Changes

The other three camps stand on {{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=6|verses=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.<ref name=Dyer/>

The other three camps stand on {{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=6|verses=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.<ref name=Dyer/>

A fairly recent line of investigation supports the 1446 date, based on Israel’s Jubilee cycles.<ref>Andrew E. Steinmann, “From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology“ (St. Louis: Concordia, 2011), pp. 48–53.</ref> 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<ref>“Seder Olam Rabbah“ 11, 24; “Babylonian Talmud“ ‘Arakin 12b.</ref> says Ezekiel’s vision was the beginning of the 17th Jubilee.<ref>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.</ref> 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).

A fairly recent line of investigation supports the 1446 date, based on Israel’s Jubilee cycles.<ref>Andrew E. Steinmann, ''From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology'' (St. Louis: Concordia, 2011), pp. 48–53.</ref> 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<ref>''Seder Olam Rabbah'' 11, 24; ''Babylonian Talmud'' ‘Arakin 12b.</ref> says Ezekiel’s vision was the beginning of the 17th Jubilee.<ref>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.</ref> 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 ===

=== The Chronology of the United and Divided Kingdoms ===

# That this was also the date that Nebuchadnezzar's son [[Evil-Merodach]] began to reign.

# 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, so Zedekiah’s 11-year reign would have ended in 587, which agrees with some modern detailed studies,<ref>Andrew E. Steinmann, ''From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology'' (St. Louis, Concordia, 2011), pp. 162-169.</ref> instead of Ussher’s 588.

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, so Zedekiah’s 11-year reign would have ended in 587, which agrees with some modern detailed studies,<ref>Steinmann, ''From Abraham to Paul'', pp. 162-169.</ref> 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.  

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.