Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Henry Churchyard" <churchh AT usa.net>]

> Subject: Re: Dating the Pentateuch, Jericho Anomalies
> From: "Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>
> Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:14:23 +0200

> The Pentateuchal account suggests the Exodus occuring ca. 1441 BCE
> (cf. 1 Kings 6:1 which states the Exodus occured 480 years before
> Solomon's 4th year and his building of the temple).

Pretty much any number in the Bible which is a multiple of 40 is under
suspicion of being a rough estimate (here an estimated 12 generations
at a conventional 40 years per generation) rather than an exact
calculation.  It's certainly reasonable to explore the hypothesis that
this might actually be an exact number, but if such a hypothesis
doesn't work out, I don't think one should then pride oneself on
having refuted the "religious" point of view (as if there were only
one!) or on having up-held the "Humanist" point of view (whatever
that's supposed to mean).

P.S.  There are no B.C. or A.D. dates in the Bible, by the way.

--
Henry Churchyard   churchh AT usa.net   http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/