(an overview of what determines the accuracy of dates measured after Creation)
The accuracy of a chronology is only as strong as the assumptions that are made when constructing it. Here those assumptions are outlined. Also described is the major timeline that determines the overall length of the biblical chronology.
Assumptions
The chronology presented on this site pre-supposes two general assumptions:
 |
Modern
Translations. This site assumes that the dates and
time periods mentioned in modern English translations (specifically,
the New International Version) are the correct ones, as opposed to
other dates and time periods mentioned in other ancient manuscripts -
such as the Septuagint. |
|
Chronological Intent. In order for a Biblical chronology starting at Creation to be true it must be assumed that the dates recorded in the Bible are accurate. Therefore, it must be assumed that the writer of much of the early Biblical chronology (i.e. Moses) received his information directly from God. Therefore, God would see to it that a complete chronological story was recorded. As a result, it must be concluded that what seems to be the most plausible solutions for chronological uncertainties are, in fact, correct. These conclusions, however, must be arrived at through careful considerations of Biblical context. |
Major Biblical Timeline
The major timeline is the line that travels through the least number of people and events. This timeline is used as the backbone for all other timelines. As far as the Bible is concerned, there are a few pieces of information - such as age at death, age at birth of son, etc... - which are scattered throughout the biblical account. Taken together, these isolated pieces of information form the basis of the major timeline. An outline of the major timeline follows:
|
Adam
to
Noah,
Genesis
5 - This chapter succinctly
summarises the chronology from Adam to Noah. Assuming Adam
was born in 1 AM, this chapter
places Noah's birth in 1057 AM |
|
The
Flood,
Genesis
7:6,11 - These two verses state that Noah was
600 years old at the time of the Flood. This means that the Flood
came in the year 1657 AM (which
happens to be the same year that Methuselah died) |
|
Birth
of
Shem,
Genesis
11:10 - The date for the birth of Shem is
based on the verse Genesis 11:10. In this verse it states that 2
years after the Flood Shem was 100 years old. This means that
Shem was born 98 years prior to the Flood - placing his birth in the
year 1559 AM. |
|
Shem
to
Terah,
Genesis
11:10-32 - These verses detail the
chronological line from Shem to Terah. Taking Shem's birth as 1559 AM it follows that Terah was born in
the year 1879 AM, and died in 2084 AM. |
|
Birth
of
Abraham,
Genesis
12:4 - The date for the birth of Abraham
is based on Genesis 12:4. Here it says that Abraham was 75 years
old when he set out from Haran - this was shortly after Terah
(Abraham's father) died. The assumption is made (because of close
contextual association) that Abraham left in the same year that his
father died. Therefore Abraham was born 75 years prior to his
father's death - in the year 2009 AM.
Genesis
11:26
says
that Terah became a father at age 70 - the year 1949 AM. It lists Abram first, then
Nahor and Haran. But as has been noted, Abram could not have been
born until 60 years later, when Terah was 130 years old. Also,
given that Haran died while his father Terah was still alive (Genesis
11:28), and that he was the father of Lot (who later in Genesis is
treated contemporaneously with Abram), it seems likely that Haran was
the eldest, and was born 60 years before Abram. |
|
Birth
of
Isaac,
Genesis
21:5 - Abraham was 100 years old when
Isaac was born, therefore Isaac was born in the year 2109 AM. |
|
Birth
of
Jacob,
Genesis
25:26 - Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob
and Esau were born, therefore Jacob was born in the year 2169 AM. |
|
Jacob
(Israel)
arrives
in
Egypt, Genesis 47:9 - According to this
verse Jacob was 130 years old when he arrived in Egypt. This
places the year as 2299 AM. |
|
Israelite
Exodus
from
Egypt,
Exodus 12:40, Acts 7:6 - According to
this verse "the length of time the Israelite
people lived in Egypt was 430 years" (NIV). Taking the
beginning of the Israelites' time in Egypt to be when Israel (Jacob)
arrived in the year 2299 AM, this
places the Exodus in the year 2729 AM.
However,
it
is
worth noting that other manuscripts (the Samaritan
Pentateuch and the Septuagint) add the words "and Canaan" after Egypt
in the above quote, so that it reads "the length
of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt and Canaan was 430 years".
This
might
mean,
therefore, that the beginning of the 430 year period
would be when Abraham arrived in Canaan - sometime during or soon after
the year 2084 AM. This is
215 years earlier than Jacob's arrival in Egypt, and would shorten the
Israelites' period in Egypt to 215 years (215 + 215 = 430). This
was the view taken by James Ussher (see comments and link below for
more information on James Ussher's chronology). However, in Acts
7:6, Stephen states that Abraham's descendants were to be "enslaved and
mistreated four hundred years". This would not fit with a 215
year period in Egypt, and it is for this reason that the longer 430
year period is accepted in the timelines presented in this
website. Add to this the use of the phrase "Israelite people" in
Exodus 12:40 - it does not seem to make sense for the Israelite people
to exist before Israel (Jacob), their namesake. Despite the conclusion drawn in the previous paragraph, it must be acknowledged that this dating - either 215 or 430 years - is a contentious issue among many who seek to establish a biblical chronology. One verse in defence of James Ussher's chronology, which has not been reconciled on this website, is Galatians 3:16-17. Here Paul seems to make reference to a 430 year period from Abraham leaving Haran to Moses receiving "The Law". |
|
Start
of
Construction
on
Solomon's Temple, 1 Kings 6:1 - This
verse states that construction of Solomon's Temple commenced 480 years
after the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. Assuming the Exodus took
place in 2729 AM, this would place
the year at 3209 AM. This
verse also states that this was after 4 years of Solomon's reign.
Therefore, Solomon began his reign in 3205 AM.
(This
verse
can
also be read as saying that construction started in the
480th year - i.e. 479 years after the Exodus - when Solomon was in the
4th year of his reign - i.e. 3 years after he came to power.
Either way, the date of 3205 AM is arrived at.) |
|
Kings of Judah, 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles - It is possible to build up a solid chronology starting at the beginning of Solomon's reign and continuing right through to the death of Zedekiah in the destruction of Jerusalem. When the total of all reigns from Solomon to Zedekiah are added together it comes to 433 years. Therefore, starting with the beginning of Solomon's reign in 3205 AM the destruction of Jerusalem happened in 3638 AM. History records that Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of King Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon in 586 BC. This provides the necessary conversion factor between AM and BC dates, and allows the entire chronology to be presented using both AM and BC timelines. |
Other Chronologies
The above major timeline is the timeline compiled by the author of this website - see Author's Comments for further information. Brief mention is made of other timelines here:
|
James
Ussher's Chronology - James Ussher (A.D. 1581 - 1656) in the 1650s published a
chronology that became well known and widely circulated, and has
remained so for centuries. In this chronology he places the
world's creation in the year 4004 BC. For a chart giving an
overview of chronology based on James Ussher, see Paul Hansen's chart
available at http://creation.com/images/pdfs/other/timeline_of_the_bible.pdf
. To explore Ussher's chronology in detail and compare his
chronology with the one given above, please download and install the BWH Explorer
software - see link below. |
|
Traditional Jewish Chronology - This is the standard Jewish chronology which places Creation in the year 3760 B.C. To see this timeline in detail, refer to http://www.akhlah.com/history_tradition/torah_timeline.php. To explore the Jewish chronology in detail and compare it with the one given above, please download and install the BWH Explorer software - see link below. |
|
A new research tool for exploring
Bible chronologies in greater depth.
|
(Minor updates to explanatory notes in "Major Biblical Timeline" on 1 September 2006. Updated "Other Chronologies" section on 29 January 2010.)
