Biblical chronology dispute

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The chronology of the events in the Bible, and hence of the length of the history in the world, remains in sharp dispute today. At least four different camps have made various assumptions concerning the interpretation of relevant Scripture and even the "best fit" of Scripture to the archaeological record. What follows below is a description of the four camps, and the assumption that each camp has made, followed by a synoptic comparative chronology illustrating the implications of the various positions.

The Disputed Era

The dispute at hand concerns the full length of the Old Testament era from Creation to the death of Nebuchadnezzar II. Secular history pegs this date at 562 BC.[1][2][3] Most discussions of the dispute in the secular literature seem to center on the dates of:

  1. The groundbreaking of the Temple of Solomon
  2. Exodus of Israel

Concerning the Exodus, secular archaeologists and Biblical scholars have often argued whether this event occurred in 1290 BC (the Late Date) or in either 1446 BC or earlier (the Early Date). But concerning the other dates, the disputes on them are merely the symptom of the actual sources of dispute, as the discussion will further show.

Four Opposing Camps

The four opposing camps, each of whom gives its own dates for the events detailed above and, by extension, the date of Creation, are the Hillel Camp, the Late Date Camp, the Ussher Camp, and the Thiele Camp.

The Hillel Camp

This camp includes the great Rabbi Hillel II, inventor of the nineteen-year-cyclic luni-solar Hebrew calendar used by Jews worldwide, and especially in present-day Israel.[4] This calendar calculates Creation, which presumably would fall on 1 Tishri Year 1, as October 7, 3761 BC according to the Julian calendar.[5]

The Hillel Camp is at its greatest odds with the other camps primarily because it assumes that the Messiah was not Jesus Christ at all, but a rebel leader named Bar Kokhba, who revolted against Rome in 135 AD, prompting Emperor Hadrian to scatter the Jews to the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire (the Diaspora) and rename the region from Judea to Palaestina, which is the nearest equivalent to "Philistia" in Latin.

The Late Date Camp

This camp holds that the Exodus occurred later in the history of Egypt than do the other three—anywhere from 155 to 200 years later.[6][7][8][9]

The Ussher Camp

This camp takes its name from James Ussher and includes every Biblical scholar, including Floyd Nolan Jones and Larry Pierce, who supports Ussher's original chronology. Ussherites insist that James Ussher's calculations, made strictly from Scripture, are impeccable and unimpeachable, and that any other date from archaeology must give place to it. However, as will soon be apparent, Ussher's assumptions are not entirely without controversy.[10][11]

The Thiele Camp

This line of research takes its name from Edwin R. Thiele, a historian and Biblical scholar who was one of several investigators who attempted to determine the record-keeping methods of the Biblical writers of the kingdom period, and after that was done, to see if the resultant Biblical chronology matched established dates in Assyrian and Babylonian history. An interesting consequence of this approach was that after Thiele had developed his chronology solely based on seeing if the Biblical reign lengths for the kingdom period produced a harmonious pattern, when he tried to match this pattern to commonly accepted dates in Assyrian history, he found that it did not match Assyrian dates at certain key points. Further investigation by Thiele showed it was the commonly accepted Assyrian dates, not the dates derived from the Bible, that were in error. By doing the appropriate research, he demonstrated to Assyriologists where their basic chronological backbone, the Assyrian Eponym Canon (AEC), was in error. His correction of the AEC, based on the Biblical data, is now accepted by virtually all Assyriologists. Further examples of how Thiele's Bible-based chronology contradicted commonly accepted Assyrian dates, and subsequent research showed it was the Bible's figures that were exact, are shown on the Edwin R. Thiele page.

It is necessary to clarify this issue because some scholars who maintain that Ussher's chronology, or a slight modification of it, is the only valid Biblical chronology have made very misleading statements about Thiele's method. The charge is made that Thiele started with Assyrian data and “force fit” his Biblical chronology to the findings of the Assyrian academy. This is exactly the opposite of what was done. Occasionally statements are not only false but are also quite bitter in attacking, and misrepresenting, what Thiele and those who have followed in his footsteps accomplished. This is shown by the following statements:

“[Thiele] did not honor the Hebrew Scriptures. He did not even come close. Careful study reveals that his faith and loyalty were totally to the Assyrian Eponym List (to be addressed presently). When the Hebrew Text did not directly fit into the Assyrian chronological scheme, it was contorted and disfigured until it apparently confirmed.”[12]

“That Thiele placed the Assyrian data as his infallible guide over the Scriptures is his own choosing . . . it is a decision for which he and all others who follow his example must give an account . . .”[13]

“. . . the absolute certainty with which he [Thiele] viewed the Assyrian/Babylonian records . . .”[14]

“Dr. Thiele . . . held to the Assyrian data as his certain guide rather than the Scriptures (though all the while professing to honor them) . . .”[15]

“Thiele’s chronology tortures and contorts the Hebrew record in order to make it fit the Assyrian framework.”[16]

“. . . the lengths Thiele went, as well as all who have walked in his footsteps, in unashamedly perverting Scripture.”[17]

“The net result of all this is that some have reduced the actual length of the Kingdom of Judah’s existence by 30 years, and as much as 44 (E.R. Thiele) and even as much as 53 years (William F. Albright). These men, including Christian scholars, feel completely justified in this wicked practice . . .”[18]

“The latest reconstruction by Thiele is but one of many attempts in the last 100 years to adjust the biblical account to match the current conjectured chronology of the Assyrians. Thiele very creatively manipulated the biblical data to eliminate about 40 years of history.” [19]

For further explanation of the methods of the “Thiele camp,” see the Edwin R. Thiele page, where the falseness of the above allegations is established.

Points of Agreement

The various camps agree on a number of key facts:

  1. The genealogy in the Bible from Adam to Noah, the date of the Great Flood in relation to Creation, and the further genealogy from Shem son of Noah to Terah father of Abraham, make a continuous timeline that all four camps accept virtually without question.
  2. The further genealogy from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob and his sons forms another unquestioned interval of time—though the date of the birth of Abraham is in dispute (see below).
  3. The groundbreaking of the Temple of Jerusalem took place in the 480th year following the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. This simple statement[20] does represent a point of dispute between these three camps on one hand, and the Late Date Camp on another. Specifically, the Thiele and Ussher camps are only forty-five years apart on the date of the Exodus, while the Late Date Camp dates the Exodus in 1290 BC, 201 years later than Ussher and 156 years later than Thiele. This would, if it could be shown, compress the period of the Judges greatly.

Key Points of Dispute

As has been noted elsewhere, attempts to establish a universally acceptable equivalency between Anno Mundi dates and Before Christ dates have faltered because of inability to resolve disputes on certain key dates, or epochs, in Biblical chronology and Biblical genealogy. None of the camps dispute the order of the events in the world time line. What they dispute is the intervals between and among them.

The Birth of Abraham

The first of these disputes concerns the birth of Abraham. The Bible says the following concerning the life of Terah, Abraham's father:

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. Genesis 11:26-27 (KJV)

Further along, concerning the end of Terah's life, the Bible says:

And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. Genesis 11:32 (KJV)

Immediately thereafter, the Bible details this event in Abraham's life:

So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. Genesis 12:4 (KJV)

The Hillel camp assumes that Abraham was born when Terah was seventy years old. But the Ussher camp asserts that the Bible shows Abraham leaving the Haran country after Terah was dead at the age of 205—which would make Terah 130 years old when Abraham was born. They explain the 60-year discrepancy by holding that Nahor or Haran was born when Terah was 70 years old, and Abraham was born much later.

Ussher's chief warrant for assuming this later date for Abraham's birth was the placement of the description of Abraham's departure after the account of Terah's death. He assumed that the Bible listed events in the order in which they took place. Modern Ussherites, among them Larry Pierce, assume the same. But in addition, Stephen, testifying before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem at his blasphemy trial, said this of Abraham:

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. Acts 7:4 (KJV)

The key to supporting the late-birth assumption is further assuming that dead means only physically dead. Ample precedent exists for the listing of certain events out of their strict order of occurrence, and in a more logical grouping by the life of the person involved. Genesis 5:1-32 is a perfect example of this. One can see further examples in the King Lists in I and II Kings. But the key point that critics of the late-birth assumption make is that the phrase "when his father was dead" could refer to a spiritual death that God reckoned when Terah forgot his initial purpose in taking his family out of their home city of Ur of the Chaldees.

The Sojourn in Egypt

The Bible says this concerning the length of time that the Israelites stayed in Egypt:

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. Genesis 15:13-14 (KJV)

And this:

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:40-41 (KJV)

But Paul in his Letter to the Galatians observed:

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Galatians 3:16-17 (KJV)

From that last, Ussher assumed that the 430-year sojourn must have begun when Abraham entered Canaan for the first time. His modern critics and opponents observe that Ussher had no definite warrant for assuming that the "making of the promises" necessarily took place at the dramatic covenant ceremony referenced in Genesis 15:13 . Furthermore, Stephen, the New Testament source cited earlier, reiterates that God told Abraham that his people would suffer for four hundred years.[21]

The Septuagint, for reasons lost in antiquity and probably known only to the original Seventy Interpreters, quotes Exodus 12:40 as saying, "who dwelt in Egypt and Canaan" (emphasis added). Yet most Ussherites are loath to cite this as a ground for their dating of the sojourn, because Ussher himself distrusted the Septuagint and used the Masoretic Text instead. If an Ussherite were, therefore, to try to stand on the Septuagint's rendition of this verse, they would have committed a logical fallacy closely akin to special pleading.

The Masoretic Text does indeed say that the sojourn—that is, a temporary stay—of the Israelites "who dwelt in Egypt" was 430 years. In addition to this consideration, one must consider the following:

  • Seventy "souls" in direct line-of-descent from Jacob entered Egypt during the Famine.[22]
  • On the day of the Exodus, the nation of Israel had six hundred thousand men of military age, in addition to children.[23] A nation having this many men of military age surely numbered at least two million altogether, and very likely five million.

If one assumes that each of those original "seventy souls" who entered Egypt had a fifty-member household (including family retainers), then the number of people who entered Egypt might have been 3500. To reach five million people requires the population to double at least ten times, and possibly eleven times.

Typically, a fast-growing population might double every twenty-five years. This means that at least two hundred fifty or two hundred seventy-five years must have passed between entry and Exodus. Thus a mere 215-year stay in Egypt falls short. A 430-year stay offers ample time and allows the population to double less frequently than once every twenty-five years.

In addition to which, many named characters in the Bible have as many as ten named generations—far too many to have occurred in 215 years.

To the objection that only four generations of Levites are named from Levi to Moses,[24] most scholars would say that the expression "son of" or "daughter of" need not signify one actually born in the other's household, but merely a direct lineal descendant of any degree, including grandsons and great-grandsons and so forth.

Further support for a long Sojourn can be found here. Briefly, the longer the Sojourn, the further back in history was the Babel Incident. If the Sojourn was short, and Abraham was born early in Terah's life, then Peleg would have been born in 2187, or one year after the likely founding of the Egyptian nation-state. A long Sojourn obviates the problem.

The Date of the Exodus

The Late Date camp asserts that the Exodus occurred late in the history of Egypt mostly on archaeological grounds. Some Late Date theorists argue that the references to the cities of Pithom and Pi-Ramesses in Exodus 1:11 force a late date, because those cities, by those names, did not exist in the 15th century BC.[6][7][8][9] Dyer says that this argument can hardly be conclusive, because even the late date would have the city of Ramesses built before Ramesses II took the throne, even under the assumptions of conventional Egyptian chronology.[8]

The other three camps stand on I_Kings 6:1 . Late-date theorists cannot and do not attempt to square this simple statement—that the Temple was built exactly 480 years after the Exodus—with archaeological findings that, to some, suggest that the Exodus and the Temple groundbreaking occurred closer together in time. Instead, they simply assert that the literal reading cannot be trusted, on grounds that their opponents find highly tenuous at best.[8]

A fairly recent line of investigation supports the 1446 date, based on Israel's Jubilee cycles.[25] This research takes as a starting point that the Hebrew text of Ezekiel 40:1, a revelation given on Tishri 10 (Day of Atonement) of 574 BC, implies that Ezekiel's vision was at the beginning of a Jubilee year. Additionally, Jewish tradition[26] says Ezekiel's vision was the beginning of the 17th Jubilee.[27] Back-calculating then yields 1406 BC (exactly) as the start of counting for the Jubilee cycles. Counting for the Sabbatical and Jubilee cycles began when Israel entered Canaan (Lev. 25:1–4, 8–10), so the Exodus would have occurred 40 years earlier, in 1446 BC. This calculation, with its starting point in 574 BC, is entirely independent of Thiele's chronology, although it is consistent with Thiele's date for the division of the kingdom in 931 BC. It thus lends credibility to Thiele's Bible-based reasoning that arrived at his date for the division of the kingdom, as well as providing independent evidence in favor of the “early” date of the Exodus (1446 BC).

The Chronology of the United and Divided Kingdoms

This is the basis of the dispute between the Ussher camp and the Thiele camp, because it explains the two camps' divergent (by some forty-five years) dates for the Exodus of Israel and the Temple groundbreaking. The two camps arrive at the following BC dates for these two events, and for one other event in which they differ by two years:

Event Ussher Thiele
Exodus of Israel 1491 BC 1446 BC
Temple groundbreaking 1012 BC 967 BC
Fall of Jerusalem 588 BC 586 BC

The first two sets of dates are exactly 45 years apart. The obvious question arises: What is the reason for the 45-year difference? Surprisingly, the two camps agree within two years on the date of the last event, the Fall of Jerusalem.

The differences result from the two differing assumptions that the two camps have made. Ussher assumed:

  1. That he knew for certain the date of the death of Nebuchadnezzar II—which was 562 BC.
  2. That this was also the date that Nebuchadnezzar's son Evil-Merodach began to reign.

There is, however, a problem with Ussher's calculation at this starting point. It is known from Ptolemy's Canon and from contract texts that Evil-Merodach's accession year was the year that started in Nisan (a spring month) of 562 BC. This was also the 37th year of Jehoiachin's captivity (2 Kings 25:27), so that he would have been taken captive in (562 BC + 36) = 598 BC. Ussher assumed Nisan years for all these dates and accession reckoning for Zedekiah, successor to Jehoiachin, which would end Zedekiah's 11-year reign in 587, in agreement with some modern detailed studies,[28] instead of Ussher's 588.

From his date of 588 BC, Ussher worked backward, using the meticulous dates that appear throughout I and II Kings and II Chronicles, each of which gives a date of a king's accession with references to a year of reign of another king—except that kings of the Southern Kingdom after the conquest of the Northern Kingdom are listed only with their ages and lengths of reign, and King Jehoiachin is referenced by how many years he had been a captive when Evil-Merodach acceded to his throne. Ussher's calculations then placed the division of the kingdoms at 975 BC, and the beginning of Solomon's reign at 1015 BC. In order to arrive at these dates, Ussher had to make several assumptions about how to interpret the Biblical data, such as whether a given reign length or synchronism was measured from a coregency or from a sole reign. He postulated three coregencies for Judah. For Israel, he assumed three coregencies, one rival reign, and two interregna. For comparison, Thiele postulated six coregencies for Judah, and one coregency and two rival reigns for Israel. This is the area where the largest divergences are between the Thiele and Ussher camps, and the source of the 45 year difference in their dates of Solomon.

In studying Ussher's reasoning, it becomes clear that one of the major features contributing to the difference is the interregna, since both scholars used basically the same method in determining when the Biblical data called for a coregency. Ussher began an eleven-year interregnum at the death of Jeroboam II of Israel and an eight-year interregnum between Pekah and Hoshea, the last two kings of Israel. In 2 Kings 15:30, the Hebrew original says that Hoshea was actually reigning in the same year that the he killed Pekah; there was no interregnum. The Hebrew verb used cannot honestly be interpreted in any other way, and so this issue of the interregna has become problematic for Ussher's chronology. As mentioned before, Thiele had no need of interregna; his interpretation of the Biblical texts does no violence to 2 Kings 15:8 and 2 Kings 15:30.

I_Kings 6:1 states that Solomon broke ground on the Temple in the fourth year of his reign—and that this event took place in the four hundred eightieth year since the Exodus of Israel. This places the Exodus at 1491 BC when using Ussher's dates for Solomon.

It is well known that Ussher's dates for the kingdom period have not found verification from archaeological discoveries and the reading of inscriptions from the Ancient Near East. This information was not available in Ussher's time. As explained on the Thiele page, Thiele also initially had trouble matching his Biblically-derived dates with the Assyrian data, but further investigation showed it was the dates commonly accepted by the Assyrian academy that were in error, not the Biblical dates as derived by Thiele. Assyriologists have generally accepted the corrections that Thiele found would be necessary in order to reconcile Assyrian dates with God's Word. This is one of the strongest affirmations of the correctness of Thiele's way of interpreting the rich and complex chronological data of the kingdom period.

The following list shows how Thiele's Bible-based chronology disagreed at some points with the commonly accepted Assyrian dates, but Thiele “stuck by his guns” and showed that it was the interpretation of the Assyrian texts that was in error, not the texts from the Bible. The events are:

  1. That a king identified as Jehu paid tribute to King Shalmaneser III of Assyria in 841 BC, as the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III attests. Previous to Thiele's studies, the majority of Assyriologists dated the tribute one year earlier. Thiele's study of the Biblical data led him to investigate the reasoning of the Assyrian academy in deriving this date. His one-year correction for Jehu's tribute, and the regnal years of Shalmaneser, is now accepted by Assyriologists.
  2. That a king identified as Ahab contributed a sizeable portion to a coalition force that fought against Shalmaneser III in a major battle at Qarqar in 853 BC. Again, Thiele's chronology as derived from the Biblical historical books required that the tribute was in 853 instead of in 854, the date held by the majority of the Assyrian academy. In all three editions of his Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, Thiele published his revision of the Assyrian Eponym Canon that allowed the Assyriologists’ dates to match those derived from the Bible. This has been a great testimony to the reliability of the Bible's chronological data when interpreted correctly.
  3. That Sennacherib invaded the Southern Kingdom, in the days of King Hezekiah, in 701 BC. The date is well established from Assyrian records, and it is consistent with Thiele's chronology.
  4. That Menahem of Israel gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III at some time between the Assyrian's first year of reign, 745 BC, and the death of Menahem, which Thiele placed in 742/41 BC. Tiglath-Pileser's original name was Pul (2 Kings 15:9), as has been established from Babylonian[29] and Phoenician[30] records. The tribute was challenged by Floyd Nolen Jones, who wrote, “Thus, there is no Assyrian historical text which says or even infers that Tiglath-Pileser collected tribute from Menahem of Israel, although almost all scholarly sources proclaim that he so did.”[31] This statement is false. The text of the Iran Stela, published in 1994, says explicitly that Tiglath-Pileser received tribute from Menahem of Samaria. Ussher's dates for Menahem, 772 to 761 BC, would make it impossible for him to give tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, who reigned from 745 to 727 BC. This problem with Ussher's dates has never been resolved by the “Ussher camp.” It arose in part because of Ussher's interregnum that not only produced conflict with Assyrian dates, but, more importantly, with the Hebrew text of 2 Kings 15:30. This and Ussher's other unwarranted interregnum have contributed to the 45-year divergence between Ussher's dates and those of modern scholarship.

All these dates presented serious problems for Ussher's interpretation of the chronological data of I and II Kings and II Chronicles—as shown by Ussher calculating King Jehu as having acceded to the throne of Israel (and also killed King Ahaziah of Judah) in 884 BC.[32]

Other areas contributing to the 45-year difference are as follows.

  1. Thiele calculated that the 41-year reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23) was measured from his appointment as coregent, while Ussher preceded these 41 years with an 11-year coregency, thus making a total of 52 years for Jeroboam in Ussher's system.
  2. Thiele's chronology has no need of the two interregna immediately following the deaths of Jeroboam II and Pekah. The first of Ussher's interregna is unnecessary and the second is in conflict with 2 Kings 15:30, as described above. These interregna cannot be supported by a literal and faithful reading of the two Scriptures involved, as mentioned above.
  3. Thiele determined, following some previous scholarship, that Pekah and Menahem began their reigns together and that Pekah simply wiped out the short-lived "House" of Menahem after building a rebel power base for twelve of the twenty years he is supposed to have reigned.

Some Ussherites contend that while Ussher assumed the primacy of Scripture, Thiele assumed the primacy of secular historical records (what Ussher called "profane history"). But anyone who has read, and understood, Thiele's works will know that this is quite the opposite of the facts.

A Synoptic Table

The following synopsis (literally, a "view together") makes the following assumptions:

  1. The Great Flood occurred 1656 years following Creation, a point on which three of the four camps agree.[33]
  2. The Temple groundbreaking occurred exactly 479 years following the Exodus of Israel, another point of general agreement.

Each epochal event has listed with it the relevant Biblical authority and sixteen dates, alternating between AM and BC.

  • Ussher and Thiele columns use Ussher's or Thiele's chronology, respectively, of the Divided Kingdoms.
  • Columns labeled I and II assume a "short sojourn"; columns III and IV assume a "long sojourn."
  • Columns labeled I and III assume a "late birth" for Abraham; columns II and IV assume an "early birth."
Ussher I Ussher II Ussher III Ussher IV Thiele I Thiele II Thiele III Thiele IV
Epoch Authority AM BC AM BC AM BC AM BC AM BC AM BC AM BC AM BC
Creation Genesis 5:1-2 1 4004 1 3944 1 4219 1 4159 1 3959 1 3899 1 4174 1 4114
Adam Genesis 5:1-2 , I_Chronicles 1:1 1 4004 1 3944 1 4219 1 4159 1 3959 1 3899 1 4174 1 4114
Seth Genesis 5:3-5 , I_Chronicles 1:1 130 3874 130 3814 130 4089 130 4029 130 3829 130 3769 130 4044 130 3984
Enos Genesis 5:6-8 , I_Chronicles 1:1 235 3769 235 3709 235 3984 235 3924 235 3724 235 3664 235 3939 235 3879
Cainan Genesis 5:9-11 , I_Chronicles 1:2 325 3679 325 3619 325 3894 325 3834 325 3634 325 3574 325 3849 325 3789
Mahalaleel Genesis 5:12-14 , I_Chronicles 1:2 395 3609 395 3549 395 3824 395 3764 395 3564 395 3504 395 3779 395 3719
Jared Genesis 5:15-17 , I_Chronicles 1:2 460 3544 460 3484 460 3759 460 3699 460 3499 460 3439 460 3714 460 3654
Enoch Genesis 5:18-21 , I_Chronicles 1:3 622 3382 622 3322 622 3597 622 3537 622 3337 622 3277 622 3552 622 3492
Methuselah Genesis 5:22-24 , I_Chronicles 1:3 687 3317 687 3257 687 3532 687 3472 687 3272 687 3212 687 3487 687 3427
Lamech Genesis 5:25-27 , I_Chronicles 1:3 874 3130 874 3070 874 3345 874 3285 874 3085 874 3025 874 3300 874 3240
Noah Genesis 5:28-31 , I_Chronicles 1:4 1056 2948 1056 2888 1056 3163 1056 3103 1056 2903 1056 2843 1056 3118 1056 3058
Shem Genesis 5:32 , I_Chronicles 1:4,24 1558 2446 1558 2386 1558 2661 1558 2601 1558 2401 1558 2341 1558 2616 1558 2556
Great Flood Genesis 7:11 1656 2349 1656 2288 1656 2563 1656 2503 1656 2303 1656 2243 1656 2518 1656 2458
Arpachshad Genesis 11:10-11 , I_Chronicles 1:17,24 1658 2346 1658 2286 1658 2561 1658 2501 1658 2301 1658 2241 1658 2516 1658 2456
Salah Genesis 11:12-13 , I_Chronicles 1:18,24 1693 2311 1693 2251 1693 2526 1693 2466 1693 2266 1693 2206 1693 2481 1693 2421
Eber Genesis 11:14-15 , I_Chronicles 1:18,25 1723 2281 1723 2221 1723 2496 1723 2436 1723 2236 1723 2176 1723 2451 1723 2391
Peleg Genesis 11:16-17 , I_Chronicles 1:19,25 1757 2247 1757 2187 1757 2462 1757 2402 1757 2202 1757 2142 1757 2417 1757 2357
Reu Genesis 11:18-19 , I_Chronicles 1:25 1787 2217 1787 2157 1787 2432 1787 2372 1787 2172 1787 2112 1787 2387 1787 2327
Serug Genesis 11:20-21 , I_Chronicles 1:26 1819 2185 1819 2125 1819 2400 1819 2340 1819 2140 1819 2080 1819 2355 1819 2295
Nahor the Elder Genesis 11:22-23 , I_Chronicles 1:26 1849 2155 1849 2095 1849 2370 1849 2310 1849 2110 1849 2050 1849 2325 1849 2265
Terah Genesis 11:24-25 , I_Chronicles 1:26 1878 2126 1878 2066 1878 2341 1878 2281 1878 2081 1878 2021 1878 2296 1878 2236
Abraham Genesis 11:26-27,32 , I_Chronicles 1:27 2008 1996 1948 1996 2008 2211 1948 2211 2008 1951 1948 1951 2008 2166 1948 2166
Isaac Genesis 21:5 , I_Chronicles 1:28 2108 1896 2048 1896 2108 2111 2048 2111 2108 1851 2048 1851 2108 2066 2048 2066
Jacob Genesis 25:26 , I_Chronicles 1:34 2168 1836 2108 1836 2168 2051 2108 2051 2168 1791 2108 1791 2168 2006 2108 2006
Entry into Egypt Genesis 47:9 2298 1706 2238 1706 2298 1921 2238 1921 2298 1661 2238 1661 2298 1876 2238 1876
Exodus of Israel Exodus 12:40 2513 1491 2453 1491 2728 1491 2668 1491 2513 1446 2453 1446 2728 1446 2668 1446
United Kingdom
David I_Kings 2:11 2949 1055 2889 1055 3164 1055 3104 1055 2949 1010 2889 1010 3164 1010 3104 1010
Solomon I_Kings 11:42 2989 1015 2929 1015 3204 1015 3144 1015 2989 970 2929 970 3204 970 3144 970
Temple I_Kings 6:1 , II_Chronicles 3:4 2992 1012 2932 1012 3207 1012 3147 1012 2992 967 2932 967 3207 967 3147 967
Judah Israel
Rehoboam Jeroboam I I_Kings 12:1-33 , I_Kings 13:1-34 ,II_Chronicles 9:30 , II_Chronicles 10:1-19 3029 975 2969 975 3244 975 3184 975 3029 930 2969 930 3244 930 3184 930
Abijam I_Kings 15:1 , II_Chronicles 13:1-2 3046 958 2986 958 3261 958 3201 958 3046 913 2986 913 3261 913 3201 913
Asa I_Kings 15:9 , II_Chronicles 14:1 3048 956 2988 956 3263 956 3203 956 3049 910 2989 910 3264 910 3204 910
Nadab I_Kings 15:25 3050 954 2990 954 3265 954 3205 954 3050 909 2990 909 3265 909 3205 909
Baasha I_Kings 15:33 3051 953 2991 953 3266 953 3206 953 3051 908 2991 908 3266 908 3206 908
Elah I_Kings 16:8 3074 930 3014 930 3289 930 3229 930 3074 886 3014 886 3289 886 3229 886
Zimri I_Kings 16:15 3075 929 3015 929 3290 929 3230 929 3075 885 3015 885 3290 885 3230 885
Omri I_Kings 16:23 3075 929 3015 929 3290 929 3230 929 3075 885 3015 885 3290 885 3230 885
Ahab I_Kings 16:29 3086 918 3026 918 3301 918 3241 918 3085 874 3025 874 3300 874 3240 874
Jehoshaphat I_Kings 22:41 , II_Chronicles 16:13 , II_Chronicles 20:31 3090 914 3030 914 3305 914 3245 914 3087 872 3027 872 3302 872 3242 872
Ahaziah I_Kings 22:51 3106 898 3046 898 3321 898 3261 898 3106 853 3046 853 3321 853 3261 853
Jehoram II_Kings 3:1 3108 896 3048 896 3323 896 3263 896 3107 852 3047 852 3322 852 3262 852
Jehoram II_Kings 8:16 , II_Chronicles 21:5 3112 892 3052 892 3327 892 3267 892 3106 853 3046 853 3321 853 3261 853
Ahaziah II_Kings 8:25 , II_Chronicles 22:2 3119 885 3059 885 3334 885 3274 885 3118 841 3058 841 3333 841 3273 841
Athaliah Jehu II_Kings 10:1-36 , II_Chronicles 22:10-12 3120 884 3060 884 3335 884 3275 884 3118 841 3058 841 3333 841 3273 841
Joash II_Kings 12:1 , II_Chronicles 23:1-21 , II_Chronicles 24:1 3126 878 3066 878 3341 878 3281 878 3124 835 3064 835 3339 835 3279 835
Jehoahaz II_Kings 13:1 3148 856 3088 856 3363 856 3303 856 3145 814 3085 814 3360 814 3300 814
Joash II_Kings 13:10 3163 841 3103 841 3378 841 3318 841 3161 798 3101 798 3376 798 3316 798
Amaziah II_Kings 14:1 , II_Chronicles 25:1 3165 839 3105 839 3380 839 3320 839 3163 796 3103 796 3378 796 3318 796
Jeroboam II II_Kings 14:23 3168 836 3108 836 3383 836 3323 836 3166 793 3106 793 3381 793 3321 793
Uzziah II_Kings 15:1 , II_Chronicles 26:3 3194 810 3134 810 3409 810 3349 810 3167 792 3107 792 3382 792 3322 792
Zachariah II_Kings 15:8 3232 772 3172 772 3447 772 3387 772 3206 753 3146 753 3421 753 3361 753
Shallum II_Kings 15:13 3232 772 3172 772 3447 772 3387 772 3207 752 3147 752 3422 752 3362 752
Menahem II_Kings 15:17 3233 771 3173 771 3448 771 3388 771 3207 752 3147 752 3422 752 3362 752
Pekahiah II_Kings 15:23 3243 761 3183 761 3458 761 3398 761 3217 742 3157 742 3432 742 3372 742
Pekah II_Kings 15:27 3245 759 3185 759 3460 759 3400 759 3207 752 3147 752 3422 752 3362 752
Jotham II_Kings 15:32 , II_Chronicles 27:1 3246 758 3186 758 3461 758 3401 758 3209 750 3149 750 3424 750 3364 750
Ahaz II_Kings 16:1 , II_Chronicles 28:1 3262 742 3202 742 3477 742 3417 742 3224 735 3164 735 3439 735 3379 735
Hoshea II_Kings 17:1 3274 730 3214 730 3489 730 3429 730 3227 732 3167 732 3442 732 3382 732
Hezekiah II_Kings 18:1 , II_Chronicles 29:1 3278 726 3218 726 3493 726 3433 726 3230 729 3170 729 3445 729 3385 729
Fall of Samaria II_Kings 17:6 3283 721 3223 721 3498 721 3438 721 3237 722 3177 722 3452 722 3392 722
Manasseh II_Kings 21:1 , II_Chronicles 33:1 3306 698 3246 698 3521 698 3461 698 3262 697 3202 697 3477 697 3417 697
Amon II_Kings 21:19 , II_Chronicles 33:21 3361 643 3301 643 3576 643 3516 643 3317 642 3257 642 3532 642 3472 642
Josiah II_Kings 22:1 , II_Chronicles 34:1 3363 641 3303 641 3578 641 3518 641 3319 640 3259 640 3534 640 3474 640
Jehoahaz II II_Kings 23:31 , II_Chronicles 36:2 3394 610 3334 610 3609 610 3549 610 3350 609 3290 609 3565 609 3505 609
Jehoiakim II_Kings 23:36 , II_Chronicles 36:5 3394 610 3334 610 3609 610 3549 610 3351 608 3291 608 3566 608 3506 608
Jehoiachin II_Kings 24:8 , II_Chronicles 36:9 3405 599 3345 599 3620 599 3560 599 3361 598 3301 598 3576 598 3516 598
Zedekiah II_Kings 24:18 , II_Chronicles 36:11 3405 599 3345 599 3620 599 3560 599 3362 597 3302 597 3577 597 3517 597
Fall of Jerusalem II_Kings 23:36 , II_Chronicles 36:12-21 3416 588 3356 588 3631 588 3571 588 3373 586 3313 586 3588 586 3528 586
Death of Nebuchadnezzar II II_Kings 25:27 3442 562 3382 562 3657 562 3597 562 3397 562 3337 562 3612 562 3552 562

Dual-user Provenance

This is a dual submission of a work of sole authorship. I am the same person as User:Temlakos on CreationWiki and this article is based on this version of the CreationWiki article, which is entirely my work.

Related references

  1. Anonymous, "Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon (605-562 BC)", The British Museum Compass, 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  2. Anonymous, The Chaldeans, E-Museum at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  3. Anonymous, Nebuchadnezzar, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from the HighBeam Encyclopedia.
  4. Tracy R. Rich, "Jewish calendar," Judaism 101, 2005. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  5. Calendar Converter by Fourmilab (requires JavaScript to operate)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Dennis Bratcher, "The Date of the Exodus: The Historical Study of Scripture," at the CRI/Voice Institute, July 22, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  7. 7.0 7.1 D. Cameron Alexander Moore, "The Date of the Exodus: Introduction to the Competing Theories," Reformed Theological Study, 1998. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Charles H. Dyer, The Date of the Exodus Reexamined," Bibliotheca Sacra 140 (1983) 225-43. Retrieved April 30, 2007. Requires PDF reader.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Jon Partin, "Dating of the Exodus," Genesis Commentary. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  10. James Ussher, The Annals of the World, Larry Pierce, ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600)
  11. Larry Pierce, "Evidentialism–the Bible and Assyrian chronology," TJ 15(1):62–68 April 2001. Retrieved April 30, 2007
  12. Floyd Nolen Jones, The Chronology of the Old Testament, rev. edition (Green Forest AR: Master Books, 2005, 2009), p. 114b.
  13. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. 114b.–15a.
  14. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. p. 124b.
  15. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. 134b.
  16. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. 147b.
  17. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. 173b.
  18. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. pp. 112b–13a.
  19. comment by Larry Pierce in James Ussher, The Annals of the World, revised and updated by Larry and Marion Pierce (Green Forest AR: Master Books, 2003), p. 914a.
  20. I_Kings 6:1
  21. Acts 7:6
  22. Exodus 1:1-8
  23. Exodus 12:39
  24. Exodus 6:14-25
  25. Andrew E. Steinmann, From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology (St. Louis: Concordia, 2011), pp. 48–53.
  26. Seder Olam Rabbah 11, 24; Babylonian Talmud ‘Arakin 12b.
  27. Rodger C. Young, “The Talmud’s Two Jubilees and Their Relevance to the Date of the Exodus” Westminster Theological Journal 68 (2006), pp. 71–83.
  28. Steinmann, From Abraham to Paul, pp. 162-169.
  29. Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (3d ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), p. 141, n. 4.
  30. In the Phoenician Incirli Stela, Tiglath-Pileser’s name is written as פאל (Stephen A. Kaufman, “The Phoenician Inscription of the Incirli Trilingual: A Tentative Reconstruction and Translation,” MAARAV 14.2 [2007], pp. 7–26).
  31. Jones, Chronology of the OT, p. 172a.
  32. Ussher, op. cit., pgh. 535
  33. The Late Date camp includes many theorists who reject either the historicity or the extent of the Great Flood.

See also

External links

  • Sequential Bible Events [1]
  • The Annals of the World. By James Ussher (online).[2]