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:''The subject of this article is the literalist method of dating the chronology found in the books of the [[Bible]] listed in the ancient canon of the Christian Old Testament, the Septuagint, as accepted by Orthodox and Catholic Christians before the time of the Protestant Reformation.<small><ref name=LXX>See the following four sources:
*[http://www.scripturecatholic.com/septuagint.html Septuagint Quotes in the New Testament]
<br/> • Lightfoot (chronology published 1642–1644),<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lightfoot John Lightfoot] ([http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/ussher/published_errors.html chronology published 1642–1644])</ref>
<br/> • Ussher ("''Annals of the World''" 1650, later "''Annals of the Old Testament''"),<ref>[https://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/ussher.htm James Ussher] ([http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit5/ussher.html "Ussher's chronology "''Annales veteris testamenti, a prima mundi origine deducti''" 1650])</ref>
<br/> • and Martin Anstey (''"The Romance of Bible Chronology]"'' 1913).<ref name=AnsteyRomance>[http://www.amen.org.uk/anstey/ Anstey, Rev. Martin, B.D., M.A.] (London), ''[http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/1913_anstey_romance.html The Romance of Bible Chronology]'', Marshall Brothers, Ltd., London, Edinburgh and New York. October 3rd, 1913. This work is seen as significant within the tradition of Biblical literalism for developing the first Bible chronology that successfully resolved the Bible's apparent chronological gaps.<br/>See also [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p980304.htm Chronological Falsehoods By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1998] (askelm.com) ''praise of Martin Anstey's work''.</ref>
Some 20th–21st century commentators have noted what they consider a disturbing trend in application of the methodology of literalism since 1878.<ref name = Hyrus1982>Hyrus, Conrad. "[http://homepages.wmich.edu/~korista/literalism.htm Biblical Literalism: Constricting the Cosmic Dance]", ''The Christian Century'', August 4–11, 1982. pp. 823–27. The Christian Century Foundation</ref><ref name="Wilson2013">Mandy Wilson. "[http://mandywilsononline.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/the-history-of-biblical-literalism-what-you-may-not-know The History of Biblical Literalism: What You May Not Know]", ''Causeways'', March 24, 2013: —Wilson's [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/provocative?s=t provocative] blog does not seem to be derived from an academic peer-reviewed source, nor from a traditional published medium with an active editor. Wilson appears to be quoting several sources, and citation of her source references is not offered, e.g.:
A timeline or chart of Biblical dates is set up according the "plain meaning" of the numbers of the years as found in the text.<ref>''See'' [http://www.theopedia.com/Clarity_of_Scripture Clarity of scripture].</ref> Researchers have pointed out that the chronology or numbering of years in the Biblical text mostly uses numbers which were significant to the Biblical authors: the basic numbers are 12, 40 (a "generation"), and 480 (12 generations of 40 years); other significant numbers include 10, 20, 60, and 100.<ref>Thompson, Thomas L., (2000)''[http://books.google.com/books?id=1wrzapZYqFAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Historicity+of+the+patriarchal+narratives&source=b1&ots=1K The historicity of the patriarchal narratives]'', Trinity Press, pp. 14–15.</ref><ref name=numbers>''See'' [http://carm.org/what-biblical-numerology Biblical numerology] ''and'' [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11619-numbers-and-numerals Significance of numbers in Judaism].</ref>
For an "''exact'' " chronology, an historically established date in the [http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/year-history.html common (Gregorian) calendar] which corresponds to the occurrence of a key Biblical event known to history (historicity) is required as a starting point, drawn from historical events reliably known to have occurred on a specific date.<ref>See [http://www.studylight.org/dictionary/hbd/view.cgi?n=1111 Holman Bible Dictionary: Calendars] and [http://calendars.wikia.com/wiki/Calendar_era calendars.wikia.com "Calendar era"]</ref> This is in contrast to a "''relative'' " chronology which lists events in general chronological order, often without dates.<ref>"Exact " historical dates are provided for ancient Israel by archaeological researchers from Assyrian chronology, through the use of lists of year names (''eponyms'') that can be linked to a solar eclipse known to have occurred in 763 B.C.. Assyrian tablets refer to Ahab king of Israel, who fought Shalmaneser III at the [http://www.livius.org/battle/qarqar-853-bce/ Battle of Qarqar] and died in 853 B.C., and to Jehu king of Israel, who in his 1st year paid tribute to Shalmaneser III in 841 B.C.. From these dates an historical chronology is reckoned from the length of the reigns in the books of [[I Kings|First]] and [[II Kings|Second Kings]], giving Solomon's 40-year reign as 970 to 930 B.C., instead of 1022 to 982 as reckoned from the length of the reigns in the books of Kings, starting from the commonly accepted historical date of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C.. ''Source'': Joel F. Drinkard, Jr. and E. Ray Clendenen, [http://www.studylight.org/dictionary/hbd/view.cgi?n=1290 "Chronology of the Biblical Period"], ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', 2003, p. 291b. ISBN 978-0-8054-2836-0. —Note that the well-known exact historical chronologies of literalist researchers William F. Albright and [http://www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id=927 Edwin R. Thiele] based on Assyrian chronology do not agree.<br/>A recent reassessment of Assyrian chronology offers a demonstration that Assyrian records cannot be trusted. <br/> —See [http://www.caeno.org/pdf/Newgrosh_Reassess%20chronology%201.pdf Newgrosh, Bernard. ''The Chronology of Ancient Assyria Re-assessed'' (2005)] (see [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?rlz=1C1QJDB_enUS602US602&espv=2&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.79142246,d.aWw&ion=1&biw=995&bih=638&um=1&ie=UTF-8&lr=&q=related:1AtsFbCfHoMXAM:scholar.google.com/ related articles by Bernard Newgrosh] ):Bernard Newgrosh is one of the leading figures in British circles investigating [[catastrophism]] and the reconstruction of ancient history.</ref><ref>Ahituv, Shmuel, ed., ''Echoes from the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period'' (Jerusalem: Carla, 28 February 2008). p. 528. ISBN 965-220-708-1.</ref> Then an exhaustive knowledge of the numbers of years as explicitly stated in the Scriptures and a calculator provide the detailed data. With the Siege of Jerusalem 587 B.C.<ref>[http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Winter_Holidays/Asarah_B_Tevet/asarah_b_tevet.html Tevet: Remembrance of the Siege of Jerusalem 587 B.C.] —hebrew4christians.com</ref> taken as an historically established base date and counting back, a chronology of the dates
<br/> • of the reigns of the Kings of Israel and Judah,
<br/> • of the Biblical Judges,
Letterism does not necessarily lead to complete agreement upon a single interpretation for a given passage. A generation, for example, can be 100 years, 80, 70, 60, 40, 35, and fewer than 20 years, although 40 years is the traditional meaning of a Biblical "generation".<ref name=gen>"The Bible is not completely self-interpreting. We can gain much from thorough reading of the text itself, and frequently from comparison of various passages in the Bible. Still, we often require aid from outside the Bible itself." Hyatt, ''The Heritage of Biblical Faith '', p. 45.</ref><ref name=Holman>{{Cite book | title = Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary | publisher = Holman Bible Publishers | isbn = 978-0-8054-2836-0 | editors = General Editors: Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England. Associate Editors: Steve Bond, E. Ray Clendenen. General Editor, ''Holman Bible Dictionary'': Trent C. Butler | year = ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'' © 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers | location = Nashville, Tennessee}}</ref><ref name=HolmanGeneration>"Generation", Trent C. Butler, ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', pp. 634–635.</ref> Thus, for example, the number of years spanned by the two unspecified "''generations''" between the death of Joshua and the oppression of the people by Cushan-rishathaim in {{bibleverse||Judges|2:7-3:8|KJV}} could be as many as 200 years, or 160, 140, 70, as few as 40 years, or less.<ref name=BibleGenerations>{{bibleverse||Genesis|15:13-16|KJV}} apparently equates 400 years with four generations.<br/>{{bibleverse||Numbers|32:11-13|KJV}} may reckon a generation as 60 years; it included people 20 and above giving them 40 more years to die; or a generation may be interpreted as the 40 years of adulthood between ages 20 and 60.<br/>{{bibleverse||Job|42:16|KJV}} states that after his tragedies Job lived 140 years and saw four generations, making a generation about 35 years.<br/>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|10:30|KJV}} and {{bibleverse|2|Kings|15:12|KJV}} relate God's promise to Jehu that his sons would rule to the fourth generation, apparently meaning four sons: Jehu began ruling about 841 B.C., his first son Jehoahaz about 814 B.C., and in the fourth generation Zechariah of Israel died about 752 B.C.: five generations ruling less than 90 years, the four sons (four generations) ruling about 60 years, a generation averaging fewer than 20 years.<br/>The text of {{bibleverse||Psalms|49:11}} (49:12) <big>יב קִרְבָּם בָּתֵּימוֹ, לְעוֹלָם-- מִשְׁכְּנֹתָם, לְדוֹר וָדֹר;
קָרְאוּ בִשְׁמוֹתָם, עֲלֵי אֲדָמוֹת.</big> in the literal Hebrew expression "''generation'' דור ''and generation'' דור " actually means in its most ''literal sense'' "through all generations" or "forever". In {{bibleverse||Numbers|10:8}} "''to your (his, their) generations''" similarly means forever. This is a peculiarly Hebrew [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idiom?s=t idiom.]<br/>''Source''—"Generation", Trent C. Butler, ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', p. 634b.<br/>In [http://www.eliyah.com/strongs.htm Strong's Concordance], ''Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary of the Old Testament'', the sign × (''multiplication'') denotes a rendering in the KJV that results from an idiom peculiar to the Hebrew: <br/>:—'''<small>GENERATIONS</small>''' :...Psalm 49:11 and their dwelling places to all '''g.'''...1755. '''דור''' '''dôre,''' ''dore;'' or (shortened) '''דר''' '''dôr,''' ''dore''...<big>×</big> evermore, generation, [n-]ever, posterity.</ref>
A letterist reading of the explicit text of the Bible presents the reader with difficulties that can only be resolved by a careful reading of various Bible texts, [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/collate?s=t collation ] of data from these texts, and by careful [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/critique?s=t critique] of the occasional slightly misleading translations of the original Hebrew <ref>"slightly misleading translations of the original Hebrew". See*[http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/masorete.htm The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, By V. S. Herrell] (biblebelievers.org)*[https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/masoretic-text-vs-original-hebrew/ ''The Orthodox Life: ''Masoretic Text vs. Original Hebrew (Posted on March 12, 2012)] (theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com)*[http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-versions-and-translations/errors-in-the-masoretes-original-hebrew-manuscripts-of-the-bible/ Errors in the Masoretes "Original Hebrew" Manuscripts of the Bible] (biblicalarchaeology.org)*[http://www.aleppocodex.org/links/8.html The Masoretes - The Aleppo Codex] (aleppocodex.org).</ref> according to the literalist historical-grammatical method. Martin Anstey provided an important literalist analysis of how apparent contradictions in Bible chronology can be resolved by correlating data from various Bible translations and texts.<ref name=AnsteyRomance/> Dr. Edwin Thiele provided additional [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/corroborate?s=t corroborating] historical-cultural background on varying ancient methods of recording chronologies of kings and nations, co-regencies, overlapping reigns, differences in calendars, uses of "rounded numbers"—data vital for an undistorted understanding of the ancient authors' ''actual literal meaning'' (the ''true "literal sense"'').<ref name=Stroud/><ref name=WFA/><ref name=MNumHK/> At first reading, the Bible chronology has a number of apparent contradictions, such as:
*According to 2 Kings Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began to reign ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|24:8}}). <br/> According to 2 Chronicles he was only 8 years old when he began to reign ({{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|36:9}}).
::Given the established fact that the Bible does not give the age of Joshua when he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, the date of the Exodus according to a literal reading of the letter of the text varies according to the interpretation of "''a long time''" and any age a literalist reader arbitrarily assigns to Joshua as "most probable" when, as a leader of a house in Israel, he was sent out from the wilderness of Paran to spy out the land. An exact date for the Exodus according to a literal reading of the letter of the text of the Bible alone does not seem possible, only a general indication of a date some time around 1577 to 1567 B.C. for the Exodus, and allowing for a purely arbitrary additional speculative adjustment of ± 10 years gives a broader general indication of a potential date for the Exodus at some time around 1586 to 1556 B.C..<ref name="gen" />
According to Bob Dr. Robert R. Ellis and Dr. E. Ray Clendenen (''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'' 2003), those who reckon the 4th year of Solomon as 966/5 B.C.<ref name=Holmanchron./> and accept the traditional archaeological date of the Exodus at about 1445 B.C., based on a literal interpretation of 1 Kings 6:1, place the conquest at about 1400–1350 B.C., over a period of about 50 years—but those who prefer archaeological data over biblical data commonly date the Exodus around 1286 B.C. (understanding 1 Kings 6:1 and similar passages as figurative), and they place the conquest at about 1240–1190 B.C., again a period of about 50 years.<ref>"Conquest of Canaan", ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', pp. 330–331.</ref> A literal interpretation of the death of Joshua at the age of 110 at the end of the conquest about 1350 B.C. as supposed, with the traditional date of the Exodus as 1445 B.C., makes Joshua ("a leader of a house in Israel") 15 years old<ref name=Strongs5288/> at the time they spied out the land, 25 years younger than Caleb at age 40 (Joshua 14:6-7), and 53 years old when Israel crossed over the Jordan, making the period of the conquest 57 years. The ages of 15 and 53 for Joshua are also obtained when the date of his death is 1190 B.C. at the end of the conquest with the date of the Exodus as 1280 B.C.. He would have been 50 years old when Caleb was 85 ({{bibleverse||Joshua|14:6-10}}).
According to Dr. Joel F. Drinkard, Jr. and E. Ray Clendenen (''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'' 2003), assuming a literal interpretation of 1 Kings 6:1, and taking 966 B.C. as Solomon's 4th year,<ref name=hist.chron./> the Exodus occurred in 1446 B.C., "and the conquest lasted about seven years ending around 1400 B.C.." <ref name=Holmanchron./> If Joshua died 110 years old at the end of the conquest about 1400 B.C. as supposed, that makes him about 66 years old in 1444 B.C., 2 years after the Exodus, when Caleb was 40 and they were sent to spy out the land. Age 66 plus 38 years (Deuteronomy 2:14) would make Joshua 104 years old ("''old and advanced in years''") when Israel crossed into Canaan, and the year would be 1406 B.C., at the beginning of the conquest. Joshua would then have died 6 years later 110 years old 1400 B.C. ("''old and well advanced in years''"). According to Joshua 13:1–14:11, Joshua was "''old and advanced in years''" seven (7) years after the beginning of the conquest, when Caleb was 85 years old. The phrase "''old and advanced in years''" is used in the Bible to describe Abraham over 100 years old and Sarah over 90 years old, also Job at 140, King David before he died at 70, and the elders among the people and among the priests of Israel.<ref name=Elder/><ref>In the Bible the words "''stricken in years''" and "''well stricken in years''" (KJV), "''advanced in years''" (NRSV, NAB), "''very old''" (REB, JB), also "''full of years''" and "''full of days''", and "''ancients''", "''elders''", "''seniors''", are applied only to persons about 70 years old and upward. —''See'': {{bibleverse||Genesis|17:17}}; {{bibleverse||Genesis|18:11}}; {{bibleverse||Genesis|21:5}}; {{bibleverse||Genesis|24:1}}; {{bibleverse||Genesis|25:7-8}}; {{bibleverse||Genesis|35:28-29}}; {{bibleverse||Leviticus|19:32}}; {{bibleverse||Joshua|13:1}} —{{bibleverse||Joshua|14:6-13}} and {{bibleverse||Hebrews|7:7}}— {{bibleverse||Joshua|23:1-13}}; {{bibleverse||Joshua|24:24-29}}; {{bibleverse|2|Samuel|5:4-5}} and {{bibleverse|1|Kings|1:1}}; {{bibleverse|1|Kings|2:10-11}}; {{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|23:1}}; {{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|29:26-27}}; {{bibleverse||Ezra|3:11-12}}; {{bibleverse||Job|42:12-17}}; {{bibleverse||Psalms|119:100}}; {{bibleverse||Jeremiah|19:1}}; {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|9:6}}; {{bibleverse||Daniel|7:9}}.</ref> If Joshua was only 65 years old when he blessed the 85-year-old Caleb—20 years younger than Caleb, and a "young man" 20 years old when he was sent to spy out the land when Caleb was 40)—if he was only 65 years old he would not be "''old and advanced in years''". And he would not have been 110 years old 7 years after the beginning of the conquest when Caleb was 85 years old. For after he had blessed the 85-year-old Caleb, Joshua ("''old and advanced in years''") then apportioned the land to each of the tribes, and then came the subsequent controversy and threat of war over the "''altar of great size''" built afterward by the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ({{bibleverse||Joshua|22:6-33}}). And then according to {{bibleverse||Joshua|23:1}} Joshua was still alive "''a long time afterward''" (25 years afterward ? ). The same term "''old and well advanced in years''" was used when he died at the age of 110.
If Joshua's age was 40 (?) when he was sent with the 40-year-old Caleb and the other leaders of Israel to spy out the land of Canaan, then he was 78 (?) when he crossed the Jordan river at the beginning of the conquest. Age 78 (?) when he crossed the Jordan + 7 years of conquest (?) + 25 years (?) "a long time afterward" = 110 years of age. This is pure speculation. It has no established historical value, however well it fits the context. Only the age of Joshua when he died is stated in the Bible. The method of mechanical arithmetic tabulation from the text of the Bible alone and reasonable supposition, as illustrated here, are not relied upon by scholars and historians as representing established historical facts. There is no certain consensus on the exact number of years for the period of the conquest of Canaan under Joshua.
Thus the possible chronological dates of the Exodus from Egypt, according to a literalist reading of the letter of the text which draws on all of the available numbers in the Bible, are these:
<br/>1547 B.C., 1557 B.C., 1577 B.C., 1587 B.C., 1597 B.C., 1617 B.C., 1627 B.C., 1637 B.C., 1647 B.C., 1657 B.C., 1667 B.C., 1677 B.C., 1687 B.C., 1697 B.C., 1707 B.C., 1717 B.C., 1717 B.C., 1737 B.C., 1747 B.C., 1757 B.C., 1777 B.C., 1797 B.C..<ref>Egyptian history references in this article are linked to *[http://www.ancient-egypt.org/ ancient-egypt.org by Jacques Kinnaer © Jacques Kinnaer 1997 - 2014] (index page) and *[http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/ reshafim.org.il by André Dollinger, Reshafim, Israel]*[http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ ancientegyptonline.co.uk Ancient Egypt Online, written and maintained by Jenny Hill. If When these sites have little or no information, the historical reference is (reluctantly) linked to *[http://www.experience-ancient-egypt.com/ experience-ancient-egypt.com Copyright © 2009-2014 experience-ancient-egypt.com - "See more at: http://www.experience-ancient-egypt.com/#sthash.Q9NALrL5.dpuf".]</ref>
The literalist method of reading the plain and explicit meaning of the letter of the biblical text evidently places the date of the Exodus at some time between 1797 B.C. and 1547 B.C., within a period of 250 years, from the [http://www.ancient-egypt.org/_v3d/index.html Twelfth Dynasty] of the [http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/middle-kingdom/index.html Middle Kingdom] through the [http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/2nd-intermediate-period/index.html Second Intermediate Period] to the beginning of the [http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/new-kingdom/index.html New Kingdom].<ref name=1446BC>Conservative archaeologist Dr. Bryant G. Wood and other archaeologists in agreement with him support an "Early Date" for the Exodus '''c. 1446 B.C''' in contrast to those who support a "Late Date" in the 13th century (late 1200s B.C.). See article [http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/10/19/Recent-Research-on-the-Date-and-Setting-of-the-Exodus.aspx#Article "Recent Research on the Date and Setting of the Exodus".]</ref>
=== Table ===
{{quotation|This table is not definitive. It is a column of known numbers in the Bible sequentially added together. It is not a Biblical harmony.<ref>A Biblical harmony is an hermeneutical method of analyzing parallel and often disparate accounts within the Bible in an attempt to resolve apparent conflicts and demonstrate its cohesive unity. See a New Testament example: [http://www.zhinanpost.com/Documents/Bible_Desk/harmony.htm HARMONY OF MT 24, MK 13, LK 21, 17] —zhinanpost.com</ref> It is not the result of any kind of research and is not here presented as research. The details and dates of events in tables derived by the method of mechanical arithmetic tabulation from the text of the Bible alone are not relied upon by scholars and historians as representing established historical facts.<ref name=Holmanchron./><ref>As with the literalist reckoning of the Ussher Chronology, the dates associated with the literalist reckoning of the ''Seder 'Olam Rabbah'' (A.M.) should not be relied upon as fact. —''Source'': Jenkins, Everett, ([http://books.google.com/books?id=L8WP0efW2F4C&pg=PA330#v=onepage&q=seder%20olam%20chronology&f=false ''The Creation: secular, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim perspectives'': The Seder Olam Chronology, p. 330])</ref> See [[Prooftext]]. Problems are briefly noted. This table is an illustrative demonstration only. It is not a recognized reliable resource for a [http://youth.ag.org/biblequiz/ Bible Quiz] or for a [[Treatise|Paper]].}}
==== Creation of the World 4328 (?) 4246 ====
{| class="wikitable" style="align:center;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"|Before Christ (B.C.)
! style="width:63%;"|Event
! style="width:22%;"|Bible texts
|- style="text-align:left; background:#ffffec; vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align:center;"|4328 (?) 4246 <br/> ± ''82 years'' (?)<br/> <small>''Ante C. 4004''</small>
|At least 200 dates have been suggested, varying from 3483 to 6934 years B.C., all based on the assured supposition that a literal interpretation of the Bible enables us to settle the point.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03731a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Biblical Chronology.]</ref>
<small>A letterist count from 587 B.C. back to 4246 B.C. <ref name=literaltabulation1/><ref name=literaltabulation2/><ref name=literaltabulation3/> plus an additional 82 (?) possible unknown number of years inserted here (''literalist estimate'') gives a resultant earlier date of 4328 B.C. as the year Adam was formed. <br/>See [[Literalist Bible chronology#Apparent textual inconsistencies|Apparent textual inconsistencies]]: for the count of 2 unknown generations of 80 (?) years ({{bibleverse||Judges|2:10}}) and for the count of 2 (?) more years (Judges 19–21)— <br/>for the outrage at Gibeah (Judges 19:30), for the period of the calling out of the men of Israel for the war with Benjamin and the months that followed (Judges 20:8-11 and Judges 20:46-48), for the smiting of Jabesh-gilead (Judges 21:5-12), for the subsequent taking of wives for the survivors during the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh and repair of the cities afterward (Judges 21:16-23)<br/>—about 2 (?) years between the death of Samson and the year when Eli began to judge Israel.</small>
|{{bibleverse||Genesis|1:1-2:3}} <br/> {{bibleverse||Genesis|5:5}}
|}
==== Adam to the Flood 4246—2590 B.C. ====
|}
=== The complex problem of tabulating a literal chronology of the kings ===The table to this point illustrates the complex problem of constructing a literal chronology of the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah according to the letter of the text of the Bible alone. Letterism clearly presents the chronologist with the dilemma of having to choose numerical data. He or she must judge which texts are to be ignored as "unimportant" in deriving specific historical dates for a "straightforward, uncomplicated" letterist Bible chronology. This is a real problem when the fundamental premise of the letterist approach holds that every word of the Bible, every number, as plainly understood by the ordinary reader, is equally from the ''afflatus'' of the Holy Spirit of God Himself and cannot be untrue.<ref>"''afflatus''" Latin (''literally'') "inspired by the" [Holy Spirit].</ref> The hermeneutical method of letterism does not ask if the meaning of the number in the text "as plainly understood by the ordinary reader" is what the Biblical ''author'' really meant, nor does it ask if that plain meaning is in fact what the writer is really saying to his people: it simply says, "Forty years means forty years and that's all it means, plain and simple." <ref>"as plainly understood by the ordinary reader" —A "letterist" form of what is often called "reader-response criticism" applied to the Bible. See* definition: reader-response criticism: a literary criticism that focuses primarily on the reader's reaction to a text (see [https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1QJDB_enUS602US602&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=reader-response%20criticism%20site%3Amerriam-webster.com merriam-webster.com])* [http://reviste.ubbcluj.ro/sacrascripta/publicatii/sacra_scripta/2012/PETRIC%20-%20SACRA%20SCRIPTA%201_2012-5.pdf The Reader(s) and the Bible(s): 'Reader versus Community' on Reader-response Criticism and Biblical Interpretations], Paulian-Timotei Petric (ubbcluj.ro)</ref> As can be seen in the table above, the meaning of the numbers of the reigns of the kings according to the literal letter of the text is not "plain and simple". Tabulation of all the numbers of the years of the kings of Israel and Judah according to the plain, explicit, uninterpreted letter of the data in the Bible offers only inconsistent and contradictory confusion, and "God is not the author of confusion." {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|14:32-33}}; {{bibleverse|2|Peter|1:20}}. This is not including the additional dilemma of confronting those differences in chronology sometimes evident in a comparison of the numbers in different ancient manuscripts. The letterist chronologer must then judge which one(s) as source(s) to consult to the exclusion of others, and then judge which Biblical numbers to include in a tabulation of Bible chronology to the exclusion of other numbers in the sacred text that are just as equally Biblical. Understanding the actual intent of the Biblical authors through the historical-grammatical method of literalist exegesis provides a means of harmonizing apparent chronological inconsistencies in the Scriptures according to the ''literal sense''.<ref name=CCC/><ref name=AnsteyRomance/>
== Historical-grammatical method in Literalist Bible chronology ==
The apparent numerical inconsistencies highlighted by letterism can be harmonized and resolved by interpretation of the Biblical data according to the historical-grammatical method,<ref name=historicalgrammatical/> which aims at discovering the ''sensus literalis historicus'', or "the literal historical meaning" of the text.<ref>"The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church" Text and Commentary; ed. Joseph A. Fitzmeyer; Subsidia Biblica 18; Rome: Editrice Pontificio Institutio Biblico, 1995. See esp. p. 26, "The historical-critical method is the indispensible method for the scientific study of the meaning of ancient texts." Document, Pontifical Biblical Commission</ref><ref name=Terry>Terry, Milton S. (1974), ''Biblical Hermeneutics: a treatise on the interpretation of the Old and New Testaments'', Zondervan Pub. House, Grand Rapids, Mich. page 205.</ref><ref name=Stein>"Bible, methods of study", Robert H. Stein, ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', pp. 207–211.</ref><ref name=CCC/>
A mechanically rigid, ''excessively'' letterist reading of the text weakens the credibility of scripture. <br/> A [http://christiananswers.net/q-sum/sum-r002.html secular-humanist liberal] ''abuse'' of legitimate historical-critical methodology weakens the credibility of scripture.<ref>"[http://users.wfu.edu/horton/r102/hc-method.html historical-critical]". Historical-critical method of biblical interpretation: ''See especially''
*[http://hermeneutics.kulikovskyonline.net/hermeneutics/critmeth.htm An Evaluation of historical-critical methods: with special reference to Source Criticism, Tradition Criticism, Form Criticism and Redaction Criticism, by Andrew S. Kulikovsky B.App.Sc(Hons), January 20, 1997] (''a conservative Evangelical evaluation'') —hermeneutics.kulikovskyonline.net
*[http://www.bible-researcher.com/catholic-interpretation.html The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church: Presented by the Pontifical Biblical Commission to Pope John Paul II on April 23, 1993 (as published in Origins, January 6, 1994)]</ref> methodology weakens the credibility of scripture. <br/> Both do violence to the word of God. Both make the Bible subject to contempt and ridicule. And both cause scandal.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scandal?s=t "Scandal"].
<br/>See the Evangelical point of view:
*[http://biblehub.com/greek/4625.htm Strong's Concordance definition of scandal ''4625'']
::"'''A person who is not open to the possibility of God entering the historical process in a very tangible and real way is not going to get very far with the meaning of those events.'''" —Dr. Donald A. Hagener, Fuller Theological Seminary.<ref>The History Channel. ''Mysteries of the Bible'' Season One: "Jesus: Holy Child. 4. The Virgin Birth" A&E television production, original airdate 24 April 1994.</ref>
The aim of the historical-grammatical method is to strive to discover the Biblical author's original intended meaning in the text, to discover that meaning of the passage and that message which the original author would have intended and what the original hearers would have understood without adding to or taking away from the meaning of the message. Almost all of the books of the Old Testament were written to be read aloud to an assembly of persons. A fundamental principle of ''exegesis'' or exposition of the text is that the words and sentences can have but one significance in one and the same connection: a text has at least one meaning, and one's interpretations of that meaning will be right or wrong. The moment this principle is neglected the message of the author becomes obscured by uncertainty and conjecture, and ''exegesis'' becomes ''[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eisegesis eisegesis]''.<ref name=Hyatt/><ref name=Bond/> ''Eisegesis'' occurs when a reader imposes his or her interpretation into and onto the text, saying that it means what it does ''not'' mean([[Proof text|reader-response Biblical interpretation]]).<ref>Seefour articles
*[http://www.gotquestions.org/exegesis-eisegesis.html What is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis?] —gotquestions.org
*[http://thechristianwatershed.com/2007/12/10/eisegesis-vs-exegesis/ Eisegesis vs. Exegesis] —thechristianwatershed.com
*[http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/5430/how-to-separate-exegesis-from-eisegesis-in-this-example How to separate exegesis from eisegesis in this example?] —hermeneutics.stackexchange.com
*[http://carm.org/dictionary-eisegesis Dictionary: eisegesis. Brief informal definition and discussion of eisegesis: —''citing a classic example of Mormon eisegesis on 1 Cor. 8:5'' (KJV)] —carm.org</ref> ''Eisegesis'' is severely condemned according to many literalist readings of the text of the [[Book of Deuteronomy]] and the [[Book of Revelation]]:<ref>See [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/22-18.htm# Literalist commentaries on Revelation 22:18] and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/4-2.htm# Literalist commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:2] (biblehub.com).</ref>
{{quotation|"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ''aught'' from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." KJV —{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|4:2}}<ref>''see also'' {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|5:32}}; {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|17:11}} and {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|17:20}}; {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|27:26}}</ref>
<br/><br/>"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and ''from'' the things which are written in this book." KJV —{{bibleverse||Revelation|22:18-19}}}}
In an effort to avoid any deviation from the literal meaning of the text, a literalist Bible chronology draws data from the best available textual evidence. Using the best textual readings of letterism as a beginning, a literalist chronology can be established and sometimes also be corroborated by the most reliable extant extra-Biblical findings of archæologists and [[Exegesis|textual historian]]s ([[Biblical creation account#Original manuscripts|Biblical manuscripts]]). Where widely varying interpretations or readings are proposedfor a text, those most closely supporting the literal reading of the letter of the earliest available Biblical texts are adopted by Biblical literalist researchers, such as Donald G. Bryant, Gershon Galil and Kenneth Kitchen. Apparent internal inconsistencies in the textual data can often be harmonized, not always to the satisfaction of everyone, by recognizing such common practices in antiquity as coregencies or overlapping reigns of a king and his successor, and rival kings contending for the rule of the kingdom and differences between the records of Israel and Judah in the manner of counting the years of a king's reign.<ref name=gen/><ref name=AnsteyRomance/> Uncertainty remains at many points. Biblical chronology includes numbers which were significant to the biblical authors, and at times integral to their message.<ref>Significant numbers include '''7, 49, 70, 12, 24, 72, 12,000, 144,000, 3, 4, 40, 318, 666'''. "Any interpretation based on ''[http://www.inner.org/gematria/gematria.htm gematria]'' must be treated with care; such interpretation always remains speculative." — ''Source'': "Number systems and number symbology", Joel F. Drinkard, Jr., ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', pp. 1199–1201.</ref> Differences between ancient and modern calendars often necessitates the giving of alternate dates, a resultant year both earlier and later by modern reckoning (such as 587/586 B.C.). Furthermore, different methods of harmonizing the dates of Biblical kings yield slightly different results.<ref name=hist.chron./><ref name=Bond/>
==Moses Maimonides: figurative and literalist readings==
A comparison of literalist chronologies such as those listed in the [[Literalist Bible chronology#External links|External links]] below and those which have been established by William F. Albright, Edwin R. Thiele, Donald G. Bryant, Gershon Galil and Kenneth Kitchen present some apparent differences which to date have not been completely resolved, and research continues. See [[Biblical archaeology]].
Given current difficulties of harmonizing the numerical dating of plainly stated numbers of years in the chronology of the Biblical text, together with a lack of precision due to unknown numbers of years not included by the Biblical authors, a self-consistent, textually-based Biblical literalist Bible chronology leading to total and complete consensus on the fixing of precise historical dates in the Bible, by the methods of literal letterism and historical-grammatical exegesis, does not at present appear possible.
Currently, Biblical literalists have agreed that more recent literalist chronologies constructed from data in the Bible together with legitimate historical-critical findings <ref>"legitimate historical-critical findings". —Some liberal scholars and agnostic and atheistic researchers, such as
*[http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerHistorical.pdf The Historical-Critical Method of Bible Interpretation, By Siegbert W. Becker] " What one scholar holds to be very probable another considers to be very unlikely."
*[http://bibleasliterature.wordpress.com/lesson-1/ The Bible as Literature: The Bible ~ A Literary Work and an Artistic Presentation of Human Experience] "one of the distinctive features of the Bible is the consistency with which its authors place events in real-life history."
*[http://www.saintjohnsabbey.org/liturgy-answers/bibles-message-both-divine-and-human/ St. John's Abbey: ''The Bible’s message is both ‘divine’ and ‘human’.'' Friday, January 17th, 2014, Benedictine Father Michael Kwatera, a monk of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN.] "Unique among all the world's literature, the Bible is really God's word in human language."</ref> provide useful approximations of datings as they begin to converge chronologically. More recent scientific datings of historical archaeological findings are now seen to be in closer harmony with the chronology of the Biblical text.<ref>Kitchen, Kenneth (2003), ''On the Reliability of the Old Testament'', William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids and Cambridge. Preface, pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 0-8028-4960-1.</ref> What has been called by experienced researchers an "unreasonable" insistence on only figurative meanings by liberal scholars (Biblical Minimalism) has begun to decline, yet the theory still remains influential. (B. Ramm, W. A. Elwell, J. P. Hyatt, Pontifical Biblical Commission, J. F. Drinkard, Jr., E. R. Clendenen).<ref name=Hyatt/><ref name=CCC/><ref name=Elwell>{{Cite book | publisher = Baker Book House | isbn = 0-8010-3413-2 | last = Elwell | first = Walter A. | title = Evangelical Dictionary of Theology | location = Grand Rapids, Mich. | year = 1984}} p. 643.</ref><ref>Ramm, Bernard (1970). ''Protestant Biblical Interpretation'', Baker Book House, p. 45. ISBN 0-8010-7600-5.</ref><ref name=hist.chron./>
== References ==
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