Biblical Chronology - Valeriy Sterkh 3 стр.


3) The Septuagint was not created just for the Library of Alexandria. The Greek text was distributed far and wide. One copy was always at the disposal of the Jewish high priest:

After he had arrived in Jerusalem, he [Egyptian king Ptolemy IV Philopator (c. 242  203 BNE)] offered sacrifice to the supreme God and made thank offerings and did what was fitting for the holy place. Then, upon entering the place and being impressed by its excellence and its beauty, he marveled at the good order of the temple, and conceived a desire to enter the sanctuary. When they said that this was not permitted, because not even members of their own nation were allowed to enter, not even all of the priests, but only the high priest who was pre-eminent over all  and he only once a year  the king was by no means persuaded. Even after the law had been read to him, he did not cease to maintain that he ought to enter, saying, Even if those men are deprived of this honor, I ought not to be. And he inquired why, when he entered every other temple, no one there had stopped him (3 Macc 1:912).

4) The Apostles and early Church Fathers quoted predominantly from the Greek text of the Old Testament. Luke, for example, follows the Septuagint (Gen 10:24; 11:1213) when he gives his genealogy of Jesus by inserting Cainan (Lk 3:36) between Sala and Arphaxad. In the Masoretic text, Cainan is omitted.

5) From antiquity to the present day, the text of the Septuagint has been preserved almost intact, at least with regard to chronology.

6) The idea that the Jewish-Masoretic Tanakh is an infallible text of the original Old Testament is, obviously, erroneous. Theres enough evidence to the fact that the Jews had several versions of Tanakh with varying chronological data. For example, in the account from Adam through Noah, the Samaritan-Israelite Pentateuch is closer to the Jewish-Masoretic Tanakh, whereas in the partition from Arphaxad through Abraham it is closer to the chronology given in the Septuagint. This indicates an evolutionary accumulation of discrepancies over a long period of time.

7) Accumulation of errors in the Tanakh continued throughout the1st century NE. The Jewish historian Josephus Flavius in his famous book provides the chronological data in the Bible which contains further discrepancies (see Judean Antiquities).

8) The belief in the infallibility of the Jewish-Masoretic Tanakh faded away altogether after the ancient Jewish manuscripts of Qumran had been unearthed in 1947. These manuscripts reflect a whole range of chronological and textual traditions. Based on the paleographic data, external evidence, and the radiocarbon analysis, the main body of these manuscripts date between 250 BNE to 68 NE.

9) The finalization of chronology in the Jewish Tanakh occurred, most likely, around the 2nd century NE. This process must have been caused by historical circumstances, such as the destruction of the Jewish Temple, and the Roman invasion of Judea in 70 NE. Scattered throughout the world, the Jews must have been motivated to start thinking about preserving the uniformity of their religious texts. The fixed Jewish-Masoretic text of Tanakh was first translated into a foreign language in Syria at the end of the 2nd century NE. This translation was later called Peshitta. After some time, in the 4th century NE, the Jewish-Masoretic Tanakh was translated by into Latin by Jerome of Stridon; this translation was termed the Vulgate.

10) The fixed text of the Jewish-Masoretic Tanakh is not identical across various manuscripts and contains multiple discrepancies.

11) The much shorter chronology of the Jewish Tanakh contradicts the current data obtained through independent dating methods. For example, according to the Jewish tradition, the conquest of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrus II happened in 370 BNE (year 3390 from the foundation of the world in the Jewish calendar). But the scientific dating places this event in 539 BNE.


Based on the above considerations, it seems reasonable to use the dates and numbers of the Septuagint as the source for recreating the Old Testament chronology.

The brief research given below is not meant to demonstrate the whole range of the Old Testament datings. Its main purpose is to indicate the general duration of the described events. Thats why only key dates have been included. Let us first note that the period from the creation of the world to the beginning of the new era was 5550 years. So for the sake of convenience, the calculated dates are given in a twofold format: first, the dates from Adam, then the astronomical dates in NE (in parentheses; -5549 NE corresponds to 5550 BNE and so on).


1 (-5549). Creation of Adam and Eve

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them And the evening and the morning were the sixth day (Gen 1:27, 31; compare Gen 2:725).

And Adam called his wifes name Eve; because she was the mother of all living (Gen 3:20).

The tradition holds that the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created on the sixth days of the 1st year. It is believed that this day was Friday.


231 (-5319). The birth of Seth

And Adam lived an 230 years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth (Gen 5:3).

1+230=231


436 (-5114). The birth of Enos

And Seth lived an 205 years, and begat Enos (Gen 5:6).

231+205=436


626 (-4924). The birth of Cainan

And Enos lived 190 years, and begat Cainan (Gen 5:9).

436+190=626


796 (-4754). The birth of Mahalaleel

And Cainan lived 170 years, and begat Mahalaleel (Gen 5:12).

626+170=796


961 (-4589). The birth of Jared

And Mahalaleel lived 165 years, and begat Jared (Gen 5:15).

796+165=961


1123 (-4427). The birth of Enoch

And Jared lived an 162 years, and he begat Enoch (Gen 5:18).

961+162=1123


1288 (-4262). The birth of Methuselah

And Enoch lived 165 years, and begat Methuselah (Gen 5:21).

1123+165=1288


1475 (-4075). The birth of Lamech

And Methuselah lived an 187 years, and begat Lamech (Gen 5:25).

1288+187=1475


1663 (-3887). The birth of Noah

And Lamech lived an 188 years, and begat a son: And he called his name Noah (Gen 5:2829).

1475+188=1663


2163 (-3387). The birth of Sim, Ham, and Japheth

And Noah was 500 years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen 5:32).

1663+500=2163


2263 (-3287). The Great Flood

And Noah was 600 years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth (Gen 7:6).

The Flood happened 100 years after the birth of Sim, Ham and Japheth.

2163+100=2263


2265 (-3285). The birth of Arphaxad

Shem was an hundred <and two> years old, and begat Arphaxad 2 years after the flood (Gen 11:10).

The conjecture <and two> eliminates the contradiction between Gen 5:32, Gen 7:6 and Gen 11:10. This numeral was probably lost in the process of copying the manuscript long before the Septuagint was created. It is also absent in the Jewish-Masoretic Torah.

The conjecture <and two> eliminates the contradiction between Gen 5:32, Gen 7:6 and Gen 11:10. This numeral was probably lost in the process of copying the manuscript long before the Septuagint was created. It is also absent in the Jewish-Masoretic Torah.

2263+2=2265


2400 (-3150). The birth of Cainan

And Arphaxad lived 135 years, and begat Cainan (Gen 11:12).

2265+135=2400


2530 (-3020). The birth of Salah [Sala]

And Cainan lived 130 years, and begat Salah (Gen 11:12).

2400+130=2530


2660 (-2890). The birth of Eber

And Salah lived 130 years, and begat Eber (Gen 11:14).

2530+130=2660


2794 (-2756). The birth of Peleg

And Eber lived 134 years, and begat Peleg (Gen 11:16).

2660+134=2794


2924 (-2626). The birth of Reu

And Peleg lived 130 years, and begat Reu (Gen 11:18).

2794+130=2924


3056 (-2494). The birth of Serug

And Reu lived 132 years, and begat Serug (Gen 11:20).

2924+132=3056


3186 (-2364). The birth of Nahor

And Serug lived 130 years, and begat Nahor (Gen 11:22).

3056+130=3186


3265 (-2285). The birth of Terah

And Nahor lived 79 years, and begat Terah (Gen 11:24).

3186+79=3265


3335 (-2215). The birth of Abram, Nahor, and Haran

And Terah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran (Gen 11:26).

3265+70=3335


3435 (-2115). The birth of Isaac

And Abraham was an 100 years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him (Gen 21:5).

3335+100=3435


3495 (-2055). The birth of Esau and Jacob

And Isaac was 60 years old when she [Rebekah] bare them [Esau and Jacob] (Gen 25:26).

3435+60=3495


3625 (-1925). The Jews move to Egypt

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an 130 years (Gen 47:89).

3495+130=3625


4055 (-1495). The Exodus from Egypt

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt <and in the land of Canaan>, was 430 years (Ex 12:40).

Some translations contain the conjecture <and in the land of Canaan>, perhaps wishing to avoid the contradiction with the prophecy: 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 400 years (Gen 15:13). Actually, this correction in not necessary in Ex 12:40. Its reasonable to assume that the first 30 years in Egypt there was no oppression for the Jews. The remaining 400 years, however, were spent in slavery. Theres a certain logic to this. After his arrival in Egypt, Abraham came into the presence Pharaoh and was received with honor: And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had (Gen 12:20). He was a rich man: And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold (Gen 13:2). The Bible clearly indicates that Abraham was a slave owner, not a slave: And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels (Gen 12:16).

However, the conjecture <and in the land of Canaan> is not just superfluous but also erroneous because the Jews spent in Canaan more than 30 years. Lets do the math. Abraham arrived in Canaan when he was 75 years old (see Gen 12:15), and, according to the chronology, it was the year 3410 since the foundation of the world, or 215 years before their settlement in Egypt. So, if you make Canaan the starting point for the 430 years, there would be only 215 years left in the Egyptian period, not 400. And there are no indications that Jews were slaves in Canaan. So you see that the conjecture is not helpful. Therefore, it is more reasonable to view the 430 years as the total time spent by the Jews in Egypt.

3625+430=4055


4532 (-1018). The beginning of Solomons reign

And it came to pass in the 480 year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the 4 year of Solomons reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD (1 Kings 6:1).

There were 477 years between Exodus and the reign of Solomon.

4055+477=4532


4535 (-1015). The founding of the first Temple in Jerusalem

The construction of the Temple began 3 full years after, that is, in the fourth year of Solomons reign (see 1 Kings 6:1).

4532+3=4535


4572 (-978). The beginning of Rehoboams reign

And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 11:4243).

37 years after the construction of the Temple began.

4535+37=4572


4589 (-961). The beginning of Abijams [Abijahs] reign

And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:21).

And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mothers name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 14:31).

4572+17=4589


4592 (-958). The beginning of Asas reign

3 years reigned he [Abijam] in Jerusalem (1 Kings 15:2).

And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 15:8).

4589+3=4592


4633 (-917). The beginning of Jehoshaphats reign

And 41 years reigned he [Asa] in Jerusalem (1 Kings 15:10).

And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 15:24).

4592+41=4633


4658 (-892). The beginning of Jehorams [Jorams] reign

And he [Jehoshaphat] reigned 25 years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 22:42).

And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 22:50).

4633+25=4658


4666 (-884). The beginning of Ahaziahs reign

And he [Jehoram] reigned 8 years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 8:17).

And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead (2 Kings 8:24).

4658+8=4666


4667 (-883). The beginning of Athaliahs [Hotholias] reign

And he [Ahaziah] reigned 1 year in Jerusalem (2 Kings 8:26).

And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the kings sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land (2 Kings 11:13).

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