How many years from the Exodus to Solomon’s temple?

three times two thousand years (3) – Exodus to Solomon

27-02-2026 - Posted by Geert-Jan

Originally posted on February 26, 2026 – by Andre Piet
reading time: approximately 4 minutes

from the exodus to Solomon: five hundred years

The exodus from Egypt in the year 2500 since Adam marks a new quarter in the Biblical reckoning of time. In this article it is demonstrated that the subsequent history as well is structured according to a fixed measure. Scripture shows that the period from the exodus to the completion of Solomon’s building projects comprises exactly five hundred years.

The Biblical reckoning of time here also does not dissolve into loose terms or confusing additions, but is carried by several clear reference points that connect with one another in time.

the exodus as a fixed starting point

The exodus from Egypt forms a sharply marked moment in Scripture. Exodus 12:41 states that this event occurred “at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day.” Thus the moment is fixed not only historically, but also chronologically.

In the previous articles it has been established that the exodus took place in the year 2500 since Adam (Anno Hominis). This year marks the end of the first five hundred years after Abraham’s birth and at the same time forms the starting point for the next period.

forty years of wilderness journey

After the exodus follows a period which in Scripture is strikingly consistent in its designation: the forty years in the wilderness. Numbers 32:13 says:

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years.

This term is confirmed repeatedly (Deut. 2:14; Josh. 5:6; Ps. 95:10; Acts 7:36). Thus the wilderness journey ends in the year 2540 since Adam. From that moment the entry into the promised land begins.

conquest and division of the land

The conquest of Canaan did not take place in one year. Exodus 23:29–30 makes clear that the land was taken gradually. Scripture, however, allows the total duration of this phase to be established.

In Joshua 14:10–11 Caleb speaks of his age at the allotment of Hebron. He was then eighty-five years old and recalls that he had been forty years old at the spying out. Since he then remained thirty-eight years in the wilderness (Deut. 2:14), Caleb was seventy-eight years old at the entry into the land. This means that he received his inheritance seven years after the entry.

Yet this does not mean that the entire land had already been divided at that time. Joshua 18 makes clear that at that moment seven tribes had not yet received their inheritance and that the further division still had to take place. The division of the land therefore did not consist only of the seven years of conquest, but continued until ten years after the entry.

In Acts 13:19–20 this term is mentioned: Paul says that God “gives their land to them as an allotment for about four hundred and fifty years.” With “about” no elastic period is meant, but a rounded time designation. This period runs until the division of the land. Thus the completion of the land division comes out in the year 2550 since Adam.

a frequently heard explanation

Older translations have sometimes applied these four hundred and fifty years to the period of the judges. That explanation, however, is not in accordance with the text. Paul speaks here about receiving the land, not about the period afterward. This also appears from the connection with the “about forty years” in the wilderness (Acts 13:18), which uses the same rounded designation. The four hundred and fifty years thus connect with the earlier time indications from Abraham onward.

the beginning of the sabbatical and jubilee years

From the moment the land is divided and can actually be cultivated, the counting of sabbatical years begins. Leviticus 25:2 determines that this counting starts when Israel dwells in the land and cultivates it.

Six years of labor, the seventh year rest, and after seven sabbatical years follows the fiftieth year: the jubilee. It is noteworthy that this counting connects seamlessly with the existing chronology. The year 2550 thus forms a logical starting point for these cycles.

an indispensable link: 1 Kings 6:1

The further history, particularly the time of the judges, at first glance seems difficult to survey. Scripture, however, prevents the chronology from becoming open or elastic here.

In 1 Kings 6:1 we read:

And it is coming to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came forth from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv (this is the second month), that he begins to build the house of YHWH.

With this single statement Scripture connects the exodus directly with the building of the temple. If the exodus took place in 2500 AH, then the temple construction began in 2980 AH.

twenty years of building: temple and palace

Solomon built seven years on the temple (1 Kings 6:38) and thirteen years on his palace (1 Kings 7:1). Together these projects form a period of twenty years. 1 Kings 9:10 and 2 Chronicles 8:1 explicitly speak of “the twenty years” in which these structures were completed.

Thus the completion of Solomon’s building projects brings us to the year 3000 since Adam.

the year 3000 as completion

It thus appears that the period from the exodus to the completion of Solomon’s temple and palace comprises exactly five hundred years. This year forms not only a historical high point, but also a marked point in the Biblical time structure: one thousand years after Abraham’s birth and five hundred years after the exodus.

Once again it becomes visible that Biblical history does not proceed randomly, but according to fixed measure and coherence.

conclusion: fixed measure in history

The second period of five hundred years after the exodus proves to form a closed whole. The wilderness journey, the entry, the division of the land and the temple construction connect seamlessly. Crucial passages of Scripture link these moments into one continuous timeline.

Thus Scripture also here confirms that history is not presented as open or elastic, but carefully counted. In the following articles it will be examined how the remaining centuries within this second two-thousand-year period likewise proceed according to the same order.