Stop 6. Abraham and the exodus

Now the four lines join one thick black line. That is Israel's story, and every view shares it. It begins in a dashed box, because this stretch has no fixed date.

Two things move the dates here. The first is the exodus. The Bible gives a clue: "In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel" (1 Kings 6:1). Solomon's fourth year was 966 BC. Count back 480 years and you get about 1446 BC. That is the early date.

Many scholars prefer a late date, about 1270 to 1260 BC. They point to the city of Rameses in Exodus 1:11 and to Egyptian history. The black line splits into two paths here, and they meet again at David.

The second thing is the 430 years of Exodus 12:40. The Hebrew counts them from Jacob's entry into Egypt. The Greek and the Samaritan copies count them from Abraham's call, and so does Paul in Galatians 3:17. Put the two questions together and Abraham's birth lands anywhere from about 2166 to 1770 BC.

The first time the name "Israel" shows up outside the Bible is on an Egyptian stone, the Merneptah Stele, about 1208 BC. Look for the blue dot in the lane marked "Outside anchors."

Picture: Chart 2, the dashed box and the two exodus paths.