INQUIRY:
Did Solomon’s reign begin 476 (1 Kings 6:1) or 570 years (Acts 13:17-22; 1 Chronicles 29:26) after the Israelites left Egypt? Was David’s reign 40 years? Is there a contradiction?
RESPONSE:
The 570 years are tallied as 50 (years in the desert), 450 years of judges, 40 years of Saul, and 40 years of David.
It is unfortunate that the KJV and NKJV apply the 450 years to the time of the judges. As the questioner has pointed out, there is not enough room for 450 years of judges in the timeline. Other translations have rendered the text differently. Consider the ESV:
The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arms he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. (Ac 13:17-20)
The time from the promised son to receiving the inheritance in Canaan is 447 years (“about 450 years”). It is tallied as 60 (years from Isaac to Jacob) 130 (years from Jacob to Egypt), 210 (years in Egypt), 40 (years wandering), and 7 (years settling the land).
There is an issue in how the KJV and NKJV have rendered the text, but a discrepancy free translation can be found in other versions.
A response to 1001 Bible Contradictions.
