SEV Biblia, Chapter 13:20
Y despus, como por cuatrocientos cincuenta aos, les dio jueces hasta el profeta Samuel.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 13:20
Verse 20. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years] This is a most difficult passage, and has been termed by Scaliger, Crux Chronologorum. The apostle seems here to contradict the account in 1 Kings vi. 1: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, he began to build the house of the Lord. Sir Norton Knatchbull, in his annotations upon difficult texts, has considered the various solutions proposed by learned men of the difficulty before us; and concludes that the words of the apostle should not be understood as meaning how long God gave them judges, but when he gave them; and therefore proposes that the first words of this verse, kai meta tauta, wv etesi tetrakosioiv kai penthkonta, should be referred to the words going before, chap. xiii. 17, that is, to the time WHEN the God of the children of Israel chose their fathers.
"Now this time wherein God may properly be said to have chosen their fathers, about 450 years before he gave them judges, is to be computed from the birth of Isaac, in whom God may properly be said to have chosen their fathers; for God, who had chosen Abraham out of all the people of the earth, chose Isaac at this time out of the children of Abraham, in whose family the covenant was to rest. To make this computation evident, let us observe that from the birth of Isaac to the birth of Jacob are 60 years; from thence to their going into Egypt, 130; from thence to the exodus, 210; from thence to their entrance into Canaan, 40; from that to the division of the land (about which time it is probable they began to settle their government by judges) 7 years; which sums make 4xl7: viz. 60 + 130 + 210 + 40 + 7 = 447. And should this be reckoned from the year before the birth of Isaac, when God established his covenant between himself and Abraham, and all his seed after him, Gen. xvii. 19, at which time God properly chose their fathers, then there will be 448 years, which brings it to within two years of the 450, which is sufficiently exact to bring it within the apostle's wv, about, or nearly.
"Some have made the period 452 years; which, though two years more than the apostle's round number, is still sufficiently reconcilable with his qualifying particle wv, about. And it may be added that the most correct writers often express a sum totally, but not exactly: so, with Demosthenes and Plautus, we find that called a talent where some drachms were either wanting or abounding." The sacred writers often express themselves in the same way: e.g. He made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about. Now we know that the circumference of any circle is only in round numbers to its diameter as three to one; but, correctly, is considerably more, nearly as 22 to 7. But even the Spirit of God does not see it necessary to enter into such niceties, which would only puzzle, and not instruct the common reader.
Calmet has paraphrased these passages nearly to the same sense: the text may be thus connected; ver. 19. And having destroyed; seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot, about one hundred and fifty years after. And afterwards he gave them judges, to the time of Samuel the prophet. The paraphrase of Calmet is the following: "The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers in the person of Abraham; he promised him the land of Canaan; and four hundred and fifty years after this promise, and the birth of Isaac, who was the son and heir of the promise, he put them in possession of that land which he had promised so long before." As this view of the subject removes all the principal difficulties, I shall not trouble my reader with other modes of interpretation.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. And after that he gave unto them judges , etc.] As Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, and Eli: about the space of four hundred and fifty years ; not that from the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes, to Samuel the prophet, was such a space of years; for from the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt, to the year that Solomon began to build the temple, were but four hundred and fourscore years, ( 1 Kings 6:1) and out of these must be taken the forty years the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and seven years in subduing the land of Canaan, before the division of it, which reduce this number to four hundred and thirty and three; and from hence must be deducted the time of Samuels judging Israel, the reigns of Saul and David, and three years of Solomons, which reduced the years of the judges to less than four hundred years; and according to some, the years of the judges were three hundred and fifty seven; and according to others, three hundred and thirty nine, and both fall short of the space of years here assigned. The Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read this clause in connection with the preceding words, he divided their land unto them, about the space of four hundred years, and after that he gave unto them judges; agreeably hereunto the Ethiopic version renders it, and after four hundred and fifty years, he set over them governors, &c. So that this account respects not the time of the judges, or how long they were, but refers to all that goes before, and measures out the space of time from Gods choice of the Jewish fathers, to the division of the land of Canaan: and reckoning from the birth of Isaac, when the choice took place, and in whom Abrahams seed was called, there was much about such a number of years; for from the birth of Isaac to the birth of Jacob, were sixty years; from thence to his going down into Egypt, an hundred and thirty years; and from thence to the Israelites coming out of Egypt, two hundred and ten years; and from thence to their entrance into the land of Canaan, forty years; and from that time to the division of the land, seven years, which in all make four hundred and forty seven years: so that, according to this account, there were three years wanting of the sum in the text; hence the apostle might with great propriety say, that it was about the space of so many years. It follows, until Samuel the prophet ; the meaning of which, is not that there was such a space of time as before mentioned, from the distribution of the land of Canaan until the times of Samuel the prophet, during which space judges were given; but that after that term of time was expired, God gave them judges, or raised up one after another, until Samuel the prophet, who was the last of them: of his character as a prophet, (See Gill on Acts 3:24) and which is a title frequently given him by Jewish writers f668 .
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 14-31 - When we come together to worship God, we must do it, not only by praye and praise, but by the reading and hearing of the word of God. The bar reading of the Scriptures in public assemblies is not enough; the should be expounded, and the people exhorted out of them. This i helping people in doing that which is necessary to make the wor profitable, to apply it to themselves. Every thing is touched upon in this sermon, which might best prevail with Jews to receive and embrac Christ as the promised Messiah. And every view, however short or faint of the Lord's dealings with his church, reminds us of his mercy an long-suffering, and of man's ingratitude and perverseness. Paul passe from David to the Son of David, and shows that this Jesus is his promised Seed; a Saviour to do that for them, which the judges of ol could not do, to save them from their sins, their worst enemies. When the apostles preached Christ as the Saviour, they were so far from concealing his death, that they always preached Christ crucified. Ou complete separation from sin, is represented by our being buried with Christ. But he rose again from the dead, and saw no corruption: thi was the great truth to be preached.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ μετα 3326 PREP ταυτα 5023 D-APN ως 5613 ADV ετεσιν 2094 N-DPN τετρακοσιοις 5071 A-DPN και 2532 CONJ πεντηκοντα 4004 A-NUI εδωκεν 1325 5656 V-AAI-3S κριτας 2923 N-APM εως 2193 CONJ σαμουηλ 4545 N-PRI του 3588 T-GSM προφητου 4396 N-GSM
Robertson's NT Word Studies
13:20 {And after these things} (kai meta tauta). That is, the time of the Judges qen began. Cf. #Jud 2:16. {Until Samuel the prophet} (hews samouel profetou). The _terminus ad quem_. He was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets who selected the first king (Saul) under God's guidance. Note the absence of the Greek article with profetou.
