It is easy to overlook because there are so few data points: the flow of time in Exodus through Deuteronomy. Here, I present an exercise that I like to include in teaching the book of Numbers, as it provides a clear picture of Israel’s journey and stay at Mount Sinai. It also strikingly illustrates and supports some of the main themes of Numbers
The exercise is simple. We collect each date given from Exodus 12 until the beginning of Deuteronomy and put it on a simple timeline in the format year/month/day, with the year of the Exodus as year 1. Below, I list the verses with date and event, followed by the final timeline and some reflections.
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Dates in Exodus through Deuteronomy (Year/Month/Day)
| 1/1/14 | Exodus 12:6 | The Passover lamb is slaughtered on the 14th of the first month of the year. The Israelites depart that night. |
| 1/4/1 | Exodus 19:1 | They arrive at Mount Sinai 2½ months later. |
| 2/1/1 | Exodus 40:17f | The tabernacle is erected (after nine months at Mount Sinai). |
| 2/1/1 | Leviticus 8:10f | Aaron and his sons are consecrated. No explicit date is given, but it occurs on the day the tabernacle is set up. |
| 2/2/1 | Numbers 1:1 | Numbers begins exactly one month later with the census. |
| 2/1/1 | Numbers 7:1 | The princes of the twelve tribes begin bringing their offerings for the tabernacle on the day it is set up. This event predates the census in Numbers 1, meaning we jump back one month. This was a busy day for Moses! |
| 2/1/? | Numbers 9:1 | The date is incomplete but must be in the first half of the month: the people are commanded to keep the Passover for the first time since leaving Egypt. |
| 2/1/1 | Numbers 9:15 | A flashback to the day the tabernacle was erected and the cloud covered it for the first time. |
| 2/2/20 | Numbers 10:11 | The people leave Mount Sinai. They have been there less than a year. |
| 40/1/? | Number 20:1 | The date of Miriam’s death does not specify the day or year, but it likely occurs at the beginning of the 40th year. The Israelites are already travelling north to the plains of Moab; later in this chapter, Aaron also dies. The next date confirms his death in the 40th year. |
| 40/5/1 | Numbers 33:38 | The date of Aaron’s death appears in the list of stations on the way. |
| 40/11/1 | Deuteronomy 1:3 | Moses delivers his final speech on this date, not many weeks before the Israelites cross the Jordan (before Passover, Joshua 5:10, which they celebrate on 41/1/14). |
Reflections
Israel remained at Mount Sinai from 1/4/1 to 2/2/20 – ten months and twenty days. Together with the Exodus itself, this was their formative experience, akin to an intensive discipleship training program. Yet, it was not a long period.
The journey to the Promised Land could have been completed soon after their departure from Sinai. According to Deuteronomy 1:2, the journey from Mount Sinai (Horeb) to Kadesh-Barnea, on the southern border of the Promised Land, takes only eleven days. In other words, the Israelites could have entered the land within fourteen months of leaving Egypt. Instead, it took 40 years…
As often noted, it took less than a year to take Israel out of Egypt. It took 40 years to take Egypt of out Israel.
What do we know about those 40 years in the wilderness? More precisely, if we exclude the time at Sinai and the journey north the time, the Israelites spent about 38 years wandering after their failing at Kadesh Barnea. We have detailed accounts of the time at Sinai and the final journey north, but what do we know about these 38 years?
Not much. The record of this period is sparse:
- Israel’s defeat in battle (Nu. 14:39-45).
- A short narrative about a sabbath breaker (Nu. 15:32-36). Most of Numbers 15 consists of legislation.
- The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Nu. 16f), which likely occurred soon after turning away from Kadesh-Barnea. Numbers 18f again contains mostly legislation.
In a subtle way, the text ‘snubs’ the first generation by largely skipping over their final 38 years. After the twelve spies and Korah’s rebellion, there is nothing more to say.
And yet… Something remarkable stands out. Numbers 15 begins with the words: “When you come into the land you are to inherit, which I am giving you” (Nu. 15:2). Immediately after a grave rebellion, God reaffirms his promise. He has not changed his mind; His word stands firm, unwavering.
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.