bout B.C. 1012. Add the 480 years (leaving off one years because neither the fourth nor the 480th was a full year), and we have B.C. 1491 as the date of the exodus. This is probably very nearly correct; but many Egyptologists place it at 215 years later,--about B.C. 1300. W”
  4. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Exodus — The great deliverance wrought for the children of Isreal when they were brought out of the land of Egypt with "a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm" (Ex 12:51; Deut. 26:8; Ps 114; 136), about B.C. 1490, and four hundred and eighty years (1 Kings 6:1) before the building of Solomon's temple. The time of their sojourning in Egypt was, according to Ex. 12:40, the space of four hundred and thirty years. In the LXX., the words are, "The sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty y”
  5. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK XVIII, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Two Years.—From The Banishment Of Archelaus To The Departure From Babylon.”
  6. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK XVIII, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Two Years.—From The Banishment Of Archelus To The Departure From Babylon.”
  7. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Exodus, Book of — Exodus is the name given in the LXX. to the second book of the Pentateuch (q.v.). It means "departure" or "outgoing." This name was adopted in the Latin translation, and thence passed into other languages. The Hebrews called it by the first words, according to their custom, Ve-eleh shemoth (i.e., "and these are the names"). It contains, (1.) An account of the increase and growth of the Israelites in Egypt (ch. 1) (2.) Preparations for their departure out of Egypt (2-12:36). (3.) Their journeyings from Egypt to Sinai (12:37-19:2). (4.) The giving of ”
  8. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK III, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Two Years.—From The Exodus Out Of Egypt, To The Rejection Of That Generation.”
  9. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, BOOK III, section 1: . Containing The Interval Of Two Years.—From The Exodus Out Of Egypt, To The Rejection Of That Generation.”
  10. Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Exodus — going out, departure”
  11. Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 12:40: 12:40 According to the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, 430 years would cover the full period from the promise to Abraham (Gen 12; 15) until the Exodus. Cp. Gal 3:17; see further Exodus Book Introduction, The Date of the Exodus.”
  12. Mark (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Mark 15:24: 15:24 Crucifixion goes back to the Medes and Persians in the 600s BC. It spread to the eastern Mediterranean world in the 300s BC through Alexander the Great and became the dominant form of capital punishment in the Roman Empire until AD 337, when it was banned by Constantine. It was slow, shameful, and torturous. The victim sometimes lived for days, and crows and dogs would feed on the victims even before they died. A person could be fixed to the cross by ropes or, as with Jesus (Luke 24:39; John 20:25, 27; see Col 2:14), by nails between the bones of the victim’s”
  13. Jeremiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Jeremiah 25:11: 25:11 seventy years: This is the first instance of a specific time period assigned to the Exile. The prediction was fulfilled either from 605 BC (the first exile to Babylon) to around 538 BC (when Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Judea), or from 586 BC (the destruction of the Temple) to 515 BC (the dedication of the Second Temple). Or, the number can be seen as symbolic: God’s judgment on Jerusalem would last a perfect lifetime, and for the exact length of time that God had determined.”
  14. Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 15:13: 15:13-16 Not even 400 years of bondage could interfere with God’s plan to fulfill the covenant. 15:13 oppressed: The same word is used in Exod 1:11-12. Egypt, like predatory birds (Gen 15:11), would try to destroy Israel and hinder the covenant’s fulfillment. • Apparently 400 years is a round number (also Acts 7:6; cp. Exod 12:40; Gal 3:17). Using the chronology in the Hebrew text, the family moved to Egypt around 1876 BC, and the Exodus occurred around 1446 BC (though many scholars date the Exodus later, around 1270 BC; see Exodus Book Introduction, “The Date o”
  15. Luke (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Luke 9:31: 9:31 his exodus from this world: The Greek word exodos means “departure.” As the exodus from Egypt was God’s great act of deliverance in the Old Testament, so Jesus’ exodus from this world—his death, resurrection, and ascension—was God’s great act of deliverance in the New Testament. Jesus would accomplish a new and greater exodus.”
  16. Mark (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Mark 15:25: 15:25 Mark records Jesus’ crucifixion as occurring at the third hour, or nine o’clock in the morning. John 19:14 gives the time as around the sixth hour, or noon. These are rough estimates of time, and events in the later morning were typically described as occurring around either the third (Matt 20:3; Acts 2:15) or sixth hour (Mark 15:33; Matt 20:5; 27:45; Luke 23:44; John 4:6; 19:14; Acts 10:9).”
  17. Daniel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Daniel 9:25: From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem - The foregoing events being all accomplished by Jesus Christ, they of course determine the prophecy to him. And if we reckon back four hundred and ninety years, we shall find the time of the going forth of this command. Most learned men agree that the death of Christ happened at the passover in the month Nisan, in the four thousand seven hundred and forty-sixth year of the Julian period. Four hundred and ninety years, reckoned back from the above year, leads us directly to the month Nisan in ”
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