And after that he gave to them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
he gave.
Judges 2:16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
Judges 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
Ruth 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
until.
1 Samuel 3:20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
After this, God gave them judges
The era of the judges was a time when Israel was ruled by leaders raised up by God to deliver them from oppression and lead them back to faithfulness. This period is detailed in the Book of Judges, which describes a cyclical pattern of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. The judges were not kings but were charismatic leaders who acted as military deliverers and spiritual leaders. This time highlights the need for righteous leadership and foreshadows the coming of a perfect judge and king in Jesus Christ. The judges served as types of Christ, each delivering Israel in a manner that pointed to the ultimate deliverance through Jesus.
until the time of Samuel the prophet.
Samuel marks the transition from the period of the judges to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. He was the last judge and the first prophet in a new era, anointing the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. Samuel's role as a prophet was crucial in guiding Israel through this transition, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God over the desire for a human king. His life and ministry are recorded in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Samuel's prophetic ministry points to Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King. Samuel's anointing of David also foreshadows the coming of the Messiah, who would be a descendant of David and fulfill God's promises to establish an everlasting kingdom.
Acts 13:17-19 has just traced Israel’s story from the patriarchs through the Exodus, the wilderness, and the conquest of Canaan. Paul then says, “All this took about 450 years.” The span covers:
• About 400 years in Egypt (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 12:40-41)
• 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33-34; Acts 7:36)
• Roughly 10 years for the conquest and allotment of the land (Joshua 14:7-15; 19:51)
That total—about 450 years—highlights God’s patient, covenant-keeping faithfulness across centuries. He never forgot His promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and, at exactly the right time, delivered and settled His people.
Verse 20 continues: “After this, God gave them judges.” The Lord Himself appointed these leaders (Judges 2:16-18), raising them up whenever Israel needed deliverance. Key truths:
• Judges were instruments of God’s mercy, rescuing Israel from oppression (Judges 3:9, 15; 6:14).
• Their appearance followed Israel’s repeated cycle of sin, discipline, repentance, and restoration (Judges 2:11-19).
• Through every cycle, “the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning” (Judges 2:18), underscoring His steadfast love.
Paul’s point is that God’s guidance didn’t stop once the land was secured; He continued to shepherd the nation through Spirit-empowered deliverers (Hebrews 11:32-34).
The judges ruled “until the time of Samuel the prophet.” Samuel stands at a turning point:
• Last judge (1 Samuel 7:15)
• Faithful prophet who spoke for God (1 Samuel 3:19-20)
• Priest who interceded for Israel (1 Samuel 7:9)
Under Samuel, Israel moved from tribal rule to monarchy. He anointed Saul (1 Samuel 10:1) and, crucially for Paul’s sermon, David (1 Samuel 16:13). By mentioning Samuel, Paul is steering his listeners toward the Davidic line that culminates in Jesus the Messiah (Acts 13:22-23).
Acts 13:20 compresses almost half a millennium into one sentence to showcase God’s unbroken faithfulness: He formed a people, freed them, settled them, and shepherded them through judges up to Samuel—setting the stage for King David and, ultimately, King Jesus. The verse reminds us that God’s promises are sure, His timing perfect, and His leadership trustworthy from generation to generation.
(20) After that he gave unto them judges . . .--The statement in the text, assigning 450 years to the period of the judges, and apparently reckoning that period from the distribution of the conquered territory, is at variance with that in 1Kings 6:1, which gives 480 years as the period intervening between the Exodus and the building of the temple. The better MSS., however, give a different reading--"He gave their land to them as an inheritance, about 450 years, and after these things he gave unto them judges," the 450 years in this case being referred to the interval between the choice of "our fathers," which may be reckoned from the birth of Isaac (B.C. 1897 according to the received chronology) to the distribution of the conquered country in B.C. 1444. So far as any great discrepancy is concerned, this is a sufficient explanation, but what has been said before as to the general tendency in a discourse of this kind to rest in round numbers, has also to be remembered. (See Note on Acts 7:6.) Josephus (Ant. viii. 3, ? 1) gives 592 years from the Exodus to the building of Solomon's Temple. Of this period sixty-five years were occupied by the wanderings in the wilderness and the conquest under Joshua, eighty-four by the reigns of Saul and David and the first four years of Solomon, leaving 443 years for the period of the Judges. This agrees, it will be seen, sufficiently with the Received text in this passage, but leaves the discrepancy with 1Kings 6:1 unexplained. There would of course, be nothing strange in St. Paul's following the same traditional chronology as Josephus, even where it differed from that of the present Hebrew text of the Old Testament.