The Jubilee Year Dilemma

The Jubilee Year and its relationship to the Exodus is a dilemma that causes some to question whether the Scriptures are historically accurate, and this has been a topic of scholarly debate for generations. For those who trust the Scriptures’ account as a reliable historical document, a significant problem exists when comparing its chronology to the traditional dates assigned to Egyptian history.

Dynasty Stacking
The standard approach to dating ancient events often relies on “dynasty stacking.” “Dynasty stacking” is the practice of placing Egyptian dynasties in a linear sequence without allowing for overlaps or regional differences in their rule. This methodology has led to inflated timelines that are often at odds with historical records from neighboring cultures, including the Israelites. By relying on this approach, conventional scholarship has distorted the chronology of ancient Egypt and, by extension, the dating of key events in the scriptural narrative.

However, R. Clover’s research, particularly as detailed in his work The Sabbath and Jubilee Cycle published by Qadesh La Yahweh Press, proposes an alternative approach rooted in the scriptural Jubilee Year, which holds the key to unlocking a more accurate timeline for Israelite and broader Near Eastern history.

This article explores the dilemma of the conflicting chronologies between conventional historical dates and the scriptural record, the significance of the Jubilee Year as a chronological anchor, and how Clover’s findings challenge the established views of Egyptian and Israelite history. Continue reading “The Jubilee Year Dilemma”

Year of the Exodus: 1439 B.C.E.

This study aims to demonstrate that the exact year of the Exodus can be attained by utilizing the foundation of the Jubilee Years as revealed in Scriptures.

Delving into the topic’s complexity, we ask: How can a Jubilee Year be connected to the Exodus when its instructions are not given until the book of Leviticus, which is dated to the second year of the Exodus Era?

Even more confounding is the fact that the first Jubilee Year was not observed until well beyond the 40 years of the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness.

And Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, Without a doubt (1a) YOU SHALL COME INTO THE LAND which I am giving to you (1b) AND THE LAND SHALL HAVE A SABBATH, A SABBATH FOR YAHWEH. (2a) YOU SHALL SOW YOUR FIELD 6 YEARS and you shall prune your vineyard 6 years and shall gather the produce. (2b) AND IN THE 7TH YEAR A SABBATH SABBATHON SHALL BE FOR THE LAND, A SABBATH FOR YAHWEH. Your field you shall not sow and your vineyard you shall not prune. That which grows of itself of your harvest you shall not harvest and the grapes of your unkept vine you shall not gather. A year of sabbathon it shall be for the land. And the Sabbath of the land shall be to you for food, to you and to your male servant and your female servant, and to your hired one and to your tenant, those living among you, and to your cattle and to the beast which is on your land, shall all the produce of it be for food. (Lev. 25: 1-7)

It is essential to notice in the above citation that the Israelites would observe two Sabbath years sometime after entering the land. We shall further demonstrate this point later in our study.
Continue reading “Year of the Exodus: 1439 B.C.E.”