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The Hebrew version of 1 Kings dates the temple’s founding to 480 years after the Exodus, while the Greek Septuagint says 440 years. The forty-year difference moves the date of the Exodus itself and matches the priestly generations listed in 1 Chronicles.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Kings 6:1
Hebrew Bible
1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord’s temple. 2 The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
LXX 1 Kings 6:1
Septuagint
1 It happened in the four hundred and fortieth year of the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt, in the fourth year at the second month of the rule of King Solomon over Israel, 2 b they lifted large valuable stones onto the foundation of the house, rough stones
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Notes and References
... There is another possibility, however: the translator or a scribe within Hebrew tradition was ashamed by the sheer length of Israel’s stay in Egypt. 1 Kings/3 Reigns 6:1 offers different readings concerning the date of the temple’s construction after the exodus (the Masoretic Text: 480 years; the Septuagint: 440 years). The Masoretic reading states the symbolic number 12 x 40 times whereas the Septuagint reading can be understood as harmonization with 1 Chronicles 5:29–34: 40 years of priesthood are granted for every one of the 11 generations mentioned. ...
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