Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Israel(ite) independence riddle

Tonight, the state of Israel celebrates 57 years of existence as a sovereign, united state. (For a sampling of the many things Israel has to celebrate, please see today's Jerusalem Post editorial.)

Question: Between the time they entered the Land of Israel and the destruction of the First Temple, for how many years did the Israelites exist as a sovereign, united state (or kingdom, to be more precise)?

Tune in next week for the answer.

As the Yom Ha'atzmaut greeting goes: Moadim l'simcha v'ligeula shelema - May we have a joyous festival and see the completion of our redemption.

2 comments:

Steg (dos iz nit der šteg) said...

Hmm... i'd say however long it was that Sha’ul, David, and Shelomo ruled, minus the years at the beginning of David's kingship when the northern tribes were following Sha’ul's son Ishboshet.
Around... 100 years or so?

( too lazy to actually look the exact figures up ;-) )

Zman Biur said...

You're on the right track. It's worth checking the details, though. You may be surprised.

Come on, folks - this is basic Early Prophets! No other takers?