Jeremy Hughes Secrets of The Times Myth and History in Biblical Chronology JSOT Supplement 1990 PDF

JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
SUPPLEMENT SERIES
66
Editors
David J A Clines
Philip R Davies
JSOT Press
Sheffield
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SECRETS
OF THE
TIMES
Myth and History in
Biblical Chronology
Jeremy Hughes
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

Supplement Series 66
For my parents
Copyright 1990 Sheffield Academic Press

Published by JSOT Press
JSOT Press is an imprint of
Sheffield Academic Press Ltd
The University of Sheffield
343 Fulwood Road
Sheffield S10 3BP
England
Typeset at the Oxford University Computing Service
Printed in Great Britain
by Billing & Sons Ltd
Worcester
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available
ISSN 0309-0787
ISBN 1-85075-178-1
PREFACE
This book is a revised version of a doctoral thesis which was

submitted to the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Oxford University
in 1986. I originally planned to write a short monograph on the
chronology of the Priestly stratum of the Pentateuch, but this
evolved to become a full-length study of Biblical chronology and
went on to displace a projected thesis on the more intractable
question of the Hebrew verbal system. One consequence of these
circumstances was that I came to the historical chronology of Israel
and Judah via the mythical chronology of antediluvian times, and
only began to dabble in matters of historical chronology because
the mythical chronology of the early books of the Bible seemed to
provide an answer to problems in the chronology of Kings.
Scholars who have previously considered these problems have
normally travelled in the opposite direction, from historical
chronology to Biblical chronology, without considering the possibility that the chronology of Kings might not be a straightforward
species of historical chronology after all.
In writing this study I have benefited greatly from the advice
and assistance of others. I am especially indebted to my thesis
supervisor, Professor James Barr, for arousing my interest in
Biblical chronology (initially through his paper on Ussher and
Biblical chronology), and for offering helpful criticisms of my own
work as it developed. I was also fortunate in being supervised, for
two terms, by Dr Terence Fenton and Dr Sebastian Brock, who
offered their own constructive criticisms; and I am further
indebted to Dr Stephanie Dalley, who read most of the chapters in
their thesis stage and offered helpful advice on Assyrian and
Babylonian chronology, and to Professor John Baines for advice
and guidance in matters of Egyptian chronology. Dr John Day and
Dr John Barton examined the thesis and made helpful and detailed
criticisms.
The original thesis was written while I was a junior research
vi
Secrets of the Times
fellow at Merton College, Oxford. It was then revised during my

time as Kennicott Fellow at the Oriental Institute in Oxford; and
as the final tasks of indexing and proof-checking are being
completed I am currently Pusey and Ellerton Fellow at the
Oriental Institute. I am indebted to the trustees of the Kennicott
and Pusey and Ellerton Funds for a generous subsidy towards the
cost of publication. I am also grateful to Sheffield Academic Press,
for their patience in waiting for the book to be completed; to my
family (for the same reason!); and to Jennifer Baines, for helping
me meet this objective by typesetting the book at the Oxford
University Computing Service.
Oxford
January 1990
Jeremy Hughes
CONTENTS
Abbreviations
Introduction
The Priestly chronology of the world
2.1 Pre-Abrahamic chronology

2.2 Post-Abrahamic chronology
2.3 Priestly ideology and the date of P
5
30
43
The Deuteronomistic chronology of Israel
55
3.1 Pre-Priestly chronological schematism

3.2 Deuteronomistic chronology: formation and
development
3.2.1 Judges and Samuel
3.2.2 Kings
55
69
69
77
The original chronology of the book of Kings
97
4.1 Problems and solutions

4.2 Internal evidence of pre-schematic chronology
4.2.1 From the division of the kingdom to Jehu's
revolt
4.2.2 From Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria
4.2.3 From the fall of Samaria to the Babylonian
exile
97
122
The historical chronology of Israel and Judah
160
5.1 Calendars and dating systems

5.2 A historical reconstruction of Israelite and Judean
chronology
5.2.1 From the division of the kingdom to Jehu's
revolt
160
122
138
155
182
182
viii

5.2.2 From Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria
5.2.2.1 Israelite chronology
5.2.2.2 Judean chronology
5.2.3 From the fall of Samaria to the Babylonian
exile
222
From P to Ussher
233
6.1 Revised Biblical chronologies

1.1.i MT
6.1.2 SP
6.1.3 LXX
6.2 Postbiblical chronologies
6.2.1 Jewish chronologies
6.2.1.1 Demetrius
6.2.1.2 Eupolemus
6.2.1.3 Jubilees
6.2.1.4 Josephus
6.2.1.5 Pseudo-Philo
233
233
237
238
241
241
241
242
244
245
250
6.2.1.6 Seder Olam Rabba
6.2.2 Christian chronologies

6.2.2.1 The New Testament
6.2.2.2 Eastern Christianity
6.2.2.3 Eusebius
6.2.2.4 Bede
6.2.2.5 Luther
6.2.2.6 Ussher
7
193
196
209
255
257
257
258
259
260
260
261
Conclusion
264
Appendix A Biblical chronological data
267
A. i Priestly chronology: from creation to the

foundation of the second temple
A.2 Deuteronomistic chronology: from the settlement
to the Babylonian exile
268
Appendix B
270
Chronological data in Josephus
B. i From the exodus to the foundation of the temple

B.2 Judean kings: from David's accession to the
Babylonian exile
267
270
271
Contents
ix
B.3 Israelite kings: from the division of the kingdom

to the fall of Samaria
271
Appendix C Mesopotamia!! chronology

(first millennium)
273
C.i Kings of Assyria

C.2 Babylonian rulers
C.3 Persian rulers
273
274
274
Appendix D Israelite-Judean chronology
275
D.I Kings of Israel

D.2 Kings of Judah
D.3 Synchronistic table: from the division of the
kingdom to the fall of Samaria
275
275
Appendix E Babylonian/Jewish month names
279
Bibliography
280
1 Ancient texts
2 Modern authors
280
282
Index of ancient text references
293
Index of subjects
304
Index of modern authors
315
276
ABBREVIATIONS
I. Modern reference works
ABC
AcOr(D)
AfO
AION
AJBA
AJSL
ANET
AnOr
AOT
ARAB
AS
A USS
BA
BA SOR
BHS
BibOr
BJRL
BZAW
CBQ
CIS
CT
DBS
DZGW
EB
GCS
A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (New

York, 1975)
Acta Orientalia, ediderunt Societates Danica etc.
Archivfur Orientforschung
Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli
A ustralian Journal of Biblical A rcheology
American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures
J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating
to the Old Testament (3rd ed. with supplement, Princeton
N.J.,I 9 6 9 )
Analecta Orientalia
H. F. D. Sparks (ed.), The Apocryphal Old Testament
(Oxford, 1984)
D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and
Babylonia (Chicago, 1926/7)
Assyriological Studies
Andrews University Seminary Studies
Beitrdge zur Assyriologie und Semitischen
Sprachwissenschaft
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
K. Elliger and W. Rudolph (edd.), Biblia Hebraica
Stuttgartensia
Bibbia e Oriente
Bulletin of the John Ry lands Library
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum
Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British
Museum
Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplement
Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Geschichtswissenschaft
Encyclopaedia Biblica
Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller der Ersten
Jahrhunderte
Abbreviations
GK
GM
HTR
HUCA
IDE
IEJ
JANES
JAOS
JBL
JCS
JD T
JEA
JNES
JPT
JSOTS
JTS
KAI
KB
MVAG
Or
OTP
O TS
RA
RB
RE
RLA
SC
SH
ST
STT
SVT
TLZ
TSBA
TUA T
VT
WO
XI
A. E. Cowley, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, as edited and

enlarged by E. Kautzsch (and ed., Oxford, 1910)
Gottinger Miszellen
Harvard Theological Review
Hebrew Union College Annual
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
Israel Exploration Journal
Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia
University
Journal of the American Oriental Society
Journal of Biblical Literature
Journal of Cuneiform Studies
Jahrbucherfur Deutsche Theologie
Journal of Egyptian Archeology
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Jahrbucherfur Protestantische Theologie
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement
Series
Journal of Theological Studies
H. Donner and W. Rollig, Kanaandische und Aramdische
Inschriften (3 vols., 3rd ed., Wiesbaden, 1971-6)
E. Schrader (ed.)j Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek (6 vols.,
Berlin, 1889-1915)
Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatisch(-Agyptischen)
Gesellschaft
Orientalia
J. H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha (2 vols., London, 1983/5)
Oudtestamentlische Studien
Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archeologie Orientate
Revue Biblique
Revue d'Egyptologie
Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen
Archdologie
Sources Chretiennes
Scripta Hierosolymitana
Studia Theologica
O. R. Gurney, J. J. Finkelstein, and P. Hulin, The
Sultantepe Tablets (2 vols.; London, 1957,1964)
Supplements to Vetus Testamentum
Theologische Literaturzeitung
Transactions of the Society of Biblical A rcheology
O. Kaiser (ed.), Texte aus der Umwelt des Alien
Testaments (Gutersloh, 1982-)
Vetus Testamentum
Die Welt des Orients
xii
ZA W
ZDMG
ZDP V
ZWT

Zeitschrift
Zeitschrift
Zeitschrift
Zeitschrift
fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

der Deutschen Morgenldndischen Gesellschaft
des Deutschen Paldstina- Vereins
fur Wissenschaftliche Theologie
2. Ancient texts
2. i Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
Gn
Ex
Lv
Nu
Dt
Js
Ju
Ru
1-28
I-2K
i-2C
Ezr
Ne
Est
Jb
Ps
Pr
Qo
Sg
Is
Je
La
Ezk
Dn
Ho
Jl
Am
Ob
Jn
Mi
Na
Hb
Zp
Hg
Zc
Ma
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1-2 Samuel
i-2 Kings
1-2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Qoheleth
Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habbakuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Abbreviations
2.2 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
1-2 Esd
Jub
LAB
i~4M
TLev
Tmos
1-2 Esdras
Jubilees
Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum
i-4 Maccabees
Testament of Levi
Testament of Moses
2.3 Rabbinic literature

SOR
Seder Olam Rabba
2.4 Classical texts
Ant
Ap
War
Josephus, Jezuw/z Antiquities

Josephus, Against Apion
Josephus, Jewish War
2.5 Akkadian texts

Adn Gal
Adn Rim
Adn Sab
Adn SH
Ash PrC
Ep Chr
Esrh NinAF
Esrh NinB
Sg AC
Sg Cal
Sg Cyl
Sg Kh
Sg LD
Shi 5
Shi 22
Shi 32
Shi 33
Shi Bull
Shi Kurb
Shi Mon
Sn 81-3
Sn Bell
Sn Neb
Sn Pr
Tgl An
Tgl Iran
Adadnirari III, Calah Slab

Adadnirari III, Rimah stele
Adadnirari III, Saba'a stele
Adadnirari III, Sheikh Hammad stele
Ashurbanipal, Prism C
Eponym Chronicle
Esarhaddon, Nineveh Prisms A and F
Esarhaddon, Nineveh Prism B
Sargon 11, Ashur Charter
Sargon II, Calah Prism
Sargon II, Cylinder Inscription
Sargon II, Khorsabad annals
Sargon II, Large display inscription
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 5 (Basalt Statue)
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 22 (annal fragment)
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 32 (marble slab)
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 33 (Black Obelisk)
Shalmaneser III, Bull Inscription
Shalmaneser III, Kurba'il statue
Shalmaneser III, Monolith Inscription
Sennacherib, Bull inscriptions 1-3
Sennacherib, Bellino Cylinder
Sennacherib, Nebi Yunus inscription
Sennacherib, Prisms
Tiglathpileser III, Annals
Tiglathpileser III, Iran stele
Xlll
XIV
Tgl Ki
Tgl K 3751
Tgl ND 400
Tgl ND 4301+

Tiglathpileser III, 'Kleinere Inschrift i'
Tiglathpileser III, tablet K375I
Tiglathpileser III, tablet ND 400
Tiglathpileser III, tablet ND 4301 + ND 4305 + ND
5422 + K 2649 ( + ) ND 5419
3. General abbreviations
iQIsa
A
AM
aut.
B
E
ET
J
Jos.
Jul.
L
LXX
LXXA
LXXB
LXXD
LXXL
LXXM
LXXN
MT
N
Nis.
P
SP
spr.
T. b.
Qumran Isaiah Scroll a

Septuagint, Codex Alexandrinus
Anno Mundi
autumn calendar
Septuagint, Codex Vaticanus
Elohistic stratum of the Pentateuch
English translation
Yahwistic stratum of the Pentateuch
Josephus
Julian calendar
Septuagint, Lucianic recension
Septuagint
Septuagint, Codex Alexandrinus
Septuagint, Codex Vaticanus
Septuagint, Codex Cottonianus
Septuagint, Lucianic recension [Judges: KZgln(o)w,
(d)ptv; Samuel-Kings: bor(c2)e2]
Septuagint, Codex Coislinianus
Septuagint, Codex Venetus
Masoretic Text
Septuagint, Codex Venetus
Nisan calendar
Priestly stratum of the Pentateuch
Samaritan Pentateuch
spring calendar
Babylonian Talmud
1
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 14 of the second book of Esdras (also known as 4 Ezra)

describes how the Jewish scriptures, which had (supposedly) been
lost in the destruction of the first temple, were subsequently
rewritten under Ezra's inspired dictation. This produced a total of
ninety-four books of sacred scripture, comprising twenty-four
books that were to be published openlyand which presumably
correspond to the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bibleand
seventy books that were intended for restricted circulation among
the wise. This distinction between esoteric and non-esoteric
scripture is said to go back to Moses, who had received the original
copies of the scriptures on Mount Sinai. God describes his
revelation to Moses as follows: 'I kept him with me many days.
And I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets
of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I
commanded him, saying, "These words you shall publish openly,
and these you shall keep secret"' (2 Esd 14.3-6).
The secrets of eschatological chronology ('the end of the times')
evidently held some fascination for the author of 2 Esdras, but they
were presumably one of the subjects which Moses was prohibited
from publishing openly, since eschatological revelations are notably absent from the canonical books of Moses (the Pentateuch),
and the only Biblical book which shows much interest in
eschatological chronology is the book of Daniel. But the Pentateuch and other Biblical books do contain a significant amount of
chronological information which is historically orientated rather
than eschatological in that it is concerned with the past rather than
the future. So also does the book of Jubilees, which presents a
rewritten account of events from creation to the exodus, and claims
to contain revelations which Moses received during the forty days
which he spent on Mount Sinai. The book of Jubilees is

characterized by a distinctive jubilee chronology, in which the
'secrets of the times' are revealed as a chronological scheme of fifty
49-year jubilees from creation to the settlement in Canaan. It is
clear from the schematic nature of this figure that the chronology
of Jubilees is mythical rather than historical in purpose: it was not
primarily conceived as a historical framework for the events which
it describes, but is an essentially mythical expression of the belief
that history is ordered according to a divine plan. The central
thesis of this book is that this is equally true of Biblical chronology,
except that I shall qualify this by arguing that parts of the
chronology of the Bible originated as a historical chronology which
was later 'mythicized' by Biblical writers.
The schematic nature of Biblical chronology has been recognized by previous scholars, though it has been largely ignored by
twentieth-century scholarship. Julius Wellhausen noted a century
ago that Judean regnal years stated in Kings add up to a round total
of 430 years for the period from the foundation of the temple in
Solomon's fourth year to its destruction by Nebuchadrezzar, and
that a 5o-year period of exile (from 587 BC to c. 538 BC) makes a
overall total of 480 years which mirrors the 480 years assigned to
the period from the exodus to the foundation of the temple (iK
6.1). Or again: according to the Masoretic text of the Bible (which
underlies almost all English translations) there are exactly 290
years from the birth of Abraham to the entry into Egypt (Gn 21.5;
25.26; 47.9). If we add this to the figure of 430 years for Israel's
stay in Egypt which is given in Exodus 12.40, plus 480 years from
the exodus to the foundation of the temple, it is apparent that
Biblical chronology (as preserved by the Masoretic text) assigns a
round duration of 1200 years to the period from Abraham to the
foundation of the temple. It is interesting to note that Archbishop
Ussher contrived a similar round duration of 1000 years for the
period between the completion of the temple and the birth of Christ.
Ussher's chronology (which was widely printed in the margins of
English Bibles until recent times) also incorporated a 4OOO-year
interval from creation to the birth of Christ, which is whyin
Ussher's schemethe world was created in 4004 BC (the birth of
Christ is commonly dated to 4 BC, which was the year in which
Herod the Great died).1
i. SeeBarr 1984.
Introduction
One reason why modern Biblical scholarship has been inclined

to overlook the schematic nature of Biblical chronology may be
that it is, in a way, rather embarrassing. Modern Biblical
scholarship is largely historical in outlook, and considerable
effort has been devoted to establishing a reliable chronological
framework for the history of the Israelite and Judean kingdoms.
If the chronological data on which this framework is based
should turn out to be mythical rather than historical this might
be regarded as undermining part of the basis of modern Biblical
scholarship. It could be worse than this: if the chronology is
mythical rather than historical, the same might also be true of the
narrative which contains this chronology. In which case Biblical
scholarship may be seriously misguided in its preoccupation with
historical fact rather than mythical meaning.
There is, I think, a sense in which the last statement is true.
But in the case of Biblical chronology there is also evidence which
suggests that it is wrong to draw a sharp antithesis between
history and myth. The two chapters which follow are mainly
concerned with the mythical character of Biblical chronology
from Genesis through to Kings, but chapters four and five
contain a reconstruction of the historical chronology of the
Israelite and Judean kingdoms which is based on chronological
data from the book of Kings. I am not trying to build castles out
of sand. The basis for my historical reconstruction of Israelite
and Judean chronology is to be found in the fact that certain
features of the chronology of Kingsincluding internal discrepancies between reign lengths and synchronismsprovide
evidence to suggest that the chronology of Kings was adapted
from an earlier non-schematic chronology. This part of Biblical
chronology is outwardly mythical, but it is also based on an
originally historical chronology.
I should perhaps explain my use of the term 'myth'. Many
Biblical scholars avoid using this term in relation to the Bible
because they argue that myths are stories about the gods, and that
Biblical religion, by recognizing only one God, is therefore
inherently non-mythical. This is, in my view, a simplistic definition of myth. A more adequate description would be to say that
myth is fiction which is used to express truth. In arguing that
Biblical chronology is essentially mythical, I am saying that it
uses historical fiction to express ideological beliefs. The most
fundamental of these beliefs, which motivated Ussher just as it

motivated the original Biblical chronologers, is the belief that there
is a divine plan behind human history.
2
THE PRIESTLY CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD
2.1 Pre-Abrahamic Chronology

The Priestly stratum of the Pentateuch (P) shows a marked interest
in chronology that is conspicuously absent from the other main
Pentateuchal strata. In Genesis this chronological information is
mostly presented in genealogical form: P contains a complete
genealogy from Adam to Jacob which incorporates chronological
information such as the age at which each ancestor fathered a
successor (henceforth referred to as his age of begetting), his total
lifespan and/or the number of his remaining years after fathering a
successor, and in some instances his age at the time of important
events such as the flood. This information offers us a comprehensive chronology of world history, by which the lives of Israel's and
mankind's ancestors, and certain key events such as the flood and
Abraham's migration, are datable in years from the world's
creation. Priestly chronology is essentially a relative chronology:
the flood is dated in relation to Noah's lifespan, and Noah's
lifespan is dated in relation to that of his father, which in turn is
dated in relation to that of his father, and so on. But because this
relative chronology has a fixed point in Adam's creation, which is
contemporaneous with the creation of the world, it can also be
converted into an absolute chronology of world history. It is
obvious that the crucial figures from which this absolute chronology is derived are the ages of begetting: the birth date of an
ancestor (in years from creation) is simply the sum of his
predecessors' ages of begetting. Any increase in these ages would
necessarily result in a longer chronology, while any decrease would
correspondingly shorten the chronologyso the Septuagint, with
ages of begetting for most of Abraham's ancestors that are
significantly greater than those of the Masoretic Text, also has a

considerably longer pre-Abrahamic chronology.
The table on the opposite page presents the chronological data
of the Masoretic text (MT), Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), and
Septuagint (LXX) for the period from Adam to Abraham. This
reveals a high degree of textual variation between these different
textual witnesses; but it is clear from the nature of this variation
that differences between MT, SP, and LXX result, for the most
part, from systematic alteration rather than accidental corruption
of the original Priestly figures. Despite assertions to the contrary
by some scholars (e.g. De Vries 1962:581) it is far from obvious
that the original figures are preserved in MT, and it is quite
possible that none of the three main textual witnesses has
preserved them. It is therefore necessary that any discussion of
Priestly chronology should begin with an evaluation of the
available textual evidence.1
The pre-Abrahamic chronology of P is preserved in two
genealogical lists comprising Genesis 5.1-28, 30-32; 7.6; 9.28-29,
and Genesis 11.10-26, 32. As these lists are almost identical in
form, and run consecutively from Adam to Terah, it is likely that
they once formed an independent Priestly document that was only
subsequently incorporated into the Priestly Pentateuchal history;2
confirmation of this may be seen in the fact that the genealogy uses
1. Compare the discussion of textual variants by Klein (1974). For a recent
claim that MT has preserved the original chronological figures see Larsson (1983),
who argues that all chronological differences between MT and LXX are explicable
as rationalizing alterations in LXX. Larsson's faith in the chronological data of MT
is based on his acceptance (and advocacy) of the chronological theories of Stenring
(1966), who thought that MT contained a cryptic chronology which involved three
different calendars and was intelligible only to the initiated. But it cannot be said
that Larsson has provided an adequate defence of MT. One serious objection is that
Larsson tacitly adopts the inferior LXX figure of 187 years for Methuselah's age of
begetting, without even mentioning the strongly attested variant figure of 167
years. The latter figure, which is almost certainly original (see p. I4n.), is actually
a serious embarrassment to Larsson's thesis that LXX figures are rationalizing
alterations of MT's supposedly original figures, for it results in Methuselah's
having survived the flood in LXX chronology, despite not having been included in
Noah's ark.
2. 'Pentateuchal history' is intended as a neutral term for any account
approximately covering the series of events described in the Pentateuch: 'Priestly
Pentateuchal history' (or 'Priestly history') may therefore be interpreted as 'Priestly
source' or as 'Priestly redaction of the Pentateuch' according to one's literaryhistorical assessment of the Priestly stratum. The point at issue is discussed further
in section 3 of this chapter.
Chronological Data: Genesis 5-11

MT
LXX
SP
(Gn5.3)
(Gns.6)
(Gn 5.9)
(Gn5.i2)
(Gns.is)
(Gns.i8)
(Gns.2i)
(Gns.25)
(Gns.28)
(Gn5.32)
(Gn 7.6; 9.28)
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
130 + 800 = 930

105 + 807 = 912
90 + 815 = 905
70 + 840 = 910
65 + 830 = 895
162 + 800 = 962
65 + 300 = 365
187 + 782 = 969
182 + 595 - 777
500
600 + 350 = 950
130+800 = 930
105 + 807 =912
90 + 815 = 905
70 + 840 =910
65 + 830 =895
62 + 785 =847
65 + 300 =365
67 + 653 =720
53 + 600 =653
500
600 + 350 =950
230 + 700 = 930

205 + 707 = 912
190 + 715 = 905
170 + 740 = 910
165 + 730 = 895
162 + 800 = 962
165 + 200 = 365
167 + 802 = 969
188 + 565 = 753
500
600 + 350 = 950
(Gn 11.10)
(Gn n.io)
(Gnu. 12)
(Gnu. 13)
(Gn 11.14)
(Gnn.i6)
(Gn 11.18)
(Gn 1 1. 20)
(Gnu. 22)
(Gn 11.24)
(Gnu. 26)
Shem
flood to Arpachshad
Arpachshad
Kenan
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
ioo + 5oo(= 600)
100 + 500 =600
ioo+5oo(= 600)
35 + 403 (=438)
30 + 403 (=433)
34 + 430 (=464)
30 + 209(= 239)
32 + 207(= 239)
30 + 200 ( = 230)
29+ii9( = 148)
70
205
135 + 303 =438
135 + 430 (= 565)
i30 + 33o(= 460)

130 + 330 (=460)
i34 + 370(= 504)
i30 + 209(= 339)
132 + 207 (= 339)
I30 + 200(= 330)
79+i29(= 208)
70
205
433
404
239
239
130+ 100 = 230
79+ 69 = 148
70
145
130+303 =
134+270 =
130+ 109 =
132+107 =
Column i: age of begetting (etc.). Column 2: remaining years of life. Column 3: total lifespan.
Unstated totals are given in parentheses
an unusual form of numerical syntax which appears to be

unattested elsewhere in P (or in any other part of the Hebrew
Bible), whereby units and tens with an enumerated noun are
followed by hundreds with the enumerated noun repeated.3 This
document, which in Genesis 5.1 is titled 'The Book of the
Generations of Adam' (and which I shall refer to from now on as
'The Book of Generations'), will necessarily have been divided
into antediluvian and postdiluvian sections when it was combined
with the flood narrative as part of P's primaeval history.
Antediluvian and postdiluvian sections of the Book of Generations are roughly symmetrical in that the first section (from Adam
to Noah) contains ten genealogical entries, while the second
section (from Shem to Terah) contains nine entries (ten in LXX).
Both sections use identical phraseology, stating each ancestor's age
of begetting and the number of his remaining years (in Noah's
case, remaining years after the flood), besides noting the birth of
additional children. The antediluvian section also states total
lifespans (which are not stated for postdiluvians other than Terah,
except in SP) and includes a concise statement of death, or in
Enoch's case a statement about his translation to heaven, which is
also included in SP's and LXX's postdiluvian entries. The
genealogical entry on Terah is anomalous in that it omits a
statement on the number of remaining years, which is included in
all other antediluvian and postdiluvian entries, but includes (in all
text forms) a total lifespan and statement of death.4
3. The closest parallel to this construction is found in Numbers 2.16, 31, where
hundreds with an enumerated noun are followed by units and tens with the
enumerated noun repeated. Elsewhere P repeats the enumerated noun after each
element in a compound numeral, or writes it once only after the entire compound
numeral (the construction in Genesis 47.28, where units with an enumerated noun
are followed by tens and hundreds with the enumerated noun repeated is an
anomalous exception). It should be noted, however, that there are also significant
syntactic similarities between the Priestly genealogies of Genesis 5-11 and other
Priestly strata. Despite detailed differences in numerical syntax it is only within
these genealogies and in other Priestly passages (including i Kings 6.1: see below)
that an enumerated noun is repeated after separate elements of a compound
numeral (GK I34h). Another shared feature is the use of J"IXO (the construct form
of !"INQ, 'hundred'), which occurs only four times outside P (Est 1.4; Qo 8.12; Ne
5.n;2C25.9).
4. The statement on Terah's total lifespan differs slightly from statements on
antediluvian lifespans in that it omits *?D ('all') from before mfl ''Q1' ('the days of
Terah')in the absence of a statement on Terah's remaining years there was no
The Priestly Chronology of the World
The various textual pluses found in SP and/or LXX are

probably secondary from a textual point of view, since it is difficult
to see why MT and LXX would have omitted postdiluvian
lifespans if these were originally present in the Biblical text,
whereas their presence in SP is easily accounted for as the result of
secondary harmonization with the form of antediluvian entries; the
same is true of the statement of death which SP and LXX include
in their postdiluvian entries. On the other hand the fact that these
elements are included in Terah's genealogical entry in all text
forms might indicate that they were originally included in all
postdiluvian entries of the original Book of Generations, but were
subsequently omitted in the course of the redactional process by
which this was incorporated into the Priestly history. Equally, the
fact that remaining years are not stated in Terah's entry may well
be because these were omitted during the same redactional
process. The possibility that these elements were present in the
literary prehistory of the Biblical text does not of course affect their
textually secondary nature in SP and LXX.
The extra member of LXX's postdiluvian genealogy (Kenan) is
clearly secondary, since he borrows his name from the fourth
antediluvian ancestor, and his age of begetting and remaining years
are borrowed from Shelah, whom he precedes in LXX's postdiluvian genealogy. The insertion of Kenan does in fact produce a
greater formal symmetry between antediluvian and postdiluvian
sections of the genealogy, with the result that both sections contain
ten entries and the last ancestor in each section has three sons
(Shem, Ham, Japheth; and Abraham, Nahor, Haran).5 However,
the formal symmetry produced by this insertion is gained at the
expense of an underlying symmetry of ten generations from Adam
to Noah and ten generations from Shem to Abraham, in which
Abraham's position as the twentieth generation from creation
undoubtedly underlines his climactic significance in the genealogy.
The apparent lack of formal symmetry in the original genealogy
may simply be a secondary consequence of this underlying
need to emphasize that the following numeral represented Terah's total lifespan as
opposed to his remaining lifespan.
5. This is in contrast to other ancestors who father an unspecified number of
sons and daughters in addition to their named successor. The ages of begetting
ascribed to Noah and Terah are presumably the ages at which they each fathered
their eldest son and successor, and need not be taken to imply that their respective
offspring were born in a single year (as triplets).
io
symmetry between generations; but one should also consider the

possibility that the formal asymmetry of the Book of Generations
in its present form (in MT and SP) may be purely redactional in
origin. It is tempting to suppose that this document may originally
have included genealogical entries on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
which were subsequently omitted when the Book of Generations
was incorporated into the Priestly history (formal differences of
expression prevent us from finding the original continuation of the
Book of Generations in existing genealogical notices on the
patriarchs, though it could well have provided the chronological
information contained in these notices). If this were in fact the
case, we should then have a genealogical document which
originally contained twenty-two genealogical entries symmetrically divided between eleven antediluvian generations (Adam to
Shem) and eleven postdiluvian generations (Arpachshad to Jacob).
This suggestion is also supported by the fact that there appears to
be an intentional parallelism between Noah (tenth generation) and
Abraham (twentieth generation), who both father 'a multitude of
nations' (Gn io; 17.5) and are also recipients of divine covenants,
and between Shem (eleventh generation) and Jacob (twentysecond generation), respective ancestors of the Semitic peoples and
of the nation of Israel.
Textual variation between MT, SP, and LXX over ages of
begetting is found in the case of all ancestors from Adam to Nahor
apart from Noah and Shem; but only in the case of Methuselah and
Lamech is there disagreement between all three text forms. In all
other cases variation between the three text forms involves only
two figures differing by 100 years, or by 50 years in the case of
Nahor. The three-way variation in ages of begetting ascribed to
Methuselah and Lamech also involves a loo-year difference, but
this is supplemented by further differences of 20 years in
Methuselah's case (X ~ X + i o o ~ X + 120) and of 29 and 3 5 years in
Lamech's case (X ~ X+I29 ~ X+I35). Variation in ages of
begetting is thus essentially reducible to two sets of figures. The
higher set is consistently given in LXX, whereas MT generally
gives the lower set, three exceptions being Jared, Methuselah, and
Lamech. SP, on the other hand, consistently gives the lower set of
figures for the antediluvian period and the higher set of figures for
the postdiluvian period.
The existence of two distinct sets of figures for ages of begetting
11
is most naturally explained as deriving from two textual traditions,

one containing the higher set of figures and consequently
presenting a long chronology for the pre-Abrahamic period, and
another containing the lower set and thus presenting a short
chronology.6 The first of these textual traditions appears to be
preserved in LXX and to a partial extent in MT and SP, while the
second is partially preserved in MT and in SP, which may
therefore be viewed as conflations of the two traditions: evidence of
the conflate nature of MT and SP in this respect is provided by the
fact that Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech have incongruously high
ages of begetting in MT, while SP's postdiluvian ages of begetting
are incongruously high in relation to its antediluvian ages of
begetting. One important consideration in deciding which of the
two sets of figures is likely to be original is that Abraham's disbelief
that he might father a child at 100 years of age (Gn 17.17, P) is
hardly consistent with the higher set of figures, according to which
his recent ancestors had fathered children at ages well in excess of
this. It is therefore probable that the lower set of figures is original
and that the higher set of figures is secondarily derived from these;
further detailed evidence for this conclusion is given below (see p.
16). From this we may conclude that the original ages of begetting
for Genesis 5 are preserved in SP (and to a large extent in MT),
and that MT has preserved the original ages of begetting for
Genesis n (similarly Jepsen 1929).7
The following table sets out the pre-Abrahamic chronologies of
MT, SP, and LXX. AM stands for Anno Mundi ('year of the world').
6. This explanation contrasts with Klein's attempt to explain chronological
variation between MT, SP, and LXX within the framework of Cross's local text
theory. According to Klein (1974) we have to suppose that postdiluvian ages of
begetting were raised prior to the differentiation of an earlier 'Palestinian-Egyptian'
text form into local 'Palestinian' and 'Egyptian' texts, thus affecting SP and LXX,
which are allegedly of Palestinian and Egyptian origin, but not MT, which
supposedly originated in Babylonia. We must then assume that the raising of
antediluvian ages of begetting in the textual tradition behind LXX occurred
subsequently to this differentiation into Palestinian and Egyptian texts, leaving SP
unaffected, and that the similar raising of three antediluvian ages of begetting in the
textual tradition behind MT is entirely unrelated. If one accepts these rather
unobvious assumptions it is clear that some kind of accommodation can be reached
between the textual data and Cross's theory, but this hardly supports Klein's
conclusion that his study 'provides further evidence for three distinct local texts of
the Pentateuch.' My own interpretation of the evidence points, in precisely the
opposite direction, to the conflation of locally coexisting textual traditions.
7. But see p. 22f. for a minor modification to this conclusion.
12
MT
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
Shem
1-930 AM
130-1042 AM
SP
1-930 AM
LXX
I-93O AM
23O-II42 AM
435-I34O AM
625-1535 AM
235-1 14O AM
325-1235 AM
395-1 29O AM
460-1422 AM
622-987 AM
687-1656 AM
874-1651 AM
IO56-2OO6 AM
1 556-2 1 56 AM
I3O-IO42 AM
235-1140 AM
325-1235 AM
395-129O AM
460-1307 AM
522-887 AM
587-1307 AM
654-1307 AM
707-1657 AM
12O7-1807 AM
96O-I922 AM
1122-1487 AM
1287-2256 AM
1454-2207 AM
1642-2592 AM
2142-2742 AM
Flood
1656 AM
1307 AM
2242 AM
Arpachshad
Kenan
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Abraham
1656/8-2094/6 AM
1307/9-1745/7 AM
1 69 1/3-2 1 24/6 AM
1 72 1/3-2 1 85/7 AM
1 755/7-1994/6 AM
1785/7-2024/6 AM
1817/9-2047/9 AM
1847/9-1995/7 AM
1 876/8-208 1 /3AM
1946/8AM
795-1690 AM
2242/4-2807/9 AM
2377/9-2837/9 AM
2507/9-2967/9 AM
I442/4-1875/7 AM
2637/9-3MI/3 AM
1572/4-1976/8 AM
277I/3-3HO/2 AM
1706/8-1945/7 AM
2901/3-3240/2 AM
1836/8-2075/7 AM
I968/7O-2I98/2200 AM 3033/5-3363/5 AM
2O98/2IOO-2246/8 AM 3163/5-3371/3 AM
2177/9-2322/4 AM
3342/4-3447/9 AM
AM
2247/933I2/4AM
Differences between the overall chronologies of MT, SP, and

LXX are primarily the result of differences in ages of begetting
rather than differences in total lifespans, but some account should
also be taken of the latter, as these may have significant consequences within the different overall chronologies. In the case of
antediluvian lifespans there is substantial agreement between all
three text forms. LXX antediluvian lifespans are identical with
those of MT except in the case of Lamech (LXX: 753 years; MT:
777 years), where LXX's figure is more probably original, since it
is partially supported by SP (653 years) and is less obviously
symbolic; MT's figure appears to have resulted from modifications
designed to produce a symbolic association with the number 7 (see
below). The three cases where SP differs from LXX in its
antediluvian lifespans, namely Jared (SP: 847 years; LXX: 962
years), Methuselah (SP: 720 years; LXX: 969 years) and Lamec
(SP: 653 years; LXX: 753 years), clearly result from secondary
adjustments in SP. LXX is supported by MT in the case of Jared
and Methuselah, while in all three instances the Samaritan figure
13
has the effect of placing the ancestor's death in the exact year of the
flood (see previous table);8 had SP contained the same antediluvian
lifespans as LXX the three ancestors who conveniently die in the
year of the flood would all have outlived it despite their not being
included in the ark (LXX's chronology actually has precisely this
effect in the case of Methuselah). Given that the three places where
SP differs from LXX in its antediluvian lifespans may be
explained as chronological corrections in SP, while the one place
where MT differs from LXX may be viewed as a symbolically
motivated alteration in MT, there is a strong case for thinking that
LXX has preserved the original antediluvian lifespans in all cases
(similarly Klein 1974). A corollary of this, taken with our earlier
conclusion that SP has preserved the original antediluvian ages of
begetting, is that Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech did in fact
outlive the flood in the original Priestly chronology (see below, p.
2 7 f.)-
This conclusion helps to explain why MT, or the textual

tradition behind MT, adopted increased ages of begetting for
precisely the same three antediluvians. Any increase in an
ancestor's age of begetting necessarily increased the date of
subsequent events fixed in relation to that figure while leaving the
date of his death unaffected (since this was determined by his total
lifespan). Thus a loo-year increase in Jared's age of begetting
increased the date of the flood by 100 years, and so reduced the
period by which Jared survived the flood in the original chronology. Methuselah's age of begetting might also have been increased
by 100 years (following the textual tradition behind LXX), and this
increase, coupled with the loo-year increase in Jared's age of
begetting, would have ensured that Jared died well before the
flood. However, an increase of 135 years in Lamech's age of
begetting (in line with the textual tradition behind LXX), coupled
with a loo-year increase in Methuselah's age of begetting, was
insufficient to prevent Methuselah from surviving the flood. MT,
or the textual tradition behind MT, resolved this problem by
adding a further 20 years to Methuselah's age of begetting, while
subtracting 6 years from Lamech's increased age of begetting
(alterations to Lamech's figures are discussed in the following
8. We are doubtless intended to infer that they died just before the start of the
flood (rather than that Noah abandoned his father, grandfather, and greatgreat-grandfather to drown in the flood).
14
paragraph). This had the effect of placing Methuselah's death in

the same year as the flood, a few years after Lamech's death, and a
number of LXX manuscripts subsequently borrowed MT's figure
for Methuselah in order to resolve their own problems in this
respect.9 The coincidence between the year of Methuselah's death
and the year of the flood in MT's chronology, and similar
coincidences in the case of Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech in SP's
chronology, seem to have resulted from application of the
minimum adjustment that would ensure that these ancestors died
before the start of the flood; according to Genesis 7.11 the flood
began on the iyth (LXX: 27th) day of the 2nd month, which leaves
a period of i month and 17 (or 27) days in which these various
deaths may be assumed to have occurred. One further point which
should be made is that although the textual traditions behind SP
and MT both corrected the original chronology's failure to ensure
that Noah's ancestors had all died before the start of the flood,
these corrections had significantly different effects: the overall
chronology was unaffected in SP whereas the modifications
reflected in MT increased this chronology by 349 years. Other
evidence (discussed in chapter 6) suggests that this increase may
represent a deliberate revision of the original overall chronology
in the textual tradition behind MT.
The most extensive adjustments to antediluvian chronology
appear to have been directed at Lamech's figures. If we assume
that LXX, as in other antediluvian entries, has preserved
Lamech's original lifespan (753 years), and that SP, as in other
antediluvian entries, has preserved Lamech's original age of
begetting (53 years), it follows from this that Lamech's remaining
years must originally have numbered 700, possibly reflecting an
association with the number 7 that is clearly evident in MT's
lifespan of 777 years (and which is doubtless connected with the
fact that Lamech's namesake in Genesis 4 is yth from Adam, and
9. '187 years' is the corrected reading of LXXA, and is also attested in LXXDM
and some minuscules. But according to Berlin Papyrus 911, LXXA (original
reading), and other minuscules, Methuselah's age of begetting is '167 years'. There
is little doubt that this second figure is the original LXX reading (cf. Wevers'
edition of Genesis in the Gottingen Septuagint), for it is hard to account for on any
other hypothesis, whereas '187 years' is explicable as a borrowing from MT or the
textual tradition behind MT, which is a familiar feature of LXX textual history.
We may also note that '167 years' resembles previous LXX ages of begetting in
being 100 years greater than SP's figure.
15
claims the right to 77-fold vengeance). The textual tradition

behind LXX presumably reduced Lamech's remaining years from
700 to *6oo in order to compensate for a loo-year increase in
Lamech's age of begetting (compare the loo-year increase in ages
of begetting ascribed to other antediluvians in LXX's genealogy),
but subsequently seems to have made a further adjustment,
increasing Lamech's age of begetting by 35 to 188 years while
correspondingly reducing Lamech's remaining years by 35 to 565
years. This adjustment was not required for purposes of chronological harmonization: without it Lamech would have died in the
year of the flood, and its presence is not enough to prevent
Methuselah from surviving the flood by 14 years. It is therefore
likely that the originators of this chronology had other reasons
adding 35 years at this point (see p. 238f).
MT's figures show enough similarity to those of LXX to
suggest that they are derived from the latter, with MT dependent
on the textual tradition behind LXX at this point. Starting with
the figures found in LXX the textual tradition behind MT
apparently increased Lamech's remaining years by 30 to 595 years,
while reducing Lamech's age of begetting by 6 to 182 years, thus
adding 24 years to Lamech's total lifespan so as to produce the
obviously symbolic total of 777 years. One reason for this
somewhat complex adjustment (the same lifespan could have been
achieved by a straightforward addition of 24 to Lamech's remaining years) was doubtless that it resulted in the figures for Lamech's
age of begetting and remaining years being themselves multiples of
seven.
Postdiluvian lifespans from Shem to Nahor are stated explicitly
only in SP, but SP's stated lifespans are with two exceptions
identical with the lifespans presupposed by MT's figures. SP's
total lifespan for Eber (404 years) is partially supported by LXX
(presupposing 504 years), and should probably be preferred to the
total lifespan presupposed by MT (464 years; see below for further
discussion). On the other hand MT is supported by LXX in the
case of Terah (MT, LXX: 205 years), while SP's figure of 145 years
is explicable as a secondary modification based on the exegetical
supposition that Abraham will not have left Haran until after his
father's death (cf. Acts 7.4): Abraham is said to have been 75 when
he left Haran (Gn 12.4), and Terah is said to have been 70 when he
fathered Abraham (Gn 11.26), so that on SP's chronology
16
Abraham left Haran in the same year as his father's death. This
exegetical assumption was apparently based upon the fact that
Abraham's migration is narrated immediately after a statement on
Terah's death (Gn 11.32), but it should be noted that this
statement belongs to Terah's genealogical entry in the Book of
Generations, and it is in the nature of these genealogical entries
that information on each ancestor is self-contained, and is not
arranged in strict chronological sequence with information on
other ancestors (Adam's death, for example, occurs long after Seth
has fathered Enosh). SP's chronological adjustment of Terah's
lifespan so as to place Terah's death in the same year as Abraham's
migration resembles its earlier adjustment of antediluvian lifespans
placing the deaths of Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech in the same
year as the flood.
The postdiluvian lifespans presupposed by LXX are 100 years
greater than those given by SP for ancestors from Eber to Serug,
and slightly more than 100 years greater with Arpachshad and
Shelah. A natural explanation for this is that the textual tradition
behind LXX raised postdiluvian ages of begetting by 100 years but
did not trouble to adjust remaining years so as to retain total
lifespans that were unstated. (By contrast, in the antediluvian
section of the Book of Generations, where lifespans are stated
explicitly, the textual tradition behind LXX did adjust remaining
years so as to retain the original lifespans.) SP, or the textual
tradition behind SP, also raised postdiluvian ages of begetting by
100 years, but in this case since total lifespans were stated explicitly,
the increase was compensated for by a corresponding reduction in
the number of remaining years. It should be noted that this
explanation depends upon the lower set of figures for ages of
begetting being original and thus provides further evidence that
this is in fact the case. On the opposite assumption that the higher
set of figures is original one might suppose that the textual
tradition behind MT increased postdiluvian remaining years (as
compared with SP's supposedly original figures) to compensate for
a reduction in postdiluvian ages of begetting, even though
postdiluvian lifespans are not stated in MT; but one would then be
at a loss to explain why the textual tradition behind LXX, which
on this assumption has (like SP) preserved the original ages of
begetting, should also have increased the remaining years of
postdiluvian ancestors.
17
It was suggested above that SP's lifespan for Eber (404 years),
which is partially supported by LXX (presupposing 504 years), is
to be preferred to the lifespan presupposed by MT's figures (464
years). This difference results from a difference in the stated
number of remaining years, but it is not immediately obvious why
MT should have 430 as against LXX's 370 and SP's 270 (i.e. 370
reduced by 100) for Eber's remaining years. Nor is it immediately
clear why LXX has 430 versus MT's 403 and SP's 303 (i.e. 403
reduced by 100) for Arpachshad's remaining years, 330 versus
MT's 403 and SP's 303 (403 reduced by 100) for Shelah's remaining
years, and 129 versus MT's 119 and SP's 69 (i 19 reduced by 50) for
Nahor's remaining years. Apart from compensatory adjustments
of 100 or 50 years in SP's remaining years there is no obvious
reason why any of the three text forms should have deliberately
modified these figures, since they have no significant effect on the
overall chronology and there is no discernible numerical symbolism that might have motivated such alterations. We may therefore
assume that textual variation in these four instances is probably the
result of accidental corruption, especially since the absence of total
lifespans (except secondarily in SP) will presumably have made
postdiluvian remaining years more easily susceptible to corruption
than antediluvian figures.
In the case of Nahor's remaining years MT's figure (i 19 years)
is probably original, since LXX's figure (129 years) can be
explained as resulting from partial assimilation to Nahor's age of
begetting (29 years in the original Priestly genealogy), or as
incorporating a misplaced textual variant to Nahor's age of
begetting (79 years in LXX's chronology). On the other hand it is
probable that Arpachshad and Shelah did not originally share the
same number of remaining years, as happens in MT and SP, since
the genealogies of Genesis 5 and n generally tend to avoid
assigning identical figures to successive ancestors (exceptions
being Kenan II and Shelah in LXX, where Kenan has simply
borrowed Shelah's figures, and the lifespans of Peleg and Reu,
which are discussed below). One further clue which may help us in
evaluating the textual evidence at this point is that elsewhere the
remaining years of postdiluvian ancestors decrease steadily from
Shem to Nahor (exceptions such as Eber's remaining years in MT
are almost certainly secondary). This being the case we may
probably assume that Arpachshad's remaining years originally
18
numbered 430 (as in LXX) while Shelah's remaining years

originally numbered 403 (as in MT). The corruption of Arpachshad's remaining years from 430 to 403 in the textual tradition
behind MT and SP (with 403 later reduced to 303 in SP) is then
explicable as an accidental assimilation to the number of Shelah's
remaining years, facilitated by the graphic similarity of '3' (ItfVtP)
and '30' (D^Vttf)- In the textual tradition behind LXX the reverse
process seems to have occurred, so that 403 was initially replaced
by *43O as the number of Shelah's remaining years through
accidental assimilation to the number of Arpachshad's remaining
years; the further reduction of *43O to 330 (which presumably
occurred before the insertion of Kenan, whose remaining years
also number 330) probably results from partial assimilation to
Eber's 370 remaining years. MT's figure of 430 for Eber's
remaining years (versus LXX's figure of 370 years and SP's 270
years) is probably related to these developments, since it has all the
appearance of being a misplaced textual variant to 403 as the
number of Arpachshad's or Shelah's remaining years. One
significant result of preferring 430 as the original number of
Arpachshad's remaining years is that Arpachshad's original lifespan works out at 465 years (his original age of begetting being 35
years, as in MT), which is exactly half Adam's lifespan: the first
postdiluvian not inappropriately had a lifespan which was exactly
half that of the first man, thereby underlining Arpachshad's
position as the first man of a new age inaugurated by the flood.
There is, however, a rather curious discrepancy over the date of
Arpachshad's birth, which according to Genesis 11.10 occurred in
Shem's icoth year, 2 years after the flood. Since we are told that
Noah was 500 years old when he fathered Shem, Shem's looth year
ought to be Noah's 6ooth year, and since the flood is dated to
Noah's 6ooth year (Gn 7.6), Arpachshad ought on this evidence to
have been born in the same year as the flood and not 2 years after
this event. In accounting for this discrepancy it has frequently
been suggested that the phrase '2 years after the flood' is a
secondary addition (e.g. Skinner 2 i93o:23if.), although no plausible explanation has ever been given to account for its insertion.
This suggestion is almost certainly correct, since it is hardly likely
that the original Priestly writer would have created or tolerated so
glaring a discrepancy with such serious consequences for the
overall chronology: as the text stands, all absolute dates in the
19
period after the flood may be worked out to two alternative

possibilities varying by a difference of 2 years (see table on p. 7).
A probable explanation of this anomaly is suggested below (p.
22f).
It may be helpful at this point if I summarize the main

conclusions of the previous discussion. These are:
1. That the original antediluvian ages of begetting are
preserved in SP, and to a large extent also in MT (this
conclusion will later have to be modified slightly).
2. That MT has preserved the original postdiluvian ages of
begetting.
3. That the original antediluvian lifespans are preserved by
LXX and also, with the single exception of Lamech's
lifespan, by MT.
4. That MT's figures for postdiluvian remaining years are
original except in the case of Arpachshad and Eber, where
LXX has preserved the original figures.
The crucial figures through which the overall chronology is
expressed are the ages of begetting, and here we have seen that
variation between MT, SP, and LXX may be explained relatively
simply as a development from two earlier textual traditions, one of
which (preserved in LXX) contained ages of begetting that were
mostly 100 years higher than those given by the other tradition
(which has been partially preserved in both MT and SP). Since we
have also seen that there are good reasons for thinking that the
higher set of figures was secondarily derived from the lower set, we
may plausibly reconstruct the original chronology of Genesis 5-11
by adding together the lower set of figures as these are preserved in
MT and SP. The following table sets out these figures together
with dates of birth which have been calculated from them. (There
is an inconsistency here, which I shall return to shortly: the
postdiluvian figures include a 2-year interval between the flood
and the birth of Arpachshad, even though I have argued that the
phrase '2 years after the flood' is a secondary addition to the text.)
Age of begetting
(etc.)
Adam
Seth
Enosh
i3o:SP,MT
105:8?, MT
90: SP, MT
(230: LXX)
(205: LXX)
(190: LXX)
Date of birth
(etc.)
JAM
130 AM
235AM
2O
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
Shem
Flood
Arpachshad
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Abraham

70: SP,MT
65: SP,MT
62: SP
65: SP,MT
67: SP
53: SP
500: SP, MT, LXX
600: SP, MT, LXX
100: SP, MT, LXX
(i70: LXX)
(165: LXX)
(i62:LXX,MT)
(i65: LXX)
(167: LXX, 187: MT)
(188: LXX, 182: MT)
395AM
460 AM
522AM
587AM
654AM
707 AM
I2O7AM
2: SP, MT, LXX

35: MT
30: MT
34: MT
30: MT
32: MT
30: MT
29: MT
70: MT, SP, LXX
325AM
1307 AM
(135: LXX, SP)

(130: LXX, SP)
(i 34: LXX, SP)
(130: LXX, SP)
(132: LXX, SP)
(130: LXX, SP)
( 79: LXX, SP)
I3O9AM
1344 AM
1374 AM
1408 AM
1438 AM
1470 AM
15OO AM
I529AM
1599 AM
It will be seen that on this chronology the flood occurs in 1307

A(nno) M(undi) and Abraham is born in 1599 AM. Neither date is
particularly remarkable at first glance, but the second figure is one
year short of a schematic total of 1600 years. The significance of
this fact becomes clear when it is seen that Priestly chronology uses
a dating system known as 'postdating', which was also used for
regnal chronology in Mesopotamia and late pre-exilic Judah (see p.
I79f.). Under this system, as it applied to regnal years, the first part
of a king's reign from accession to the following new year was not
counted in chronological reckoning (having already been assigned
to that king's predecessor), and the first chronological year of a
king's reign began with the new year following his accession. The
same principle may also be applied to chronological periods other
than reigns. Thus the first year of a person's life may for
chronological purposes be dated from the new year following his
birth, and some such system clearly underlies Priestly chronology,
where the detailed chronology of the flood in relation to Noah's age
clearly presupposes that each year of Noah's life began at the start
of a calendar year (note for instance Genesis 8.13: 'In the 6oist
21
year, in the first month, on the first day of the month the waters
had dried from the earth.').10 Consequently Abraham was born in
the year 1599 AM, but Abraham's first year was the year 1600 fro
creation. 1600 is 40 times 40, a perfect square of one of the most
commonly occurring round numbers in Biblical literature.
The relevance of postdating to Priestly chronology has not been
pointed out previously to my knowledge. Jepsen (1929) argued
for essentially the same pre-Abrahamic chronology, but attempted
to date Abraham's actual birth to 1600 AM. In order to achieve this
result he argued that we should allow I year for the duration of the
flood (compare Genesis 7.11 and Genesis 8.14), and then proceeded
to date Arpachshad's birth 2 years after the end of the flood, which
brings us down to 1310 AM instead of 1309 AM. By the same token,
however, Noah's total lifespan should be 951 years instead of
950 years: 600 years to the start of the flood (Gn 7.6), i year for the
flood's duration, and 350 years after the flood (Gn 9.28)!
Fortunately, the realization that Priestly chronology is based on
postdating makes this kind of arithmetic unnecessary. It may also
be noted that the overall chronology reconstructed by Klein (1974)
is 35 years longer than the reconstruction presented above. This is
because Klein gives 88 years rather than 53 years as Lamech's age
of begetting, with the result that 1600 AM loses its significance, and
Abraham is born insignificantly in either 1632 or 1634 AM,
depending on whether one counts the 2-year period from the flood
to the birth of Arpachshad.
10. Theoretically it is also possible that Priestly chronology could have been
based on some other system of synchronizing years of life with calendar years. One
such system was antedating, which was practised in both the Israelite and Judean
kingdoms until the latter went over to postdating. Under this dating system the first
chronological year of a king's reign was counted from the new year preceding his
accession, and consequently overlapped with the last regnal year of his predecessor's reign. A modified form of antedating, in which the incomplete final year of a
king's reign was discounted for chronological purposes (thereby removing i-year
overlaps between successive reigns) is attested in Egyptian chronological literature
and was also used in a late revision of the synchronisms given in Kings (see p. 93f.).
In its modified form, antedating is quite similar to postdating: as applied to Priestly
chronology it would mean that Adam lived 130 complete years and fathered Seth in
the 13 ist (incomplete) year of his life, which would also have been the first year of
Seth's life. But there are minor ways in which this system is incompatible with
Priestly data. For example, the statement that Noah was 600 years old when the
flood started (Gn 7.6) clearly does not mean that Noah had lived for 600 complete
years (and the flood occurred in his 6oist year), since Genesis 7.11 dates the start of
the flood to the 6ooth year of Abraham's life.
22
This brings us back to the paradox admitted above: that the

calculations which date Abraham's first year to 1600 AM depend
upon inclusion of the 2-year interval between the flood and
Arpachshad's birth, although the phrase '2 years after the flood'
creates serious chronological ambiguity and is therefore unlikely to
be original. One would also expect the original Priestly chronology
to have equated Arpachshad's first year with the first year of
postdiluvian history, just as Adam's first year was also the first
year of world history, and if we ignore the 2-year interval referred
to in Genesis 11.10 this is indeed the caseArpachshad is born in
Shem's icoth year and Noah's 6ooth year, which is also the year in
which the flood occurred. We are therefore faced with the dilemma
that the period of 2 years between the flood and the birth of
Arpachshad is necessary to the chronology and yet is almost
certainly secondary. And the only way out of this dilemma that I
can see is to suppose that this 2-year interval is actually a
chronological correction made after 2 years had fallen out of
antediluvian chronology through some process of textual corruption, when it was noticed that the remaining figures no longer
added up to the correct totals required by Priestly tradition. In
other words, the original chronology had dated the flood to 1309
AM, with Arpachshad's birth occurring in the same year and
Abraham's birth occurring 290 years later in 1599 AM; but the los
of 2 years from antediluvian chronology meant that the flood and
Arpachshad's birth now fell in the year 1307 AM, and Abraham wa
born in 1597 AM, a date of no significance. The insertion of 2 year
between the flood and Arpachshad's birth subsequently restored
the correct birth dates of Arpachshad and Abraham, but whoever
was responsible for this correction evidently failed to notice the
resultant discrepancy between Arpachshad's birth date (on this
reckoning) and Shem's age of begetting.
Indirect evidence in support of this hypothesis is provided by
the book of Jubilees, which contains an absolute chronology
expressed in jubilees, weeks, and years, whereby i jubilee is
equivalent to 7 weeks, and i week equals 7 years. Jubilees'
antediluvian chronology agrees for the most part with SP's
antediluvian chronology (see table on p. 7), apart from a few
obvious textual corruptions. But Jubilees does not in fact agree
with SP in its date for the flood. According to Jubilees 5.22-23
Noah constructed the ark in the 5th year of the 5th week of the
23
*27th jubilee11 (i.e. 1307 AM, the year of the flood in SP's
chronology), but did not in fact enter the ark until the 6th year
(1308 AM). However, the text of Jubilees is repetitive and somewhat
confused at this point, and it is likely that 'in the 6th year' is a
secondary addition, without which Jubilees 5.22f. agrees with SP
in dating the flood to 1307 AM.12 There is also a rather interesting
discrepancy between Jubilees 5.22f., with or without its secondary
accretions, and Jubilees 6.17-18, which states that Noah and his
sons observed the Feast of Weeks for 7 jubilees and i week of years
( = 35 years) after the flood, but that previously it had been
celebrated in heaven for 26 jubilees and 5 weeks of years (= 1309
years) from creation till the days of Noah. This second passage
clearly presupposes that the flood occurred in 1309 AM, with Noah
and his sons celebrating the Feast of Weeks for the first time in the
following year, and this is precisely the date which I have argued
was given in the original Priestly chronology. The discrepancy
between Jubilees 5.22f. in its earlier form (in which the flood was
dated to 1307 AM) and Jubilees 6.18 incidentally provides an
explanation for the insertion of 'in the 6th year' in Jubilees 5.23,
since this insertion may plausibly be regarded as an attempt to
harmonize this discrepancy. On the harmonizer's chronology the
flood began in 1308 AM, God's covenant with Noah was made in the
3rd month of 1309 AM (Jub 6. if.), and the Feast of Weeks (being a
covenant-renewal festival according to Jubilees 6.17) was first
11. '22nd jubilee', which is the reading of all existing manuscripts, is clearly
impossible, and Charles (1902:47) is doubtless correct in emending this to '2yth
jubilee'.
12. As evidence for secondary accretions in Jubilees 5.23 we may note that Noah
is twice said to have entered the ark; note also the curious statement that Noah's
entry occurred 'on the new moon of the 2nd month till the i6th (day).' The
following translation of Charles's Ethiopic text brackets out the apparently
intrusive material in this verse.
'And he entered {in the 6th (year) thereof} in the 2nd month {on the new moon of
the 2nd month till the i6th (day), and he entered}, he and all that we brought
him, into the ark, and the Lord shut it from the outside on the iyth evening.'
The first expansion is discussed below, while the second probably originated as a
misplaced chronological note on the previous verse, and originally stated that God
commanded Noah to build an ark 'on the new moon of the first month (cf. Jub
6.25)when this was inserted in its present position 'first' was naturally altered to
'2nd' (the flood began in the second month), while the curious phrase 'till the i6th
(day)' was apparently added to make it clear that there was no delay between Noah's
entry and God's shutting the ark: it actually took Noah 16 days to enter the ark
(presumably because of difficulties in handling large numbers of animals)!
24
celebrated by Noah in the following year, 1310 AM. There is little

doubt, however, that in Jubilees 6.18 the institution of the
covenant was originally conceived as having coincided with Noah's
first celebration of this festival, since the 350 years during which
Noah and his sons are said to have celebrated the Feast of Weeks
correspond to the 350 years that Noah lived after the flood
according to Genesis 9.28; in the revised chronology Noah must be
supposed to have lived for 351 years after the flood.
The harmonized chronology of Jubilees 5.22f. was also less than
successful in one other respect. Given that Noah first celebrated
the Feast of Weeks in 1310 AM, 350 years from and including 1310
AM brings us to 1659 AM as the year of Noah's death, in which case
since Noah is said to have lived a total of 950 years (Jub 10.16; Gn
9.29) he must evidently have been born in 709 AM. Now Jubilees
4.28, relating the birth of Noah, omits to tell us the exact date of
Noah's birth, stating only that it occurred in the same week of
years in which Lamech married, this being the 3rd week of the i5th
jubilee (701-707 AM). But even this degree of vagueness, which is
untypical of birth notices in Jubilees, cannot conceal the fact that
there is a discrepancy between this verse and Jubilees 6.18, which
implies a date of 709 AM for Noah's birth. On the other hand
Jubilees 4.28 is in agreement with SP's total of 707 years to the
birth of Noah, and the same is true of Jubilees 4.33, which dates
Shem's birth to the 3rd year of the 5th week of the 25th jubilee
(1207 AM). The book of Jubilees evidently reflects two incompatible antediluvian chronologies, one of which (found in Jubilees
4.28, 33, and also underlying Jubilees 5.22f.) agrees with the
chronological totals of SP, while the other (found only in Jubilees
6.18) apparently preserves the original Priestly chronology.
It is this second Jubilees chronology which is clearly of major
interest. The existence in Jubilees of two incompatible antediluvian
chronologies is most naturally explained on the assumption that
Jubilees has undergone a chronological revision bringing it into
line with the antediluvian chronology which is given by SP (and
which also underlies the chronologies of MT and LXX). In the
course of this revision the date originally given for the flood in
Jubilees 5.22f. was reduced by 2 years, as were the birth dates of
Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and also (in a seemingly vaguer fashion)
the birth date of Noah, but Jubilees 6.18 was apparently overlooked and consequently remained unaltered. The original Priestly
25
chronology was therefore 2 years higher than SP's chronology and

Jubilees' revised chronology from the birth of Noah or earlier,
whereas the textual tradition which underlies existing texts of
Genesis and which also underlies the text of Genesis used in
revising Jubilees has lost 2 years in its chronological totals down to
Noah. Theoretically it is possible that this resulted from two
separate losses of a single year, but it is simpler to assume that the
age of begetting ascribed to one of Noah's predecessors has been
reduced by 2 years.
The textual evidence of Jubilees allows us to form a strong
suspicion of where this reduction is likely to have occurred. It was
noted above that Jubilees 4.28 is uncharacteristically vague about
the exact date of Noah's birth. Jubilees 4.27 is, however, even more
anomalous in that it gives us no date at all for Lamech's birth. Prior
to Methuselah chronological information is given in a stereotyped
form, stating the week of years in which an ancestor married and
the exact year in which he fathered his successor. But from
Methuselah on, all antediluvian chronological notices giving an
ancestor's date of marriage and his son's date of birth are
anomalous in one way or another. Thus the date of Methuselah's
marriage is given to the exact year, instead of to within a week of
years, while no date is given for the birth of his son Lamech.
Lamech's marriage is dated normally (to within a week of years),
but the date at which he fathered Noah is stated to within a week of
years, instead of to the exact year. Finally, the date of Noah's
marriage is given to the exact year instead of to within a week of
years. These anomalies may plausibly be taken as providing
evidence that the revision of Jubilees' antediluvian chronology
necessitated the alteration of chronological notices associated
with Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah but left previous notices
unaffected.13 In other words, Jubilees' original antediluvian
chronology has been preserved down to Methuselah's birth in 587
AM but has thereafter been reduced by 2 years, which can only
mean that Jubilees' revised chronology was based on a text of
13. The outright omission of Lamech's birth date and the rather vague
indication of Noah's birth date may suggest that this revision was carried out
somewhat carelessly; but these rather clumsy devices should possibly be seen as the
work of a later harmonizer, who was attempting to conceal the discrepancy between
the revised chronology and Jubilees 6.18 (overlooked in the original revision). If this
suggestion is correct then only the unusually precise dating of Methuselah's and
Noah's marriages to the exact year may be taken as evidence for the earlier revision.
26
Genesis in which 2 years had been lost from Methuselah's age of

begetting. Since SP reflects the same antediluvian chronology as
Jubilees in its revised form (disregarding later accretions in
Jubilees 5.23), we may therefore reconstruct Methuselah's original
age of begetting by adding 2 years to SP's figure, which means that
Methuselah was 69 when he fathered Lamech according to the
original Priestly chronology. The corruption of '69 years' to '67
years' apparently reflects graphic confusion of SJtPfl ('9') and S711P
('?')
This corruption of Methuselah's original age of begetting will
inevitably have created a discrepancy between the new figure for
Methuselah's age of begetting and the figures given for his total
lifespan and remaining years, which was presumably resolved by
the addition of 2 years to the figure for Methuselah's remaining
years.14 Given that Methuselah's original lifespan was probably
969 years, as in MT and LXX, it therefore follows that his
remaining years will originally have numbered 900. Since the
remaining years ascribed to Lamech, Enoch, and Jared (Methuselah's successor and two immediate predecessors) were also round
numbers in the original chronology (see p. I4f. on the original
number of Lamech's remaining years), and since the same is true
of Adam, Shem, and Serug, this provides significant support for
reconstructing '69 years' as Methuselah's original age of begetting.
The restoration of Methuselah's original age of begetting
resolves our previous dilemma over the phrase '2 years after the
flood', which may now be disregarded as a secondary chronological
correction. The following table incorporates these modifications to
our reconstruction of the original Priestly chronology, and
presents what are probably the original Priestly figures for the ages
and lifespans of Abraham's ancestors, together with the absolute
chronology which these figures presuppose. The first three
columns ('Priestly figures') present ages of begetting (and Noah's
14. Theoretically it is of course also possible that the loss of 2 years from
Methuselah's age of begetting could have been compensated for by the removal of 2
years from his total lifespan rather than by the addition of 2 years to his remaining
years, but it is inherently more probable that the total lifespan was left unaltered. It
is worth noting that the textual tradition behind LXX compensated for its increase
in antediluvian ages of begetting by a corresponding reduction in its figures for
remaining years, so retaining the original antediluvian lifespans, and the same is
true of SP in the postdiluvian period: stated lifespans were not altered unless there
was a strong reason for doing so.
2?
age at the start of the flood) followed by remaining years and total
lifespans, while the right-hand columns give actual dates of birth
(and the date of the flood) followed by postdated lifespans. With the
exception of Methuselah's age of begetting, the ages of begetting in
this table are identical with those in the table on p. I9f. Antediluvian
lifespans are identical with those given by LXX and also (except in
Lamech's case) by MT, while postdiluvian lifespans are mostly
identical with those presupposed or stated in MT and SP.
Priestly figures
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
Shem
130
105
90
70
65
62
65
69
53
500
600
100
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
800
807
815
840
830
900
300
900
700
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
930
912
905
910
895
962
365
969
753
+ 350 = 950
+ 500 ( = 600)
flood
Arpachshad
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Abraham
Priestly chronology
i AM (1-930 AM)
130 AM (131-1042 AM)
235 AM (236-1140 AM)
325 AM (326-1235 AM)
395 AM (396-1290 AM)
460 AM (461-1422 AM)
522 AM (523-887 AM)
587 AM (588-1556 AM)
656 AM (657-1409 AM)
709 AM (710-1659 AM)
1209 AM (1210-1809 AM)
1309 AM
35
30
34
30
32
+
+
+
+
+
430
403
370
209
207
(=465)
(=433)
(= 404)
(=239)
(= 239)
30 + 200 (= 230)
2 9 + 1 1 9 ( = 148)
70(+ 135) - 205
1309 AM (13IO-I774 AM)

1344 AM (1345-1777 AM)
1374 AM (1375-1778 AM)
1408 AM (1409-1647 AM)

1438 AM (1439-1677 AM)
1470 AM (1471-1700 AM)
1500 AM (1501-1648 AM)
1529 AM (1530-1734 AM)
1599 AM (1600AM)
The most curious feature of this reconstructed chronology may

be seen in the fact that it allows Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech to
survive the date of the flood, although they are not listed among
the occupants of the ark. As has been noted, the various
chronological adjustments by which MT and SP avoid this
situation provide inescapable evidence that this was indeed the
28
case in the original Priestly chronology. There are two ways in

which this apparent oversight may be accounted for. Firstly, it has
already been argued that the genealogies in Genesis 5 to 11 form an
originally independent document which was secondarily incorporated into the Priestly history, and it is the latter which describes
the occupants of the ark as Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons'
wives (Gn 7.13). So it is possible that the original author of the
genealogical chronology in Genesis 5 and u did not see any
problem in the fact that this chronology allowed three of Noah's
ancestors to survive the flood; he may have assumed that Noah
would naturally have taken his father and other living ancestors
into the ark along with the rest of his family. A second,
complementary way of explaining the matter is that the Priestly
chronologist who produced the Book of Generations may have
been constrained by having to work with an existing set of lifespans
and an existing chronological framework in which the length of
time from creation to the flood was already specified. It will be
shown below that Abraham's first year, 1600 AM, is in fact part of a
wider chronological framework, and that the 290 years from the
flood to Abraham are paralleled by 290 years from Abraham's birth
to the entry into Egypt, so we may reasonably conclude that the
genealogical chronology of the Book of Generations was contrived
to fit into this wider framework. It is also inherently probable that
the author of this document utilized an existing genealogy, which
may also have included total lifespans: a genealogy of precisely this
type occurs in Exodus 6.i6f., where total lifespans, but not ages of
begetting, are given for the three generations from Levi to Amram.
There is also internal evidence which suggests that the
genealogical chronology of the Book of Generations was constructed from an earlier genealogy containing total lifespans. A glance at
the original figures in the table given above shows that round
numbers are fairly infrequent among total lifespans, but are rather
more common as ages of begetting or remaining years; there are in
fact only three ancestors (Seth, Reu, and Nahor) with ages of
begetting and remaining years that are both unround numbers.
The infrequency with which round numbers occur as total
lifespans, in contrast to their frequency as ages of begetting or
remaining years, clearly calls for some explanation, and is most
plausibly taken as an indication that the total lifespans given in the
Book of Generations originated independently of ages of begetting;
29
and that the latter were created secondarily either by selecting an

appropriate round number as the ancestor's age of begetting or by
subtracting a round number of remaining years from an ancestor's
lifespan. Thus antediluvian ages of begetting for ancestors from
Mahalalel to Lamech have all the appearance of having been
derived from their total lifespans by subtracting a round figure
(round hundreds in the case of Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and
Lamech) so as to produce ages of begetting in the vicinity of 60
years. On the other hand the ages of begetting ascribed to Adam,
Enosh, and Kenan are themselves round numbers which decrease
progressively from 130 years (Adam) to 70 years (Kenan), while
Noah and Shem have round ages of begetting of 500 and 100 years
respectively. Within the antediluvian section of this genealogy
Seth's age of begetting is the only age of begetting which is neither
a round number itself nor the result of subtracting a round number
from the associated total lifespan. We may expect, however, that
some numerical adjustment will have been necessary to produce
the required chronological total, and it is probable that Seth's age
of begetting was further modified for this reason.
In the case of postdiluvian ancestors these two methods of
creating ages of begetting appear to have been used alternately.
Thus Shelah, Peleg, Serug, and Terah (i3th, I5th, iyth, and I9th
from Adam) are assigned round ages of begetting of 30 years each,
or 70 years in Terah's case, whereas Arpachshad and Eber (izth
and 14th from Adam) have unround ages of begetting in the
vicinity of 30 years, and a round number of remaining years.
Likewise Reu and Nahor (i6th and i8th from Adam) have unround
ages of begetting in the vicinity of 30 years, but in their case the
number of remaining years is also an unround figure. The absence
of round figures for these last two ancestors probably results from
adjustments designed to achieve the required total of 290 years
from Arpachshad to Abraham: in Nahor's case we might have
expected an age of begetting of *28 years, leaving *I2O remaining
years, while in Reu's case we might have expected *29 years,
leaving *2io remaining years (note, however, that this would have
broken the descending sequence of remaining years from Arpachshad to Nahor, which may have provided an additional reason for
adjusting Reu's figures). It is worth noting, incidentally, that Reu
has the same lifespan as his father Peleg, although the author of the
Book of Generations otherwise avoided assigning the same figures
3O
to successive generations, and took care to distinguish Peleg's and

Reu's ages of begetting and remaining years. The fact that this is so
possibly reflects a wordplay on the names Peleg ('one half) and
Reu ('another').
Within the overall sequence of ages of begetting it may be noted
that Shem, and particularly Noah, are ascribed incongruously high
figures, presumably because the author of the Book of Generations
wished to restrict the number of Noah's offspring who would be
alive at the time of the flood (according to the flood story only
Noah and his three sons, with respective wives, were included in
the ark). The flood itself was dated late in Noah's life, thereby
minimizing (though not eliminating) the number of ancestors who
might otherwise have outlived it. Any attempt to resolve this issue
by adjusting total lifespans would have fundamentally altered the
significance of these figures. In the original genealogy primaeval
lifespans remained roughly stable at around 900 years during the
antediluvian period (Noah's lifespan is actually 20 years longer
than Adam's) and were then dramatically halved within two
generations, decreasing steadily thereafter. By contrast SP's
adjusted lifespans show a steady decline from Adam to Nahor,
broken only by Noah's lifespan of 950 years, which is unusually
high in this context. The original lifespans reflect a belief that
primaeval longevity remained undiminished throughout the antediluvian period and was then drastically reduced at the time of the
flood (Genesis 6.3 seems to indicate that the Yahwist shared this
belief, while having a less exaggerated notion of primaeval
longevity).
2.2 Post-Abrahamic Chronology

The Book of Generations (in its present form) ends with the birth
of Abraham, but P continues to give the same kind of chronological
information down to the time of Jacob. We are informed of
Abraham's age on his migration from Haran (Gn 12.4), his age at
the birth of Ishmael (Gn 16.6), his age when God made a covenant
with him (Gn 17.1), his ageand Ishmael's ageat circumcision
(Gn 17.24-25), his age at the birth of Isaac (Gn 21.5), his total
lifespan (Gn 25.7), and his wife's total lifespan (Gn 23.1).
Subsequently we are told Ishmael's lifespan (Gn 25.17), Isaac's age
31
on marrying Rebecca (Gn 25.20), Isaac's age at the birth of Jacob

and Esau (Gn 25.26), and Isaac's total lifespan (Gn 35.28). We are
also told Esau's age on marrying his Hittite wives (Gn 26.43),
Jacob's age on entering Egypt (Gn 47.9), Jacob's remaining years
in Egypt (Gn 47.28), and Jacob's total lifespan (ibid.). Oddly,
however, we are not told Jacob's age on marrying Leah and
Rachel, nor Jacob's age on fathering his various children.
Consequently although we are given Joseph's age on entering
Egypt (Gn 37.2), his age on entering Pharaoh's service (Gn 41.46),
and his total lifespan (Gn 50.22, 26), these ages are apparently
unrelated to any overall chronology; at least P in its present form
does not provide us with the necessary chronological information
for relating Joseph's ages to a wider chronological framework,
although they look as if they ought to belong within a framework of
this kind.
It is possible that we can link chronological data on Joseph with
other chronological data on the basis of information given in
non-Priestly strata of Genesis. Thus Genesis 45.6 provides us with
the information that Joseph's brothers made their second visit to
Egypt during the 2nd year of the famine. If we add 7 years of
plenty and assume that the first year of plenty began with the year
following Joseph's appointment by Pharaoh, it follows that Joseph
was 39 when his brothers made their second visit to Egypt, having
been 30 years old when he was appointed to Pharaoh's service (Gn
41.46). If we also assume that the brothers returned with their
father in the same year that they made their second visit we may
conclude that Joseph was 39 when his father entered Egypt, and
since we are told that Jacob was 130 years old when he entered
Egypt (Gn 47.9) it follows that he was 91 when Joseph was born.
Those who believe that P is not an independent Pentateuchal
source may see this as an instance where the Priestly stratum
presupposes information given in non-Priestly strata. But on this
interpretation P is being uncharacteristically indirect in presenting
its chronology at this point,15 and it is also difficult to believe that P
15. The fact that Sarah's lifespan (Gn 23.1) is related to P's overall chronology
only through Abraham's (unspoken) allusion to her age as well as his own age in
Genesis 17.17 could perhaps be cited as a partial parallel. But lifespans are
sometimes unrelated to any overall chronology (as in Exodus 6.i6f.), whereas in
Joseph's case we are confronted with a whole series of chronological figures whose
present relationship to P's chronology is much more tenuous than is the case with
Sarah's lifespan.
32
would have presented this information in such a way that its

interpretation depended on the reader making two unsupported
assumptions. Were it not the case that the first year of plenty began
in the year following Joseph's appointment, or that Jacob travelled
to Egypt in the same year that the brothers returned from their
second visit, the inferred chronology would clearly be invalid. As a
matter of fact, the chronology of Jubilees supports the second
assumption (compare Jubilees 42.20 and Jubilees 45. i), but allows a
one-year gap between Joseph's appointment and the first year of
plenty (Joseph is appointed in 2162 AMcompare Jubilees 40.11-12
and Jubilees 36.1 f.and the seven years of famine begin in 2171 AM
(Jub 42. i); subtracting 7 from this date brings us to 2164 AM for the
first year of plenty.)16 In view of these uncertainties it is more
probable that P originally did state the age at which Jacob fathered
Joseph (and his various other children) and that this information
was omitted during the redactional process by which P was
incorporated into the Pentateuch. This presupposes of course
that P is an independent Pentateuchal source and not merely a
redactional stratum.
Whatever the uncertainties in chronological data associated
with Joseph it is clear that P's genealogical chronology never
extended beyond the death of Joseph (in its present form it cannot
be traced with any certainty beyond the death of Jacob). But P's
chronology does not end at this point; it simply ceases to be
expressed within a genealogical framework. A Priestly note in
Exodus (Ex 12.40-41) gives the number of years that Israel spent in
Egypt (or according to SP and LXX the number of years spent in
Canaan and Egypt), and so continues the chronology from the time
that Jacob entered Egypt (or in SP and LXX from the time that
Abraham entered Canaan). The same chronology also extends
beyond the end of the Pentateuch, being continued by a postDeuteronomistic note in i Kings 6.1, which gives the number of
years which elapsed between the exodus and the foundation of the
Jerusalem temple. The figure of 480 years given in MT's text of i
16. It must be said that there are major problems with Jubilees' postdiluvian
chronology, but Jubilees does in fact present a fairly consistent chronology for the
period following Joseph's descent into Egypt. Note also that in Jubilees 46.1 Joseph
is said to have lived for 10 weeks of years after the children of Israel entered Egypt,
in which case seeing as he lived 110 years in all (Jub 46.3; Gn 50.22) he was 40 and
not 39 on that occasion (this agrees with chronological information in the
Testament of Levi, TLev 12.5,7).
33
Kings 6.1 is typical of Priestly numerical schematism (discussed

below), and also uses a form of numerical syntax, whereby an
enumerated noun is repeated after separate elements of a compound numeral, which is otherwise unattested outside P (see
above, p. 8n.). There is therefore little doubt that this verse,
which is in any case at variance with Deuteronomistic chronological data in Judges and Samuel (p. 61), should be seen as a
Priestly addition within the book of Kings.17
There is textual unanimity between MT, SP, and LXX over the
various chronological figures that are associated with patriarchs
from Abraham to Joseph. The more important of these are
summarized in the following table, in which the first column of
figures gives ages of begetting (or ages at other specified events)
followed by remaining years (where stated) and total lifespans.
(Gn 21.5; 25.7)
(Gn 12.4)
(Gn 17.24)
(Gn 25.26; 35.28)
(Gn47-9,28)
(Gn 37.2; 50.22, 26)
Abraham
age at migration
age at circumcision
Isaac
Jacob
age on entering Egypt
Joseph
100
175
75
99
60
180
130+17 147
17
no
Simple addition of Abraham's and Isaac's ages of begetting,

plus Jacob's age on entering Egypt, gives a total of 290 years for the
period between Abraham's birth and Jacob's entry into Egypt, and
if we then subtract Abraham's age on migrating to Canaan we are
left with a period of 215 years during which the patriarchs lived in
Canaan. This last figure is exactly half the time which Israel spent
in Egypt according to MT's text of Exodus 12.40 ('the length of
time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was 430 years').
There is, however, a significant chronological disagreement at this
point between MT on the one hand and SP and LXX on the other,
since according to SP and LXX the figure given in Exodus 12.40
represents not only the time spent in Egypt but the time spent in
17. This was noted already by Burney (1903:61), but has generally been
overlooked in more recent Biblical scholarshipNoth ( ET i98i: i8f.) asserts baldly
that the verse is 'generally and rightly attributed to a "Deuteronomistic editor".'
Burney points to further evidence of Priestly redactional activity in i Kings 6.11-13
and i Kings 8.1-11.
34
Canaan and Egypt, which is evidently intended to incorporate the

215 years that the patriarchs spent in Canaan; thus in SP's and
LXX's chronology the time spent in Egypt itself is only 215 years,
which is half MT's stated figure.18 The secondary nature of SP's
and LXX's chronology in this instance is obvious from the fact
that reference to the period spent in Canaan before the entry into
Egypt is quite irrelevant to a chronological note on the exodus.
Nevertheless it is easy to see why the original Priestly
chronology came to be modified at this point, for there is a clear
discrepancy between P's chronological total of 430 years in Egypt,
and the Priestly genealogy in Exodus 6.14-25, giving four generations from Levi to Moses (Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses). Even
with the relatively high lifespans ascribed to Levi (137 years),
Kohath (MT, SP: 133 years; LXX: 130 years), and Amram (MT:
137 years; SP, LXXA: 136 years; LXXB: 132 years)19 this genealogy
18. Note, however, that LXXB, unlike other LXX manuscripts, gives '435 years'
as the time spent in Canaan and Egypt. This is probably not the original LXX
reading (Demetrius, who generally follows LXX's chronology, allows 430 years for
the time spent in Canaan and Egypt), and it is almost certainly not the original
Priestly figure.
19. Kohath's original lifespan is probably 133 years, as in MT and SP, since
LXX's figure of 130 years is explicable through a common type of numerical
corruption involving the omission of units from compound numerals (see p. 109). In
Amram's case the available textual evidence might be thought to favour 136 as the
original figure, with MT's figure of 137 years being explicable as an assimilation to
Levi's lifespan. However, the lifespans given in Exodus 6 form part of a sequence of
lifespans extending from Jacob to Aaron, which is characterized by the recurrence
of 3 and 7 as the unit-element of a compound numeral and also by its fairly
consistent use of the numerical construction 'units + tens + hundreds + noun' (the
construction used in Genesis 47.28 is 'units + noun + tens + hundreds + noun', but
this is unparalleled in any other chronological notice and may reflect accidental
dittography of the enumerated noun).
(Gn47.28)
Jacob
147
(Ex 6.16)
Levi
137
(Ex 6.18)
Kohath
133 (MT, SP) ~ 130 (LXX)
(Ex 6.20)
Amram
137 (MT) ~ 136(8?, LXXA) ~ i32(LXXB)
(Nu33.29)
Aaron
123
Once Amram's lifespan is seen within the context of this sequence of lifespans it is
not so clear that MT's figure is less original than that of SP and LXXA. In the
context of this series it is tempting to suppose that his original lifespan was actually
* 127 years (giving the descending sequence 147,137,1335*127,123), and became 137
in the textual tradition behind MT through partial assimilation to Kohath's and
Levi's lifespans. In this case SP's and LXXA's figure of 136 may have been derived
from '137 years' in order to redifferentiate between Levi's and Amram's lifespans,
while LXXB's figure of 132 years possibly reflects a deliberate attempt to restore a
35
is obviously incompatible with a chronology which allows 430

years for the period in Egypt.20 This discrepancy was almost
certainly absent from the original Priestly history, for Exodus
6.1430 is an obviously secondary addition, which interrupts the
narrative continuity between Exodus 6.13 and Exodus 7.1 (both P).
It is unlikely, however, that the genealogy of Exodus 6 is a late
invention; more probably it is actually rather older than P's
chronology, but was discarded by the Priestly historian because it
conflicted with this chronology. Whoever was responsible for
inserting Exodus 6.14-30 may have been unaware of the discrepancy with P's chronology (or did not consider it important), but it
evidently did not escape the notice of later chronologists, and in
the textual traditions behind SP and LXX the problem was
resolved by extending the 430 years spent in Egypt to include a
previous period of 215 years in Canaan. The Samaritan Tolidah
Chronicle and the Hellenistic Jewish chronographer Demetrius
subsequently provided genealogical chronologies based on this
scheme;21 and it is worth noting that their creation of a genealogical
decreasing sequence of lifespans (this must necessarily have preceded the accidental
reduction of Kohath's lifespan to 130 years).
20. According to Exodus 7.7 (P) Moses was 80 years old when he first confronted
Pharaoh, and since this is supposed to have happened during the final year of
Israel's stay in Egypt there are 350 (430 - 80) years remaining to be accounted for over
three generations. If we assume that Joseph was 39 or 40 when Jacob entered Egypt
(see p. 3if.) Levi must evidently have been over 40 on that occasion, which means
that 40 + years of Levi's age of begetting elapsed before the entry into Egypt. The
genealogy in Exodus 6 cannot therefore be reconciled with P's chronology unless
one is prepared to assume that Levi, Kohath, and Amram fathered their respective
children at an average age of 130 years (3 x 130-40 = 350). The discrepancy between
years and generations is made even worse if one takes account of the fact that
Genesis 46.11 (possibly a later addition to P) includes Kohath among the children of
Israel who originally entered Egypt; this leaves us with only two generations
spanning 350 years, which is impossible on any set of calculations.
21. See Bowman 1977:47 for a translation of the relevant passage in Tolidah, but
ignore Bowman's notes on the chronology: Bowman unfortunately supposes that
the figures given by Tolidah represent total lifespans, whereas in fact they represent
ages of begetting from Adam to Amram and priestly ministries thereafter. The
ages of begetting which Demetrius (2.19) and Tolidah ascribe to Jacob, Levi,
Kohath, and Amram are as follows:
Demetrius Tolidah
Jacob
87
87
Levi
60
52
Kohath
40
71
Amram
78
52
It is interesting to note that Demetrius and Tolidah are in agreement over Jacob's
36
chronology for this period, on the basis of an existing chronological

framework and an existing genealogy giving total lifespans, is
precisely analogous with the way in which I have suggested the
Book of Generations was composed. It should also be noted that
the reduction of the period in Egypt from 430 years to 215 years in
SP's and LXX's chronology created a further discrepancy with
Genesis 15.13, according to which the oppression in Egypt was to
last 400 years, a round total which was probably based on the
Priestly figure of 430 years. This last verse is part of a late insertion
(Gn 15.13-16) which within the space of four verses succeeds in
incorporating the original discrepancy between years and generations, with verse 16 stating that the fourth generation would return
from Egypt.
Further chronological variation between MT and LXX concerns the number of years that are said to have elapsed between the
exodus and the foundation of the temple (iK 6.1). Here LXX reads
'440 years' in place of MT's '480 years', but there is little doubt that
480 years is the original figure.22 Priestly chronology allows 290
years from the birth of Abraham to the entry into Egypt (compare
the 290 years which elapse between the birth of Arpachshad and
the birth of Abraham according to the original postdiluvian ages of
begetting, given by MT). If we then add the 430 years spent in
age on lathering Lcvi. On the other hand, they give completely different ages of
begetting for Levi, Kohath, and Amram, and it should be noted that Demetrius's
figure for Amram represents Amram's age at the birth of Moses, whereas Tolidah's
figure represents Amram's age at the birth of Aaron. If we add 80 years to
Demetrius's ages of begetting for Levi, Kohath, and Amram, and 83 years to
Tolidah's figures (since according to Exodus 7.7 these were the respective ages of
Moses and Aaron in the last year of Israel's stay in Egypt) this produces a total of
258 years in each case. Since both sources agree that Jacob was 87 when he fathered
Levi, the latter must evidently have been 43 when he entered Egypt (cf. Demetrius
2.17), Jacob being 130 years old on that occasion according to Genesis 47.9. 258 years
from the birth of Levi to the exodus, minus the 43 years that Levi lived in Canaan,
leaves exactly 215 years for the time that Israel spent in Egypt.
22. LXX's figure of 440 years was possibly derived by reckoning 40 years priestly
ministry to each of the 11 priestly generations from Aaron to Zadok in i Chronicles
5.29f.,(cf. Montgomery and Gehman 1951:143). But in all probability the genealogy
of i Chronicles 5.29!". is itself based on the original Priestly figure of 480 years (Koch
1978:438!'.). i Chronicles 5.36 says of Azariah the son of Johanan: 'it was he who
(first) served as priest in the temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem'but this
note almost certainly referred originally to Azariah the son of Ahimaaz, who was the
grandson of Xadok (according to this genealogy) and I3th in line from Aaron. This
results in a total of 12 generations from the exodus to the foundation of the temple
(assuming that this occurred at the start of A/ariah's ministry).
37
Egypt (according to the original text of Exodus 12.40, as preserved

in MT), the total number of years from the birth of Abraham to the
exodus is 720 years. Finally the addition of 480 years from the
exodus to the foundation of the temple (following MT) gives us a
round total of 1200 years from Abraham to the temple, which
neatly complements the 1600 years of the original pre-Abrahamic
chronology. These various figures evidently reflect a numerical
schematism based on multiples of 40, with 480 (12x40), and
modifications of 480 involving the addition/subtraction of 50 and
division by 2, playing a prominent role in this schematism: 430
years is 480 minus 50,215 is half 430, and 290 is half 480 plus 50.23
In the light of these remarks on Priestly numerical schematism
it is striking that in MT the total number of Judean regnal years
from the foundation of the temple to its destruction by Nebuchadrezzar is exactly 430 (see table on p. 57).24 It is difficult to believe
that this is merely coincidental, when we have already seen
evidence of Priestly redactional activity in the chronological note
in i Kings 6.1, and a more probable conclusion is that the regnal
chronology of Kings has been deliberately adjusted in order to
produce this result.
Consideration of LXX's chronology for the first temple period
is less straightforward than might be expected. An initial problem
is posed by the fact that the original LXX text of Kings is
preserved only in I Kings 2.12 to i Kings 21, having elsewhere been
replaced, in non-Lucianic manuscripts, by the Kaige recension,
23. 12 and 40 are common schematic numbers: there are 12 tribes of Israel, Israel
wanders for 40 years in the wilderness, Moses spends 40 days on Mount Sinai etc. 40
years was considered to be the typical duration of adult life (Nu 32.13), and is
therefore used as an ideal figure for periods of ministry or rule: Moses was a
prophet for 40 years, David and Solomon reigned for 40 years each, and so on.
Schematic Biblical numbers typically fall into one (or more) of two categories.
Some numbers (10, 100, 1000, and multiples) are simply round decimal figures.
Others (such as 12 and 7) have calendrical associations: 12 is the number of months
in a year and 7 is the number of days in a week. 365 (the number of days in a solar
year) is occasionally used as a schematic number: Enoch lives for 365 years, and
there are also 365 years from the flood to Abraham's migration. Similarly, 52 (the
number of weeks in a solar year) is used as a schematic figure in postbiblical
literature.
24. There are 434 Judean regnal years from Solomon's accession to the exile, and
the temple was founded in Solomon's 4th year (iK 6.1, 37), leaving 430 years from
the foundation of the temple to its destruction (in the i ith year of Zedekiah's reign).
Note that in a postdated chronology the first year of the temple's existence begins
with the first new year after its foundation.
38
whose chronology is largely identical with MT's chronology.

Fortunately this problem may be overcome by using chronological
data from Lucianic manuscripts, which do not incorporate the
Kaige recension, for in view of the fact that Lucianic figures are
generally the same as the original LXX figures in non-Kaige
sections, it is reasonable to suppose that the Lucianic text (LXXL)
has also preserved the original LXX chronology in places where
the original LXX text is no longer extant.25 Judean regnal years in
LXXL are, as it happens, identical with those of MT except in the
case of Abijam (iK 15.2) and Jehoram (2K 8.17). In Abijam's case
LXXL agrees with LXXB (containing a non-Kaige text at this
point) in giving 6 years in contrast to MT's figure of 3 years, while
for Jehoram LXXL gives 10 years in place of MT's figure of 8
years.26 LXXL's chronology is thus 5 years longer than MT's,
giving a period of 435 years from the foundation of the temple to its
destruction. This figure is untypical of Priestly numerical schematism, and might therefore be regarded as secondary, but it is also
possible that in this instance LXX has preserved evidence of an
earlier, pre-Priestly chronology (see following chapter). However,
the chronology given by LXX also shows signs of having been
secondarily modified to bring it into line with the Priestly total of
430 years for the first-temple period. LXX contains two chronological notices on Rehoboam's reign, the second of which (iK
14.21) agrees with MT in ascribing Rehoboam a reign of 17 years.
But in LXXB's text of i Kings 12.243 (not present in MT)
Rehoboam is said to have reigned for only 12 years, which is
probably the original LXX figure at this point,27 though it is
25. See Shenkel 1968: rof. Lucianic manuscripts in Kings are b, o, r, c2, e2 (r
is fragmentary, containing 2 Kings 1.19-4.31; 10.3-11.15; 12.4-17.37; 18.9-19.24).
However, c2 contains its own idiosyncratic chronology, based on an eclectic
conflation of Lucianic and non-Lucianic data, and is thus a secondary witness to
Lucianic chronology. In the present study, Lucianic chronological data for Samuel
and Kings are generally taken from Lucianic manuscripts excluding c2.
26. LXXAB have '40 years' for Jehoram's reign length, but this is probably a
secondary modification of'8 years' (LXXN and most minuscules).
27. '12 years' is also cited by Origen as being the LXX reading in i Kings 12.243
(Rahlfs 1904:78). By contrast, LXXL and most other manuscripts which include
this verse (it is omitted in LXXA and other hexaplaric manuscripts) read '17 years',
as in i Kings 14.21. But this is easily explained as a secondary harmonization.
LXXL and a few non-Lucianic manuscripts show similar harmonization with
regard to Rehoboam's accession age: in i Kings 12.243 LXXB and other
manuscripts give '16 years' as Rehoboam's accession age, whereas in I Kings 14.21
39
certainly not the original Biblical figure for Rehoboam's reign (it is
in conflict with all existing synchronisms between Israelite and
Judean reigns). This alternative figure for Rehoboam's reign is 5
years lower than MT's figure, and thus cancels out the additional 5
years which LXX ascribes to Abijam and Jehoram. We therefore
have two alternative LXX chronologies for the first-temple period,
one of which ascribes Rehoboam a reign of 17 years and gives a
total of 435 years, while the other ascribes Rehoboam a reign of
only 12 years to produce a total of 430 years.
Direct evidence of Priestly chronology ends with the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadrezzar in 587 BC,28 but there is
indirect evidence which allows us to trace it for 50 years beyond
this point. According to Ezra 3.8f. the second temple was founded
in the second month of the year following the return of exiles from
Babylon, which in turn is dated in Ezra i to Cyrus's first year.
Since Cyrus's first year in Babylon was 538 BC, the second temple
was (on this dating) founded in 537 BC, exactly 50 years after the
destruction of the first temple in 587 BC. If we add this figure to the
430 years of the first temple's existence we arrive at a total of 480
years from the first temple's foundation to the foundation of the
second temple. And since this total is exactly parallel to the
48o-year period from the exodus to the foundation of the first
temple (iK 6. i), there can be little doubt that it belongs to the same
scheme of Priestly chronology.
This schematic pattern of 2 x 480 years centred on the
foundation of the first temple was pointed out in the last century
by Wellhausen (1875:621), though Wellhausen referred to the
second 48o-year period as having lasted from the foundation of
Solomon's temple to the end of the Babylonian exile. In my view,
the book of Ezra's date for the foundation of the second temple
provides what is in some ways a more appropriate end-point, and
also has the advantage of being exactly 50 years (instead of 49 years)
after the first temple's destruction; but there is probably also an
intentional parallelism between the exodus from Egypt (480 years
before the foundation of the first temple) and the return from
the figure given is '41 years'; LXXL and some non-Lucianic manuscripts have '41
years' in both places.
28. Scholars are divided over whether the fall of Jerusalem is to be dated to 587
or 586 BC, but there are strong arguments for preferring the first alternative (see
below, p. 229f.)
4O
Babylon (479 years after the first temple's foundation). This is less
asymmetrical than it seems, for the foundation of the second
temple one year after the return from exile is directly paralleled by
the erection of the tabernacle one year after the exodus from Egypt
(Ex 40.17). This produces an interesting chiastic symmetry: the
foundation of the first temple comes 480 years after the exodus and
479 years before the return from exile; but it is also 479 years after
the erection of the tabernacle, and 480 years before the foundation
of the second temple.
The absence of direct Biblical evidence specifying a period of 50
years from the first temple's destruction has already been noted.
But it must also be remarked that some scholars (e.g. Rowley
1950:90; Bimson 2 i98i:75f.) have argued that the absence of a
specific Biblical reference to this 5O-year period, or to a 48o-year
period from the foundation of the first temple, offers grounds for
doubting the reality of the schematic pattern noted by Wellhausen.
This argument is not convincing. The pattern discovered by
Wellhausen is only part of a wider schematic chronology, which
shows a similar parallelism of 2 x 290 years from the flood to the
entry into Egypt, centring on the birth of Abraham. And it may be
noted that there is no specific note on either of these 29O-year
periods; the Priestly writer(s) presumably expected readers to add
up the relevant figures for themselves.29 Secondly, the fact that the
5O-year period from the first temple's destruction to the foundation of the second temple is not directly referred to in the Bible
hardly disproves the reality of this schematism, since the Priestly
scheme of world chronology may originally have existed independently of the various Biblical books which now incorporate parts of
this chronology. Finally, lest it be argued that post-exilic Judeans
could not have known the true length of the exile, attention may be
drawn to Josephus's assertion, in Against Apion i.i54s that the
5<D-year period between the destruction of the temple in Nebuchadrezzar's 18th year and its refoundation in Cyrus's 2nd year,
is recorded in Jewish books (rat? iJ/zeTepcus1 j3i)8Aoi?), which
29. In point of fact, Priestly chronological totals are never stated when they can
be derived from other figures. The only cases in which chronological totals are
explicitly given (the 43O-year period in Egypt and the 48o-year period from the
exodus to the temple) are cases where this information cannot be derived in this
way: there is no genealogical chronology for the period in Egypt, and chronological
notices found in Judges and Samuel do not provide a complete chronology for the
exodus-temple period.
41
are thereby claimed to demonstrate agreement with Berossus's

chronology of the Neobabylonian empire. In view of Josephus's
previous insistence that there are only twenty-two 'justly accredited' Jewish books covering the period from creation to Artaxerxes
(Ap i.38f.), this statement could be taken to imply the existence of
variant Biblical texts in which a reference to this 5O-year period
had been incorporated; but it is probably safer to assume that
Josephus was dependent on non-Biblical Jewish traditions at this
point (having possibly failed to notice that the 5O-year period
which he referred to lacked direct Biblical support).30 Later Jewish
tradition reckoned 52 years for the Babylonian exile (SOR 27) and
70 years as the interval between the destruction of the first temple
and the foundation of the second temple, with this event dated in
the 2nd year of Darius (SOR 28; cf. Zc 1.12). But significantly, this
2O-year increase in the period from the first temple's destruction to
the foundation of the second temple was compensated for by a
2O-year decrease in the period from the foundation of the first
temple to its destruction, thereby preserving the original Priestly
total of 480 years from the foundation of the first temple to the
foundation of the second temple.31
It should be clear by now that Priestly chronology is not simply
the chronology of P (the Priestly stratum of the Pentateuch), but
that the latter is based on an independently existing Priestly
chronology and necessarily presents only part of that chronology.
Priestly chronology beyond the time covered by P is incorporated
30. Bimson ( 2 i98i :75f.) is incorrect in his assertion that 'the biblical tradition for
the length of the Exile was that it lasted seventy years (Jer 25:11; Zech 1:12).' There
is a single Biblical text, unmentioned by Bimson, which sets the length of the exile
at 70 years (2 Chronicles 36.21; the previous verse refers to the prophecies of
Jeremiah). However, the Jeremiah passages which refer to a period of 70 years (Je
25.11; 29.10) ascribe this to the total duration of Babylonian domination, which
followed Nebuchadrezzar's victory at Carchemish in 605 BC ('the 4th year of
Jehoiakim': Je 25.1; 46.2). Finally, the 70 years referred to in Zechariah 1.12 are
apparently counted from the destruction of Jerusalem (in 587 BC), but extend as far
as the early years of Darius's reign (Zc i.i), some two decades after Ezra's date for
the return from exile.
31. See Seder Olam Rabba 11, where the period from the settlement to the exile is
given as 850 years, i.e. 440 years from the settlement to the foundation of the temple
plus 410 years from the foundation of the temple to the exile (this second figure was
achieved by incorporating two overlaps into MT's regnal chronology; see pp. 100,
105). It is also worth noting that Seder Olam Rabba is historically correct in allowing
an 18-year interval from Cyrus's first year to the 2nd year of Darius, although this
information is not contained in any Biblical text.
42
into the book of Kings through Priestly chronological revision, but

the chronology of Kings ends with the Babylonian exile, and a final
period of 50 years from the temple's destruction to its later
refoundation was apparently never incorporated into the Biblical
text, presumably because suitable accounts of postexilic history
(such as Ezra-Nehemiah) did not exist during the Priestly school's
literary lifespan.
The following table sets out the more important original
Priestly figures for post-Abrahamic chronology, together with the
absolute chronology which is implied by these figures. The
left-hand part of the table ('Priestly figures') gives ages of
begetting (etc.), remaining years (if stated in the Biblical text), and
total lifespans for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, followed by the
various stated and unstated totals which continue this chronology
down to the foundation of the second temple (unstated totals are
bracketed and the inferred period of 50 years from the destruction
of the first temple is additionally starred). Apart from the 5O-year
period from the destruction of the first temple to its refoundation
all figures in this part of the table are identical with figures given
by MT or with unstated totals that are derived from figures given
by MT. The right-hand part of the table ('Priestly chronology')
gives actual dates of birth, foundation dates, or dates of other
specified events followed by postdated lifespans (or other specified
periods). It should be noted that the post-exodus period has not
been postdated: the exodus occurred during the new-year period
on the 14th day of the first month, and Priestly chronological
notice on the post-exodus period invariably count the year in
which the exodus occurred as the first year of the post-exodus
period.32 Non-application of postdating in this particular instance
also means that we cannot calculate the date of the exodus simply
by adding 430 years to the date at which Israel entered Egypt, for if
the exodus is equated with the first year of the post-exodus period
it must obviously have occurred in the year following the final year
of Israel's stay in Egypt. According to the figures given below, the
first year of Israel's stay in Egypt began with the new year of 1890
32. Thus the tabernacle is erected 'in the 2nd year' (Ex 40.17), meaning the year
after the exodus, and Aaron dies at the age of 123 'in the 4Oth year of the departure of
the Israelites from the land of Egypt' (Nu 33.38-39)according to Exodus 7.7
Aaron was 83 years old when he first confronted Pharaoh (in the year preceding the
exodus).
43
AM; the 43Oth year of Israel's stay in Egypt was therefore 2319 AM,
and the date of the exodus is 2320 AM.
Priestly figures
Abraham
ag_ at migration
age at circumcision
Isaac
Jacob
100
175
75
99
60
180
130 + 17 = 147
period in Egypt
430
exodus to first temple
480
first temple to exile
(430)
exile to second temple *(so)
second temple
Priestly chronology
1599 AM (1600-1774)
1674 AM
1698 AM
1699 AM (1700-1879)
1759 AM (1760-1906)
1889 AM
1889 AM
232O AM
2799 AM
3229 AM
3279 AM
(1890-2319)
(2320-2799)
(2800-3229)
(3230-3279)
(3280-)
2.3 Priestly ideology and the date ofP

The tables of pre-Abrahamic and post-Abrahamic chronology set
out at the end of the last section and on p. 27 present a critical
reconstruction of Priestly chronology from the creation of the
world to the foundation of the second temple. This original
chronology was evidently subjected to various deliberate modifications (and a few accidental alterations) in the different textual
traditions, and we have seen that none of the three main textual
witnesses has in fact preserved the original Priestly scheme.
Fortunately, these modifications and alterations appear to have
been comparatively limited in extent, so that it is possible to
reconstruct the original chronology with a high degree of probability from existing textual evidence. It is worth noting that, apart
from minor alterations to Arpachshad's and Eber's remaining
years, MT appears to have consistently preserved the original
Priestly figures for postdiluvian chronology from the birth of
Arpachshad to the destruction of the first temple. On the other
hand SP is clearly our best witness to the original antediluvian
chronology (adjustments to the lifespans of Jared, Methuselah,
and Lamech do not materially affect the overall chronological
framework), and LXX sometimes preserves original Priestly
figures which have been altered in MT and SP.
44

Chronological Data: Genesis - Kings
MT
(Gns-3)
(Gn5.6)
(On 5.9)
(Gn 5 .i2)
(Gn 5 .i 5 )
(Gns.iS)
(Gns.2i)
(Gns.25)
(Gns.28)
(GnS-32)
(Gn 7-6; 9-28)
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
130 + 800
105 + 807
90 + 815
70 + 840
65 + 830
162 + 800
65 + 300
757 + 7*2
752 + 595
500
600 + 350
(Gn 11.10)
(Gn 11.10)
(Gn 1 1. 12)
(Gnu. 13)
(Gn 11.14)
(Gnn.i6)
(Gn 11.18)
(Gn 1 1. 20)
(Gnu. 22)
(Gn 11.24)
(Gnu. 26)
Shem
flood to Arpachshad
Arpachshad
Kenan
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
ioo + 5oo( = 600)
(Gn 21. 5; 25.7)

(Gn 12.4)
(Gn 17.24)
(Gn 25.26; 35.28)
Abraham
age at migration
age at circumcision
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
age on entering
Pharaoh's service
IOO
175
75
99
60
1 80
(Gn 47-9, 28)
(Gn 37.2; 50.26)

(Gn4i.46)
(Ex 12.40)
(iK6.i)
(Kings)
Israel in Egypt
Israel in Canaan
and Egypt
Exodus to temple
i st temple period
= 930
-912
= 905
= 910
= 895
= 962
= 365
= 969
= 777
= 950
35 + 403 (
30 + 403 (
34 + 430 (
30 + 209 (
32 + 207 (
30 + 200 (
29+ii9(
70
= 438)
= 433)
= 464)
= 239)
= 239)
= 230)
= 148)
205
130+ 17 = M7
17
30
430
480
(430)
no
45
LXX
(Priestly)
65 + 300-365
67+653 = 720
53 + 600 = 653
500
600 + 350= 950
230 + 700 = 930

205 + 707 = 912
190 + 715 = 905
170 + 740 = 910
165 + 730 = 895
162 + 800 = 962
165 + 200 = 365
167 + 802 = 969
188 + 565 = 753
500
600 + 350 = 950
130 + 800 = 93
105 + 807 = 912
90 + 815 = 905
70 + 840 = 910
65 + 830 = 895
62 + 900 = 962
65 + 300 = 365
69 + 900 = 969
53 + 700 = 753
500
600 + 350= 950
100 + 500= 600
100 + 500 (- 600)
100+ 500 (= 600)
35 + 430 (= 465)
30 + 403 (= 433)
SP
130 + 800= 930

105 + 807= 912
90 + 815 = 905
70 + 840= 910
65 + 830= 895
62 + 785 = 847
= 438
*35 + 43Q( = 565)

1 30 + 330 (= 460)
= 433
= 404
1 3O + IO9 = 239
132+107 = 239
130 + 100 = 230
79+ 69 = 148
i 30 + 330 (= 460)
1 34 + 370 =(504)
135 + 303
130 + 303
134 + 270
70
'45
1 30 + 209 (= 339}
I32 + 2Oj( = 339)
7JO + 2OO( = 330}
79 + 129 (= 208)
205
70
IOO
175
IOO
1 80
75
99
60
75
99
60
130+ 17 = 147
17
no
IOO
175
1 80
75
99
60
1 80
no
130+ 17 = M7
17
30
30
30
(215)
(215)
430
430
430
440
(430/435)
404)
239)
239)
230)
148)
205
175
130+ 17 = 147
17
34 + 370 (=
30 + 209 (=
32 + 207 (=
30 + 200 (=
29+ii9( =
70
480
(430)
no
46
Secrets of the Ti.,ies
The table on pp. 44-5 sets out the original figures of Priestly
chronology alongside the existing figures of MT, SP, and LXX,
and uses italics to highlight differences from the original
Priestly figures. The original figures in Genesis 5 to n translate
into a chronology in which the birth of Abraham is dated 1599
years after the creation of the world, 290 years after the flood and
the birth of Arpachshad. In the postdating system used by Priestly
chronologists, Arpachshad's first year (the first year of postdiluvian history) is 1310 AM, and Abraham's first year is 1600 AM.
Further information in the Priestly stratum of the Pentateuch
continues this chronology to the eve of Israel's entry into Canaan,
the two major events of this period being the entry into Egypt in
1889 AM, 290 years after the birth of Abraham, and the exodus,
which is dated to the new year of 2320 AM following a period of 430
years spent in Egypt (1890-2319 AM). A Priestly note in i Kings6.i,
and Priestly revision of the regnal chronology of Kings, subsequently extend this chronology as far as the exile: the temple is
said to have been founded in the 48oth year from the exodus, which
is 2799 AM (the temple's first year is therefore 2800 AM), and a total
of 430 Judean regnal years from the temple's foundation to its
destruction places the destruction of the temple in 3229 AM. Finally
a period of 50 years, which is only indirectly attested in the Bible,
extends this chronology to the foundation of the second temple in
3279 AM.
The two key dates in this chronological scheme are quite
obviously Abraham's first year, 1600 AM, and the first year of the
Jerusalem temple, 2800 AM, each date being the product of round
numbers which recur throughout Biblical literature (1600 equals 40
times 40, and 2800 is 70 times 40). Overall symmetry suggests that
we should probably infer a total era of 3999 years, within which the
first year of the Jerusalem temple stands midway between
Abraham's first year and the first year of a new era (4000 AM).33
The present era of history divides into a pre-Abrahamic age lasting
1599 years and a post-Abrahamic age of 2400 years' duration, with
33. An era of 4000 years is attested in several postbiblical texts. According to
Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 28.8, the present world will exist for 4000 years (a
variant reading has 7000 years). Similarly, the Testament of Moses calculates 4250
(2500+ 1750) years from creation to the Messiah (TMos 1.2; 10.12). Finally, the
Babylonian Talmud reports that the 'school of Elijah' reckoned 4000 years from
creation to the Messiah and a further 2000 years for the Messianic age (T. b. Abodah
Zarah 93; T. b. Sanhedrin 97b).
Priestly Chronological Schematism

antediluvian period
1309 years
pre- Abrahamic age

1599 years
postdiluvian period
290 years
in Mesopotamia
75 years
patriarchal period
290 years
world era
(3999 years)
pre-temple age
1200 years
in Canaan
215 years
Egyptian period
430 years
post-exodus period
480 years
post-Abrahamic age
(2400 years)
pre-exilic period
430 years
first temple period
480 years
temple age
V. (1200 years)
second temple period

(720 years)
exilic period
50 years
48
post-Abrahamic history subdivided into pre-temple and temple

ages each lasting 1200 years.34 Each age is itself subdivided into
smaller periods of history. Thus the pre-Abraharnic age divides
into antediluvian and postdiluvian periods lasting 1309 and 290
years respectively. The pre-temple age divides into patriarchal,
Egyptian, and post-exodus periods lasting 290, 430, and 480 years
respectively, with the patriarchal period further subdivided into 75
years in Mesopotamia (before Abraham's migration) and 215 years
in Canaan. Finally the temple age divides into first-temple and
second-temple periods of 480 and 720 years, with the first-temple
period subdivided into a pre-exilic period of 430 years and an
'exilic' period of 50 years (a period of 50 years from the destruction
of the first temple to the foundation of the second temple, a year
after the return from exile). There is a striking symmetry between
the final period of one age and the first period of the following age.
Thus the postdiluvian period, which is the final period of the
pre-Abrahamic age, lasts for 290 years and is followed by a
patriarchal period of 290 years. Similarly the post-exodus period,
which is the final period of the pre-temple age, lasts for 480 years
and is followed by a first-temple period of 480 years. The chiastic
symmetry of these last two periodsthe exodus and the erection of
the tabernacle occur 480 and 479 years before the foundation of the
first temple, while the return from exile and the foundation of the
second temple occur 479 and 480 years after the first temple's
foundationhas been pointed out earlier (p. 39f.).
There is an obvious correlation between this chronology and the
ideology of P. The two most important elements after creation in
P's ideology are the person of Abraham and the priestly cult.
Abraham is the father of the Israelite nation, and the Israelite
nation, through Abraham, is God's chosen people. This is spelt out
in Genesis 17 (P), where God makes a covenant with Abraham to
be Abraham's God and the God of his descendants through Isaac,
34. The 1599 years of pre-Abrahamic history should doubtless be seen as a close
approximation of 1600 years, just as 1309 years (the duration of antediluvian history)
is a close approximation of 1310 years, and 3999 years (the present era) is a close
approximation of 4000 years. The unrounded nature of these numbers is simply an
accidental consequence of the fact that there is no year nought in Hebrew
chronology (and no numeral nought in the ancient Hebrew numerical system): the
pre-Abrahamic age runs from I AM to 1599 AM and has a duration of 1599 year
while the pre-temple age runs from 1600 AM to 1799 AM and has a round duration of
1200 years.
49
and to give them the land of Canaan in perpetuity; in return

Abraham and his descendants are required to adopt circumcision
as a sign of the covenant. Abraham is therefore central to Israel's
self-awareness in Priestly ideology, since it is to Abraham that
Israel owes its existence and its relationship with God. The
priestly cult is only slightly less central. It is not the basis of
Israel's relationship with God, but it is fundamentally important
as a means of regulating and maintaining that relationship. The
ideological importance which P attaches to Abraham and the cult is
highlighted in Priestly chronology by the fact that the birth of
Abraham and the foundation of the temple each stands at the start
of a new age of history. It may be noted that the events at Sinai are
not ascribed the same chronological prominence as is given to
Abraham and the temple, despite the considerable amount of space
which P devotes to these events. However, the central Sinai events
described by P are the construction of the tabernacle, which is
essentially a scaled-down version of the temple in tent form, and
the subsequent institution of the priesthood and cult, which
prefigures the later temple cult.
The ideological presuppositions reflected in Priestly chronology are thus in direct opposition to the view of Cross (1973:318)
that 'the covenant at Sinai was the climax to which the entire
Priestly labour had been directed.' In Cross's opinion the absence
from P of any narrative of the Sinai covenant ceremony is a
'stunning omission', proving that P is a redactional stratum which
presupposes the JE narrative and which never existed as an
independent source. In fact, however, Priestly references to a
covenant at Sinai are conspicuous by their absence, and the Sinai
covenant actually has no place in Priestly ideology. As far as P is
concerned the only covenant between God and Israel was the
covenant made with Abraham, which is expressly designated as an
'eternal covenant' between God and Abraham and Abraham's
descendants 'throughout their generations' (Gn 17.7). Thus when
God promises Moses that he will deliver Israel from Egypt and
bring them to Canaan, this is because he has remembered his
covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex 6.2-9), and not
because he intends to replace that covenant with a new covenant at
Sinai. The covenant which is referred to several times in the
conclusion to the Holiness Code (Leviticus 26) is not the Sinai
covenant (as Cross supposes) but the covenant made with
5<3
Abraham and Abraham's descendants (Lv 26.42); and the reference in Leviticus 26.45 to 'the covenant with the forefathers whom
I brought out of the land of Egypt' does not imply a separate
covenant made at Sinai, any more than the reference in verse 42 to
'my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac' refers to
separate covenants made with Jacob and Isaac.
Recognition that the Sinai covenant has no place in Priestly
ideology demolishes the central pillar of Cross's thesis that P is
merely a redactional stratum of the Pentateuch, and Cross's
arguments may actually be turned on their head to show that it is
most unlikely that P is merely a redactional stratum. Cross is struck
by the absence of any covenant ritual in P's account of the
institution of the Abrahamic covenant, and comments that the
covenant ritual of Genesis 15 (traditionally ascribed to J) must be
assumed to have served this purpose (Cross 1973:319^). But this
overlooks the crucial fact that as far as P is concerned cultic ritual
simply did not exist before the institution of the cult at Sinai: P
consistently avoids making any reference to sacrifice or ritual in
the pre-Mosaic period (it is J and not P which makes the
distinction between clean and unclean animals at the time of the
flood). Thus in contrast to Cross's claim that P presupposes the
covenant ritual of Genesis 15, that account is actually in direct
contradiction to P's presuppositions. Nor is it the case that P
presupposes J's story of primaeval human rebellion, and that P's
reference to human corruption at the time of the flood, or indeed
the entire Priestly cult with it function of providing atonement for
sin, is otherwise inexplicable (Cross 1973: 3o6f.). On the contrary P
appears to have deliberately avoided mythicizing sin as an
inheritance from the dawn of history, thereby maintaining the full
personal responsibility of each individual for his own sinful
actions. Unless one shares Cross's incredulity at P's omission of
elements which are in fact inconsistent with Priestly ideology there
is no reason to accept Cross's conclusion that P never existed as an
independent Pentateuchal source. Indeed P's careful omission of
these elements argues rather strongly that P was an independent
source, and that it was intended as an alternative to the JE
narrative rather than as a supplement to that narrative.35
35. Tengstrom (1982) is one of a number of Biblical scholars who have been
persuaded by Cross's arguments. Similar views have also been expressed independently by Rendtorff (1977:112-142), who concentrates on discontinuities in the
51
The Priestly scheme of chronology may also have significant

implications for the date at which P was composed, for the fact that
P makes use of a chronology which extends to the foundation of the
second temple clearly excludes a date of composition earlier than
the post-exilic period, and rules out the possibility that the Priestly
source (as we may now refer to it) was composed before or during
the Babylonian exile.36 This conclusion cannot be avoided by
postulating a post-exilic updating of an earlier chronology: the
symmetry between the 48o-year period from the exodus to the
foundation of the first temple and the 48o-year period from the
foundation of the first temple to the foundation of the second
temple (paralleling the symmetry in length between postdiluvian
and patriarchal periods) shows that the second 48o-year period is
integral to the chronology and was not simply tacked on at a later
date. Another point which should be taken into account is that if
the Book of Generations is an originally independent document we
must also allow an interval of time between the creation of the
Priestly chronological system and the composition of P.
These conclusions might also be taken a stage further, since
there is reason to question the historicity of the book of Ezra's
account of the foundation of the second temple. According to this
account the second temple was founded under the leadership of
Joshua and Zerubbabel in the 2nd year of Cyrus (537 BC).
However, according to chronological notices in the book of Haggai
(Hg i.i, 15) work on the second temple was started under the
leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel in the 2nd year of Darius (520
BC), and there is no hint of any previous attempt to rebuild the
temple. Similarly Zechariah, in a vision dated towards the end of
Darius's 2nd year (Zc 1.7), is assured that Zerubbabel, having laid
Priestly stratum as evidence that P is not a continuous narrative source (though
these could also have resulted from redactional omissions), but ignores narrative
continuities in P which point to the opposite conclusion. On the subject of Priestly
chronology, Rendtorff denies that there is any connection between the chronological notices of P and the ideological views expressed in other Priestly texts: 'Auch
zwischen den chronologischen Notizen einerseits und den theologischen Texten
andererseits bestehen kaum Beziehungen.' (Rendtorff 1977:141).
36. A pre-exilic dating is favoured by most Israeli scholars (following Kaufmann
ET
i96o: 175-200); most non-Israeli scholars date P in the exilic or post-exilic period.
However, those who have dated the (main redaction of the) Priestly source in exilic
or post-exilic times have generally argued that P also contains material that is
considerably earlier in date (the core of the Holiness Code is almost certainly
pre-exilic).
52
the temple's foundation, will also complete the temple (Zc 4.9).
The book of Ezra harmonizes this picture of events with its own
account by claiming that the original construction work was halted
as a result of hostility on the part of neighbouring communities
(Ezr 4.4-5), and was not resumed until the second year of Darius's
reign (Ezr 4.24-5.2). But this is scarcely convincing, since Haggai
sees the failure to rebuild the temple as due to self-interest on the
part of the Jews, who are said to be more concerned with their own
affairs than with the state of Yahweh's temple, and neither Haggai
nor Zechariah make any mention of hostility from neighbouring
communities. In all probability the book of Ezra is simply reading
back into an earlier period the hostility which the post-exilic
Judean community certainly experienced in later times; and it is in
fact striking that this hostility is illustrated with events said to have
occurred during the reigns of Xerxes (486-465 BC) and Artaxerxes
(465-424 BC)the author of Ezra 1-6 apparently confused Darius I
(522-486 BC), in whose reign the temple was rebuilt, with Darius II
(424-405 BC), who reigned a century later.37 On this evidence it
might be argued that the book of Ezra's account of an initial
attempt to rebuild the temple during the reign of Cyrus is a
historical fabrication, based upon a fictitious date that was
invented by Priestly chronologists to fit in with their schematic
chronology of world history. This would then imply that the
Priestly scheme of world chronology was not created until some
considerable time after the actual foundation of the second temple
in the 2nd year of Darius.
There is, however, one other piece of evidence to be taken into
account, which supports the historicity of Ezra's date for the
foundation of the second temple. This is provided by the text of an
Aramaic letter found in Ezra 5.7-17, and purporting to have been
written by officials of Darius, which reports that Jewish elders who
37. This confusion supports Williamson's suggestion that Ezra 1-6 was written
in the early Hellenistic period (Williamson 1983:29), two centuries after the events
which it describes; similar chronological confusion is also reflected in the book of
Daniel, whose scheme of four Persian kings for the entire duration of the Persian
empire (Dn 7.6; 11.2) apparently telescopes the reigns of Darius I, II, and III,
Xerxes I, II, and III, and Artaxerxes I, II, and III, besides leaving out Cambyses
and Arses, who are not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. Williamson also argues
persuasively that Ezra 4.6-6.18 does not constitute an independent Aramaic source,
but was written by the final author of Ezra 1-6, who worked directly from the
original Aramaic documents which occupy most of this section.
53
were asked to produce authorization for their involvement in

rebuilding the Jerusalem temple responded by claiming that it had
been authorized by a decree of Cyrus in the first year of his reign;
in the course of this reply it is stated that the foundations of the
temple had already been laid by Sheshbazzar, the first governor of
Judah appointed by Cyrus (Ezr 5.13-16). The basic authenticity of
the Aramaic letters found in Ezra 1-6 is generally accepted, and
this document may therefore be seen as independent confirmation
of an attempt to rebuild the temple early in the reign of Cyrus
(although it is worth noting that the letter contradicts the book of
Ezra's own account by asserting that this initial foundation was the
responsibility of Sheshbazzar, not Zerubbabel). For some reason
or otherperhaps because of economic difficulties which are
alluded to in Haggai 1.6 and 2.i5f.this initial attempt was
abandoned and the main rebuilding work was not begun until the
reign of Darius.
In view of this last piece of evidence, it is reasonable to conclude
that Ezra 3.8f. is historically correct in dating the initial foundation
of the second temple to the 2nd year of the return from exile (the
2nd year of Cyrus's reign). It follows that the Priestly scheme of
world chronology could have been created at any time after this
event, although it may still be argued that this is more likely to
have happened when the temple was actually completed than
during the period in which the construction work was suspended
(one would not expect the foundation of a non-existent temple to
have been invested with great chronological significance). There is
therefore no essential reason why the (main redaction of the)
Priestly source cannot be given a comparatively early date in the
post-exilic period (late 6th or early 5th century), so long as we
allow sufficient time for the Priestly scheme of world chronology
to to have been incorporated into originally independent documents such as the Book of Generations.38
38. There are linguistic arguments against dating P in the late post-exilic period,
for although there are undoubtedly some affinities between the language of P and
Late Biblical Hebrew (see Polzin 1976:85 f.), there are also significant differences
which suggest that P is earlier than texts written in Late Biblical Hebrew.
Differences between the language of P and Late Biblical Hebrew are emphasized by
Hurvitz (1976), who believes (with other Israeli scholars) that P is pre-exilic in date.
In furtherance of this viewpoint Hurvitz has also published an interesting, but
one-sided, comparison of the language of P and that of Ezekiel (Hurvitz 1982),
which claims to prove that P is linguistically earlier than Ezekiel and therefore
54
pre-exilic. However, it must be said that some of Hurvitz's comparisons are of

dubious validity, and his overall conclusions are weakened by his refusal to
discriminate between original and secondary material in Ezekiel. Other complicating factors in the attempt to provide a linguistic dating of P are the fact that the P
source utilizes earlier Priestly documents, and may also have been written in a
deliberately archaic style which was intended to enhance its authority as ancient
tor ah.
3
THE DEUTERONOMISTIC CHRONOLOGY OF ISRAEL
3.1 Pre-Priestly Chronological Schematism

The Deuteronomistic History (Deuteronomy to Kings) contains
various chronological notices for the period from the exodus to the
Babylonian exile. However, the chronology found in the Masoretic
text of Kings is not the original Deuteronomistic chronology, but
has been modified to reflect the Priestly total of 430 years from the
foundation of the temple to the Babylonian exile (see p. 3yf.). By
contrast, chronological notices in Judges and Samuel are inconsistent with Priestly chronology, and are in fact bypassed in the
Priestly chronological scheme by the chronological note in i Kings
6.1. Chronological notices in Judges and Samuel may therefore be
taken to represent a pre-Priestly chronology, and evidence of
pre-Priestly chronology may also have been preserved in the
Septuagint text of Kings, whose chronology of the monarchic
period is rather imperfectly harmonized with the Priestly total of
430 years from the foundation of the temple to its destruction (see
p.38f.).
Deuteronomistic chronology in Judges and Samuel may have
escaped Priestly schematization, but it is nevertheless highly
schematic. This is shown by the repeated occurrence of 4O-year
periods. In i Samuel 4.18 Eli is said to have judged Israel for 40
years, and in 2 Samuel 5.4 David is said to have reigned for the
same length of time. In Judges the periods of tranquillity following
Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Midianite oppressions are each
assigned a duration of 40 years (Ju 3.n;5.3i;8.28), while the period
of tranquillity following the Moabite oppression is said to have
lasted 80 (2 x 40) years (Ju 3.30). Similarly the period of Philistine
oppression is put at 40 years (Ju 13.1), while the period of
56
Canaanite oppression and the period of Samson's rule are both said
to have lasted 20 (40 -f- 2) years (Ju 4.3; 15.20; 16.21). The same overt
schematism continues into the beginning of Kings, where David is
again said to have reigned for 40 years (iK 2.11), and Solomon is
ascribed the same figure (iK 11.42), but subsequent chronological
notices are less obviously schematic, and only one Israelite or
Judean king after Solomon is ascribed a reign of 40 years (2K 12.2:
the king in question is Joash of Judah).
Chronological schematism in Judges and Samuel is also
reflected in the overall totals gained by adding together the various
lengths of time specified in individual chronological notices (see
table opposite). On MT's figures the period from the settlement to
the death of Eli works out at exactly 450 years. This calculation
disregards the (unspecified) period of time between the settlement
and the death of Joshua and those of his generation (Ju 2.8f.); but
there is in fact a Biblical precedent for this, since in Judges 11.26
Jephthah claims that for 300 years from the settlement the
Ammonites had failed to dispute Israel's transjordanian territory:
if one adds together the various periods of time given in MT's text
of Judges as far as the start of the Ammonite oppression (i.e. the
point at which the Ammonites first laid claim to this territory) the
resulting total is 301 years, which is within a year of Jephthah's
stated figure.
Chronological figures in LXXBMN for the period preceding the
Ammonite oppression are identical to those of MT; but in LXXAL
the total number of years for this period is 311these manuscripts
read '50 years' in place of'40 years' in Judges 3.11. The discrepancy
between LXXAL's total and Jephthah's reference to 300 years is
one reason for preferring '40 years' as the original reading in
Judges 3.11, and the secondary nature of LXXAL's figure is also
clear from the fact that it lacks the 4O-year schematism which
characterizes all other periods of tranquillity. '50 years' may nevertheless be the original Septuagint reading, and may be explained as
a chronological correction designed to compensate for the loss of 10
years later in the chronology.1 Eusebius tells us that the LXX text
of his day lacked the chronological notice on Elon's lo-year rule
in Judges 12.11-12 (Helm 2 i956:6oa), so that it is not unreasonable
i. Bodine (1980) argues that LXXA and LXXL are better witnesses to the
original LXX text of Judges than LXXB, which contains the Kaige recension, or
LXXMN, which contain a mixed text showing Kaige influences.
The Deuteronomistic Chronology of Israel

Chronological data: Judges - Kings
Mesopotamian oppression 8 years
40 years
Period of tranquillity
1 8 years
Moabite oppression
80 years
20 years
Canaanite oppression
40 years
Period of tranqillity
7 years
Midianite oppression
40 years
3 years
Abimelech
(JU9.22)
23 years
Tola
(Ju 10.2)
22 years
Jair
(Ju 10.3)
1 8 years
Ammonite oppression
(Ju 10.8)
6 years
Jephthah
(Ju 12.7)
7 years
Ibzan
(Ju 12.9)
i o years
Elon
(JUI2.II)
8 years
Abdon
(JUI2.I4)
40 years
Philistine oppression
(Jui3.i)
20 years
(Ju 15. 20; 16.31) Samson
40 years
Eli
(184.18)
(Ju3-8)
(Ju3.ii)
(Ju3.i4)
(JU3-30)
(Ju4-3)
(Ju5-3i)
(Ju6.i)
(Ju8.28)
(LXXAL; 50)
(LXXBMN; 6o)
(*LXX: )
(LXX: 20)
(187.15)
(1813.1)
Samuel
Saul
2 years
(lK2.Il)
David
Solomon
Rehoboam
Rehoboam
Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah
Joash
Amaziah
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
40 years
40 years
(LXXB; 12)
17 years
3 years (LXXBL: 6;
41 years
LXXA: 1 6)
25 years
8 years (LXXL; 10;
LXXAB; 40)
i year
7 years
40 years
29 years
52 years
1 6 years
1 6 years
29 years
55 years
2 years
3 1 years
3 months
1 1 years
3 months
1 1 years
(iK 11.42)
(iK 12.243)
(iK 14.21)
(IKI5.2)
(iK 15.10)
(iK 22.42)
(2K8.I7)
(2K8.26)
(2KII.4)
(2K 12.2)
(2K 14-2)
(2Kl5.2)
(2K 15-33)
(2K 16.2)
(2K 18.2)
(2K2I.I)
(2K2I.I9)
(2K22.I)
(2K 23.31)
(2K 23.36)
(2K24.8)
(2K24.I8)
(LXXBMN; _)
57
58
to suppose that the addition of 10 years to the original figure in

Judges 3.11 was intended to correct a chronology in which 10 years
had been lost through the omission of Judges I2.H-I2. 2 A second
instance of textual variation over chronological figures between
LXXAL and LXXBMN occurs in Judges 12.7, where there is little
doubt that LXXAL have preserved the original LXX figure for
Jephthah's rule (6 years, as in MT); LXXBMN's figure of 60 years
(c^r/KovTa err?) may be explained as having resulted from
partial assimilation of e ('6') to reooapaKovra ('40') in the
previous verse. The original LXX total for the period covered by
Judges (from the settlement to the death of Samson) was therefore
identical with MT's total (410 years), although it was arrived at
through slightly different figures. However, in i Samuel 4.18
virtually all LXX manuscripts apart from a few minuscules give 20
years in place of MT's figure of 40 years for Eli's rule; the original
LXX total to the death of Eli was therefore 430 years, as against 450
years in MT.
Deuteronomistic chronology breaks off with the death of Eli.
The latter is succeeded by Samuel, but, oddly, no figure is given
for the duration of Samuel's rule. There are also notorious
problems with the chronological notice on Saul's reign (i Samuel
13.13 which is lacking in LXXBMN), but the chronology is taken up
again with clear notices on the reigns of Ishbosheth (28 2.10) and
David (28 5.4), and continues thereafter down to the exile. On
MT's figures the period from David's accession to the exile lasts
for 474 years (see table on p. 57); but this total reflects Priestly
manipulation of regnal years in the period from the foundation of
the temple and is therefore secondary. On the other hand, we have
seen that LXX's figures for this period are only partially
harmonized with Priestly chronology. If we ignore this partial
harmonization (by disregarding the 12-year figure for Rehoboam's
reign in i Kings 12.243 in favour of the 17-year reign length in i
Kings 14.21), and take the original LXX figures, which are
preserved in LXXBL as far as i Kings 21 and in LXXL thereafter,3
2. This is presumably a case of parablepsis through homoiarchon, a scribe's eye
having jumped from 'and there judged Israel after him' in verse n to the same
phrase in verse 13. The presence of Judges 12,11-12 in almost all existing LXX
manuscripts (q is the only manuscript cited in the Cambridge Septuagint which
omits these verses) is doubtless the result of later recensional activity: the
Syro-hexaplar marks the passage as a hexaplaric addition.
3. See discussion on p. 3yf.
59
the total period from David's accession to the exile is 479 years; if
we then read *'i I years' in place of '10 years' in 2 Kings 8.17, as is
required by LXXL's chronological synchronisms (see p. I29f.), the
total period is exactly 480 years, which is a transparently schematic
number. Within this overall period the division of the kingdom
occurs 400 years before the Babylonian exile, and 267 years before
the fall of Samaria in the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign (2K 18.10);
the northern kingdom is thus assigned a duration which (in whole
figures) is exactly two-thirds that of the kingdom of Judah. Taken
as a whole, the pre-Priestly chronology of Kings is no less
schematic than the chronology of Judges and Samuel, even if this
schematism is less apparent in individual chronological notices.
In view of the schematic similarity which exists between the
Deuteronomistic chronology of Judges and Samuel and the
Deuteronomistic chronology of Kings, it is worth taking a fresh
look at the curious break in this chronology which occurs with the
death of Eli. It has long been recognized that there is something
seriously wrong with the chronological notice on Saul's reign (iS
13.1: 'Saul was a year old when he became king, and he reigned 2
years over Israel.'), but the absence of any chronological notice for
Samuel's rule is really no less remarkable, i Samuel 7.15 is virtually
identical in form with chronological notices in Judges ('and X
judged Israel for Y years', Ju 10.2, 3; 12.7, 9, u, 14; 15.20), but
instead of a specific figure for the length of Samuel's rule we find
only the vague phrase 'all the days of his life', which is in any case
inconsistent with the fact that Samuel is depicted as having
abdicated in favour of Saul (i Samuel 12 contains his abdication
speech). In view of the fact that Deuteronomistic chronology runs
continuously from the settlement to the death of Eli (and is even
extended 20 years into Samuel's rule by the chronological note in i
Samuel 7.2) it is difficult to believe that it did not at one time
include a figure for Samuel's rule, which was later replaced by the
(somewhat inappropriate) phrase 'all the days of his life'.
In Saul's case it is patently obvious that a figure for Saul's
accession age has dropped out (or been removed) from before HUttf
('year'), since Hlltf "p ('a year old') is quite nonsensical. Nor is what
follows very much better, for '2 years' (DÎZJ ''fltP) is hardly long
enough for all the events of Saul's reign, which occupy two-thirds
of the first book of Samuel. Furthermore, D'W ''fitP is a unique
expression for '2 years', which is normally expressed by the dual
6o
form D?ri3tP (Gn 11.10; 41.1; 45.6; 2$ 14.28; iK 15.25; 16.8; 22.52;
2K 15.23 etc.) or else by D'W D?ritP (28 2.10; 2K 21.19 // 2C 33.2i).4
The textual corruption of Saul's figures, when viewed in conjunction with the disappearance of Samuel's figures, is unlikely to have
occurred through simple mischance (as is often supposed), and we
may therefore suspect that Saul's original figures were deliberately
suppressed.5 The textual tradition behind LXX evaded the
chronological problems of i Samuel 13.1 by omitting the entire
verse (though it has been secondarily restored in LXXL and
hexaplaric manuscripts).6
This raises the obvious question of why anyone should have
wanted to suppress the original chronology at this point. And there
4. Cf. Driver ( 2 I9I3:97). DV ('day') behaves similarly: '2 days' is normally
expressed by the dual DÔV (Ex 16.29; 21.21; Nu 9.22; 11.9; Ho 6.2), or else by D^
D^t? (28 i. i; 2C 21.19). There is in fact only one other instance where a time noun
which is morphosyntactically indefinite is preceded by a construct form of
D^/D^PtT, and this is D^Cnn "'VD ('2 months') in Judges 11.38 (where there is also a
variant D^Cnn D?21T).
5. Despite analogies with Mesopotamian scribal practice it is not really very
likely that the author of this verse originally left the figures blank, with the intention
of filling them in at a later date when he had obtained the necessary information.
This was suggested by Wellhausen (1871:79^), who argued that the original author
of the book of Samuel omitted to provide a chronological notice for Saul, and that
this omission was subsequently filled by a later scribe who no longer knew the
actual figures. (TUP '2' originated, according to Wellhausen, as an accidental
dittography of the first three letters of D'W 'years'.) More recently Buccellati
(1963:29) has drawn attention to examples of numerical omissions in Mesopotamian literature, which he suggests were left blank because the scribe did not know the
correct figures at the time of writing; see also the additional note by Grayson
(1963:86, no) concerning the absence of a figure for Tiglathpileser Ill's reign in
the Babylonian Chronicle (also commented on in Grayson 1975:72^). But it is
unlikely that these analogies have any relevance to i Samuel 13.1; the author
responsible for the chronological material of Judges and Samuel was doubtless
ignorant of the number of years that Saul reigned, but he was almost certainly
equally ignorant of how many years Samson or Eli had 'ruled', and this did not
prevent him from inventing schematic figures in the absence of any historical
evidence. This observation carries less weight if we suppose, with Wellhausen, that
the notice on Saul was supplied by a later scribe. But this simply raises the question
of why the original chronologist should have omitted chronological notices on Saul
and Samuel in a chronology which otherwise runs consecutively from the
settlement to the exile.
6. This omission probably reflects scribal suppression of an obviously corrupt
text; see McCarter 1980:222 and compare the similar omission of a corrupt
chronological notice in LXX's text of Jeremiah 27.1 (discussed below, p. 86n.). It
is unlikely (contra Wellhausen 1871:79^) that LXX preserves a more original form
of the text.
61
is one suspect, or group of suspects, with a very obvious motive.

Even with what is left of the original Deuteronomistic chronology
there is clearly an irreconcilable discrepancy between this chronology and the Priestly figure of 480 years from the exodus to the
foundation of the temple (iK 6.1), for if we add 40 years in the
wilderness plus a 5-year period of conquest7 to the 430 (LXX) or
450 (MT) years from the settlement to the death of Eli, and then
add 40 years for David's reign plus the first 4 years of Solomon's
reign (prior to the foundation of the temple), we have a total which
already exceeds 500 years without taking account of Samuel and
Saul.8 Thus it was clearly in the interests of the Priestly school to
suppress the earlier Deuteronomistic chronology by excising
chronological information on Samuel and Saul. This simple
expedient failed to remove all trace of the discrepancy between
Deuteronomistic and Priestly chronology, but it succeeded in
making this discrepancy rather less obvious, and (more importantly) it had the effect of making it impossible to calculate the
period from the exodus to the temple on the basis of Deuteronomistic chronological noticesand why should anyone attempt this
now impossible task when the Priestly chronologists had supplied
a very clear and convenient chronological notice on this period in i
Kings 6. i?
For modern scholars the task of reconstructing the original
Deuteronomistic chronology in disregard of i Kings 6.1 is clearly a
matter of considerable interest, which may not be entirely
impossible despite the activities of Priestly chronologists. It may
have been possible for the Priestly school to see that their version
of Samuel and Kings was promulgated as the official text, but the
suppression or alteration of deviant texts could not have been
achieved so easily, and we have already seen that LXX has
preserved evidence of pre-Priestly chronology in Kings. The
7. The 45-year period mentioned in Joshua 14.10. apparently comprises 40
years in the wilderness plus 5 years' conquest.
8. There have inevitably been numerous attempts to harmonize this discrepancy: see Moore 1895: viiif. and Rowley 1950:901". for a representative selection, to
which one should add Noth ET i98i: i8f. and Richter 1964:132f. (Richter's solution
is endorsed in two recent commentaries on JudgesBoling 1975:23 and Soggin
1981:101".) All such attempts depend upon the selective omission of certain figures
from the overall total (thus following the same approach as Seder Olam Rabba
11-15),an<!stem from a failure to recognize that two distinct chronological systems
are involved.
62
situation in this instance is less fortunate: no existing Biblical text

preserves the original figures for Samuel's and Saul's periods of
rule, but in Saul's case two Lucianic manuscripts and a few other
Greek minuscules give 30 years as his age at accession.9 This may
be no more than a guess, but it is also possible that it represents a
genuine proto-Lucianic reading derived from a Hebrew text in
which Saul's age had escaped Priestly suppression.
The possible survival of Saul's age at accession in a few LXX
manuscripts does little to help in recovering the original chronology of this period, but evidence for a possible reconstruction may
be found outside the Hebrew Bible. In the book of Acts (13.21) the
apostle Paul tells us quite plainly that Saul was king for 40 years,
and this agrees with Josephus's reckoning in Antiquities 6.378. The
Acts passage is also of further interest in that it specifies a period of
450 years from the settlement to the accession of Saul (verses 19 to
20), which is roughly in line with LXX's version of Deuteronomistic chronology (430 years to the death of Eli).10 The figures
given in Acts might of course be rough estimates, based perhaps on
Deuteronomistic chronology as preserved in LXX and supplemented by guesswork. However, in view of the fact that Acts 13
agrees with Josephus in ascribing 40 years to Saul there is a
reasonable case for thinking that it may have derived its figures,
directly or indirectly, from a Biblical text formalso available to
Josephus or one of his sourcesin which the durations of Samuel's
and Saul's periods of rule were still preserved. Acts' total of 450
years to Saul's accession evidently presupposes a figure for
Samuel's rule, but this cannot be deduced simply by subtracting
LXX's total of 430 years to the death of Eli and assigning the
difference of 20 years to Samuel, since we do not know that the
hypothetical Biblical text underlying Acts 13 necessarily contained
the same chronology as LXX to the death of Eli. In any case, 20
years cannot have been the original Biblical figure for Samuel's
9. Marcus (in Thackeray and Marcus 1934:357^) and Wacholder (1974:65^)
are incorrect in stating that LXXL gives '30 years' as the duration of Saul's reign.
10. The passage is not entirely clear about when this 45O-year period
terminated, but since the reference to this period is preceded by a reference to 40
years in the wilderness and followed by a reference to the 4O-year reign of Saul, it is
reasonable to equate the 450 years in which '(God) gave (Israel) their land as an
inheritance' (verse 19) with the period in which 'he gave them judges until (and
including) Samuel the prophet' (verse 20; the book of Samuel depicts Samuel as the
last of the judges who ruled Israel before the institution of the monarchy).
63
term of office, since I Samuel 7.2 mentions a 2o-year period which

occurred during the first part of Samuel's rule. According to this
passage 20 years elapsed between the time that the ark was brought
to Kiriath-jearim and Israel's victory over the Philistines at
Mizpah. Since the ark was taken to Kiriath-jearim some 7 months
after its capture by the Philistines (iS 6.1), and since Eli died
immediately after hearing of the ark's capture (iS 4.18), it follows
that this 2O-year period is more or less equivalent to the first 20
years of Samuel's rule.
Clearer evidence in Samuel's case is to be found in Antiquities
6.292, where the duration of Samuel's rule is given as 30 years. If
we add this figure to MT's total of 450 years to the death of Eli, we
arrive at the highly interesting total of 480 years from the
settlement to the end of Samuel's rule, balancing the 480 years of
Deuteronomistic chronology from David's accession to the exile;
40 years for Saul's reign (Ant 6.378; Acts 13.21) then brings this to
a round total of 1000 years for Israel's existence in Canaan. In view
of the neatness with which Josephus's figures slot into Deuteronomistic chronology there is a pretty strong case for thinking that
they once formed part of this chronology and are ultimately
derived from a Biblical text which gave precisely these figures for
Samuel's and Saul's periods of office.
Josephus's evidence is actually a little less straightforward than
I have suggested. In the first place, it should be noted that
Antiquities 6.31 paraphrases i Samuel 7.15-17 without giving any
indication of Samuel's period of office beyond the vague phrase
'and he administered much good justice for a long time', which
appears to be based on 'and Samuel judged Israel all the days of his
life' in MT and LXX. Similarly Antiquities 6-95f. paraphrases i
Samuel i3.2f. without prefacing a chronological notice on Saul's
reign, and since the notice on Saul's reign in i Samuel 13.1 is also
omitted in LXX this suggests that Josephus is dependent on LXX
or a text form resembling LXX at this point. However, even if
Josephus used LXX or a similar text form as his main narrative
source, this does not exclude the possibility that he also consulted
other Biblical text forms or used chronological sources which were
based on variant text formsin Antiquities 5.359 Josephus agrees
with MT in assigning Eli a rule of 40 years rather than 20 years as
in LXX.
A more serious consideration which must be taken into account
64
in using Josephus's figures for Samuel and Saul is that Josephus

himself clearly does not intend the 30 years of Samuel's rule and
the 40 years of Saul's reign to be taken consecutively. He is actually
quite explicit on this point: Samuel is said to have ruled for 12
years by himself and for 18 years with Saul (Ant 6.292), while Saul
is said to have reigned for 18 years during Samuel's lifetime and for
22 years after Samuel's death (Ant 6.378). Now it could be thought
that this seriously undermines my earlier argument that Josephus
has preserved authentic evidence of pre-Priestly chronology at this
point, for by Josephus's own reckoning the combined duration of
Samuel's and Saul's terms of office was 52 years, and not 70 years
as I have supposed. But in fact this is not a serious difficulty.
Josephus, as I noted above, was apparently familiar with a Biblical
text which stated (as do MT and LXX) that Samuel judged Israel
'all the days of his life'; and since Samuel lived well into Saul's
reign according to the Biblical account, Josephus would have been
forced to conclude that Samuel's term of office overlapped with
Saul's reign, even if the source from which he derived his figures
made no mention of any overlap. Alternatively, if Josephus derived
these figures from secondary chronological sources which included
an overlap then the same argument applies to the way in which
these sources interpreted the figures provided by their own source
of chronological information. Since the overlap of Samuel's and
Saul's terms of office is thus explicable as a secondary exegetical
adjustment, we may reasonably regard the individual totals of
Samuel's and Saul's terms of office as the primary data from which
the chronology presented by Josephus was originally constructed.
It is hardly fortuitous that these totals come out as schematic
round numbers that are typical of Deuteronomistic chronological
data, and the fact that this schematism is disguised in Antiquities
by a chronological overlap of 18 years actually strengthens the case
for believing that these figures were derived from Biblical texts, in
as much as it would appear to exonerate Josephus (or his source)
from the charge of having simply invented suitably schematic
figures for Samuel and Saul.
One further complication in Josephus's evidence should also be
considered. Although Josephus gives 40 years as the duration of
Saul's reign in Antiquities 6.378, elsewhere in Antiquities (10.143)
he cites a figure of 20 years for Saul's reign. And while it might be
thought that this is no more than an approximation for the 22 years
65
that Saul is said to have reigned after Samuel's death in Antiquities

6.378, the context (giving regnal years down to the exile) shows
clearly that it is actually intended as an exact figure. Similar
chronological inconsistencies occur elsewhere in Josephus and
may probably be attributed in part to an eclectic use of conflicting
chronological sources. It is therefore natural to wonder where the
figure of 20 years for Saul's reign was originally taken from. 20
years is in fact a rather interesting figure when it is placed in the
context of LXX's chronology. It was noted earlier that this allows
430 years (instead of MT's 450 years) for the period from the
settlement to the death of Eli; if we then add 30 years for Samuel's
rule (as in Antiquities 6.292) plus 20 years for Saul's reign
(following Antiquities 10.143) tne resulting total is exactly 480
years from the settlement to the end of Saul's reign, balancing the
480 years from David's accession to the exile, and the addition of
40 years in the wilderness once again produces an overall total of
1000 years.11 There is therefore a reasonable case for thinking that
the 20 years of Antiquities 10.143 maY als be ultimately derived
from a Biblical text giving this figure as the duration of Saul's
reign. In this case '40 years' and '20 years' will have existed as
Biblical variants for the length of Saul's reign, just as the same
variation exists between MT and LXX over the duration of Eli's
term of office. The variant figures are in each instance explicable as
belonging to different overall chronologies.
In trying to reconstruct Deuteronomistic chronology as it
existed before it was altered by Priestly chronologists we have now
ended up with two alternative Deuteronomistic chronologies, and
this leaves us with the task of deciding which of these alternatives
is original. Here it seems to me that it is more likely that a
chronology covering Israel's existence in the land of Canaan was
later extended to include a period of 40 years from the exodus to
the settlement, than that a looo-year scheme which originally
extended from the exodus to the exile was later restricted to the
post-settlement period. A second consideration which leads to the
same conclusion is that a chronology which distinguishes Saul's
11. This total disregards the 5 years of conquest which are alluded to in Joshua
14.10 (see p. 6m.), as well as the unspecified interval between the conquest and
the death of Joshua, which is also disregarded in Jephthah's reference to a period of
300 years from the settlement to the Ammonite oppression.
66
reign from a preceding 48o-year period of judges and a following

48o-year period of Davidic kings has more in common with the
Deuteronomistic History's picture of events than one in which
Saul's reign is included within the first 48o-year period of
judges: the book of Samuel stresses the point that Saul's kingship marked a major new development in the history of Israel,
while at the same time emphasizing the transitional nature of
Saul's kingship. For these reasons, therefore, the most probable
conclusion is that Deuteronomistic chronology originally presented a icoo-year scheme for Israel's existence in Canaan, and
that this was later modified to include 40 years in the wilderness
by halving the periods of rule ascribed to Eli (MT: 40 years;
LXX: 20 years) and Saul (Acts 13.21, Ant 6.378: 40 years; Ant
10.143: 20 years).
MT's figure of 2 years for the duration of Saul's reign was
dismissed earlier as being unoriginal and linguistically anomalous.
But there is an interesting similarity between this figure and
Josephus's figure of 22 years for the duration of Saul's reign after
the death of Samuel (Ant 6.378). It is sometimes supposed that a
numeral may have dropped out of the Hebrew text from before or
after Tlttn ('and 2'), and restoration of D'HtPBI ('and 20') before
Tl2fl would produce an exact agreement with Antiquities 6.378.
But this is improbable on two accounts. In the first place Hebrew
numerals above 10 require a following commonly-enumerated
noun such as TlVff ('year') to be singular, not plural (we therefore
need H2U? rather than fl'W in this passage). Here it could of
course be argued that since numerals from 2 to 10 require plural
forms of all classes of noun, an original !"!!!!? would probably
have been altered to D^ttf if '22 years' had been reduced to '2
years'. More seriously, however, Tlt!?1 D'""WS7 is simply not a
possible way of expressing '22' in Biblical Hebrew, which
requires QTSUn D'HU^S, since compound numerals of this kind
invariably contain the absolute form of the numeral '2'. There is,
in any case, an indirect chronological agreement between MT
and Josephus without our emending the text of i Samuel 13.1:
on Josephus's alternative reckoning of 20 years for Saul's entire
reign (Ant 10.143) tne duration of Saul's period as sole ruler
works out at exactly 2 years (20 years minus 18 years when
Samuel was alive), and the Latin text of Antiquities 6.378 actually
gives precisely this figure, thereby harmonizing Antiquities 6.378
67
with Antiquities 10.143 an<^ with MT's text of i Samuel 13.1.12

The indirect nature of this agreement between MT and
Josephus makes it unlikely that either is directly dependent on the
other, and it is of course intrinsically unlikely that MT is
dependent on Josephus at this point. A more probable inference is
that Josephus's and MT's figures for Saul are independently
derived from an earlier Jewish calculation which estimated an
18-year overlap between Samuel's and Saul's terms of office, and
was itself based on Biblical texts that assigned 30 years to Samuel
and 40 or 20 years to Saul. This chronology probably also
underlies the figures given in Seder Olam Rabba chapter 13, where
Saul is said to have reigned for 2 years (= 20-18 years), as in MT,
and Samuel is ascribed a period of 12 years (= 30-18 years). It is
striking that Seder Olam Rabba and MT both cite figures which
originally represented periods of sole rule as if they represented the
entire durations of Saul's or Samuel's terms of office; Seder Olam
Rabba even adopts a new i-year overlap between Samuel's 12-year
rule and Saul's 2-year reign, thus producing a total of 13 years for
Samuel and Saul together. This elimination of the previous
18-year overlap (and creation of a new i-year overlap) is possibly
explained by Seder Olam Rabba's interpretation of the 20 years of I
Samuel 7.2: in this interpretation the 2O-year period which is
mentioned in this verse is taken to represent the entire period
during which the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, so that if one
subtracts the 7 years of David's reign in Hebron (28 2.11), which
preceded his conquest of Jerusalem and transfer of the ark, one is
12. Marcus (in Thackeray and Marcus 1934:357^) cites a suggestion by S.
Rappaport that '2 years' is the original reading in Antiquities 6.378, and that a
Christian scribe later altered the Greek text to read '22 years' so as to produce a total
reign of 40 years in conformity with Acts 13.21. This is unlikely for the following
reason: in Antiquities 8.61 Josephus specifies a round total of 592 years for the
period from the exodus to the foundation of the temple, and the various figures
which Josephus gives for this period add up to 591 \ years only if Saul is ascribed 22
years of sole rule. (See appendix B for a table of chronological data given by
Josephus. Josephus omits Tola, who reigned for 23 years according to MT and
LXX, from his narrative, and also omits to give any figure for Abdon [MT and
LXX: '8 years']; on the other hand Shamgar, who is not assigned any figure in MT
and LXX, is assigned i year's rule, and 18 years anarchywhich evidently includes
8 years of Mesopotamian oppressionis said to have followed Joshua's death.
Josephus's chronology from the death of Joshua to the death of Eli is therefore 20
years shorter than MT's chronology for the same period, and thus arrives by a
different route at the same total as is produced by LXX's chronology.)
68
left with only 13 years for the combined periods of Samuel's and
Saul's rule. MT's figure of 2 years for Saul may therefore be
based on the chronological calculations given in Seder Olam
Rabba, which in turn appear to derive from a chronological
reckoning used by Josephus. In this case the calculations concerning Samuel and Saul in Seder Olam Rabba are presumably
earlier than the composition of this work, which is traditionally
ascribed to Rabbi Jose ben Halaphta of the second century AD.
There is, however, some reason to think that MT's figure of 2
years is a fairly late addition to the text: the phrase D^llT TKtf is
(as was noted earlier) an abnormal way of expressing '2 years' in
Biblical Hebrew, but it is perfectly acceptable in post-Biblical
(Mishnaic) Hebrew, in which O^tP and DTltP are always used in
their construct forms when they precede an enumerated noun
(Segal 1927:194f.).
There are a number of similarities between the original
Deuteronomistic chronology of Israel and the Priestly chronology of the world. Deuteronomistic periodization of history is
not essentially different in nature from Priestly periodization,
even if there is a significant difference of scale. Both chronologies work with 480 as a basic chronological unit and have
overall schemes which are constructed from looo-year periods:
1000 years for the history of Israel in the land of Canaan, or
4000 minus i years for duration of the present world era. But
there is also a significant difference: Priestly chronology is
forward-looking as well as backward-looking (the second temple
is founded 720 years before the year 4000), whereas Deuteronomistic chronology covers an age which has ended (the preexilic history of Israel). This presumably reflects the differing
historical situations in which the two chronologies were created:
the Priestly chronology of world history is self-evidently postexilic in origin (p. 51), so the Babylonian exile is no more than
an interlude in this chronology; by contrast the Deuteronomistic
chronology of Israel was almost certainly produced during the
exilic period, and the Babylonian exile is therefore the end-point
of this chronology.
69
3.2 Deuteronomistic chronology: formation and development

3.2.1 Judges and Samuel
The fact that the Deuteronomistic scheme of Israelite chronology

ends with the Babylonian exile raises the question of its literaryhistorical relationship to the Deuteronomistic History. The latter
in its present form is certainly exilic (with minor post-exilic
modifications), but there are persuasive reasons for thinking that
an original edition was first produced in pre-exilic times. Evidence
for this view was presented over a century ago by A. Kuenen, who
noted that some passages in the Deuteronomistic framework of
Kings presuppose the Babylonian exile while others reflect a
pre-exilic situation (see Mayes 1983:3), but this evidence was
later dismissed by Noth (ETi98i:i39n.) on the grounds that
passages which reflect a pre-exilic situation may be explained as
source material used by an exilic historian. More recently,
however, F. M. Cross's study of thematic tensions in the book of
Kings (Cross 1973:274-289) has presented strong additional
evidence that the original edition of the Deuteronomistic History
was composed during the reign of Josiah (or shortly thereafter),
and this view has been supported in detailed studies by Nelson
(1981) and Mayes (1983).13 This raises the obvious question of
what kind of chronology (if any) can have existed in the original
13. Mayes' study is an important contribution to understanding the redactional
development of the Deuteronomistic History, but in two cases it may be argued that
Mayes has underestimated the original Deuteronomistic Historian's contribution
by ascribing Deuteronomistic material to pre-Deuteronomistic stages of redaction.
Unlike Mayes I am not persuaded by H. Weippert's arguments for a preDeuteronomistic edition of Kings covering the period from Jehoshaphat and Joram
to the fall of Samaria (Weippert 1972). Weippert argues that the framework
formulae of Kings fall into several distinct groups, one of which covers the period
from Jehoshaphat and Joram to Ahaz and Hoshea, while a second extends
backwards to the division of the kingdom and forwards to the time of Josiah. But
there is actually considerable variety in framework formulae for this period, and
this variety does not obviously resolve itself into the two groups claimed by
Weippert (cf. Nelson 1981:31. Mayes notes a degree of overlap between these
hypothetical groupings though he understates the extent of this overlap). One may
also question Mayes' acceptance of Richter's view that the framework passages in
Judges are pre-Deuteronomistic (Richter 1964); the stereotyped nature of these
passages and their use of the Deuteronomistic phrase 'did what was evil in the sight
of Yahweh' suggests rather that they are to be ascribed to the (original)
Deuteronomistic historian.
yo
Deuteronomistic History; a pre-exilic edition of this history clearly

cannot have contained a chronology which runs from the settlement to the exile, nor can we suppose that an exilic chronologist
merely extended an original chronology which ended with the
reign of Josiah, for the Babylonian exile is self-evidently an
integral part of the overall chronological scheme outlined above.
There are, as I see it, two possible answers to this question: either
the exilic chronologist inherited an earlier chronology which he
then modified to produce his overall scheme of 1000 years of
Israelite history, or else he simply invented a chronology where
none had previously existed.
These possibilities are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In the
case of Kings there are good reasons for thinking that the exilic
chronologist modified an existing chronology based on historical
records (see following section of this chapter). However, there is
no reason to suppose that the original Deuteronomistic History
contained any chronology for the period preceding David's
accession; it is certainly unlikely that historical records were
available for this period (none are ever cited). Also, the overt
schematism of the chronology of Judges and Samuel, in contrast to
the less obvious schematism of the chronology of Kings, suggests
that this probably originated as the straightforward invention of an
exilic chronologist who created it as a schematic counterpart to the
schematized (but originally non-schematic) chronology of Kings.
There are in fact a number of internal indications that the
chronology of Judges and Samuel has been secondarily inserted.
In the first place, the chronological notices of Judges and Samuel
are quite easily detached from their contexts: note for instance
Judges 3.8, 'and the Israelites became subject to CushanRishathaim {for 8 years}', or Judges 3.11, 'and the land was quiet
{for 40 years}' (compare the use of similar phrases, without a time
reference, in Joshua 11.23, 14-15 and 2 Kings 11.20). It is also
quite easy to envisage an earlier form of the list of 'minor judges' in
Judges 10.1-5 and 12.7-15 which gave only the relative order of
these judges without specifying their period of office: 'and X arose
after him and judged Israel {for Y years}', or 'and X judged Israel
after him ... {and he judged Israel for Y years}' (compare the notice
on Shamgar's rule in Judges 3.31, which informs us that Shamgar
followed Ehud without stating the length of his rule). The fact that
these notices are easily detachable from their contexts does not of
71
course prove of itself that they are secondary, but the fact that
some of these notices are not only detachable but also fit
awkwardly in their contexts points strongly in this direction.
One example of this is Judges 10.8, 'and the Ammonites
shattered and crushed the Israelites that year {for 18 years}',
where the juxtaposed time phrases 'that year' and 'for 18 years'
appear to require two different interpretations of the verbs
'shattered and crushed': either the Ammonites 'defeated' the
Israelites 'that year' or they 'oppressed' them 'for 18 years'.
Similarly Jephthah's rhetorical question in Judges 11.26 makes
better sense (and is stylistically improved) if we omit 'for 300
years': 'when Israel settled/{dwelt} in Heshbon and its villages
and in Aroer and its villages {for 300 years}, why did you not
recover them at/{during} that time?' (Would the Ammonites'
claim to these territories have been strengthened in Jephthah's
eyes if they had only waited say 50 or 100 years before taking
them?) A final example that may be cited is i Samuel 7.2: 'from the
time that the ark came to rest in Kiriath-jearim the days multiplied
{and became 20 years}, and the whole house of Israel lamented
after Yahweh.' Here the bracketed time phrase is curiously
expressed, and a specific time reference comes awkwardly after the
indefinite period implied by 'the days multiplied' (i.e. a long time
passed; cf. Genesis 38.12, 'the days multiplied and Judah's wife
Bath-Shuadied').
There are other tensions between chronology and narrative.
According to Deuteronomistic chronology the Philistine oppression lasted for 40 years and was followed by a period of 20 years
when Samson was judge over Israel. By contrast the narrative of
Judges and Samuel describes the period of Philistine oppression as
having lasted right through Samson's and Eli's lifetimes. This
tension is highlighted in Judges 15.20, which states that Samson
judged Israel 'in the time of the Philistines for 20 years.' The first
temporal phrase states clearly that Samson's period as judge
occurred during the Philistine oppression, but this was manifestly
not the view of the Deuteronomistic chronologist who supplied the
reference to 20 years: even if we follow LXX in allowing Eli only
20 years' rule there is simply no way that Samson's rule of 20 years
plus Eli's rule of 20 or 40 years and another 20 years from the
return of the ark to Samuel's victory over the Philistines can
possibly be fitted into a period of Philistine domination lasting 40
72
years.14 A second and more fundamental discrepancy between

narrative and chronology is that the latter numbers the years of
Israel's settlement from the period of Mesopotamian oppression,
completely ignoring the time of 'Joshua and the elders' referred to
in Joshua 24.31 and Judges 2.7-10. Discrepancies of this kind are
hard to account for if it is thought that the chronology of Judges
and Samuel was an integral part of the original Deuteronomistic
History, whereas they are readily explicable if this chronology was
secondarily inserted into the original narrative.
It was noted earlier that much of the chronology of Judges
and Samuel is characterized by an overt numerical schematism
based on the figure 40, but it should also be remarked that this
overt schematism is not uniformly distributed among the various
chronological notices of Judges and Samuel. Three types of
chronological period are referred to in these notices: periods of
tranquillity (Ju 3.11, 30; 5.31; 8.28), periods of oppression (Ju
3.8, 14; 4.3; 6.1; 10.8; 13.1), and periods of rule (Ju 9.22; 10.2,
3; 12.7, 9, u, 14; 15.20; 16.31; iS 4.18). Of these three types
only the first is invariably characterized by overt 4O-year
schematism: three periods of tranquillity lasting 40 years and
one period lasting 80 years produce an overall total of 200
years.
1i) Ju 3.11
(2) Ju3-3O
(3)J u 5-3!
(4)Ju8.28
total
40 years
80 years
40 years
40 years
200 years
Other types of chronological period are less overtly schematic.

Among periods of oppression there are only two instances of
overtly schematic numbers, and the overall total is 111 years.
14. Noth ( ET i98i:2if.) resolved this discrepancy by claiming that the
chronological notices for Samson and Eli are secondary additions. The resultant
loss of 60 years from Deuteronomistic chronology then allowed him to arrive at a
total of 481 years from the exodus to the foundation of the temple, which is only i
year off the supposedly Deuteronomistic [Priestly] figure of 480 years in i Kings
6.1 (a hypothetical i-year overlap between David and Saul is invoked to take care of
this remaining discrepancy).
The Denteronomistic Chronology of Israel

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Ju3.8
Ju3.i4
Ju4-3
Ju6.i
Ju 10.8
Jui3.i
Mesopotamian oppression
Moabite oppression
Ammonite oppression
total
73
8 years
18 years
20 years
7 years
18 years
40 years
in years
Note, however, that although this list is less overtly schematic than
the last, there is an interesting form of schematic parallelism
between the first and second three periods, which is more obvious
if they are juxtaposed as in the following table.
(1) 8 years
(2) 18 years
(3) 20 years
(4) 7 years
(5) 18 years
(6) 40 years
This shows an unmistakable parallelism between the second and

fifth periods, each lasting 18 years, and between the third and sixth
periods, lasting for 20 and 40 years respectively, but there is a
rather less precise parallelism between the first and fourth periods
of 8 and 7 years respectively. Now it may be that the Deuteronomistic chronologist never intended the two series of oppressions to
be in perfect chronological parallelism; but it is also possible that
the period of Mesopotamian oppression was originally reckoned to
have lasted for 7 years like the Midianite oppression, and that ""7
years' in Judges 3.8 was later corrupted to '8 years' through partial
assimilation to '18 years' in Judges 3.14 (six verses later). There is
no direct textual evidence to support this suggestion, but there are
two interesting consequences that may count in its favour. Firstly
the total number of years works out at a round figure of 110 years,
which is comparable to the round total of 200 years for periods of
tranquillity. Secondly, and more importantly, the total number of
years from the settlement to the start of the Ammonite oppression
now comes to exactly 300 years, which is the precise figure stated
by Jephthah in Judges 11.26. It could of course be argued that for
Jephthah's rhetorical purposes an inexactitude of i year was hardly
of great importance, and this would be a reasonable argument were
it not for the fact that (on previous evidence) the figure of 300 years
was inserted into its present context by the Deuteronomistic
74
chronologist and should therefore be interpreted in the same way

as other numbers inserted by this chronologist, i.e. as an exact
figure.15
Overt schematism is also relatively uncommon in chronological
notices on periods of rule. Within the book of Judges only
Samson's rule of 20 years and (possibly) Elon's rule of 10 years are
overtly schematic.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
Ju9.22
Ju 10.2
Ju 10.3
Ju 12.7
Ju 12.9
Jui2.ii
Jui2.i4
Ju 15.20; 16.31
Abimelech
Tola
Jair
Jephthah
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
Samson
total
3 years
23 years
22 years
6 years
7 years
IO years
8 years
20 years
99 years
One conclusion which might be drawn from the absence of overt

schematism in the first seven notices of this list (one round number
in seven is hardly very significant) is that the figures in these
notices are in fact historical (cf. Soggin 1981:198-199), in which
case the list of so-called minor judges in Judges 10.1-5 and 12.7-15
must presumably be based on an authentic historical document,
although it also incorporates obviously legendary statements such
as 'he had thirty sons who rode on thirty asses, and they had thirty
cities ...' (Ju 10.4; cf. 12.9, 14). It must be said, however, that the
fact that a set of numbers is not overtly schematic does not of itself
prove that it is historically authenticnot all antediluvian lifespans are schematic round figures, for example. Furthermore, if I
am right in suggesting that the Mesopotamian oppression may
have been accidentally increased from 7 to 8 years then it follows
that the chronology must elsewhere have been reduced by i year in
15. There is one further piece of evidence which can be cited in support of this
suggestion. According to the Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo (LAB 27.16),
'Kenaz' ruled Israel for 57 years after the death of Joshua. This corresponds to 8
years of Mesopotamian oppression and 40 or 50 years of tranquillity during which
Othniel the son of Kenaz ruled Israel according to the Biblical text. Now it is
possible that the number found in Pseudo-Philo is textually corrupt (there are other
instances where this is certainly the case), but if it is not corrupt there is a strong
inference that Pseudo-Philo's Biblical text had "'7 years' and not '8 years' as the
duration of the Mesopotamian oppression.
75
order to preserve the overall schematism of 480 years to the

accession of Saul. In view of the fact that remaining periods of
oppression are characterized by a schematic parallelism which
would have been destroyed by a i-year reduction (as would the
overt schematism of periods of tranquillity), this reduction can
only have occurred in one of the periods of rule. In which case the
periods of rule stated in Judges will originally have totalled 100
years, which is an obviously schematic total.
We can perhaps be rather more specific about where a reduction
of i year might have occurred, since the fact that the original
3OO-year total for the period from the settlement to the start of the
Ammonite oppression was not restored shows that this reduction
cannot have occurred in any of the periods of rule preceding the
Ammonite oppression. The periods of rule ascribed to Elon and
Samson may also be excluded by the fact that they are schematic
round numbers, and this leaves us with the periods of rule ascribed
to Jephthah, Ibzan, and Abdon as three possible candidates. There
is no immediately obvious way of deciding between these three
possibilities. However, the addition of I year to Jephthah's rule
produces an interesting schematic pattern whereby the first and
fourth periods of rule total 10 years, the second and fifth total 30,
and the third and seventh also total 30.
(1) 3 years + (4) *j years = *io years ^
(2) 23 years + (5) 7 years = 30 years /
4 years
(6) i o years
(3) 22 years + (7) 8 years =
4 years
30 years /
(8) 20 years
20 years
total
*iooyears
It must be said that there is no real textual evidence to support this

suggestion,16 which stands (or falls) together with my earlier
suggestion that the period of Mesopotamian oppression was
accidentally increased by i year; if that suggestion is accepted
and the existing discrepancy between Jephthah's reference to 300
16. A single Lucianic minuscule (v) does give '7 years' (' eVr?) as the duration
of Jephthah's rule, but this is almost certainly a corruption of '60 years' (the reading
found in other Lucianic manuscripts) resulting from graphic confusion of f' ('60')
and '('?').
76
years from the settlement and an actual total of 301 years is a

significant argument in its favourthen Jephthah's period of rule
is most likely to have been reduced to compensate for this increase,
since restoration of a year to Jephthah's rule also restores an overall
schematic pattern which is comparable with the schematic pattern
which exists in the case of periods of oppression.
These arguments (if accepted) show that the chronology of
Judges and Samuel may be more schematic than is immediately
apparent. In addition to the overt 4O-year schematism which
characterizes a number of individual notices, and the overall
48o-year schematism of the period from the settlement to the
accession of Saul, it also appears that different series of chronological notices have their own overall schematism, and that periods
of oppression and periods of rule are characterized by internal
schematic patterning. The disguised schematism of these last two
series possibly reflects a desire to avoid ascribing overtly schematic
numbers to less significant periods of Israel's history, in order to
highlight the significance of those periods to which schematic
numbers are attached; i.e. Samson's 2o-year rule was judged to be
of greater significance than Tola's 23-year rule, while the particular seriousness of the Canaanite and Philistine oppressions was
underlined by their schematic durations of 20 and 40 years
respectively. This suggestion naturally requires us to take note of
the consistent 4O-year schematism which characterizes periods of
tranquillity; and the obvious conclusion is that the schematic
durations of these periods were intended to highlight the importance of the 'deliverers' (Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, and
Gideon) who ruled Israel during these times. In point of fact the
four periods of tranquillity in Judges 3-8 probably belong to the
same chronological series as the periods of rule in Judges 9ff.;
formal differences between periods of tranquillity and periods of
rule are explicable as a secondary result of the way in which
Deuteronomistic chronology was secondarily inserted into the text
of Judges and Samuel. In this connection it may be noted that five
deliverers are associated with periods totalling 200 (5 x 40) years,
and that the 8o-year period of tranquillity following the Moabite
oppression, which contrasts with the 4O-year periods of tranquillity following other oppressions, is explained by the fact that two
successive deliverers, Ehud and Shamgar, are associated with this
period. But it is also obvious that the reference to Shamgar has
77
been secondarily inserted into the text at Judges 3.31 in order to

extend the chronology at this point, for the statement that Israel
lapsed into apostasy after the death of Ehud (Ju 4.1) obviously
leaves no room for Shamgar's (40-year) rule (and therefore points
to an earlier form of the text in which Judges 4.1 followed directly
after Judges 3.30). The notice on Shamgar's rule may originally
have belonged to the list of minor judges in Judges 10.1-5 and
12.7-15.
3.2.2 Kings
The chronology of Judges and Samuel finds its direct continuation
in the chronology of Kings, where 480 years from the settlement to
Saul, and 40 years for the reign of Saul, are balanced by a
pre-Priestly total of 480 years from David to the exile. The
chronology of Kings is less overtly schematic than the chronology
of Judges and Samuel, but it is not without its own internal
schematism. This is most apparent in the period from the division
of the kingdom to the Babylonian exile. In the pre-Priestly form of
this chronology (in which Abijam and Jehoram reign for 6 and *i i
years respectively, and which is therefore 6 years longer than MT's
chronology), the period from the division of the kingdom to the
Babylonian exile lasts exactly 400 years, with the fall of Samaria in
Hezekiah's 6th year (2K 18.10) coming 267 years after the division
of the kingdom, or two thirds of the way through this period. This,
however, is only one of a series of schematic dates which are
assigned to significant events in the history of the Israelite and
Judean kingdoms.
The book of Kings, despite its synchronistic chronology of the
two kingdoms, gives specific dates for very few events other than
the accession, or death, of a particular monarch, so that those
events which are provided with specific dates must evidently have
been regarded as particularly significant. Within the period from
the division of the kingdom to the fall of Jerusalem there are ten
such year-dates, as listed below.
iK 14.25 5thyearofRehoboam
2K 12.7 23rd year of Joash
2K 17.6
9thyearofHoshea
: Shishak attacks Jerusalem

: inauguration of temple repairs;
Hazael attacks Jerusalem
: capture of Samaria
78
2K 18.9
2K 18.10
2K 18.13
2X22.3
2X23.23
2X25.1
2X25.2

4th year of Hezekiah
= 7th year of Hoshea
= 9th year of Hoshea
iSthyearof Josiah
i8th year of Josiah
gthyearofZedekiah
nthyearofZedekiah
Shalmaneser attacks Samaria

capture of Samaria
Sennacherib invades Judah
discovery of lawbook; reform
Passover celebration
Nebuchadrezzar attacks Jerusalem
capture of Jerusalem
It may be noted that the majority of these dates relate to foreign

attacks, and that those which do not, or are less directly connected
with foreign attacks (e.g. 2K 12.7), relate to important religious
matters such as the inauguration of temple repairs and Josiah's
reform. None of these dates is obviously schematic when taken in
isolation, but clear evidence of chronological schematism emerges
once they are translated into year-dates from the division of the
kingdom using pre-Priestly Judean reign lengths. This is shown in
the following table.
Year 5
Year 131
Year 265
Year 267
Year 275
Year 365
Year 398
Year 400
Shishak attacks Jerusalem (5th year of Rehoboam)

inauguration of temple repairs (23rd year of Joash);
Hazael attacks Jerusalem
Shalmaneser attacks Samaria (4th year of Hezekiah)
capture of Samaria (6th year of Hezekiah)
Sennacherib invades Judah (i4th year of Hezekiah)
Josiah's reform (i8th year of Josiah)
Nebuchadrezzar attacks Jerusalem (9th year of Zedekiah)
capture of Jerusalem (11 th year of Zedekiah)
The most immediately striking feature of this list is the high

proportion of dates which turn out to be multiples of 5. Out of a
total of eight year-dates (two of ten year-dates in the previous list
duplicate other dates in that list), five are multiples of 5 and two
(years 267 and 398) are not themselves multiples of 5 but are
directly related to other dates that are. (Given the 3-year durations
of the final sieges of Samaria and Jerusalem it was clearly
impossible that the dates for both the beginning and end of each
siege should be multiples of 5.) The only real exception to this
numerical schematism is therefore the 23rd year of Joash, which
corresponds to the i3ist year from the division of the kingdom. It
79
should be noted, however, that this date is identical with that given
for Jehoahaz's accession (zK 13.1: tPNV1? HltZ? tt^tin D'HtPS? HHPD)
and may have been inadvertently assimilated to the latter;
confirmation of this suggestion is provided by the the fact that the
date in question uses a form of numerical syntax which is regularly
used with accession dates but is not normally used for other
specific dates in Kings.17 There is unfortunately no real textual
evidence for the original date at this point, but either the *2yth
year of Joash's reign or the *iyth year of Joash's reign,
corresponding to years 135 and 125 from the division of the
kingdom, are possible candidates; the latter produces an interesting chronological pattern whereby Sennacherib's invasion 125
years before the fall of Jerusalem is mirrored (150 years earlier) by
Hazael's attack on Jerusalem 125 years after the division of the
kingdom, while Josiah's reform, instituted after the discovery of
the 'book of the law' was reported during temple repairs, is dated
240 years after Joash first inaugurated the temple-repair programme. There is of course no way of knowing whether this
pattern really existed in an earlier form of the chronology; but
whatever date was originally given in 2 Kings 12.7, the fact that
Sennacherib's invasion is dated 275 years after the division of the
kingdom (and 125 years before the fall of Jerusalem) while Josiah's
reform is dated 365 years after the division of the kingdom (35
years before the fall of Jerusalem) is certainly evidence for some
form of schematism. We should also take note of the ID-year
interval between Shalmaneser's attack on Samaria in Hezekiah's
4th year and Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in Hezekiah's i4th
17. Accession dates (and dates of death) in Kings invariably follow the syntactic
form (A) D3B? + cardinal (+ HIE?)the last element occurs with numbers over 20
and is optional with numbers over 10whereas other specific dates, apart from two
external synchronisms with Nebuchadrezzar's reign (2K 24.12; 25.8), normally
follow the construction (B) niW/DlB' + ordinal (with article) for numbers up to 10,
and (C) cardinal + H312? for numbers over 10. A fourth construction (D) HJtP +
cardinal (with article), is essentially the same as construction B adapted for numbers
over 10 (the Hebrew series of ordinals ends at this point). There is only one
instance, apart from 2 Kings 12.7, where the first construction is used for a
non-accession date in Kings, and this is in 2 Kings 18.10, which dates the capture of
Samaria in Hezekiah's 6th year = Hoshea's 9th year. In the last example the
unusual numerical syntax contrasts strikingly with that used in the previous verse,
and may therefore be an indication that this (second) date for the capture of Samaria
has been secondarily inserted.
8o
year; in reality these events were separated by over 20 years.18

The schematic nature of the chronology of Kings clearly
reduces its historical value for modern scholarship (as the last
example illustrates), but it does not necessarily follow that the
chronology of Kings is historically worthless. The chronology in
its present form reflects the work of an exilic chronologist who
created the chronology of Judges and Samuel, but this does not
mean that the chronology of Kings is the free invention of that
chronologist. Given the synchronistic nature of Kings' presentation of Israelite and Judean history from the division of the
kingdom to the fall of Samaria it is difficult to conceive of the book
of Kings in a form which did not contain some kind of chronology
for the period of the divided monarchy: the synchronistic principle
behind the book of Kings' arrangement of its material, whereby
the reigns of Israelite and Judean kings are described in chronological order of accession, clearly presupposes a synchronistic
chronology of Israelite and Judean reigns. Thus in contrast to the
chronology of Judges and Samuel, which is structurally inessential
and appears to have been secondarily inserted into the original
narrative, the synchronistic chronology of Kings is structurally
essential and must therefore have existed, in some form or other, in
the original (pre-exilic) edition of the Deuteronomistic History. It
is also reasonable to expect that this edition will have continued
Judean chronology beyond the end of the northern kingdom, when
18. It is worth asking whether this schematic chronology has also left traces in
other Biblical books which were subject to Deuteronomistic editing, the most
obvious example being the book of Jeremiah. One date in Jeremiah which has
generated considerable discussion is the date given for the start of Jeremiah's
ministry (Je 1.2). Many scholars feel that the I3th year of Josiah's reign is too early,
since the majority of oracles deal with events in the reigns of Josiah's successors (the
only oracle which is explicitly dated to Josiah's reign, Jeremiah 3-6ff., is probably
not by Jeremiah at all), and one view, which has no support in the Biblical text, is
that this is really the date of Jeremiah's birth (Holladay 1986:1). But if we look at
this in the context of dates in the book of Kings, the I3th year of Josiah's reign is
actually the 36oth year from the division of the kingdom. There is another point
which all but proves the schematic nature of the date in Jeremiah 1.2: within the
chronology of Kings there are 40 years from the I3th year of Josiah's reign to the
fall of Jerusalem in the t ith year of Zedekiah's reign, which is precisely the period
of Jeremiah's ministry as stated by Jeremiah 1.2. According to these dates,
Jeremiah, like Moses, has a ministry of 40 years, but whereas Moses's ministry
ended with Israel's entry into Canaan, Jeremiah's ministry ended with Israel's exile
to Babylon. It has often been noted that there are literary parallels between
Jeremiah's call to be a prophet (Je i) and the call of Moses in Exodus 3.
81
it was no longer necessary for synchronistic presentation of

material, as it would be curious if the chronology was simply
broken off at that point; and it may be remarked that David's
accession was probably a more logical starting point for the
original chronology than the division of the kingdom. The exilic
chronologist who created a schematic chronology of Israel's
existence in the land of Canaan must therefore have inherited a
pre-schematized chronology of Israelite and Judean history from
the division of the kingdom (or from David's accession), which he
subsequently modified to produce his own schematic chronology
of this period.
Further evidence that the exilic chronologist took over and
modified an existing chronology is provided by the fact that
reign lengths and regnal synchronisms given by Kings clearly
presuppose no less than three different dating systems, one of
which is actually incompatible with Deuteronomistic chronological schematism. This may be illustrated from chronological
data for the early period of the divided monarchy down to
Jehu's revolt. There are, however, a number of preliminary
points which must be made. Firstly, despite some assertions to
the contrary (which are usually motivated by a desire for greater
leeway in harmonizing apparent discrepancies in the chronology
of Kings), it is reasonably certain that Israel and Judah both
used essentially the same (autumn new year) calendar at this
period (see p. i66f.), so that Israelite and Judean years may be
safely equated for present purposes. Secondly it is also reasonable to assume that when it is said that 'X slept with his fathers
and Y his son (or brother) became king in his place' (iK 14.20,
31; 15.8, 24, 31; 16.6, 28; 22.40, 50; 2K 1.17; 8.24 etc.) this
means that the second king acceded to the throne after his
father's (or brother's) death, and it is presumably self-evident
that an assassin who is said to have killed his predecessor and
become king in his place (iK 15.28; 16.10 etc.) must likewise
have become king after his predecessor's death; the theories of
Biblical scholars for whom these assumptions are not selfevident, and who suppose that some kings acceded to the throne
before the the death of their predecessors (as coregents etc.) are
discussed below (p. 98f.). Finally it is surely logical to suppose
that while a king may have acceded to the throne in the year
preceding his first official regnal year (see below), it is rather
82
unlikely that he will have done so in the year following his first
official regnal year.19
The table given below incorporates these fairly basic assumptions in outlining MT's chronology for the reigns of Abijam and
Asa and their Israelite contemporaries. In this and in following
tables regnal years are listed in vertical columns, and attested
synchronisms between Judean and Israelite regnal years are
indicated by bold print; 'd' and 'ac' stand for 'death' and
'accession'. The data on which this table and other tables in the
rest of this chapter are based are listed in the following chapter (p.
3f.).
Abijam
Asa
aci
2
3/ac
18
19
20
21
2
3
4
5
22/aci
dz/aci
2
3
25
26
27
23
aci/24
aci/ac/2
37
38
ii
12/aci
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri/Omri
Ahab
19. Contrast Andersen (1969:73^), who suggests that official proclamation of a

king's accession was made at the first new year's festival after the death of his
predecessor, and argues that "pO ('become king') sometimes refers to this event
rather than to the actual point at which a king assumed royal power, although his
regnal years were nevertheless counted from the year in which he assumed royal
power and not from his official accession. But there is no evidence that "j'jB, in an
inchoative sense, ever refers to anything other than the actual point at which a king
assumed power: the chronological data which Andersen cites in support of his
hypothesis (e.g. the fact that Abijam's accession is synchronized with Jeroboam's
18th year, although Rehoboam, who came to the throne shortly before Jeroboam, is
ascribed a reign of only 17 years) are all capable of a simpler explanation than
Andersen proposes (see below). Neither is there any evidence that official
proclamation of a king's accession was normally deferred until the first new year of
his reign; from the accounts of the accessions of Solomon, Jehu, and Joash (iK
I -38f.; 2K 94f.; 11 -9f.) it would appear that proclamation of a king's accession was
actually one of the first events of his reign.
Jehoshaphat
39
40
ac/4i
83
2
3
4
This table illustrates two significantly different ways in which

regnal years may be counted: Asa's first regnal year is reckoned as
the year following his accession year, while the first regnal year of
Asa's Israelite contemporaries is the same year as their accession
year, and there is also an overlap between the last regnal year of one
Israelite king and the first regnal year of his successor. Note that
Asa's first year cannot be identified with his accession year ( =
Jeroboam's 2Oth year), since in that case his 2nd year would be
identical with Jeroboam's aist year, and Nadab (whose accession is
dated to Asa's 2nd year) would consequently have succeeded his
father before the latter had vacated the throne. Conversely
Nadab's first year can only be identified with his accession year
( = Asa's 2nd year), in view of the fact that he is said to have died
after a reign of 2 years in Asa's 3rd regnal year, and the same is true
of the reigns of Nadab's successors (these are incompatible with
MT's synchronisms unless they are counted inclusively from the
year of accession, and unless this also corresponds to the last regnal
year of the previous king). We therefore have evidence for two
distinct dating systems, one (used in dating Asa's reign) in which
the first regnal year is counted as the year following a king's
accession year, and a second (used to date the reigns of Asa's
Israelite contemporaries) in which the first regnal year is identified
with a king's accession year and there is an overlap between this
and the last regnal year of the previous king.
A third dating system may be seen to underlie Omri's accession
date, which is disregarded in the table given above. According to i
Kings 16.23, Omri became king in Asa's 3ist year and reigned for
12 years; but since his predecessor (Zimri) is said to have become
king in Asa's 2yth year and to have reigned for only 7 days (iK
16.15) this apparently leaves 4 years unaccounted for. It is true that
according to i Kings 16.21-22 Zimri's death was followed by an
armed struggle between supporters of Omri and supporters of
Tibni, and we might therefore suppose that Omri's accession was
delayed for 4 years because of civil war (although the text of Kings
suggests a much shorter conflict), but this suggestion runs against
84
the fact that in MT's chronology Omri is succeeded by Ahab 12

years (inclusively) from Asa's 2jih year (iK 16.29, dating Ahab's
accession to Asa's 38th year). Those who wish to harmonize MT's
chronological data by positing a 4-year period of civil war must
therefore argue that although Omri did not become undisputed
ruler until Asa's 3ist year he nevertheless counted the 4 years of
civil war in his own regnal total, and they should then explain why
Omri's accession date was not also put back to the start of the civil
war. However, although the synchronism in i Kings 16.23 cannot
easily be fitted into the chronological scheme displayed in the
previous table, it fits perfectly into an alternative scheme in which
the accession year of each Israelite king is counted as the year
following the last regnal year of his predecessor.20 This is
illustrated in the following table.
Asa
ac
20
1
2
21
22
3
4
5
aci
2
aci
25
26
27
28
21
22
23
24
29
aci
30
31
ac/aci
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri/Omri
The same dating system also underlies Abijam's accession date.

Rehoboam is said to have reigned for 17 years (iK 14.21) before
being succeeded by Abijam in Jeroboam's i8th year (iK 15.1).
Since Rehoboam and Jeroboam came to power at virtually the
same time (Jeroboam's accession occurred shortly after Rehoboam's), Abijam's accession year necessarily follows Rehoboam's
last regnal year on this dating.
20. This was noted by Wellhausen (1875:614), but has generally been
overlooked in more recent studies, which usually postulate a 4-year period of civil
war between Omri and Tibni; two exceptions are Miller 1967:282 and Andersen
1969:81.

Rehoboam
Abijam
17
aci
17
18
85
Jeroboam
Differences between the three dating systems outlined above

may be illustrated with a sequence of two hypothetical reigns dated
according to each of the three systems.
(A) i
2
3/ac
1
2
3
(B) i
(C) i
3/aci
2
3
3
aci
2
3
Here it can be seen that in each of the first two systems the
accession year of a new king is also the last year of his predecessor,
whereas in the third system the accession year of a new king
follows the last regnal year of his predecessorwhich might seem
to run counter to the common-sense assumption that a king will
normally have acceded to the throne in the same year as, and
shortly after, the death of his predecessor. On the other hand, the
first and third systems agree in that the first year of the second king
follows the last year of his predecessor, whereas in the second
system the first year of the second king is identical with the last
year of his predecessor. Finally the second and third systems both
identify the accession year of the second king with his first regnal
year, whereas the first system distinguishes between the year of
accession and the first regnal year.
The first system is in fact the dating system used in Babylonia
and Assyria during the first millennium BC. Under this system,
generally known as 'postdating', the first year of a king's reign was
not counted in that king's regnal total but was designated as his res
sarruti (literally 'beginning of reign'), and the first official year of
reign began with the new year following a king's accession. The
same system was evidently used in Judah in late pre-exilic times
(see p. i?9f.): this is the only dating system by which Biblical data
on the reigns of Josiah's successors can be correlated with
Babylonian historical evidence, and direct Hebrew equivalents of
res sarruti are found in four chronological notices associated with
86
Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, although two of these (Je 27.1; 28,1) are
textually suspect and should therefore be disregarded as evidence
of postdating.21
(Je26.i)
(Jezy.i)
(Je28.i)
(Je 49.34)
DîrP rVOVaB rrtPtna "I

Dp'nrr roVaa rrWD /
n'pnS roVaa rPW)3 \
rrpTS nisVa rmrQ /
'in the beginning of the

reign of Jehoiakim'
'in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah'
Assuming that these expressions are correctly interpreted as

technical equivalents of res sarruti, the close similarity between the
Hebrew and Akkadian expressions may not unreasonably be taken
to indicate that Judah borrowed the postdating system from
Babylonia or Assyria.
Postdating contrasts with antedating, whereby a king's first
regnal year is antedated to the new year preceding his accession
and is therefore identical with his accession year. This system is
known to have been used in Egypt (except during the New
Kingdom, when regnal years were reckoned from the actual date of
accession to each anniversary of that event) but it has the effect of
creating an overlap between the last regnal year of one king and the
first regnal year of his successor, as in the second of the three
21. LXX lacks Jeremiah 27.1 (which is obviously corrupt since the following
narrative refers to events in the reign of Zedekiah) and has 'in the 4th year of
Zedekiah king of Judah' in place of MT's 'in that year, in the beginning of the reign
of Zedekiah, in the 4th year" in Jeremiah 28.1. A few Hebrew manuscripts along
with the Syriac and Arabic versions have 'Zedekiah' instead of 'Jehoiakim' in 27. i,
but this is almost certainly a secondary correction (note that the designation 'son of
Josiah', which occurs in this verse, is more commonly used of Jehoiakim than
Zedekiah: Je 1.330; 22.18; 25.1; 26.1; 35.1; 36.1, 9; 45.1; 46.2 [Jehoiakim]; Je i-3a/3;
37.1 [Zedekiah]). MT's text of Jeremiah 27.1 probably results from assimilation to
the date in 26. i; the original text presumably had 'in the 4th year of Zedekiah king
of Judah' (cf. 28.1). This corruption also serves to explain MT's text of 28.1, which
appears to have arisen through a conflation of *'in that year, in the 4th year of
Zedekiah king of Judah' (cf. LXX) and the date now found in 27.1 (but with
'Jehoiakim' corrected to 'Zedekiah'). Tadmor's claim that roVQD IVIPNT and its
variants refer only to the early years of a king's reign in a general sense and do not
have the specific meaning of res sarruti in Babylonian texts (Tadmor 1965:353^)
cannot therefore be argued on the basis of Jeremiah 28.1. It should also be noted
that the date given in Jeremiah 49-43, which according to Tadmor must also be
interpreted in a general sense, relates to the prophecy itself and not to its fulfilment;
besides, the events of 596 BC (Zedekiah's 2nd year), when the king of Elam retreated
in the face of Nebuchadrezzar's army (ABC 5.rev.16-20), can hardly be viewed as
more than a partial fulfilment of this prophecy.
87
dating systems noted earlier, thereby complicating the addition of

successive reigns through the need to subtract I year for each
overlap.22 Egyptian chronologists resolved this problem by adopting the convention that a ruler's last unfinished year was to be
excluded from his regnal total; thus Amenemhet I, whose date of
death is given in the Story of Sinuhe as 'Year 30, 3rd month of
Inundation, day 7' is ascribed only [2]9 regnal years in the Turin
Canon (Gardiner 1945:22). Or taking a hypothetical example, a
king who dies in the 4th year of his reign will under this system be
credited with only 3 regnal years.
1
3
d(4)/aci
2
It is obvious that this last scheme bears a rather close similarity

to the third Biblical dating system illustrated earlier, and proof that
the two systems are indeed identical is provided by LXX's
chronology for the reigns of Abijam and Asa. LXX agrees with
MT in ascribing Rehoboam a reign of 17 years and in dating
Abijam's accession to Jeroboam's i8th regnal year; Abijam's first
22. The basic study of Egyptian dating systems is Gardiner 1945. Note that the
New Kingdom method of counting regnal years from the actual date of accession
effected a divorce between regnal years and calendar years, with the paradoxical
result that 'Year 6, 3rd month of Inundation, day 23' might fall 364 days later than
'Year 6, 3rd month of Inundation, day 24' (see Gardiner 1945:23; this would be the
case if day 24 was an accession anniversary). This confusing system was later
abandoned with a return to antedating, either at the start of the Saite dynasty
(Gardiner 1945:28) or during the Third Intermediate Period, between the end of
the New Kingdom and the beginning of the Saite dynasty (Gardiner 1961:71).
Theoretically the same system might also have been used in Israel or Judah, but
there is no evidence to suggest that it was. Under this method of dating a king who
died in his 3rd regnal year would actually have reigned 2 complete years and a
fraction of a year, and a series of reigns which ended in the 3rd regnal year would
presumably average out at 2\ actual years. Given a series of reigns stated in round
figures it would therefore be necessary to add or subtract half a year from each
reigndepending on whether reign lengths were originally rounded up or
downin order to calculate overall totals. As applied to the chronology of Kings
this simply creates a progressively worse series of discrepancies between reign
lengths and synchronisms.
88
regnal year is thus equivalent to Jeroboam's i8th regnal year, as

in MT's chronology, and his 6th regnal year must therefore
correspond to the 23rd year of Jeroboam's reign (Abijam is
ascribed a 6-year reign in LXX's chronology, and Asa's accession
is dated to the 24th year of Jeroboam's reign). One might
therefore suppose that Abijam's death will have occurred in
Jeroboam's 23rd year, but LXXBL actually date Abijam's death
to Jeroboam's 24th regnal year (iK 15.8; this synchronism is not
given in MT). This obviously presupposes that Abijam died in
the yth year of his reign, although as in the Egyptian dating
system described above, this final incomplete year is not included in his regnal total.
Abijam
aci
2
3
4
5
Asa
6
d(y)/aci
18
19
20
21
Jeroboam
22
23
24
This modified form of antedating is essentially the converse of

postdating, in which the incomplete initial year of a king's reign is
excluded from his regnal total, and both systems may therefore be
described as 'non-inclusive' dating systems. However, unlike
postdating, non-inclusive antedating could only be applied retrospectively for the obvious reason that one would not normally be
able to identify the final year of a king's reign until after that reign
had ended; thus it is only in secondary chronological literature, as
opposed to contemporary documents, that non-inclusive antedating exists as a third possibility alongside postdating and
inclusive antedating.23 The following table is a modified version of
the table given on p. 85, which illustrates the differences between
these various dating systems using our hypothetical sequence of
two 3-year reigns.
23. Tadmor (1962:271-272) is, to my knowledge, the only scholar who has
previously noted the relevance of non-inclusive antedating to the chronology of
Kings, though he does not mention LXX's chronology of the reigns of Abijam and
Asa in this connection.

Postdating
Inclusive
Antedating
Non-inclusive
Antedating
3/ac
i
2
3
89
3/aci
2
3
3
(4)/aci
2
3
The juxtaposition of all three dating systems in the chronology

of Kings is one of the most striking features of this chronology, and
stands in contrast to the rather more consistent use of postdating in
Mesopotamia and inclusive or non-inclusive antedating in Egypt
(where inclusive antedating was used in contemporary documents
and non-inclusive antedating in secondary chronological literature). Admittedly, antedating was discontinued in Egypt during
the New Kingdom in favour of a different dating system, and it is
not unreasonable to suppose that similar changes of dating practice
could have occurred in Israel and Judah. However, the repeated
alternation of different dating systems in the chronology of Kings
is most unlikely to have originated in this way. In MT's version of
Judean chronology we have a switch from (non-inclusive) antedating to postdating on Asa's accession (as illustrated by previous
tables), followed by a change to (inclusive) antedating for the
reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah, which is shown in the following
table (note that since Ahaziah and Joram were both killed during
Jehu's coup d'etat, Ahaziah's first, and last, regnal year is
necessarily equivalent to Joram's I2th and last year).
Jehoshaphat
ac
1
2
4
5
6
12
13
14
15
16
16
17
18
19
20
17
18
21
22
19
Ahab
Ahaziah
9O
Jehoram
Ahaziah
20
21
22
23
24
25/aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
aci/8
2
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
Joram
This table disregards MT's accession synchronisms for Ahaziah of

Israel and his successor, Joram, since these are inclusively
antedated, whereas other chronological data in MT clearly presuppose a non-inclusive dating systempostdating or noninclusive antedatingfor the reigns of Ahaziah and Joram; also
disregarded are MT's alternative accession dates for Joram (2nd
year of Jehoram) and Ahaziah of Judah (nth year of Joram), as
these belong to a different chronological system (which is more or
less the same as LXX's chronology). The remainder of MT's data
expresses a coherent chronological scheme, in which Ahaziah of
Judah's reign is inclusively antedated and the same is apparently
true of Jehoram's reign. (Theoretically one might shift Jehoshaphat's regnal years back i year, in which case Jehoshaphat's reign
would be inclusively antedated, and Jehoram's reign noninclusively antedated.)
Irregular alternation between antedating and postdating also
continues after Jehu's revolt,24 although contemporary changes in
dating practice can hardly have occurred with this degree of
frequency.25 The alternation of different dating systems in the
24. See table on p. I4if. The majority of reigns during this period are
non-inclusively antedated, but postdating is presupposed by accession synchronisms for Jeroboam II, Menahem, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
25. Tadmor (1962:268-269) argues that the alternation of antedated and
postdated reigns does not in fact reflect the use of different dating systems, but is
the result of historically plausible departures from standard dating practice which
allegedly occurred whenever a king's accession fell on a date close to the new year.
In his view Israelite and Judean reigns were regularly antedated throughout the
period of the divided monarchy, but a king who came to the throne shortly before
the new year might decide to disregard the short interval between his accession and
91
chronology of Kings must therefore be attributed to various stages

of chronological reworking, and here it may be noted that of the
three dating systems found in this chronology, one (inclusive
antedating) is fundamentally incompatible with a chronological
scheme, such as the Deuteronomistic and Priestly chronologies, in
which reign lengths are simply added together (under this system
of dating, two consecutive 3-year reigns total 5 years, not 6). This
basic discrepancy between Deuteronomistic chronology and one of
the dating systems evidenced in Kings is a clear indication that the
exilic Deuteronomistic chronologist took over and schematized an
existing chronology; traces of inclusive antedating in the chronology of Kings may be regarded as vestiges of this original
chronology, whereas instances of non-inclusive dating (postdating
or non-inclusive antedating) which occur in alternation with
inclusive antedating may be attributed to chronological reworking
by the exilic Deuteronomistic chronologist or by later chronologists.
Further evidence that the chronology of Kings has undergone
various stages of reworking is provided by the fact that MT and
LXX present radically different chronologies for the period up to
Jehu's revolt. The following table presents LXX's chronology for
the period from Jehoshaphat's accession to Jehu's revolt, and may
be compared with the table on p. 89f., which gave MT's
chronology for the same period.26
the new year, and postpone his first regnal year until the start of the coming year.
No evidence is offered to support this assertion, but the fact that Tiglathpileser III
counted his first regnal year from the new year preceding his accession (on I3th
lyyar 745 BC) is cited as evidence for the converse possibility that in a society where
reigns were normally postdated a king who came to the throne shortly after the new
year might antedate his first regnal year to the beginning of that year. The two
situations are not really comparable, however, since regnal dating was one of the
ways in which a new king asserted his authority and it would therefore be surprising
if a king were to postpone his first regnal year in the absence of the postdating
convention of a zero accession-year, whereby the beginning of a king's reign could
be used for dating purposes even though his first regnal year was counted from the
following new year. Besides, Tiglathpileser's accession date (i3th lyyar) was not
particularly close to the Babylonian new year (ist Nisan), and the fact that
Tiglathpileser predated his first regnal year to the new year before his accession is
more probably a consequence of the fact that he came to power after a period of
anarchy which began during the previous year (according to the Eponym Chronicle
the year preceding Tiglathpileser's accession was marked by a revolt in the Assyrian
capital).
26. For reasons explained earlier (p. 3yf.), LXXL is taken as our main witness
92
Jehoshaphat

ac
i
II
12
aci
22
21
22
23
24
Jehoram
25
1(2)
2
Ahaziah
Athaliah
4
(ac)5
6
7
8
9
10
aci
i
2
aci
Ahab
Ahaziah
aci
Joram
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
aci
Jehu
LXX's synchronism for Jehoram's accession (5th year of

Joram: 2K 8.16) is identical with MT's accession synchronism
and fits perfectly within the chronological scheme expressed by
MT, but is obviously incompatible with LXX's own chronology.
Conversely, however, MT's variant synchronism for Joram's
accession (2nd year of Jehoram: zK 1.17) conflicts with MT's
chronology but is identical with LXX's accession synchronism and
(nearly) agrees with LXX's chronology (it actually agrees perfectly
with LXX's chronology up to this point if Jehoram's reign is
inclusively antedated, but is incompatible with LXX's chronology
beyond this point unless Jehoram's reign is extended by i year).27
Similarly MT's variant synchronism for Ahaziah of Judah's
accession (nth year of Jehoram: 2K 9.29) is incompatible with
MT's chronology but agrees with LXX's chronology. The same is
also true of MT's synchronism for Omri's accession (3ist year of
Asa), as can be seen if we extend our previous chronological table
back to the beginning of Omri's reign.
to LXX's original chronology.
27. This is why Jehoram's original reign length has been reconstructed as *n
years rather than 10 years; see p. 130 for further discussion.

Asa
31
Jehoshaphat
41/ac
aci
93
Omri
All this clearly points to a degree of conflation of different

chronological schemes in both MT and LXX. However, the fact
that LXX's reign lengths for Abijam and Jehoram were not
replaced by the Priestly figures found in MT might lead us to
suppose that the dominant pattern of synchronisms found in LXX
would be more original than the dominant pattern of synchronisms
in MT. In fact the reverse appears to be the case: MT preserves
many more instances of inclusive antedating than LXX,28 and the
secondary nature of LXX's pattern of synchronisms is also obvious
from the fact that in LXX's chronology Ahaziah of Judah dies I
year before Joram of Israel, and Jehu's accession is dated to the
2nd year of Athaliah's rule (according to 2 Kings 9f., Jehu
assassinated both Joram and Ahaziah in close succession, and
Athaliah seized power in Judah in the aftermath of this revolt).
The chronology found in LXX should therefore be seen as a
secondary reworking of Deuteronomistic chronology, in which
synchronisms based on inclusive antedating and some synchronisms based on postdating were replaced by synchronisms presupposing non-inclusive antedating. This revision incorporated
pre-Priestly figures for the reigns of Abijam and Jehoram, but was
probably a post-Priestly development, since there is reason to
think that it also incorporated Priestly data in its Israelite
chronology of the early monarchic period (see p. I33f.). It is
important to note that this revision is also represented in large
sections of MT's chronology. For most of the early monarchic
period MT and LXX contain radically different chronologies, and
evidence of non-inclusive antedating is restricted to LXX's
chronology; but during the short period up to (and including)
Abijam's accession, and again after Jehu's revolt (or, more
specifically, after Joash's accession) MT and LXX have virtually
identical chronologies, and non-inclusive antedating predominates
in both. These facts are easily accounted for: the chronological
28. Inclusive antedating is reflected in MT's accession dates for Nadab, Baasha,
Elah, Zimri, Ahab, Ahaziah of Israel, Joram, Jehoram, Ahaziah of Judah, and
Joash; only Nadab's and Baasha's accessions are dated this way in LXX (see tables
on p. I25f. and p. I4if.)-
94
revision reflected in LXX's chronology of the divided monarchy

was also incorporated into the textual tradition behind MT
wherever it did not conflict with Priestly figures for Judean reign
lengths; thus the period in which MT's chronology diverges from
LXX's chronology begins with the reign of Abijam and ends
shortly after the death of Jehoramthe two Judean kings whose
reign lengths were altered by Priestly chronologists.
We have now identified four stages of development behind
existing versions of the chronology of Kings:
1. An original chronology incorporated into the pre-exilic
edition of the Deuteronomistic History.
2. Deuteronomistic schematization of this chronology during
the Babylonian exile.
3. Priestly adaptation of this Deuteronomistic schematized
chronology.
4. A later revision of the chronology using non-inclusive
antedating.
It is natural to ask where the original chronology was derived
from. This question is fairly easy to answer on a superficial level:
there can be little doubt that the Deuteronomistic historian
derived most of his factual evidence for the monarchic period,
including chronological data, from the two sources which are cited
throughout Kings, 'the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel' and 'the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah'
(rmrr/VN-Nrr ^^ OâTl nm IDO). What is less certain,
however, is whether these sources are to be regarded as official
records or as literary compositions based on official records, and
whether they contained reign lengths and synchronisms or reign
lengths without synchronisms.
It is not my intention to enter into a detailed discussion of these
matters, but there are a number of general points that are worth
making. Firstly, one may question the usual assumption that the
chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah were literary compositions based on official records rather than original records. This
assumption may be correct, but it is usually founded either on a
priori judgements about the type of evidence that might have been
available to the Deuteronomistic historian, or else on inferences
drawn from material in Kings which is probably derived from these
sources but may have been heavily reshaped by the Deuteronomistic historian. With one exception all Biblical references to
95
'chronicles' which are not merely stereotyped citation formulae

clearly denote some kind of official record. Two of these occur in
Esther, where we are told that a state execution for treason was
included in 'the book of chronicles' (Q^ttTl "HIT *)DO: Est 2.23);
and that King Xerxes, having turned to this 'book of chronicle
records' (D^T! "HDTf milDTH "1DO) as a cure for insomnia, learnt
how Mordecai had given information leading to the arrest of those
involved (Est 6.i).29 Outside of Esther we have one reference to a
'book of chronicles' which is apparently a genealogical document
of some kind (Ne 12.23), and another reference in i Chronicles
27.24, stating that certain census figures were not entered 'in the
account of the chronicles of King David' (D^DTI n"13"7 TDOftD
TTT ^VftV). 30 With the exception of Nehemiah 12.23 these
passages clearly refer to an official court record similar to the
Egyptian 'daybook', which is described by Van Seters (summarizing an unpublished study by Redford) as being 'the precisely
dated daily record of activity in important institutions such as
the court, the temple, the courts of law, and the necropolis.'31
The second question raised above concerns the origin of
synchronisms between Israelite and Judean chronology: should we
assume that the (original) Deuteronomistic historian took over
reign lengths and synchronisms from his historical sources, or did
these contain only reign lengths, from which the Deuteronomistic
historian constructed his own synchronistic chronology? The issue
is not of great importance for the present study. It is certainly
possible that Israelite-Judean synchronisms are the work of the
Deuteronomistic historian and did not exist in his sources. But it is
also entirely possible that the latter derived both reign lengths and
synchronisms from the chronicles of Israel and Judah: following
29. A third reference in Esther to 'the chronicles of the kings of Media and
Persia' (10.2) is merely a stereotyped citation formula modelled after those in
Kings.
30. "ISOQ ('account') is probably a corruption of 1BO ('book') by assimilation to
the previous word, ISOTSH ('the number'); cf. BHS.
31. Van Seters 1983:293. However, Van Seters goes on to assert that 'none of the
Egyptian examples suggests a work containing a summary of the principal deeds of
a series of kings, or even of each king, such as the biblical references [in Kings] seem to
indicate'1 (my italics). This last remark is questionable: the book of Kings gives its
own summary of the principal deeds of each king, and refers to the chronicles of the
kings of Israel or Judah for further information about these, but there is nothing to
suggest that these chronicles were themselves merely summaries of royal achievements.
96
the discovery of the Babylonian Chronicle series, in which

Assyrian and Elamite reigns are synchronized with Babylonian
chronology in precisely the same way that Israelite reigns are
synchronized with Judean chronology (and vice versa) it is no
longer possible to argue that nationalistic sentiments would
necessarily have been opposed to sychronistic dating during the
period of the divided monarchy (Wellhausen 1875:608-610). On
balance, the fact that the state records of either kingdom will have
had frequent cause to refer to relations (friendly or hostile) with
the other kingdom increases the likelihood that some form of
synchronistic dating existed from a comparatively early date.
The creative processes which produced the chronology of Kings
are therefore significantly different from the creative processes
behind the chronology of Judges and Samuel, and this has certain
obvious implications for the study of Israelite and Judean history.
The chronology of Judges and Samuel is a purely fictitious
chronology which was constructed during the exile as part of a
looo-year scheme for Israel's existence in Canaan; as such it has no
more historical validity than the antediluvian chronology of
Genesis, and it is entirely fanciful to imagine that one can use it to
calculate the date of the exodus or any other event in Israel's
history. However, the chronology of Kings is a fictionalized, rather
than a wholly fictional chronology, which originated in a historical
chronology based on historical chronicles but was subsequently
schematized by both Deuteronomistic and Priestly chronologists.
Such a chronology is obviously not a reliable source of historical
information, but it may nevertheless contain reliable information
alongside fictionalized and unreliable data.
4
THE ORIGINAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE
BOOK OF KINGS
4. i Problems and Solutions
Discrepancies between the chronology of Kings and ancient near
eastern historical chronology have been a source of puzzlement to
Biblical scholars ever since the discovery and decipherment of
ancient near eastern texts first drew attention to the problem. This
discovery, however, merely compounded the difficulties already
presented by the existence of serious internal discrepancies in
Biblical chronology. On MT's figures Judean regnal years from the
division of the kingdom to the fall of Samaria add up to 261 years (or
250 years if allowance is made for i-year overlaps produced by
inclusive antedating), while Israelite reigns for the same period add
up to only 241 (or 226) years. This overall discrepancy results from
various smaller discrepancies in the chronology of the two
kingdoms, but there are also other discrepancies which do not
affect the overall totals, including a number of striking cases where
conflicting accession dates are given for the same king. Did Joram
become king in the i8th year of Jehoshaphat (2K 3.1), or in the 2nd
year of Jehoram (2K 1.17)? Did Hoshea come to the throne in the
2Oth year of Jotham (2K 15.30)although the latter reigned for no
more than 16 years according to 2 Kings 15.32or in the I2th year
of Ahaz (2K 17.1)? A third problem, to be set alongside the
existence of internal discrepancies and external conflict with
historical chronology is the considerable degree of textual disagreement over basic chronological dataresulting at times in radically
different Biblical chronologies for the same period of history.
It will be obvious to those who have followed the arguments of
the previous chapter that these different types of discrepancy
are precisely what one would expect of a chronology which has
98
undergone no fewer than three major revisions, two of which (the

Deuteronomistic and Priestly revisions) were aimed at producing
schematic totals within a larger framework of schematic chronology. It would be more surprising if the chronology of Kings in its
various schematized and re-edited forms did not conflict with
historical chronology, and it would also be surprising if these
various stages of re-editing had not resulted in a number of
internal discrepancies and textual variations. Conversely, however,
the very existence of these discrepancies and contradictions offers
us the possibility of recovering some part at least of the original
chronology, and this chapter and the chapter which follows are
largely devoted to this end. To set this in a wider perspective we
may begin by looking at several alternative approaches to the
problems outlined above.
One such approach, originating in pre-critical scholarship but
influential to the present day, argues (or assumes) that some or
possibly all of these discrepancies and contradictions are more
apparent than real, and that scholarly effort should therefore be
devoted to the task of harmonizing these apparent discrepancies.
Since we are confronted with a significant overall discrepancy
between Israelite and Judean reign lengths, two fairly obvious
harmonizing devices are to suppose that Israelite chronology
contains a number of gaps (or interregna), and is therefore longer
than it seems, or else that Judean chronology contains a number of
overlaps (coregencies etc.), and is therefore shorter than it appears.
Either or both of these hypotheses may then be used to harmonize
various lesser discrepancies; Ussher's scheme of Biblical chronology incorporated both.
The subsequent discovery that the chronology of Kings not
only contained (apparent) internal discrepancies but was also
(apparently) incompatible with ancient near eastern historical
chronology did not deter exponents of this approach, but it
certainly made their task much more difficult; and one important
consequence has been that recent studies have largely had to
abandon the use of interregna, as these tend to exacerbate the
discrepancy between the chronology of Kings and historical
chronology.1 Two external synchronisms between the chronology
i. A few cases still survive. The 4-year period of civil war which is often invoked
to explain the 4-year discrepancy between Omri's accession date and the death of
his predecessor (see p. 83f.) is sometimes described as an interregnum, but since
The Original Chronology of the Book of Kings
99
of Kings and Assyrian chronology are provided by Ahab's

participation in the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC and the Assyrian
capture of Samaria in 723 or 722 BC. The historical interval between
these events is 130 or 131 years, yet Israelite reign lengths from
Ahaziah (Ahab's successor) to Hoshea (the last Israelite king) add
up to 157 years if non-inclusively dated, or 148 years if inclusively
antedated. Israelite chronology is clearly too long by historical
standards, and can only be harmonized with historical chronology
if we postulate a number of chronological overlaps in the form of
coregencies or rival kingships. And since Judean reign lengths for
this period are considerably in excess of Israelite reign lengths it
will obviously be necessary to postulate a still greater number of
overlapping years in the Judean chronology of Kings if this is to be
harmonized also.
The use of chronological overlaps as a harmonizing device has
been championed most notably by E. R. Thiele (1951, 2i965,
31
983)5 whose views have proven surprisingly influential across a
wide spectrum of Biblical scholarship; but the overlap hypothesis
has also been adopted to varying degrees by almost all who have
attempted to reconstruct a historical chronology of Israel and
Judah. Those who have made extensive use of this device
positing at least four overlaps (other than i-year overlaps produced
by inclusive antedating)include J. Lewy (1927), Coucke (1928),
Vogelstein (1944), Thiele (1951, 2i96s, 21983), Schedl (19623),
Tadmor (1962), Pavlovsky and Vogt (1964), and Jepsen (1964);
others, who have invoked overlaps more sparingly, include
Wellhausen (1875), Kugler (1922), Begrich (19293), Mowinckel
(1932), Albright (1945), and Andersen (i969).2 There is, however,
Omri's 12-year reign is nevertheless calculated from the start of this 4-year period
there no gap in Israelite chronology at this point. A 2-year interregnum during the
siege of Samaria is sometimes posited in order to harmonize a putative discrepancy
between Israelite and Assyrian chronologythus Wellhausen (1875:630), Lewy
(1927: isf.), Begrich (19293:103), Albright (1945:22), and Tadmor (1962:287).
Finally, those who accept the date given in 2 Kings 18.10 for the capture of Samaria
(6th year of Hezekiah) are also faced with a deficit of 2 to 3 years in Judean
chronology beyond this point; Jepsen (1964:38) suggests the possibility of a 3-year
interregnum after the death of Hezekiah as one way of resolving this.
2. In a recent study of the chronology of Kings, Hayes and Hooker (1988) deny
that coregencies existed in Israel and Judah. But their chronology still contains
several overlaps, since they argue that certain kings (Baasha, Asa, Joash, Amaziah,
and Azariah) abdicated before their death, and that the regnal years of these kings
continued to be counted after they had abdicated.
ioo
little or no direct Biblical evidence for the existence of overlapping

reigns, and a number of scholars apparently regard the device as
self-validating: it is possible to harmonize discrepancies in the
chronology of Kings by hypothesizing overlaps; therefore these
overlaps must have existed.
The hypothesization of overlaps in Biblical chronology has a
long history, and it may therefore be appropriate to start by
looking at a claimed 15-year overlap between Amaziah and
Azariah, which was posited in traditional Jewish exegesis (SOR 19)
and has since been adopted in essentially the same form by Lewy
(1927:12f.), Vogelstein (1944:19), Tadmor (1962:282), and Jepsen
(i964:38).3 Biblical evidence for this theory rests on three verses.
Firstly the statement that Azariah recaptured Elath 'after the king
slept with his fathers' (2K 14.22) is taken to indicate that Azariah
became king (and conducted military campaigns) during his
father's lifetime. A second piece of evidence is provided by 2
Chronicles 25.27, which states that a conspiracy was formed against
Amaziah 'shortly after OIPN DS7E) he turned away from Yahweh':
Amaziah's apostate adoption of Edomite gods (2C 25.14^) preceded his defeat by Jehoash of Israel, so Amaziah must therefore
have been deposed soon after that encounter, which presumably
preceded Jeroboam's accession to the Israelite throne in Amaziah's
I5th year (2K 14.23). 2 Kings 14.17, which states that Amaziah
'lived for 15 years after the death of Jehoash', offers a final piece of
evidence: the fact that Amaziah is said to have lived (rather than
reigned) for 15 years after Jehoash is supposedly an indication that
he was deposed after his defeat by Jehoash and spent the last 15
years of his life as a private citizen.
This is hardly strong evidence. The statement that Azariah
recaptured Elath 'after the king slept with his fathers' is neutral in
regard to whether Azariah became king before or after the death of
his father:4 a Judean crown prince might presumably have been
entrusted with military expeditions before he was yet king (just as
Nebuchadrezzar was entrusted with military command during the
3. Variations involving an overlap of around 25 years have also been proposed
(Thiele31983:119., Schedl 19623:97, and Pavlovsky and Vogt 1964:331 f.).
4. The phrase in question is quite probably a secondary addition, which
appears to have been prompted by the fact that the statement on Azariah's
recapture of Elath is (unusually) separated from the main account of his reign
and could therefore suggest that Azariah's recapture of Elath preceded his
accession.
io i
last years of Nabopolassar's reign; ABC 4; 5). And 2 Kings 14.17

says nothing about Amaziah's status during the last 15 years of
his life; if he was in fact deposed shortly after his defeat by
Jehoash it is extraordinary that the book of Kings fails to
mention this event. Besides, the notion that Amaziah reigned for
only 14 years before he was deposed is in contradiction to the
statement in 2 Kings 14.1 that Amaziah reigned for a total of 29
years, and Amaziah's ultimate assassination is somewhat curious
if he had already been deposed 15 years earlier. Those who hold
this view must also explain why 2 Kings 14.21 describes Azariah's accession as having followed the assassination of Amaziah;
one rather drastic solution, proposed by Pavlovsky and Vogt
(1964:331), is to transpose verses 21 and 22 after verse 15
(similarly Thiele 31983:119), which amounts to an admission that
the text as it stands is in direct contradiction to their adopted
theory. This leaves us with the fact that 2 Chronicles 25.27 posits
a close temporal connection between Amaziah's apostasy against
Yahweh and the conspiracy which removed him from the
throne. But since the Chronicler has almost certainly invented
this apostasy as a theological explanation for Amaziah's defeat
and later assassination one can hardly use this as historical
evidence: the direct chronological connection between apostasy
and assassination is simply a reflection of the direct theological
connection posited by the Chronicler.5
A hypothetical overlap which rests on even flimsier evidence
may be seen in the theory that Pekah reigned for 10 years in Gilead
while Menahem was on the throne in Samaria.6 Circumstantial
evidence adduced by Thiele is as follows.
5. The theory of a 15-year overlap between Amaziah and Azariah was
rightly criticized by Begrich (19293:51-52), but was subsequently adopted by
Jepsen in his revision of Begrich's chronology. This is not the only instance
where Begrich offers pertinent criticism of views later adopted by Jepsen. It is
also worth noting that although Jepsen took over many elements of Begrich's
chronology, the theoretical basis of his own reconstruction is radically
different: Begrich based his chronology on a complex reconstruction of
different chronological systems which he believed were reflected in the textual
evidence of MT and ancient translations (and which supposedly antedate the
composition of Kings), whereas Jepsenlike Thieleis primarily concerned
to harmonize the maximum number of chronological data in MT.
6. See Thiele 2 i965:i24f., 31983 :i29f., and Tadmor 1962:285; Lewy
(1927:18^) and Vogelstein (1944:19) propose a similar overlap but date the
start of Pekah's rival kingship in the reign of Jeroboam.
IO2
1. It is one way of harmonizing the chronological data.

2. The fact that Shallum, whom Menahem deposed, is called
'the son of Jabesh' (2K 15.13) could indicate that he had
Gileadite associations, Jabesh being a place name in Gilead;
and Menahem's murder of Shallum might therefore have
resulted in Gileadite support for a rival kingship to
Menahem's.
3. Pekah did in fact have the help of fifty Gileadites in deposing
Menahem's successor (2K 15.25).
4. The fact that Menahem paid tribute to Tiglathpileser III in
order to gain Assyrian support for his reign (2K 15.19)
indicates a degree of political insecurity that could have been
occasioned by Pekah's rival kingship in Gilead.
5. During his reign in Gilead Pekah might have embarked on a
policy of friendship with Syria on his northern border, and so
laid the groundwork for the later Syro-Ephraimite alliance
(2K i6.5f.).
6. The 'son of Tabeal' whom the Syro-Ephraimite alliance
wished to place on the Judean throne (Is 7.6) was possibly a
Trans Jordanian, for one 'Ayanur the Tabelite', who is
mentioned in an Assyrian letter found at Nimrud, is said by
Albright to have a name which is typical of the desert fringes
of Palestine and Syria.
7. The fact that Hosea refers to 'Ephraim' alongside 'Israel' (Ho
5.5; 11.12; and elsewhere) is proof that two separate
kingdoms existed in the north.7
These are the only arguments which Thiele offers in support of
the theory of a rival Gileadite kingship, and they are a transparently
inadequate basis for this theory. As far as Menahem's political
insecurity is concerned there is little doubt that this was occasioned
not by any hypothetical rival kingship in Gilead, but by the
non-hypothetical presence of Tiglathpileser in western Syria.
Assyrian royal annals repeatedly illustrate the fact that prompt
payment of tribute was expected of all local rulers who had the
misfortune to be in the vicinity of an Assyrian military expedition,
whether or not they were previously vassals of Assyria; those who
refuse to comply with Assyrian expectations are usually deposed. 2
Kings 15.19^ fits this picture exactly: Menahem is forced to pay
7. This curious argument appears in the third edition of Thiele's book.
Most Biblical scholars see this as a straightforward case of synonymous
parallelism (also found in Jeremiah 31.9).
103
tribute in order to maintain his position (verse 19) and secure the
departure of Assyrian forces (verse 20); nothing is said of any rival
Gileadite kingship. The possibility that Pekah could have exercised a rival kingship during Menahem's reign is in any case
precluded by the fact that he is described as the 'personal adjutant'
(tZT7lP) of Menahem's son and successor, Pekahiah (2K 15.25),
since it is hardly credible that Pekahiah would have employed his
father's political rival as his own personal adjutant, conveniently
allowing the latter to depose him shortly after his accession.8
Neither of the two hypothetical overlaps discussed above can be
described as a coregency in the normal sense of the word; but it is
these which are usually invoked for the purpose of creating
chronological overlaps. Now it is commonly supposed that two
coregencies are explicitly attested in the Bible, since Solomon's
accession is said to have occurred while David was still alive (iK
i.32f.), and Jotham is said to have assumed power after his father
Azariah had contracted leprosy (2K 15.5^). Taking Solomon's
accession first it may be noted that none of our main difficulties
with the chronology of Kings is in any way helped (or worsened) by
the possible existence of a chronological overlap at this point; but
the explicit attestation of even a single coregency might nonetheless
help to justify the hypothesization of other coregencies where this
is chronologically convenient. Actually the Biblical account offers
little support for this. Solomon's accession took place while David
was still alive, but this was at a time when David was already on his
deathbed, and in response to an abortive attempt by Adonijah to
secure the throne for himself in anticipation of David's death. This
provides a fitting conclusion to the 'succession narrative' in 2
Samuel, but it is hardly to be interpreted as a typical picture of
normal succession procedures; and it is also obvious that the
coregency, if such it was, cannot have lasted for very long. It is
doubtful, however, that Solomon's accession while David lay on
his deathbed can be meaningfully described as a coregency. David
gives instructions that Solomon is to be appointed as his successor,
not as his coregent: 'then he shall enter (the palace) and sit upon my
throne, and it is he who will be king in my place' (IK 1.3 5).
8. Thiele offers the following midrashic explanation (21965:125): 'In the
interests of joint resistance against Assyria, Pekah could have made his peace
with Pekahiah at Menahem's death ... and been rewarded with a high military
command by Samaria under the new king.'
IO4
The other passage which is widely believed to demonstrate the

existence of coregencies actually provides significant discontinuation of their existence. Contrary to what is often asserted, 2 Kings
i5-5f. does not describe a coregency between Azariah and Jotham
following Azariah's contraction of leprosy. What is actually
described is a form of vice-regency in which Jotham took charge of
affairs of state on Azariah's behalf but did not actually become king
until Azariah's death. According to 2 Kings 15.5, Azariah 'dwelt in
isolation quarters while Jotham the crown prince ("]7ttnjH) was in
charge of the palace, governing (DDtP) the people of the land.' Only
after Azariah's death did Jotham actually succeed to the throne
(2K 15.7): 'and Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him
with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became
king in his place.' This procedure has close Mesopotamian
parallels, since it was Mesopotamian practice for the crown prince
to take charge of state affairs in his father's absence. One notable
instance occurred during Nabonidus's extended absence in Tema,
when (as administrative documents of the period indicate) affairs
at Babylon were in the hands of the crown prince, Belshazzar. And
although one Mesopotamian version of events states that Nabonidus 'entrusted the kingship' to Belshazzar,9 it is clear that this did
not involve an actual coregency, since the latter is invariably
referred to as 'crown prince' (mar sarri, literally 'king's son' but
often used in this more specialized sense) and never as king in
contemporary documents.10 Jotham, like Belshazzar, is also described as 'crown prince' rather than 'king' during his father's
lifetime Q / f t H ]3 is the direct Hebrew equivalent of mar sarrf),
but Belshazzar unlike Jotham, never actually succeeded his father
(being prevented by Cyrus's conquest of Babylon) and is therefore
not included in Babylonian kinglists. This has serious implications
for those who use coregencies as a device for harmonizing the
chronology of Kings. 2 Kings i5-5f. is the one clear situation in
Kings that might have called for a coregency, with Azariah being
unable to carry out his royal duties, and yet the text of Kings
plainly indicates that a coregency was not created. This must make
9. The Verse Account of Nabonidus 2.20 (= ANET p. 313).
10. This is in contrast to the fact that Belshazzar is regularly titled 'king' in
the book of Daniel, which is apparently unaware of Nabonidus's existence; the
latter appears to have been conflated with Nebuchadrezzar in Jewish traditions
incorporated in Danielhence the historically erroneous idea that Nebuchadrezzar was Belshazzar's father (Dn 5.2 etc.).
105
it extremely doubtful that coregencies ever existed as a possible

form of government in Israel or Judah. Finally the fact that
Belshazzar is not included in Mesopotamian kinglists is evidence
that years of vice-regency were not counted in Mesopotamian
regnal chronology and are hardly likely to have been counted in
Judean reign lengths (this being the obvious escape route for those
who are determined to have a chronological overlap between
Azariah and Jotham).11
Other alleged cases of coregencies in Biblical chronology are
even less convincing, but it is perhaps worth noting one other
example that is commonly cited. The Jewish chronicle Seder Olam
Rabba, in contrast to most modern chronologists, does not
postulate a coregency between Azariah and Jotham, but it does
posit a 7-year overlap between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram. This is
deduced from the fact that Joram of Israel's accession is dated in
the 2nd year of Jehoram according to 2 Kings 1.17, but in the I9th
year of Jehoshaphat (sic: SOR 17; MT and ancient translations
have 'i8th year') according to 2 Kings 3.1. Seder Olam Rabba 17
explains this by saying that Jehoshaphat was originally destined to
die at Ramoth Gilead, but was subsequently given 7 extra years,
which were also counted in his son's reign (apparently because this
was originally destined to begin 7 years earlier); Jehoram's 2nd
year was therefore identical with Jehoshaphat's I9th year, although
he did not properly begin to reign until the 5th year of Joram of
Israel (2K 8.i6).12 This hypothetical overlap has since been taken
over by a number of modern chronologists, although its midrashic
explanation is dropped in favour of a straightforward coregency
11. Almost all modern chronologists have taken the existence of a coregency
between Azariah and Jotham for granted, although Wellhausen (1875:633^)
and Mowinckel (1932:162) admit that this was not the view of the author, or
redactor, of Kings. Thus Albright (1945:2in.) speaks of Jotham's 'attested
coregency with his father' (his emphasis), and Jepsen (1964:38) writes: 'Nun ist
fur Jotham eine lange Mitregentschaft anerkannt (sie ist ja ausdriicklich
bezeugt).' Only Andersen (1969) avoids this assumption, though he subsequently follows Thiele in postulating a 4-year overlap between Jotham and
Ahaz(seep. 112).
12. This y-year reduction in Jehoram's actual reign is also reflected in Seder
Olam Rabba\ total of 155 years from the foundation of the temple to its repair
in the 23rd year of Joash (SOR 18). Coupled with a 15-year reduction in
Amaziah's reign (see above), this brings the Judean regnal total from the
division of the kingdom to the fall of Samaria down to 239 years instead of 261
years, which is roughly in line with Israelite chronology for the same period.
io6
between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram. According to Thiele (31983:

99f.) Jehoram became coregent in the iyth year of his father's reign
and succeeded him as sole ruler in the 5th year of Joram's reign.
Direct Biblical evidence for this theory is allegedly provided by 2
Kings 8.16 (Thiele 31983:55, 1974:174), which apparently states
that Jehoram became king 'in the 5th year of Joram the son of
Ahab, king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah
(rni!"P \?ft ttStPim).' However, this last phrase is omitted in
most LXX manuscripts (though it reappears, translated differently,
in LXXABL), and is almost certainly a dittography of DDtPirP (jl)
rnirP "J7ft ('(son of) Jehoshaphat, king of Judah') within the
same verse. Besides, on Thiele's own interpretation the date given
in 2 Kings 8.16 marks the start of Jehoram's sole reign, not his
alleged coregency, so it is difficult to see how 2 Kings 8.16 offers
evidence of this coregency; it is obviously nonsensical to say that
Jehoram became sole ruler while his father was still king.13 Thiele
confronts this problem by arguing that 'while Jehoshaphat was
king of Judah' is misplaced, and 'should properly have gone with a
synchronism of the commencement of Jehoram's coregency, which
began before Joram's accession in Israel' (Thiele 31983:199). Other
modern chronologists who posit a coregency between Jehoshaphat
and Jehoram include Coucke (1928:1252), Begrich (19293: iO9f.),
Schedl (19623:98), Tadmor (1962:29of.), and Jepsen (1964:41).
One final and more general point which may be made
concerning the use of hypothetical overlaps to harmonize discrepancies between the chronology of Kings and the historical
chronology of the ancient near east is that it bears a suspicious
resemblence to the fundamentalist device of using hypothetical
gaps in order to harmonize discrepancies between the chronology
of Genesis and scientific chronology of the earth. Neither
procedure has any justification in the Biblical text, and the best that
can be said is that they represent highly unobvious ways of
interpreting Biblical chronology. As far as Kings is concerned it
must be said that if modern chronologists are right in hypothesizing chronological overlaps then the chronology of Kings is
seriously defective in its failure to state their existence: a
chronology which presents a series of reign lengths while omitting
13. The same objection applies to Lewy's use of this verse as evidence for a
coregency (Lewy 1927:21), although in Lewy's chronology Jehoram became
sole ruler during Jehoshaphat's lifetime.
107
to provide the crucial information that some of these reign lengths

overlap, and by how much, is by itself virtually useless and can
only be accounted for through ignorance or incompetence on the
part of its author(s). Those scholars in conservative circles who
have welcomed Thiele's chronological harmonizations may be less
happy to accept this logical corollary.
The hypothesization of chronological overlaps is only one
device in the harmonizer's toolkit, though it is certainly the most
important. Other devices, such as ad hoc arrangements of different
calendars and different dating systems, will be discussed in the
following chapter; they are less widely accepted and are in any case
used for fine tuning rather than major adjustments.14 However,
despite all the resources at their disposal no one has yet succeeded
in harmonizing all the discrepancies in the chronology of Kings
while accepting the historical constraints of ancient near eastern
chronology. All recent reconstructions, including Thiele's, have
therefore had to accept that some of the chronological data of
Kings are simply erroneous, and the remainder of this section is
devoted to a consideration of differing ways in which scholars have
sought to account for this.
The most obvious way in which erroneous chronological data
may be accounted for is through (accidental) textual corruption;
but scholars have generally tended to adopt this explanation rather
sparingly. Some of the reasons for this reluctance are stated by
Begrich (19293:63^). Numerical corruption is relatively common
in Greek and Latin textual traditions, but this is primarily because
Greek and Latin texts commonly use numerical symbols (letters of
the Greek and Roman alphabets) instead of writing numbers out in
full, and the accidental alteration, duplication, or omission of a
14. One device which hardly merits discussion is Vogelstein's practice of
inventing imaginary eras for the purposes of chronological harmonization. Here are
two examples:
1. An era of Hezekiah's reform (Vogelstein 1944:3) is posited in order to harmonize
the statement that Samaria fell in Hezekiah's 6th year (2K 18.10) with the
statement that Sennacherib invaded Judah in Hezekiah's i4th year (2K 18.13;
according to Assyrian evidence more than 20 years separated these events): the
second date is taken to mean the i4th year from Hezekiah's reform.
2. An era of Assyrian rule (Vogelstein 1944:20) is posited in connection with
Ahaz's accession date: according to Vogelstein the statement that Ahaz became
king in Pekah's iyth year (2K 16.1), which is 733 BC in Vogelstein's chronology,
really means that Ahaz's first year under Assyrian rule was Pekah's iyth year
(his actual accession was some years earlier).
io8
single symbol is thus sufficient to introduce a major corruption.

There is, however, no evidence that numerical symbols were used
in Hebrew literary texts from pre-Mishnaic times (although they
are attested in certain non-literary texts such as ostraca and on
weights), and there is therefore no reason to suppose that the
numbers of the Hebrew Bible have not been fairly accurately
transmitted as a rule. This is particularly likely to be the case with
sets of interrelated numbers such as reign lengths and synchronisms, whereas a greater degree of corruption may naturally be
expected in sets of unrelated figures.
Most scholars would nevertheless allow that some numerical
corruptions could have occurred, and some would go further than
others in this respect. Thus Schedl (19623:91 f.) posits a series of
'Zehnerverschreibungen', corruptions involving the addition of 10
or 20 years to the original figure: Ahaz originally came to the
throne in the *yth (> iyth) year of Pekah and reigned for *6 (> 16)
years; Pekah reigned for *io (>2o) years, and Ahaz's successor
Hezekiah became king at the age of *5 (>25). However, when
Pavlovsky and Vogt (1964:337) adopted Schedl's corrections, they
rejected his explanation of how the original numbers came to be
altered. In their view this resulted from a series of deliberate
chronological corrections by a later editor, who failed to recognize
the existence of a lo-year coregency between Jotham and Azariah.
Numerical corruption on a more extensive scale was posited by
Albright (1945:2of.), who argued that all Judean reign lengths
from Athaliah to Ahazwith the possible exception of Jotham's
reign lengthwere textually corrupt, and that the same was true of
various other Israelite and Judean reign lengths. On the other hand
Albright also spoke of the 'astonishing accuracy' with which the
numbers were transmitted after they had been incorporated in
Kings (p. 19), so that one can only suppose that they were
transmitted with astonishing inaccuracy previous to that point.
Even allowing for the possibility that numerical symbols could
have been used in non-literary sources behind the chronology of
Kings, numerical corruption on this scale seems improbable. The
notion that oral tradition may ultimately be responsible for some of
this corruption (n. 26) is also improbable, for there is no evidence
or likelihood that regnal chronology was ever transmitted in this
fashion.
It may be helpful to look at a few clear instances of textual
109
corruption in a series of figures that is indirectly related to the

chronology of Kings. Comparison of Judean accession ages in
Kings and Chronicles reveals two numerical variants in the
Hebrew text of Chronicles: Ahaziah is said to have been 42 rather
than 22 when he became king (2C 22.2 : 2K 8.26) and Jehoiachin is
said to have been 8 rather than 18 at his accession (2C 36.9 : 2K
24.8). In both instances the figure in Kings is to be preferred.
Ahaziah cannot have been as old as 42 when he became king, if his
father was 32 at his accession and reigned for * 11 years (2K 8.17; 2C
2I.5).15 And Jehoiachin cannot have been only 8 years old when he
became king if he was exiled with his children 3 months (or 3
months and 10 days) later (2K 24.8; 2C 36.9; Je 22.28). In
Jehoiachin's case the corruption of '18' to '8' has resulted from the
omission of mtPS? ('10'), and thus belongs to a class of numerical
corruptions (omission of tens in compound numerals) which is
well attested in the Septuagint textual tradition: for instance
LXXA assigns Joram a reign of only 2 years in 2 Kings i. 18a, but
agrees with other LXX manuscripts in reading '12 years' in 2
Kings 3.1. The corruption of'22 years' to '42 years' in 2 Chronicles
22.2 is a little more complex; but here LXX presents a third
variant, '20 years', and MT's figure appears to represent a
conflation of '20 years' and '22 years'. Similar conflation of variant
figures is attested in the fact that LXXZ ascribes Abijam a reign of
'6 and 3 years' in I Kings 15.2, whereas most other LXX
manuscripts have either '6 years' or '3 years', but it must be said
that this type of numerical corruption does not appear to be at all
common in Greek manuscripts. By contrast, the variant '20 years'
for Ahaziah's accession age represents one of the commonest types
of numerical corruption in the Septuagint textual tradition (the
omission of units from compound numerals): thus Jehoshaphat's
accession age is reduced from 35 to 30 in LXXAN in 2 Chronicles
20.31, while Manasseh's accession age is reduced from 12 to 10 in
c2e2 in 2 Kings 21.1.
Pavlovsky and Vogt's alternative explanation of Schedl's
'Zehnerverschreibungen' introduces a second way in which scholars have attempted to account for apparently erroneous data: these
could have originated in erroneous calculations by the author of
15. MT gives '8 years' for Jehoram's reign length in both Kings and Chronicles,
but I have argued elsewhere that this is a Priestly modification of the original figure;
seepp.37f.,58.
no
Kings, or by one of his predecessors, or by later editors. This

explanation has proven to be popular with scholars of different
persuasions, although conservative scholars have generally preferred to lay the blame on later editors rather than the author of Kings.
For example, Thiele (21965:118-140, 31983:136-137), observing
that chronological data which is problematic to modern scholars
'might well have provided similar problems to scholars of old,
including late compilers of the Old Testament canon' (2i965:133),
posits a well-intentioned but misguided editor, 'a man who was
deeply concerned about truth but did not understand all the truth'
(21965:140). This ancient scholar, who evidently anticipated
modern historical criticism by some two millennia, apparently
noticed that certain parts of the chronology of Kings appeared to be
12 years in advance of their correct historical date, and therefore
introduced what he thought were appropriate corrections. The
problem, according to Thiele, was that this later editor was
unaware of Jotham's 12-year coregency and Pekah's 12-year rival
kingship.
Scholars of less conservative persuasions than Thiele have more
readily taken the view that miscalculations in the chronology of
Kings could have originated with the author of Kings or one of his
predecessors. One widely adopted theory is that the author of
Kings (or his predecessor) had access to sources containing
Israelite and Judean reign lengths, but that he was forced to work
out some or all of the synchronisms between Israelite and Judean
chronology for himself, and in doing so he either failed to take
account of coregencies,16 or based his calculations on textually
corrupt reign lengths.17
The problem with all these proposals is that they presuppose
the existence of chronological overlaps or of extensive textual
corruption, and are therefore vulnerable to the various arguments
advanced earlier against these two hypotheses. A different miscalculation theory, put forward by Andersen (1969:91-107), is less
seriously affected by this objection (it involves a single overlap,
which is probably inessential) and therefore deserves more detailed
consideration. Further reason for considering this theory is that it
lies at the heart of Andersen's reconstruction of Israelite and
16. Wellhausen i875:633f.;Begrich 19293: iO9f.;Tadmor 1962:270; Jepsen 1964
45f.; Pavlovsky and Vogt 1964:337.
17. Wellhausen 1875:630^;Albright 1945:i8f.
in
Judean chronology, which is adopted in a number of recent

histories and Biblical commentaries.18
Andersen proposes a long series of scribal corrections and
miscalculations radiating out from an initial alteration in Hezekiah's reign length. His starting point is Azariah's accession date
(2yth year of Jeroboam: 2K 15.1), which because it conflicts with all
other chronological data in Kings is normally regarded as a textual
error. Andersen does not consider this possibility; in his view the
date must obviously represent a secondary calculation, and since it
cannot be satisfactorily related to previous accession dates it must
therefore have been calculated by counting backwards from
Jotham's accession in Pekah's 2nd year (2K 15.32). There are,
however, only 29 years between Jeroboam's 2yth year and Pekah's
2nd year if we count up Israelite years on a non-inclusive dating
system, and Andersen infers that Azariah, who is ascribed a reign
of 52 years in 2 Kings 15.2, must therefore have reigned for only 29
years originally. This in turn necessitates an alteration in Jeroboam's reign length. On Andersen's reckoning Amaziah died in
Jeroboam's i6th year,19 which is therefore to be regarded as the
original date of Azariah's accession. And since there are considerably more than 29 years from Jeroboam's i6th year (Azariah's
original accession date) to Pekah's 2nd year (Jotham's accession
date), Andersen accordingly reduces Jeroboam's reign from 41 to
32 years.
Why then were the reigns of Azariah and Jeroboam lengthened
from their original durations? Andersen argues that this occurred
in several stages. Following a 9-year increase in Jeroboam's reign
(stage i), and the subsequent alteration of Azariah's accession date,
Azariah's reign was initially lengthened by n years (stage 2) in
order to remove an n-year discrepancy between Israelite and
Judean chronology in the period from Jeroboam's accession to the
18. Two recent histories which use this chronology are Herrmann 1975 and
Jagersma 1982; it is also adopted by Jones (1984) in his recent commentary on
Kings. However, reservations are expressed by Herrmann (1975:189,253) and Jones
(1984:24), although the latter is incorrect in stating that Andersen's dates for
Jehoash of Israel are incompatible with Assyrian evidence that Jehoash paid tribute
in 796 BC: this reflects a confusion on Jones's part between Jehoash of Israel (who
reigned from 799 to 784 BC according to Andersen) and his Judean namesake
(836-797 BC in Andersen's chronology).
19. This date, which is calculated from Jeroboam's accession in Amaziah's I5th
year, is dependent on Andersen's claim that Israelite and Judean kings officially
acceded to the throne in their 2nd regnal year; see above, p. 82n.
112
2nd year of Pekah. Stage 3 occurred when a scribe noted the

existence of a 12-year gap between Amaziah's death and Azariah's
(secondarily calculated) accession date, and decided to remedy this
discrepancy by adding 12 additional years to Amaziah's reign,
which had the unintended effect of creating a 12-year surplus in
Judean chronology. This leaves the 9-year increase in Jeroboam's
reign length (stage i) to be accounted for, and Andersen defers his
explanation in order to take account of chronological problems
relating to Azariah's and Jeroboam's successors.
The major historical problem in Israelite chronology for this
period is Pekah's 2O-year reign, which Andersen reduces to 12
years. Judean chronology presents a greater number of problems.
Andersen starts from the fact that Sennacherib's campaign of 701
BC is dated to Hezekiah's I4th year in 2 Kings 18.13, and
accordingly identifies Hezekiah's first year with 715/4 BC on an
autumn calendar. This in turn necessitates a 4-year increase in
Ahaz's reign length (16 years according to 2 Kings 16.2), since the
latter was already on the throne in 734/3 BC (at the start of the
Syro-Ephraimite war), and also requires a lo-year reduction in
Hezekiah's reign (29 years according to 2 Kings 18.2), since
Manasseh's accession is to be dated to 697/6 BC if we count bac
from Josiah's death in 609 BC using a non-inclusive dating
system.20 Andersen also reduces Jotham's reign from 16 to 8 years,
having previously arrived at 741/0 BC as the date of Azariah's death
At this point Andersen, uncharacteristically, resolves the 4-year
discrepancy in Ahaz's reign length by adopting Thiele's theory
that Jotham was deposed 4 years before his death, but continued to
be regarded as the legitimate king in anti-Assyrian circles, who
therefore dated the start of Ahaz's reign from Jotham's death in
730/29 BC. However, he is not prepared to follow Thiele in positin
coregencies for Jotham and Hezekiah. The lo-year discrepancy in
Hezekiah's reign length originated (according to Andersen) when
the story of Hezekiah's illness (2K 20) was secondarily attached to
the account of Sennacherib's campaign of 701 BC. This propheti
legend, in which Yahweh promises to add 15 years to Hezekiah's
life, is itself undated but could reasonably be linked to the events of
711 BC, when Sargon put down a rebellion in Ashdod. However
once the story had been secondarily appended to the account of
20. In Andersen's opinion postdating and the spring new year calendar were
adopted at the start of Manasseh's reign (Andersen 1969: xoof.)
113
Sennacherib's campaign in Hezekiah's I4th year, the promise of 15

additional years necessarily required that Hezekiah's reign be
extended from "19 to 29 (14+15) years. This ID-year increase over
Hezekiah's original reign length then resulted, according to
Andersen, in Hezekiah's accession being put back by 10 years, and
a new accession date (3rd year of Hoshea) was accordingly
calculated by counting 10 years back from the end of Ahaz's reign.
It should be noted that these alterations to Hezekiah's reign length
and accession date were in reality rather illogical: if, as Andersen
claims, the scribe responsible for these corrections avoided
lowering Hezekiah's death by 10 years (this being the obvious
consequence of not raising his accession date) because he knew that
Hezekiah had in fact died 5 years after Sennacherib's campaign,
why did this scribe not correct the promise of 15 additional years to
a promise of 5 additional years? This would then have obviated any
need to alter Hezekiah's original reign length and accession date.
Whatever reasoning lay behind it, the alteration of Hezekiah's
accession date led to a string of further alterations by a series of
muddle-headed correctors. Initially it created a lo-year overlap
between Ahaz and Hezekiah, which was subsequently corrected by
lowering Hoshea's accession from Ahaz's 5th year to Ahaz's I2th
year. (Why not Ahaz's I5th year? Andersen's explanation is that
the corrector was influenced by 2 Kings 15.30, in which Hoshea's
accession wasin Andersen's opinionoriginally dated to Jotham's 12th year.) This then created a 7- or 8-year gap in Israelite
chronology between Pekah's last year and Hoshea's accession,
which contributed to a 9-year surplus in Judean chronology from
Azariah's accession to Ahaz's I2th year. A scribe who noticed this
surplus attempted to rectify matters and inappropriately added 9
years to Jeroboam's reign, thereby creating an u-year surplus in
Israelite chronology from Jeroboam's accession to the 2nd year of
Pekah; a later corrector therefore added 11 years to Azariah's reign,
which was subsequently increased by a further 12 years when it
was (mistakenly) supposed that this would resolve a discrepancy
between Azariah's accession date (secondarily calculated after the
addition of 9 years to Jeroboam's reign length) and the end of
Amaziah's reign. This last increase necessitated further alterations
in the accession dates of Azariah's Israelite contemporaries, which
ultimately resulted in a 12-year gap between Jeroboam's last year
and Zechariah's accession date. All this did nothing to resolve the
U4
gap in Israelite chronology between Pekah and Hoshea, which was

finally rilled by the addition of 8 years to Pekah's reign, only to be
recreated when an apparently incompetent corrector proceeded to
lower Ahaz's accession by the same amount, and thereby also
created a second 8-year gap between Jotham and Ahaz. This
second gap was removed by the addition of 8 years to Jotham's
reign, but at this point the correction process abruptly ended,
leaving the chronology of Kings in its present condition. Andersen
does not speculate on whether the correctors finally gave up the
struggle or were overtaken by the restraints of canonization.
It will be clear from this (simplified) summary that Andersen's
reconstruction of this crucial period of Israelite and Judean
chronology is based upon an extremely complex literary-historical
hypothesis, which posits an elaborate series of corrections and
miscalculations, and requires us to ascribe a high degree of
incompetence to their hypothetical perpetrators. The complexity
and inherent implausibility of this hypothesis should therefore be
set against the apparent simplicity of Andersen's chronology in
certain other respects noted by Herrmann (1975: i88f.) and others;
these include the absence of coregencies and the assumption that
both kingdoms used the same calendar and dating system during
the period of the divided monarchy.21
Twentieth-century study of the chronology of Kings has largely
followed the three basic approaches outlined above, in which
chronological discrepancies are either explained as textual corruptions or chronological miscalculations, or explained away by
various methods of chronological harmonization. However, all
these approaches miss one significant fact about the chronology of
Kings: in its present form this chronology is transparently
schematic. This was pointed out in the last century by Wellhausen
(i875:62in.), who observed that Judean regnal years from Solomon's 4th year (when the temple was founded) to the exile total
430, and that 430 plus 50 years from the foundation of the temple to
the end of the exile are balanced by an identical period of 480 years
from the exodus to the foundation of the temple (iK 6.1).
Wellhausen did not in this article draw any explicit connection
between this schematism and the historical inaccuracy of the
21. Herrmann (1975:188) is incorrect in stating that Andersen presupposes a
single calendar and dating system throughout the entire monarchic period (see
p. H2n.).
115
chronology of Kings. A year later, however, in a review of The

Assyrian Eponym Canon by George Smith, Wellhausen remarked
that Judean reign lengths in Kings 'bis zu einem gewissen Grade
systematisirt sind' (Wellhausen 1876:54) and that there was
therefore no doubt that historical preference should be given to
Assyrian chronological data.
Wellhausen's observation that Judean chronology was 'to some
extent systematized' was carried a good deal further by Krey
(1877), who argued in a short but influential article that Israelite
chronology displayed an elaborate internal schematism within an
overall schematic total of 240 years, and soon afterwards discovered
evidence of internal schematism in Judean chronology as well (see
Wellhausen 1878:265). Krey's theories were fully endorsed, with
minor modifications, by Wellhausen (ibid, and additional note to
Krey's article), but they are not in fact very convincing. The
24O-year total for Israelite chronology required that the 7 months
ascribed to Zechariah and Shallum be counted as a whole year and
that Elah's 2-year reign be omitted (Wellhausen preferred to
deduct 2 years from Baasha's reign), and these arbitrary adjustments are also crucial to the alleged internal schematism, for it is
only on this basis that Israelite chronology divides into two periods
comprising 96 (8 x 12) years before Jehu's revolt and 144 (12 x 12)
years after Jehu's revolt. The claimed internal schematism of
Judean chronology is even less impressive, as it consists of nothing
more than a demonstration that one may arbitrarily divide MT's
Judean reign lengths into groups of approximately 20, 40, or 80
years: Rehoboam and Abijam, 20 years; Asa, 41 years; Jehoshaphat,
Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah, 40 years; Joash, 40 years;
Amaziah and Azariah, 81 years; Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (to
the fall of Samaria), 38 years; Hezekiah (from the fall of Samaria),
Manasseh, and Amon, 80 years; Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and
Jehoiachin (to release from detention), 79^ years. It is to be noted
that this alleged internal schematism cuts across the overall
schematism of 480 years from the foundation of the temple to the
end of the exile, and that the 40 years ascribed to Jehoshaphat,
Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah is dependent on Athaliah being
assigned 6 years instead of the 7 years implied by 2 Kings 11.4
(Athaliah's reign terminates 'in the 7th year').
A detailed refutation of Krey's theories was provided by
Kamphausen (1883:7-15,50-76), who demonstrated their arbitrary
116
nature by making similar numerical play with French reign

lengths. However, Kamphausen did not dispute the existence of
the 96o-year schematism noted by Wellhausen, although he
considered it possible that the second 48o-year period (from the
foundation of the temple to the end of the exile) had originated
through an accidental sequence of scribal corruptions (p. 5411.).
Alternatively, and more plausibly, he conceded that a limited
number of Judean reign lengths might have been deliberately
altered by post-exilic scribes in order to achieve this schematic
total (p. 53).
In contrast to Kamphausen's reluctant admission that postexilic scribes might have deliberately altered a number of Judean
reign lengths to produce the chronological schematism noted by
Wellhausen, Begrich (19293:14-16) categorically denied that any
such schematism existed. It was, he thought, curious that the book
of Kings should end with Jehoiachin's release from detention if its
alleged chronological schematism extended to the end of the exile.
However, the conclusive disproof in Begrich's eyes was the fact
that the second 48o-year period claimed by Wellhausen presupposes the consecutive addition of Judean reign lengths, which
is contrary to evidence that earlier reigns were dated inclusively
and therefore require the subtraction of i-year overlaps for each
successive reign; the fact that consecutive addition produces this
apparent schematism, with 480 years from the foundation of the
temple to the return from exile mirroring the 48o-year period from
the exodus to the foundation of Solomon's temple was dismissed
by Begrich as an odd coincidence. This is scarcely convincing. The
schematic pattern of 2 x 480 years from the exodus to the return
from exile (or, rather, to the foundation of the second temple) has
been discussed earlier (p. 39f.); and I have noted that this pattern
is only part of a wider schematic chronology which contains a
similar pattern of 2 x 290 years from the flood to the entry into
Egypt, and that it also possesses a chiastic symmetry whereby the
exodus and the erection of the tabernacle occur 480 and 479 years
before the foundation of the first temple, while the return from
exile and the foundation of the second temple occur 479 and 480
years after the foundation of the first temple. This can hardly be
dismissed as a coincidence; and in any case Begrich's objections fail
to take account of the basic force of Kamphausen's observation
that the chronology of Kings might have been secondarily altered
117
in the post-exilic period. Whatever dating method was originally

used by the author of Kings or his predecessors is quite irrelevant
to the way in which post-exilic scribes totalled Judean reigns;
given Begrich's own belief that postdating replaced antedating in
the later period of the Judean monarchy (Begrich 19293:93, iz6),22
one would naturally expect that post-exilic scribes would have
counted reigns non-inclusively.23 The possibility that later editors
used a different dating system from that used by contemporary
chronologists was clear enough to Kugler (1922:161-162), who
argued that the 48o-year period from the foundation of the temple
to the end of the exile was the creation of a post-exilic editor; this
editor, in contrast to the original author of Kings, presupposed
postdating, and also held a 'mystical' belief in the periodic
recurrence of important historical events. However, Kugler was
unwilling, for theological reasons, to accept that this post-exilic
editor had deliberately falsified the chronology; in his view the
person responsible for this schematism was merely attempting, in
the absence of historical evidence, to restore a number of figures
which had been accidentally corrupted.
Studies of the chronology of Kings written since 1929 almost
invariably refer to Begrich (19293) for discussion of studies written
before that d3te, and Begrich's rejection of Wellhausen's views on
the schemstic nature of Judean chronology hss consequently
gsined uncriticsl 3ccept3nce in most subsequent scholsrship.24 One
scholar who did not accept Begrich's objections was Mowinckel,
whose own study of the chronology of Kings (Mowinckel 1932) is
for this reason one of the more significant studies produced during
22. According to Begrich, postdating was adopted in Judah at the start of Ahaz's
reign.
23. Begrich's failure to take account of the possibility that later editors may have
operated with different dating systems from those used by earlier chronologists
vitiates much of his own reconstruction: many of the alleged discrepancies between
reign lengths and synchronisms which Begrich discovers, and on which his
reconstruction depends, stem from his attempt to impose a uniform dating system
(inclusive antedating or postdating) on all chronological data for a given historical
period.
24. It should be noted that Begrich failed to distinguish between Wellhausen's
original observation that Judean reigns had been schematized to produce a 48o-year
total for the period from the foundation of the temple to the return from exile, and
his subsequent endorsement of the theories of Krey; this confusion is further
compounded by the fact that Begrich mistakenly credits Krey with having first
drawn attention to the 2 x 4 8 0 year pattern noted by Wellhausen (Begrich 19293:11).
118
the present century.25 Mowinckel recognized that the 48o-year

period (430 + 50 years) from the foundation of the temple was
clearly artificial, and that a number of Judean reign lengths must
have been deliberately altered to produce this result (p. i6yf.). He
also followed Wellhausen in rejecting the arbitrary invention of
coregencies for harmonistic reasons, although like Wellhausen he
accepted the existence of a coregency between Azariah and
Jotham. However, while Wellhausen had dismissed IsraeliteJudean synchronisms as secondary and of no historical value,
Mowinckel believed that the synchronisms were an original feature
of the chronology and were therefore of considerable importance,
especially as they were less easily altered than reign lengths and
might therefore preserve evidence of a pre-schematic form of the
chronology (p. iyof.).
Mowinckel's recognition of the importance of synchronisms in
reconstructing a pre-schematic form of the chronology of Kings
represented an important advance on previous studies.26 There
are, however, a number of shortcomings in Mowinckel's study,
most obviously in his use of textual evidence. On the one hand
Mowinckel rejected the important chronological variants given by
Josephuswhich had been utilized by Lewy (1927)roundly
asserting that Josephus 'hat weder eine hebraische Textrezension
noch die Septuaginta benutzt, sondern eine midraschisch erweiterte griechisch geschriebene Quelle, die die alexandrinische
Schulweisheit und nur indirekt die Septuaginta (G) wiedergab'
(p. 163); but on the other hand he was prepared to adopt minority
readings that are attested in a handful of Septuagint minuscules
and are far more likely to represent secondary corrections (or
corruptions) than original LXX variants.27 One should also take
25. Contrast Albright's statement that Mowinckel's study 'contains a number of
excellent points, but does not represent any general development of theory'
(Albright 1945:17).
26. Mowinckel (1932:163) tells us that he reached his conclusions on the value of
Israelite-Judean synchronisms independently of Lewy (1927 :yf.), who had argued
for their originality from the presence of synchronistic dating in the Babylonian
Chronicle. It is a pity that Lewy was (apparently) unaware of Wellhausen's
observations on the schematic nature of Judean chronology, for he was close to
Mowinckel's position in arguing that reign lengths may sometimes have been
rounded off secondarily, and that synchronisms were therefore of greater historical
value (Lewy 1927:9).
27. The worst example of this is Mowinckel's claim that '20 years', which is
attested in 2 Kings 15.17 in two (non-Lucianic) minuscules, is the original
119
issue with Mowinckel's claim that the narrative order of reigns in

the book of Kings derived 'aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nicht von dem
[Redaktor des deuteronomistischen Geschichtswerkes], sondern
von der Quelle' (p. 165), and that historical reconstructions of
Israelite and Judean chronology should therefore preserve this
sequence; Mowinckel offers no evidence for this assertion, and the
fact that MT and LXX present different sequences for the early
period of the divided monarchy is clear evidence that chronological
revisers were perfectly capable of altering the narrative sequence of
Israelite and Judean reigns to fit in with their revised chronologies.
Finally it is to be noted that Mowinckel, like Wellhausen,
mistakenly regarded the Priestly schematism of 480 years from the
foundation of the temple to the end of the exile (and the foundation
of the second temple) as a Deuteronomistic construction, and
thereby overlooked the existence of an earlier and genuinely
Deuteronomistic schematism of 480 years from David's accession
to the exile.
Mowinckel's study of the chronology of Kings had little impact
on subsequent research, which continued to disregard evidence of
chronological schematism in Kings, and the same fate later befell a
study by Wifall (1968), which argued that the original chronology
of Kings was artificially constructed within a schematic total of 480
years from Saul to the exile, but which is referred to by Jagersma
(1982:126) as having merely argued that postdating was used in
both kingdoms from the death of Solomon. Even this is inaccurate,
however: Wifall makes no comment on whether postdating or
antedating was used officially by either kingdom; his argument is
rather that the original compiler of Kings presupposed postdating
when he constructed his chronology.
Wifall's study is significant in two respects: Wifall is one of the
Deuteronomistic figure for Menahem's reign length (Mowinckel 1932:245). It is not
at all clear to me why Begrich, on whose list of variants Mowinckel depends, chose
to cite this particular variant but omitted other (equally insignificant) variants. For
example, Menahem's reign is given as '12 years' in one other minuscule (c2), which
is close to Mowinckel's figure of 13 years for Menahem's actual reign length,
but this variant is omitted by Begrich, who also omits to mention that Pekahiah
reigned for 12 years according to LXXN and 12 minuscules listed in the
Cambridge Septuagint, and that Pekah reigned for 28 years according to six
minuscules, or 30 years according to c2. The mass of secondary variants at this
point in the chronology is almost certainly the result of diverse attempts to
harmonize a number of serious internal discrepancies between reign lengths
and synchronisms.
I2O
few scholars since Mowinckel to have argued that the chronology of Kings is fundamentally schematic, and he is also one of
the first scholars to have recognized the importance of Lucianic
chronological data. However, Wifall's reconstruction of the original chronology of Kings and its subsequent modifications is
built upon shaky foundations. In the first place, Wifall confuses
postdating, whereby a king accedes to the throne in the year
before his first official year, and other non-inclusive dating
systems (such as non-inclusive antedating) in which a king's
accession year is identical with his first regnal year. This is clear
from his remarks on p. 329: 'the synchronisms in II Reg
189-124 Hezekiah equals 7 Hoshea and 6 Hezekiah equals 9
Hosheapresuppose that Hezekiah came to power in the fourth
year of Hoshea. However, the synchronism in II Reg i8 x (MT)
gives Hezekiah 3 Hoshea ... The implied reading of the siege
account of II Reg i89_I2Hezekiah 4 Hosheais the synchronism expected by postdating.' On the contrary, the synchronisms
in 2 Kings 18.9-12 presuppose no more than that Hezekiah's first
year is equivalent to Hoshea's 4th year, and the synchronism in 2
Kings 18. i (Hezekiah becomes king in Hoshea's 3rd year) is
precisely the synchronism one would expect if Hezekiah's reign
is postdated: Hezekiah becomes king in the year preceding his
first regnal year.
This is not an isolated misunderstanding on Wifall's part.
Wifall bases his reconstruction of the original Deuteronomistic
chronology primarily on the Lucianic minuscule c2, whose chronology is fundamentally different from that of other Lucianic
manuscripts. However, c2 does not reflect postdating, as Wifall
supposes, but a quite different dating system which is superficially
similar to non-inclusive antedating, except that in this system a
new king accedes to the throne in the year after the death of his
predecessor (in non-inclusive antedating a king accedes to the
throne in the same year as the death of his predecessor, but this
year is deducted from the first king's total). c2's data for the reign
of Abijam and the accession of Asa are given below.
iKis.i-2 Abijam becomes king in Jeroboam's i8th year and
reigns for 3 years.
iK 15.8
Abijam dies in Jeroboam's 2Oth year.
iK 15.9
Asa becomes king in Jeroboam's 21 st year.
121
This may be tabulated as follows (contrast my earlier table of

LXXBL's chronology for the same period on p. 88).
Abijam
Asa
aci
2
18
19
d3
aci
20
21
Jeroboam
The artificiality of the dating system reflected in this chronology is

evident from the fact that unless Abijam and successive kings
regularly died on new year's eve there must inevitably have been a
gap of several days or months between their death and the
accession of their successor.28 The chronology of c2 has no
analogies with chronological practice in either Mesopotamia or
Egypt, and is simply a late reworking of Lucianic chronology that
has also incorporated a certain amount of non-Lucianic data (in the
original Lucianic chronology Abijam reigns for 6 years, not 3). It
cannot therefore be used as a key to the original Deuteronomistic
chronology.
The present study continues the approach of Wellhausen and
Mowinckel. The evidence for a 96o-year schematism centred upon
the foundation of the Solomonic temple480 years from the
exodus to the foundation of Solomon's temple plus 480 years from
the foundation of Solomon's temple to the foundation of the
second templeis (in my view) incontrovertible, and must
obviously reflect deliberate modifications to the chronology of
Kings in post-exilic times. However, this schematism is not the
work of a Deuteronomistic redactor, as Wellhausen and Mowinckel
supposed, but is rather to be ascribed to Priestly circles, who
sought to create a world chronology from creation to the foundation of the second temple. Underlying this Priestly schematism is
an earlier schematic pattern of 480 + 40 + 480 years from the
settlement to the Babylonian exile, which is still largely preserved
in Judges-Samuel and in the Septuagint chronology of Kings, and
which may reasonably be ascribed to the exilic Deuteronomist (or
Deuteronomistic school) who revised the original (pre-exilic)
28. The artificial nature of this system has previously been noted by Thiele
(1951:186) and Shenkel (1968:28). Shenkel points out that Thiele was mistaken in
thinking that Septuagint chronology (apart from c2) reflects this dating system; but
Shenkel is himself mistaken in thinking that Septuagint chronology reflects
postdating (it actually reflects non-inclusive antedating for the most part).
122
Deuteronomistic History. Behind this schematism are traces of an

earlier chronology, such as synchronisms which reflect inclusive
antedating and are therefore incompatible with the non-inclusive
reckoning of later schematizers.
It is this original chronology, apparently based on authentic
historical records, which must obviously be of primary interest to
historians. However, the task of reconstructing this original
chronology is dependent on our ability to penetrate behind
successive stages of schematization and re-editing. In this respect
the variant chronological data of the Septuagint and Josephus can
provide important evidence; while additional evidence is provided
by internal discrepancies in the chronology of MT and other
textual witnesses, in so far as these discrepancies are attributable to
the inadequate re-editing of earlier data or to the secondary
incorporation of earlier data from unrevised manuscript families.
Both types of evidence are considered in the remaining sections of
this chapter, which attempt to reconstruct what one can of the
original chronology on an essentially literary-historical basis; the
following chapter uses external historical evidence to supplement
this internal reconstruction and translate it into a historical
chronology of the Israelite and Judean kingdoms. I have also made
limited use of historical evidence in the present chapter in order to
identify schematized data and distinguish these from variant data
which may be non-schematic, but I have avoided using historical
evidence in this chapter as a basis for reconstructing the original
chronology.29
4.2 Internal evidence of pre-schematic chronology

4.2. i From the division of the kingdom to Jehu's revolt
The chronology of the early period of the divided monarchy has
been the subject of some discussion in recent years, partly as a
result of renewed interest in textual criticism. At present this
29. There is nothing to be gained by maintaining a completely rigid separation of
(internal) literary-historical evidence and (external) historical evidence: the existence of external discrepancies between the chronology of Kings and historical
chronology is the result of internal chronological schematization, and it is therefore
reasonable that these discrepancies should be used to help identify chronological
data that may have been modified for schematic purposes.
123
discussion is largely polarized into two camps, with one side

(Thiele 1951:167-203, i974;Gooding 1970; Green 1983; Hayes and
Hooker 1988:15) claiming that MT has preserved the original
chronology, while the opposing camp (Miller 1967; Shenkel 1968)
asserts that LXX has preserved the more original chronology. My
own view is that both sides are mistaken: LXX's reign lengths for
Abijam and Jehoram are more original than MT's (Priestly)
figures (see p. 581".), but LXX's synchronisms reflect a late
chronological revision that is largely absent from MT's chronology
of this period (see p.93f.).30 Neither text preserves the original
chronology of Kings, or even the original schematized version of
this chronology; but evidence from both texts is crucial to any
attempt to reconstruct the original chronology. We may therefore
begin by listing the chronological data of MT and LXXBL.31 Note
that LXXB and LXXL present largely identical data for most of i
Kings, but from i Kings 22, where the original LXX text is
replaced by the Kaige recension in LXXB and other non-Lucianic
manuscripts, LXXB's chronology is virtually identical with MT's
chronology (the only notable exception being Jehoram's reign
length).
iK 12.243 Rehoboam reigns for 12 (B) /17 (L) years,
iK 14.20 Jeroboam reigns for 22 years (MT).
i K 14.21 Rehoboam reigns for 17 years.
30. This is virtually the opposite of Miller's position. Miller (1967) argues that
LXXL's synchronisms are with one exception (iK 15.9) more original than MT's,
but at the same time he rejects LXXBL's figure of 6 years for Abijam's reign
(p.28m., where we are told that 'some of the recensions [!] expand Abijah's reign
from three to six years'), and is unaware of LXXL's figure of 10 years for Jehoram's
reign (ibid.: 'with the exception of the reigns of Abijah and Pekahiah, the regnal
periods recorded in the Septuagint agree with those recorded in the masoretic
text.'). This rather serious oversight in respect of Jehoram's reign length would
appear to indicate that Miller is dependent on Burney's table of chronological
variants (Burney i903:xliif.), for Burney, who probably relied upon Lagarde's
reconstruction of the Lucianic text (Lagarde 1883), gives the Lucianic figure for
Jehoram's reign as 8 years. This figure is indeed found in two closely related
Lucianic manuscripts that are subsumed under the siglum 'b' in the Cambridge
Septuagint; but the true Lucianic reading ('10 years') is given by all other Lucianic
manuscripts (oc2e2).
31. This list also includes a single variant from Josephus (Ant 8.312); Josephus's
chronological data for the early divided monarchy are otherwise identical with data
in MT (see appendix B), although it must be said that Josephus gives relatively few
accession dates for this period.
124

iK 14.25 Shishak attacks Jerusalem in Rehoboam's 5th year.
1X15.1-2 Abijam becomes king in Jeroboam's i8th year and
reigns for 3 (MT) / 6 (BL) years.
iK 15.8
Abijam dies in Jeroboam's 24th year (BL).
iK 15.9-10 Asa becomes king in Jeroboam's 2Oth (MT) / 24th (BL)
year and reigns for 41 years.
iK 15.25 Nadab becomes king in Asa's 2nd year and reigns for 2
years.
iK 15.28 Nadab is killed in Asa's 3rd year.
iK 15.33 Baasha becomes king in Asa's 3rd year and reigns for 24
years.
iK 16.6
Elah becomes king in Asa's 2Oth year (BL).
iK 16.8
Elah {becomes king in Asa's 26th year and (MT))
reigns for 2 years.
iK 16.10 Elah is killed in the 2yth year of Asa (MT).
iK 16.15 Zimri (becomes king in Asa's 2yth (MT) / 22nd (L)
year and) reigns for 7 days (MT, L) / years (B).
iK 16.23 Omri (MT, L, Jos.) / Zimri (B) becomes king in Asa's
3ist (MT, BL) / 3Oth (Jos.) year and reigns 12 years.
iK 16.283 Jehoshaphat becomes king in Omri's (L) / Zimri's (B)
nth year and reigns for 25 years.
iK 16.29 Ahab becomes king in Asa's 38th (MT) / Jehoshaphat's
2nd (BL) year and reigns for 22 years.
iK 22.41-2 Jehoshaphat becomes king in Ahab's 4th year and
reigns for 25 years (MT,B).
iK.22.52 Ahaziah of Israel becomes king in Jehoshaphat's iyth
(MT,B) / 24th (L) year and reigns for 2 years.
2K 1.17
Joram becomes king in Jehoram's 2nd year (MT)
2Ki.i8a Joram becomes king in Jehoshaphat's i8th (B) /
Jehoram's 2nd (L) year and reigns for 12 years.
2K.3.I
Joram {becomes king in Jehoshaphat's i8th year and
(MT,B)> reigns for 12 years.
2K 8.16-17 Jehoram becomes king in Joram's 5th year and reigns
for 8 (MT) / 10 (L) / 40 (AB) years.
2K 8.25-6 Ahaziah of Judah becomes king in Joram's i2th (MT,B)
/ n t h (L) year and reigns for i year.
2X9.29
Ahaziah of Judah becomes king in Joram's nth year
<and reigns for i year (L)>.
2K 10.36 Jehu reigns for 28 years {becoming king in Athaliah's
2nd year (L)>.

This may be tabulated as follows.
i. MT
Rehoboam
Abijam
17
17
18
19
20
aci
2
Asa
3/ac
i
21
22/HCI
3
4
d2/aci
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
22
(3oJos.)3i
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Jehoshaphat
30/41
i
II
12
13
M
15
16
i?
18
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
23
aci/24
aci/ac/d2
Elah
Zimri/Omri
3
4
(Omri)
5(ac)
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12 /aci
Ahab
3
4
5
15
16
17
18
19
20
(aci/) 21
(ac/2) 22
(Ahaziah)
(Joram)
125
126
Jehoram
19
20
21
22
23
24
3
4
5
25/aci
6(ac)
3
4
5
6
(Ahaziah)
Ahaziah
/Athaliah
Ahaziah
Joram
(Joram)
7
8
9
10
ii
(ac)y
i/aci/8
I2/I
Jehu
2. LXX
i
Rehoboam
i?
aci
Abijam
3
4
5
6
Asa
aci/d(y)
2
3
4
5
25
26
27
28
(20)29
30
Jeroboam
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
*2 5 (/aci)
i (2/ac)
(Nadab)
Nadab (Baasha)
2
I
Baasha
21
22
23
24
aci
2
Elah

(acL)/aci
(22L)31
Jehoshaphat
41/ac
i
II
aci
22
23
24
25
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah
1(2)
127
Zimri(/Omril)
12
Ahab
21
22
aci
Ahaziah
aci
3
4
(ac)5
6
7
3
4
5
6
9
10
aci
i
9
10
ii
aci
Joram
12
Jehu
The chronological data of MT fit into a fairly coherent scheme

which is probably more or less identical to the scheme produced by
the Priestly chronological revision. There are, however, three
discrepancies which clearly result from conflation with the chronology found in LXX and are therefore secondary. These discrepancies, which have already been discussed (p. 92f.), are Omri's
accession date (iK 16.23: Asa's 3ist year), Joram's alternative
accession date (2K 1.17: Jehoram's 2nd year), and Ahaziah of
Judah's alternative accession date (2K 9.29: Joram's i ith year). We
may also note that MT's date for Abijam's accession reflects
non-inclusive antedating and must therefore derive from the
post-Priestly revision which introduced this dating system; the
original Priestly scheme presumably dated Abijam's accession to
Jeroboam's I7th year, with his first regnal year postdated to
Jeroboam's i8th year (compare Asa's and Jehoshaphat's accession
dates in MT's chronology).
128
A fourth discrepancy in MT's chronology, which was noted

earlier in passing, is of rather more significance since it cannot be
explained through conflation with the chronology found in LXX,
and may therefore be regarded as a possible survival from
pre-Priestly chronology. Ahaziah of Israel is said to have become
king in Jehoshaphat's iyth year and to have reigned for 2 years (iK
22.52), and this agrees with the statement that his successor, Joram,
became king in Jehoshaphat's i8th year (2K 3.1), provided
Ahaziah's reign is inclusively antedated. But it fails to agree with
MT's chronology up to this point, according to which Jehoshaphat's iyth year ought to correspond with Ahab's 2ist year (see
previous table); since Ahab is ascribed a reign length of 22 years
(iK 16.29) this means that Ahaziah's accession is dated i year
before the end of Ahab's reign. Ahaziah's and Joram's accession
dates are equally incompatible with MT's chronology beyond this
point: if Joram became king in Jehoshaphat's i8th year, Joram's
12th year (in which Ahaziah of Judah is said to have become king)
has to correspond with Jehoram's 5th or 6th year, with the result
that Ahaziah of Judah's accession falls 2 or 3 years before the end of
his predecessor's reign.
A simple way of accounting for the discrepancy between
Ahaziah of Israel's accession date and MT's chronology up to this
point is to suppose that Ahab originally reigned for only *2i years.
This leaves the discrepancy with MT's subsequent chronology
unaccounted for; but if we rearrange MT's chronology so that all
reigns are inclusively antedated and adopt *2i years as the length
of Ahab's reign, it turns out that Israelite and Judean totals for the
period from the division of the kingdom to Jehu's revolt are exactly
equivalent, as the following table demonstrates.32
32. The correspondence between MT's Israelite and Judean reign lengths on
this dating system was first noted by Riihl (1894/5:48^)5 who attempted to resolve
the remaining i-year discrepancy in MT's totals by subtracting a i-year overlap
from the end of Joram's reign without subtracting a similar overlap from the end of
Ahaziah of Judah's reign. Andersen (1969:76^) offers an alternative solution: in his
view Ahaziah of Judah probably reigned for 2 years originally, since a i-year reign is
anomalous within a set of inclusively antedated reigns (any reign which extends
beyond the first new year from accession automatically enters its 2nd year in an
antedating system, while any reign which terminates before the first new year from
accession is normally stated in fractions of a year). However, the anomaly of
Ahaziah's i -year reign is more satisfactorily accounted for by noting that Athaliah's
reign was evidently deemed to be illegitimate (she is not accorded any of the usual
regnal formulae); Ahaziah, despite having been murdered before the end of his first

Rehoboam
Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
17-1 years
3-1 years
41-1 years
25-1 years
8-1 years
i year
total
95-5 years
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri
Omri
Ahab
Ahaziah
Joram
total
129
22-1 years
2-1 years
24-1 years
2-1 years
7 days
12-1 years
*2i-i years
2-1 years
12 years
97-7 years
This overlooks one rather important point. MT's chronology

reflects Priestly schematization (which reduced the reign lengths
of Abijam and Jehoram to create a 43O-year interval from the
foundation of the temple to its destruction), so we cannot
reconstruct the original chronology of this period simply by
arranging MT's reigns on the basis of inclusive antedating and
reducing Ahab's reign to *2i years. We must begin by attempting
to reconstruct the pre-Priestly (Deuteronomistic) chronology of
this period, and proceed from there to an attempted reconstruction
of the original, pre-schematic chronology.
It was pointed out in the last chapter that LXX's Judean
chronology preserves evidence of a pre-Priestly schematism giving
480 years from David's accession to the exile. Judean reign lengths
given by LXXBL differ from MT's reign lengths in three (or two
and a half) instances: the two main differences are that Abijam is
ascribed a reign of 6 years in LXXBL (as against 3 years in MT),
while Jehoram is ascribed a reign of 10 years in LXXL (as against 8
years in MT); LXXAB's figure of 40 years for Jehoram's reign is
clearly impossible on any chronology.33 The third instance where
LXX and MT differ over Judean reign lengths is in Rehoboam's
case: LXXB gives Rehoboam's reign length as 12 years in i Kings
12.243 (LXXL has '17 years', and the verse is lacking in MT), but
in i Kings 14.21 LXXBL and MT are agreed in ascribing
regnal year, might therefore be credited with a complete year, as there was no other
legitimate monarch to whom this year could be assigned.
33. Rahlfs (Septuaginta, ad loc.) suggests graphic confusion of H' (the Greek
symbol for '8') and M' (the Greek symbol for '40') as the source of this reading, but it
is possible that it reflects a deliberate alteration that was intended to lengthen
LXX's world chronology by 30 years (see p. 239f.).
130
Rehoboam a reign of 17 years. I have argued above (p. 38) that

LXXB has in fact preserved the original LXX figure in i Kings
12.243, but this is obviously not the original Biblical figure for
Rehoboam's reign length, since '12 years' is in direct contradiction
to all other chronological data in Kings. In Jehoram's case, LXXL's
figure of 10 years is at variance with the fact that Joram's
accession is synchronized with Jehoram's 2nd year (2K i.iSa); this
accession date clearly presupposes that Jehoram reigned for *u
years (see following table), and since it is otherwise impossible to
account for Joram's accession date we may regard this as being the
original figure for Jehoram's reign. In this earlier version of the
chronology now given by LXX, Jehoram became king in the *2nd
year of Ahaziah of Israel and reigned for *n years before being
succeeded by Ahaziah of Judah in Joram's nth year.
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
24
25/aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
*n
aci
aci
2
aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
n
Ahaziah
Joram
The fact that this chronology presupposes inclusive antedating of

Jehoram's reign (as in MT's chronology) offers a possible
explanation of why it was altered. LXX's chronology of Kings
generally presupposes non-inclusive dating (mostly non-inclusive
antedating), but the editor responsible for most of this chronology
was apparently unwilling to alter Jehoram's original reign length in
order to remove this one instance of inclusive antedating; subsequently, a later editor who was not concerned to preserve the
original schematic totals removed this inconsistency by reducing
Jehoram's reign from *n to 10 years.34 This second editor either
34. The editor who made this reduction was quite possibly also responsible for
reducing Rehoboam's reign length to 12 years in i Kings 12.243: coupled with a
131
forgot to readjust Joram's accession date, or else he did adjust it

but his adjusted date (*ist year of Jehoram) was subsequently lost
through secondary conflation with the earlier chronology.
LXXBL's figures for the reign lengths of Israelite kings from
Nadab to Joram are identical with MT's figures, leaving aside
LXXB's peculiar figures for 'Zimri', which are discussed below.
On the other hand LXXBL fail to state the duration of Jeroboam's
reign, i Kings 14.1-20 having been omitted in the original LXX
text.35 However, Jeroboam's reign length has to be longer than 22
years in LXX's chronology: Asa's accession is synchronized with
Jeroboam's 24th year, and later synchronisms presuppose a reign
length of *25 years (see table on p. I26f.). Accession synchronisms
for Nadab and Baasha reflect inclusive antedating, but they are
disregarded in LXX's subsequent chronology, which clearly
presupposes non-inclusive dating of Nadab's and Baasha's reigns.
This discrepancy between the accession dates of Nadab and
Baasha and LXX's subsequent chronology suggests that the
former were either taken over unchanged from the original
chronology, or have secondarily replaced adjusted accession dates
through conflation with chronological data from other textual
traditions.
LXX accession dates for Israelite kings after Baasha generally
presuppose non-inclusive antedating. A number of discrepancies
exist, but these are of secondary origin and cannot be used to
reconstruct earlier forms of the chronology. Jehoram's accession
date (5th year of Joram) is obviously incompatible with other
chronological data in LXX and has evidently resulted from
conflation with the chronological scheme presented by MT.
Accession dates ascribed to Elah in LXXBL and Zimri in LXXL
are equally incompatible with the rest of LXX's chronology, as can
be seen from the table given above (p. I26f.) Other chronological
data in LXX point to Asa's 29th year for Elah's accession date, and
LXXBL's figure (2Oth year of Asa) must almost certainly be seen as
i-year reduction in Jehoram's reign length, this 5-year reduction in Rehoboam's
reign length had the effect of bringing the chronology now found in LXX into
conformity with the Priestly scheme of 430 years from the foundation of the temple
to the Babylonian exile.
35. The passage is restored in LXXA and other hexaplaric manuscripts. LXX
differs from MT on a redactional level at this point: the story of Jeroboam's sick
child (i Kings 14.1-18 in MT) is given in a different form in i Kings I2.24g-n
(absent from MT).
132
a secondary corruption of this: the omission of units from

compound numerals is, as was noted earlier (p. 109), one of the
most commonly attested forms of numerical corruption (the same
type of corruption is probably also reflected in Josephus's
synchronism for Omri's accession3oth year of Asa).36
LXXL's synchronism for Zimri's accession (22nd year of Asa)
has clearly resulted from the addition of 2 years (the duration of
Elah's reign) to the corrupt synchronism for Elah's accession, and
was doubtless intended to make good the previous absence of a
synchronism for Zimri's accession in i Kings 16.15. The omission
of this synchronism in LXXB and most other non-Lucianic
manuscripts (excluding LXXA and hexaplaric manuscripts), is
doubtless connected with the fact that LXXB and other nonLucianic manuscripts have confused Zimri (â^pi) and Omri
(d^pC), effectively eliminating the latter; as a result of this
confusion LXX contained a second accession date for Zimri
(formerly Omri) in i Kings 16.23, and this understandably led to
the omission of Zimri's original accession date in i Kings i6.i5.37
LXXB's statement in i Kings 16.15 that Zimri reigned for 7 years
(rather than 7 days) in Tirzah may probably be ascribed to the
same confusion, and was possibly inspired by the statement in
LXXB's text of i Kings 16.23 tnat Zimri (formerly Omri) reigned
for a total of 12 years, including 6years in Tirzah.
Apart from these secondary discrepancies, LXX's chronology
presents a scheme that is remarkably clear and consistent. But this
consistency was gained at a price, which in addition to the
near-total rewriting of Israelite-Judean synchronisms also involved the removal of at least one pre-Priestly reign length in Israelite
chronology. The Priestly chronological revision subtracted 6 years
from Judean chronology (reducing Abijam's reign from 6 to 3 years
and Jehoram's reign from *n to 8 years), and must almost
certainly have compensated for this by removing 6 years from
Israelite chronology also. However, only 3 of these 6 years are
36. This obviously corrupt synchronism for Elah's accession forms the
cornerstone of Miller's reconstruction of Israelite and Judean chronology for the
early monarchy, even though he also follows Thiele in supposing that '2Oth year of
Asa' was simply an 'estimate' made in the absence of more specific information
(Miller 1967:282f.).
37. The Lucianic distinction between Zimri and Omri must in this case be
viewed as a secondary restoration, which naturally created the need for a new
synchronism for Zimri's accession.
133
accounted for in LXX's chronology, which presupposes that

Jeroboam reigned for *25 years (but fails to say so explicitly).
Subsequent Israelite reign lengths are identical to those of MT,
if we disregard LXXB's alteration of Zimri's reign length,
although one of these was presumably 3 years longer than its
present duration in earlier versions of Israelite chronology.
There are no direct indications of where this 3-year reduction
may have occurred, but since the removal of 3 years from the
reign of Abijam was compensated for by a 3-year reduction in
the reign of Abijam's Israelite contemporary (Jeroboam), it is
not unlikely that the removal of 3 years from Jehoram's reign
will have been compensated for by a corresponding reduction in
the reign of one of Jehoram's Israelite contemporaries or nearcontemporaries, thus minimizing any disruption to existing
Israelite-Judean synchronisms. Joram, who is Jehoram's closest
contemporary, must certainly be ruled out, as 12 years is the
maximum possible length for Joram's reign on Assyrian evidence (see p. i83ff.), and we may also doubt that Ahaziah's
apparently insignificant reign was originally longer than 2 years.
This then brings us to Ahab, who may be suspected on other
ground of having lost 3 years at the hands of Priestly chronologists. In shortening Judean chronology the Priestly school
removed 6 years from two Judean kings who are particularly
noted for their wickedness (iK 15.3 and 2K 8.18), and it is
reasonable to suppose that they will have looked for Israelite
kings with similar qualifications when they removed 6 years
from Israelite chronology. The two most distinguished candidates in this respect were undoubtedly Jeroboam, who first
'caused Israel to sin' (iK 14.16 etc.), and Ahab, who 'did more
evil in Yahweh's sight than any of his predecessors' (iK 16.30);
and we have already seen that Jeroboam's reign was reduced by
3 years in Priestly chronology. We may therefore conclude that
Ahab's reign was probably 3 years longer in pre-Priestly chronology than its present length in MT and LXX, and that it was
reduced from *25 to 22 years in compensation for the removal of
3 years from Jehoram's reign. We still need to explain how this
Priestly figure of 22 years for Ahab's reign came to be included
in LXX's chronology, which has otherwise preserved prePriestly reign lengths. A probable explanation is that when
Israelite reigns were redated by non-inclusive antedating, the
134
consequent removal of i-year overlaps presupposed by the earlier

chronology, in which the majority of these reigns had been
inclusively antedated (as in MT's chronology), must inevitably
have resulted in an increase in the overall length of Israelite
chronology: the adoption of 22 years in place of *25 years for
Ahab's reign may therefore be seen as a way of compensating for
this increase.
The removal of 3 years from Abijam's and Jeroboam's reigns
necessitated only minimal alterations to existing synchronisms,
so that MT (with its essentially Priestly chronology) and
LXXBL (with an essentially pre-Priestly chronology at this
point) give identical synchronisms for Nadab's and Baasha's
accessions, although MT necessarily gives a reduced figure for
Asa's accession date. LXX synchronisms beyond this point
reflect late chronological reworking and are therefore of little
significance. But since the removal of 3 years from Abijam's and
Jeroboam's reigns required few alterations in subsequent synchronisms, MT's (Priestly) chronology from Nadab's accession
to the reign of Ahab may be regarded as broadly identical with
pre-Priestly chronology for this period (except for Omri's accession date, which was imported from the chronology now found
in LXX). However, the removal of 3 years from Ahab's reign
will have necessitated a reduction of 3 years in the accession
dates of Ahaziah of Israel and of Joram, and a corresponding
increase of 3 years in Jehoram's accession date, before the
original balance between Israelite and Judean chronology was
restored with the removal of 3 years from Jehoram's reign.
Pre-Priestly chronology down to Jehu's revolt may therefore be
reconstructed by reversing these Priestly alterations in MT's
chronology and by disregarding accession dates which reflect
non-inclusive antedating (and were taken from the scheme found
in LXX); in the case of Abijam and Omri, for whom alternative
accession dates are not given, pre-Priestly accession dates may
be reconstructed as being identical with the last regnal year of
their respective predecessors, as is regularly the case with postdating and inclusive antedating. The following table presents a
reconstruction of pre-Priestly Deuteronomistic chronology down
to Jehu's revolt that has been worked out on this basis; synchronisms which are preserved in MT's chronology are indicated by bold print.

Rehoboam
Abijam
i
2
3
4
5
Asa
ac/6
i
20
21
22
23
24
3
4
22
23
aci/24
aci/ac/2
i2/aci
Ahab
41 /ac
i
ii
12
13
14
15
16
I?
18
19
20
21
3
4
5
15
16
i?
18
19
20
21
22
*23
*24(/aci)
*25 (2/ac)
22
23
24
aci/25
Elah
Zimri/Omri
ii
37
38
39
40
Nadab
Baasha
24
25
26
27
Jehoram
i?
18
19
*25/aci
da/aci
Jehoshaphat
Jeroboam
ly/ac
135
3
4
(Ahaziah)
(Joram)
Ahaziah
Joram
136
Ahaziah
/Athaliah

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
*n/aci/i
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12/1
Jehu
We are now confronted once again with a discrepancy between

Ahaziah of Israel's accession date and Ahab's reign length which is
similar to the discrepancy noted earlier; and here it may be
suggested that the explanation given previously (p. 128) was
substantially correct, except that it failed to take account of Priestly
modifications to the chronology. This leads to the conclusion that
Ahab's original reign length was (not *21 years but) *24 years, and
that this was increased to *25 years by the exilic Deuteronomistic
chronologist. A plausible reason for this increase is that it was
carried out in order to harmonize Israelite and Judean chronology
following alterations to Judean reigns so thatup until Jehoram's
accessionthey reflected postdating rather than inclusive antedating (the latter being incompatible with the non-inclusive
reckoning required by Deuteronomistic chronological schematism). However, in making this adjustment the Deuteronomistic
chronologist evidently forgot to readjust the accession dates of
Ahaziah of Israel and Joram, and the resulting discrepancy was
carried over into the Priestly chronological revision when a
Priestly chronologist mechanically reduced Ahaziah of Israel's and
Joram's accession dates by 3 years in order to compensate for the
removal of 3 years from Ahab's reign.
The failure of Priestly chronologists to correct this discrepancy
is perhaps less surprising than the apparent carelessness shown by
the exilic Deuteronomistic chronologist. However, the reconstruction of Deuteronomistic chronology set out in the previous table
evidences a rather ad hoc method of revising Israelite-Judean
synchronisms. The Deuteronomistic chronologist, in conformity
with his non-inclusive reckoning of Judean reign lengths, appears
initially to have set about revising Judean accession dates so that
they reflected postdating, while leaving Israelite accession dates,
137
which were irrelevant to his overall synchronism, reflecting

inclusive antedating (albeit with minor modifications to make
them conform with his revised Judean dates). Having got as far as
Jehoram (2K 8.16) it seems that he then realized that this
procedure would fail to synchronize the deaths of Ahaziah of
Judah and Joram of Israel, and therefore reversed his practice,
leaving the Judean reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah reflecting
inclusive antedating while counting the Israelite reigns of Ahaziah
and Joram non-inclusively (and also adding another year to Ahab's
reign). At this point he ought logically to have gone back and
revised Ahaziah of Israel's and Joram's accession dates (iK 22.52
and 2K 3.1), but this he failed to do. A more systematic approach to
Israelite-Judean synchronisms could easily have eliminated all
instances of inclusive dating in Judean chronology by introducing
non-inclusive dating at an earlier point in Israelite chronology,
which would also have obviated the need to lengthen Ahab's reign.
However, the revision of Israelite-Judean synchronisms was really
of secondary importance to the exilic Deuteronomistic chronologist, whose main concern was to construct a schematic chronology expressed through Judean reign lengths.
Apart from the minor modification to Ahab's reign length
which we have just discussed there is no other evidence of
Deuteronomistic alterations to Israelite or Judean reign lengths in
this part of the chronology of Kings, so we may probably conclude
that schematic alterations by the (exilic) Deuteronomistic chronologist were primarily concentrated on the period after Jehu's
revolt. This conclusion allows us to reconstruct a pre-schematic
version of the chronology of this period from the reconstruction of
Deuteronomistic chronology given above: to this end we need only
reduce Ahab's reign from *25 to *24 years and rearrange Israelite
and Judean reigns so that they reflect inclusive antedating. The
following table reconstructs the original chronology on this basis.
Rehoboam
Abijam
i
ly/aci
2
3
4
5
i
17
18
19
20
21
Jeroboam
I3
Asa
aci/6
22
23
3
4
5
24
*25/aci
d2/aci
25
26
27
28
29
21
22
23
aci/24
aci/ac/2
Jehoram
4i/aci
21
22
22
*23
23
24
aci/25
Ahab
*24/aci
2/aci
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
*n/aci/i
Ahaziah
Joram
Ahaziah
/Athaliah
Elah
Zimri/Omri
ii
i2/aci
39
40
Jehoshaphat
Nadab
Baasha
10
ii
1/12
Jehu
4.2.2. From Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria

The chronology of the period from Jehu's revolt to the fall of
Samaria presents a rather different set of problems from those
encountered above. In contrast to their divergent chronologies of
the early monarchic period MT and LXX contain largely identical
chronologies for the period after Jehu's revolt. This is essentially
because the late chronological reworking which is reflected in
139
LXX's chronology of the early monarchy was incorporated into

the textual traditions behind LXX and MT from the time of Jehu's
revolt (or, more precisely, from Joash's accession in Jehu's yth
year), as is shown by the large number of non-inclusively
antedated reigns (the characteristic feature of this revision) which
occur in this part of the chronology.38 Priestly modifications to the
chronology found in MT, which prevented the textual tradition
behind MT from adopting this revised chronology, with its
non-Priestly figures for Abijam and Jehoram, in the early
monarchic period (or, more precisely, in the period from Abijam to
Joash), are confined to the period of the early divided monarchy.
On the other hand, in contrast to the general agreement between
MT and LXX in their chronology of the period under discussion,
there are a number of significant chronological variants for this
period in Josephus's Jewish Antiquities, which largely agreed with
MT in its chronology of the early monarchy. Finally, in contrast to
the presence of relatively few serious internal discrepancies in
MT's and LXX's chronologies of the early monarchy, we are now
confronted with a series of major internal discrepancies between
Israelite and Judean chronology, and MT's Judean chronology is
some 22 years longer than its Israelite chronology. In LXX, where
Pekahiah is ascribed a reign of 10 years (MT's figure is 2 years),
Judean chronology is 14 years longer than Israelite chronology.
The following list presents the chronological data of MT, LXX,
and Josephus for the period from Jehu's revolt to the fall of
Samaria.39 LXXL is cited as our best witness to the original LXX
chronology; other LXX texts, including LXXB, contain the Kaige
recension at this point (note, however, that LXXA agrees with
LXXL regarding Pekahiah's reign length).
38. Non-inclusive antedating is clearly reflected in MT's and LXX's accession
dates for Jehoahaz, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Jotham, and is consistent with accession
dates for Amaziah and Hoshea. Other accession dates mostly reflect postdating,
probably as the result of secondary conflation with earlier versions of the
chronology, or are anomalous on any dating system.
39. See appendix B for references to the relevant passages in Antiquities. It
should be noted that there are only six kings of this period for whom Josephus gives
accession dates (these are Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Amaziah, Jeroboam, Azariah, and
Hezekiah), and that he also omits to say by how many years Amaziah outlived
Jehoash (2K 14.17) or in which year of Hezekiah's reign Samaria was besieged (2K
18.9). On the other hand Josephus provides additional information in stating that
Jehoash's defeat of Amaziah occurred in the i4th year of Amaziah's reign (Ant
9.203).
140
2K 10.36
2K 11.4
2K 12.2
2K 12.7
2K 13.1
2K 13.10
2K 14.1-2
2K 14.17
2K 14.23
2K 15.1-2
2K 15.8
2K 15.13
2K 15.17
2K 15.23
2K 15.27
2K 15.30
2K 15.32-3
2K 16.1-2.
2K 17.1
2K 17.6
2K 18.1-2
2Ki8.9
2K 18.10

Jehu reigns for 28 (MT, L) / 27 (Jos.) years < becoming
king in Athaliah's 2nd year (L) > .
Athaliah is removed in the yth year (of her rule).
Joash becomes king in Jehu's yth year and reigns for 40
years.
Temple repairs are inaugurated in Joash's 23rd year.
Jehoahaz becomes king in Joash's 23rd (MT, L) / 2ist
(Jos.) year and reigns for 17 years.
Jehoash becomes king in Joash's 37th year and reigns
for 16 years.
Amaziah becomes king in Jehoash's 2nd year and reigns
for 29 years.
Amaziah lives for 15 years after the death of Jehoash.
Jeroboam becomes king in Amaziah's I5th year and
reigns for 41 (MT, L) / 40 (Jos.) years.
Azariah becomes king in Jeroboam's 27th (MT, L) /
I4th (Jos.) year and reigns for 52 years.
Zechariah becomes king in Azariah's 38th year and
reigns for 6 months.
Shallum becomes king in Azariah's 39th year and reigns
for i month.
Menahem becomes king in Azariah's 39th year and
reigns for 10 years.
Pekahiah becomes king in Azariah's 5Oth year and
reigns for 2 (MT, Jos.) / 10 (AL) years.
Pekah becomes king in Azariah's 52nd year and reigns
for 20 years.
Hoshea becomes king in Jotham's 2Oth year (MT).
Jotham becomes king in Pekah's 2nd year and reigns for
16 years.
Ahaz becomes king in Pekah's I7th year and reigns for
16 years.
Hoshea becomes king in Ahaz's I2th year and reigns for
9 years.
Samaria is captured in Hoshea's 9th year.
Hezekiah becomes king in Hoshea's 3rd (MT, L) / 4th
(Jos.) year and reigns for 29 years.
Samaria is besieged in Hezekiah's 4th year = Hoshea's
7th year.
Samaria is captured in Hezekiah's 6th (MT, L) / 7th
(Jos.) year = Hoshea's 9th year.

This may be set out as follows.
jMT2LXX
2 3
3 4
Athaliah
4 5
5 6
6 7
7/aci
Joash
Amaziah
Amaziah
4
5
6
7
2y/acjos.
22
28
23
aci
II
^^12
15 16
16 17/30
17
i
aci
2
2
Jehoash
12
13
13-*^
15
15
i6/ac
i
25
26
Jehoash
21-2I
22
23
24
Jehoahaz
13 M
14 15
14
26
27
28
acJs-/29
i aci
Jehoahaz
II 12
12 13
13
16
Azariah
Azariah
Jehu
21
33
34
35
36
37
38(37)
39
aciJs-/4o(37)
2 aci
12
aci
II
12
13
14
(27)15
35
36
37
38
39
40
Jeroboam
141
142
27
28
38
Jotham
39
40
4i
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
13
14
15
Ahaz
ac/i6
I 17 MT
2l8MT
MT
3 19 MT
41
*42
ac/*52 Zechariah
Shallum
ac/ac/*i
i
/Menahem
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
IO
Pekahiah
aci
2
3LXX/aci
4 LXX
Pekah
5 LXX
6 LXX
^LXX
gLXX
gLXX
IO LXX
10
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
ii
12
13
14
15
16
i?
18
19
12
20
4 20
13
aci
5
6
7
8
9
14
15
16
17
18
Pekah
Hoshea

10
11
Hezekiah
12
13
i4/ac
15 i(acJs-)
16 2
3
4
5
6(7JS)
143
19
20
aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Hoshea
Siege of Samaria
Capture of Samaria
Four major discrepancies between Israelite and Judean chronology emerge clearly from this table. In comparison with
Judean chronology Jeroboam's reign is n years too short, since
Zechariah's accession date presupposes that Jeroboam reigned for
*52 years. Zechariah himself is said to have reigned only 6 months,
but following accession dates presuppose a *i-year reign. Thirdly,
MT's 2-year reign for Pekahiah is 8 years short of the total
required by Hoshea's accession date in 2 Kings 17.1, although in
this case the missing 8 years turn up in LXXAL, where Pekahiah is
said to have reigned for 10 years. And finally, Hoshea's reign is
apparently 2 years too short in comparison with Judean chronology: on existing synchronisms there is a 2-year overlap between
the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah.
There are various ways in which we might attempt to account
for these discrepancies, which amount to a difference of 22 years
between MT's Israelite and Judean chronologies; but since I have
argued earlier that a number of years must have been added to
Judean chronology in order to produce the Deuteronomistic
schematism of 480 years for the Davidic monarchy, we may most
naturally explain these discrepancies as a consequence of this
schematizing process: MT's reign lengths for Jeroboam, Zechariah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea are too short in relation to Judean
chronology because they represent pre-schematic figures which
were not increased in accordance with Deuteronomistic modifications to Judean chronology.
If this explanation is correct, then the discrepancy between
Israelite and Judean chronology appears at first sight to be the
result of an oversight by the Deuteronomistic chronologist. But it
144
is difficult to believe that this is in fact the case when Zechariah's

and Shallum's accession dates obviously presuppose increased
figures for Jeroboam's and Zechariah's reign lengths. And if the
Deuteronomistic chronologist forgot to increase Pekahiah's reign
length how are we to account for the fact that LXX AL apparently
contain the appropriate schematized figure? A late corrector would
hardly have inserted 8 extra years at this point in the chronology,
for Pekah's accession date (in MT and LXX) allows only 2 years
for Pekahiah's reign.40 The logical conclusion to be drawn is that
the reign lengths of Jeroboam, Zechariah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea
were originally increased in accordance with Deuteronomistic
schematization, but that schematic reign lengths for these kings
were subsequently replaced by pre-schematic figures from the
original chronology. This would simply be another example of the
tendency for data from different versions of the chronology of
Kings to be secondarily conflated.
This conflation of schematic and pre-schematic Israelite reign
lengths could conceivably have been largely accidental. Certainly
there are other instances of chronological conflation (MT's
synchronism for Omri's accession is one example) for which no
obvious reason can be detected; and the fact that this conflation
was apparently restricted to Israelite chronology can be explained by the fact that alterations to Israelite chronology did
not affect the overall schematism expressed by Judean chronology, and were therefore less likely to be noticed or corrected.
But it is also possible that pre-schematic reign lengths for a
number of Israelite reigns were deliberately selected in order to
create a secondary overall schematism within Israelite chronology. Krey's theory that Israelite reign lengths given in MT
produce an overall total of 240 years for the duration of the
Israelite monarchy has already been discussed and rejected
(p. 115); on MT's figures Israelite reign lengths for this period
add up to 241 years, not 240 years. However, Krey had a
predecessor who also calculated a total of 240 years for the
duration of the Israelite monarchy: according to Josephus (Ant
9.280), 240 years 7 months and 7 days elapsed between the
40. The appropriate point at which to insert 8 extra years in MT's and LXX's
chronologies is at the end of Pekah's reign (see previous table). It is therefore no
surprise to find that in 6 minuscules cited by the Cambridge Scptuugint Pekah's
reign is indeed extended from 20 to 28 years.
145
division of the kingdom and the fall of Samaria.41

Curiously, the total number of regnal years and fractions of a
year stated by Josephus in chronological notices on individual
Israelite kings works out at only 239 years 7 months and 7 days.
Josephus's figures for the reigns of Israelite kings are identical to
MT's figures, with two exceptions: Jehu is ascribed a reign of 27
years (Ant 9.160) instead of 28 years, and Jeroboam II is ascribed a
reign of 40 years (Ant 9.205, 215) instead of 41 years. This second
variant almost certainly results from accidental omission of the
unit in '4i',42 and may therefore be ascribed to textual corruption
in Antiquities or in Josephus's source. The first possibility requires
us to posit a double corruption since the figure is cited twice in
Josephus's account of Jeroboam's reign, but it has the advantage of
accounting for the fact that Josephus's total presupposes an extra
year in Israelite chronology;43 in any case one would naturally
expect that if textual corruption affected one number this would
either be corrected in accordance with the second number or the
latter would be altered to agree with the first. On the other hand,
Josephus's figure for Jehu (which is also given by the Old Latin
translation of the Septuagint) is corroborated by Josephus's
synchronisms for Jehu's successors (see below) and may therefore
be accepted as a genuine variant.
Josephus's original figures for Israelite reigns were thus
identical with MT's figures except in the case of Jehu, for whom
Josephus's reign length was i less than MT's. And since there is no
reason to suppose that Josephus deliberately reduced MT's figure
(there is actually good evidence that he did not; see below, p. 148),
we may conclude that Josephus's chronology is derived from a
Biblical text which gave 27 years as Jehu's reign length but which
otherwise agreed with MT in its Israelite reign lengths. On this
chronology the duration of the northern kingdom of Israel works
41. Josephus, in common with other Hellenistic historians, erroneously includes
reigns of less than a year when calculating chronological totals; reigns which
terminate before the first new year from accession have no chronological
significance in a dating system in which regnal years are equated with calendar
years.
42. Other examples of this common type of numerical corruption have been
noted above; see pp. 109 and 13if.
43. See p. 153 for a similar instance where numerical corruption in one of
Josephus's Judean reign lengths appears to have created a discrepancy with
Josephus's stated total for the duration of the Davidic monarchy.
146
out, by non-inclusive reckoning, at exactly 240 years, and the

schematic nature of this total suggests that it was deliberately
contrived. This provides us with a plausible explanation for the
conflation of schematic and pre-schematic reign lengths in the
Israelite chronology of Kings: a post-Deuteronomistic chronologist selected pre-schematic figures for five Israelite kings (Jehu,
Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea) in order to achieve
a schematic total of 240 years for the duration of the Israelite
monarchy; and further conflation between this modified chronology and the earlier schematized chronology has resulted in the
existing chronologies of MT (with pre-schematic figures for
Jeroboam, Zechariah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea) and LXX (with
pre-schematic figures for Jeroboam, Zechariah, and Hoshea).
There is of course one rather obvious objection to this
hypothesis, for the argument that Israelite chronology was
deliberately reduced to a schematic total of 240 years could also be
used to circumvent my earlier argument that the short reign
lengths ascribed to certain Israelite kings are pre-schematic. If the
24<D-year total for Israelite chronology was deliberately contrived,
why should we suppose that this was achieved by selecting
pre-schematic figures? Could it not have been attained just as
easily by purely arbitrary reductions in Israelite reign lengths, in
which case the short and supposedly pre-schematic reign lengths
ascribed to Jehu and others would be even less original than the
schematic figures presupposed by Israelite-Judean synchronisms?
If this were so, we should probably have to conclude that the
original chronology of Kings for this period is irretrievably lost to
us, and any historical reconstruction of Israelite and Judean
chronology of this period would have to depend primarily on
non-Biblical evidence. There are, however, a number of significant
counter-arguments against this objection.
We may begin by noting that LXX's figure of 10 years for
Pekahiah's reign appears to be overtly schematic in a way that
MT's figure of 2 years is not, and this is corroborated by the fact
that a lo-year reign by Pekahiah is historically impossible.44 In this
instance there is therefore a reasonable case for thinking that MT
has preserved Pekahiah's original reign length; and there are
44. See p. 1988". We know from Assyrian sources that Pekahiah's father,
Menahem, was still on the throne in 738 BC, while his successor, Pekah, had become
king by 733 BC at the latest.
147
probably few scholars who have ever suggested otherwise. But it

has to be admitted that this argument is not conclusive, for a late
editor who was intent on shortening Israelite chronology by a
series of arbitrary reductions need not necessarily have been
concerned to retain round figures in this chronology; and it is not
inconceivable that in reducing various reign lengths he might
fortuitously have brought Pekahiah's reign length within the
bounds of known historical possibility.
A second argument concerns Zechariah's reign, which is given
as 6 months in all textual witnesses, but which would appear to
have lasted for a complete year according to Israelite-Judean
synchronisms. In this case it seems to me to be entirely reasonable
to suppose that the exilic Deuteronomist increased Zechariah's
reign from 6 months (effectively zero as far as chronological totals
are concerned) to *i year in order to gain an extra year in Israelite
chronology. But it may be doubted that a later editor would have
naturally chosen to reduce so short a reign from *i year to 6
months in order to lose a year at this point, unless '6 months'
already existed as a textual variant. Why not take an extra year
away from Jeroboam's reign instead, bringing this down to a round
total of 40 years?
A third line of argument provides what I consider to be fairly
conclusive evidence that the short reigns associated with Jehu and
other Israelite kings are genuinely pre-schematic, and not simply
the arbitrary invention of a late editor. As the following table
demonstrates, Josephus's accession date for Jehoahaz (2ist year of
Joash) is in agreement with his figure of 27 years for Jehu's reign
length. Similarly MT and LXX's accession date for Jehoahaz
(23rd year of Joash) agrees perfectly with their figure of 28 years for
Jehu's reign length. Beyond this point MT, LXX, and Josephus all
agree that Jehoahaz reigned for 17 years and was succeeded by
Jehoash in the 37th year of Joash's reign. But this date is
incompatible with MT and LXX's previous chronology, whereas
it agrees perfectly with Josephus's previous chronology provided
that Jehoahaz's reign is inclusively antedated.
Joash
21
aci/27
Jehu
Jehoahaz
148

31
ii
32
12
33
34
35
36
37
13
14
15
16
ly/aci
Jehoash
This chronology cannot be Josephus's invention, for we have seen

that Josephus counted reigns non-inclusively. But equally, and for
the same reason, it cannot be the invention of an editor who sought
to produce a schematic total of 240 years for Israelite chronology.
We may therefore conclude that the table given above very
probably represents the original chronology of this period, and
that '27 years' is the original, pre-schematic figure for Jehu's reign.
In which case, unless there is good evidence to the contrary, we
may reasonably assume that the short reign lengths associated with
Jeroboam, Zechariah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea are also preschematic.
The probability that Jehoash's accession date (37th year of
Joash) is derived from the original, pre-schematic chronology has
important consequences for Judean as well as Israelite chronology.
MT, LXX, and Josephus are agreed that Joash reigned for 40 years
and was succeeded by Amaziah in the 2nd year of Jehoashwhich
is clearly impossible if Jehoash became king in Joash's 37th year. If
Jehoash's and Amaziah's accession dates are original, and if (as the
previous table suggests) Israelite and Judean reigns of this period
were originally inclusively antedated, Joash cannot have reigned
for more than 38 years.
Joash
Amaziah
37
aci
aci/38 8
22
Jehoash
There can be little doubt that this is more likely to be the

original figure for Joash's reign40 years is a schematic round
figure which recurs throughout Deuteronomistic chronology.
The obvious parallel with the 4O-year reigns of David and
Solomon may well be intentional: according to the Biblical
account Joash inaugurated repairs to the Solomonic temple, and
his accession restored the Davidic dynasty after it had been
practically terminated by Athaliah's purges.
149
Israelite and Judean chronology runs smoothly from Amaziah's

accession as far as Azariah's accession. Jehoash is said to have
reigned for 16 years, and this fits perfectly with the fact that
Jeroboam's accession is dated to Amaziah's I5th year. But since
Amaziah is said to have reigned for 29 years the synchronism given
by MT and LXX for Azariah's accession (2yth year of Jeroboam) is
obviously impossible. Josephus's synchronism (i4th year of Jeroboam) is more acceptable, but Josephus's chronology (like that of
MT and LXX) requires Jeroboam's reign to be postdated (see
table on p. 141 f.) and is therefore unlikely to be original; despite
limited contacts with Assyria during Jehoash's reign it is improbable that postdating was adopted in Israel at this stage.45 Now if
Jeroboam's reign is inclusively antedated, then it is clear that we
must either increase Azariah's accession date by i year (to
Jeroboam's *i5th year) or reduce Amaziah's reign length by i year
(to *28 years). Since Josephus appears to give original accession
dates for Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Amaziah, and Jeroboam, there is
reasonable cause for supposing that his accession date for Azariah
is also original, in which case we must assume that Azariah's reign
length, like Joash's, was secondarily increased (from *28 to 29
years) for the purposes of Deuteronomistic schematism. This
suggestion is strengthened by the fact that there appears to be a
deliberate chronological parallelism between the reigns of Amaziah
and Hezekiah, which was presumably intended to underline other
similarities between their reigns (these include noteworthy military successes, and policies which later resulted in foreign invasion
and defeat): both kings are said to have reigned for 29 years, having
acceded to the throne in their 25th year (2K 14.2; i8.2),46 and both
are associated with a period of 15 years by which they survive a
near-fatal illness (2K 20.6) or the death of their main military
adversary (2K I4.iy). 47 Taking *28 years as Amaziah's original
45. There is actually no good reason to suppose that postdating was ever adopted
in the northern kingdom of Israel; see below, p. 181.
46. Hezekiah's accession age is incompatible with chronological data on Ahaz,
and has probably been deliberately assimilated to Amaziah's accession age; see p.
224n.
47. It is worth noting that Amaziah and Hezekiah are the only two Judean kings,
after David, whose reigns are subdivided in this way. The parallelism at this point
may also be closer than I have suggested. 2 Kings 20.6 links Hezekiah's illness with
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, and 2 Kings 19.37 has sometimes been taken to
imply that Sennacherib died shortly after this invasion (e.g. by Josephus in
Antiquities 10.23; Sennacherib actually died long after this event). On this
150
reign length the pre-schematic chronology of this period may be

reconstructed as follows.
Amaziah
Azariah
aci
11
12
12
13
14
15
13
M
15
aci/i6
25
ii
26
12
27
13
aci/28
14
Jehoash
Jeroboam
This leaves us with the problem of accounting for MT's and

LXX's accession date for Azariah (27th year of Jeroboam), 'zyth' is
not, at first sight, a likely corruption of 'i4th'; but it may plausibly
be explained as a misplaced textual variant to '38th' in Zechariah's
accession datethis agrees with existing Biblical chronology to the
end of Jeroboam's reign (see table on p. 141 f.), in which Jeroboam's 41 st year is equivalent to Azariah's 2yth year. It may
therefore be argued that Zechariah's accession date was corrected
to the 27th year of Azariah in certain manuscripts following the
reduction of Jeroboam's reign from *52 to 41 years,48 and that the
resulting textual variation between '38th' and C27th' in Zechariah's
accession date (2K 15.8) led to the mistaken correction of'i4th' to
'27th' in Azariah's accession date (2K 15.1). In the original
chronology Zechariah's accession would have been dated to
Azariah's 28th yearso long as Azariah's original reign length was
not shorter than 28 years.
In fact one cannot assume that Azariah reigned as long this,
even though he is credited with a reign of 52 years in existing
interpretation, which could also have been the view of the exilic Deuteronomistic
chronologist, Amaziah and Hezekiah both lived for 15 years after the death of their
main adversary.
48. A similar correction, except that it presupposes non-inclusive antedating or
the sequential dating system used in c2 (see p. I2of.), is found in LXXN and n
minuscules cited in the Cambridge Septuagint; according to these manuscripts
Zechariah became king in the 28th year of Azariah.
151
Biblical chronologies. We have seen that the Judean chronology of

this period in Kings is considerably too long by historical
standards. Judean reigns from Jehu's revolt to Ahaz's accession
total 140 years by inclusive reckoning (7-1 +40-1 + 29-1 + 52-1 + 16),
which is over 30 years in excess of the historical interval between
Athaliah's usurpation of the throne and Ahaz's accession (Ahaz is
mentioned in an Assyrian tribute list of 734 BC, while other
evidence indicates that Jehu's coup d'etat, and Athaliah's usurpation of the Judean throne, occurred in 841 Be).49 The reductions in
Joash's and Amaziah's reigns proposed above account for only 3 of
these 30 + years, which leaves 30 years or so to be deducted from
Azariah's and Jotham's combined reigns. We may therefore
conclude that Azariah's original reign length was somewhere in the
vicinity of 20 to 30 years, depending on whether, and by how much
Jotham's reign is also reduced. There is little internal evidence to
help us here, but we cannot reduce Azariah's reign too greatly
without creating a discrepancy between Azariah's accession age (16
years) and Jotham's accession age (25 years)if Azariah's reign
were reduced to 20 years we would have to suppose that he was
only about 11 years old when Jotham was born. Conversely, too
great a reduction in Jotham's reign length will only create a similar
discrepancy between Jotham's and Ahaz's accession ages.50
Israelite chronology becomes equally difficult to reconstruct
from internal evidence at around this point. Zechariah's accession
may be dated to the 28th year inclusive from Azariah's accession
(whether or not the latter was still on the throne), and since I have
argued that '6 months' is the original figure for Zechariah's reign,
Shallum's and Menahem's accessions may be dated to the same
year. But it cannot be taken for granted that Menahem originally
reigned for 10 years, as stated in 2 Kings 15.17, since the same
round figure was also used for Pekahiah's schematic reign length
(now preserved in LXXAL). Pekah's 2O-year reign must obviously
raise similar doubts, which in this instance are confirmed by
historical evidence from Assyrian inscriptions showing that
Pekah's reign was considerably shorter than this.51 On the other
49. See below, pp. 1838". and 202.
50. See below, p. 220.
51. See below, p. i83ff. Pekah was deposed in either 732 or 731 BC, but came to
the throne after 738 BC, when Menahem is recorded as having paid tribute to
Tiglathpileser III.
152
hand Pekahiah's reign length, as stated in MT and Josephus, and

Hoshea's reign length (in all witnesses) appear to be genuinely
pre-schematic: Pekahiah's reign was increased from 2 to 10 years
by the exilic Deuteronomistic chronologist, and Hoshea's reign
length was apparently increased from 9 to *n years (his existing
reign length is 2 years too short by comparison with Judean
chronology).52
Israelite-Judean synchronisms, which were a crucial element in
my reconstruction of the original chronology of Kings from Jehu's
revolt to the reigns of Jeroboam and Azariah, offer little help in
reconstructing Israelite and Judean chronology beyond this point.
Azariah is the last king before Hezekiah whose accession date is
given by Josephus; while MT's and LXX's accession dates for
subsequent kings presuppose schematic reign lengths and are
therefore secondary or even tertiary. A tertiary series, linking
schematic and pre-schematic reign lengths, begins with Pekah's
accession-date (52nd year of Azariah); this presupposes that
Pekahiah reigned for 2 years (as in the original chronology), but it
also presupposes schematic figures for Jeroboam, Zechariah, and
Azariah (see table on p. 141 f.). This tertiary chronology, which is
in stark conflict with LXX's (schematic) figure for Pekahiah's
reign, is continued in MT's and LXX's accession dates for
Jotham and Ahaz, but is thereafter discontinued in LXX, which
reverts to the original schematic chronology (modified slightly to
reflect non-inclusive antedating) for Hoshea's accession date (i2th
year of Ahaz). The same date is also given in MT, but the latter
provides an alternative synchronism whereby Hoshea's accession
is dated to Jotham's 2Oth year (2K 15.30). This agrees perfectly
with previous tertiary dates, but whoever calculated this figure
apparently forgot that Jotham was supposed to have reigned for
only 16 years!
A second series of tertiary synchronisms begins with Hezekiah's
accession. The siege and capture of Samaria will presumably have
been dated to Hoshea's *9th and *nth years in Deuteronomistic
schematic chronology (in which Hoshea was ascribed a reign of *i i
52. This increase in Hoshea's reign length was possibly intended to create a
schematic parallel between Hoshea, last king of Israel, and Zedekiah, last king of
Judah. We have previously noted similar instances of apparent schematic
parallelism between Joash, and David and Solomon (p. 148), and between Amaziah
and Hezekiah (p. 149).
153
years), and Hezekiah's accession must accordingly have been dated

to Hoshea's *5th year.
Ahaz
Hezekiah
12
13
14
15
i6/ac
1
2
3
4
5
6
i
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
Hoshea
Siege of Samaria
Capture of Samaria
Subsequently, with the readoption of 9 years as Hoshea's reign

length, all dates in Hoshea's reign were necessarily reduced by 2
years, thus creating the existing 2-year overlap between the reigns
of Ahaz and Hezekiah. It is worth noting that the Ethiopic
translation of Kings does in fact date the capture of Samaria to
Hoshea's nth yeardespite having previously ascribed Hoshea a
reign of only 9 yearsand may possibly have preserved an early
textual variant at this point; it is unlikely that this reading is merely
a secondary correction intended to remove the 2-year overlap
between Ahaz and Hezekiah, for this overlap is also present in the
chronology of the Ethiopic translation, where Hoshea's nth year is
equated with Hezekiah's 8th year.53
The following table draws together previous tables in recon53. Josephus's variants are of less significance, and are also contradictory. His
accession date for Hezekiah (4th year of Hoshea) was possibly intended to identify
Hezekiah's accession year with his first regnal year by lowering the Biblical date for
Hezekiah's accession (3rd year of Hoshea). But this is curiously inconsistent with
the fact that Josephus dates the capture of Samaria to Hezekiah's jth year,
suggesting an alternative scheme in which Hezekiah's first regnal year was put back
to the Biblical date for his accession year. This discrepancy possibly reflects
alternative ways in which Josephus attempted to deal with what he perceived as an
inconsistency in Biblical chronology. Anyone who was unfamiliar with the
conventions of postdating would naturally assume that the year in which a king
came to the throne was also his first regnal year. On this assumption, if Hezekiah's
6th regnal year was equivalent to Hoshea's 9th regnal year, Hezekiah must have
come to the throne in Hoshea's 4th regnal year; conversely, if Hezekiah's accession
was dated to Hoshea's 3rd regnal year, one might reasonably suppose that Hoshea's
9th year was equivalent to Hezekiah's yth year.
154
structing the original chronology of Kings from Jehu's revolt

to the accession of Menahem. Original synchronisms preserved by
MT, LXX, or Josephus are indicated by bold print.
i
3
4
5
6
aci/y
3
4
5
6
7
Athaliah
Joash
21
Amaziah
aci/27
31
32
ii
33
34
35
36
37
13
14
15
16
Jehoahaz
12
17/aci
aci/38
12
12
13
13
14
15
14
aci/28
Jehoash
ii
25
26
27
Azariah
Jehu
15
aci/i6
Jeroboam
ii
12
13
J
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
aci/ac/ac/4i
Zechariah/ Shallum
/Menahem
155
4.2.3. From the fall of Samaria to the Babylonian exile
Our reconstruction of the original chronology of Kings for the

period preceding the fall of Samaria (which is set out in the
previous table) was based on a combination of textual evidence
from MT, LXX, and Josephus, and literary-historical evidence
provided by internal chronological discrepancies. The absence of
Israelite-Judean synchronisms for the period from the fall of
Samaria to the Babylonian exile, and the virtual absence of textual
variants for reign lengths of this period, consequently prevents us
from continuing this reconstruction beyond the fall of Samaria.
The present subsection is therefore limited to a presentation of the
chronological data and discussion of variant figures where these
exist. Biblical data for this part of the chronology of Kings,
including variant figures from Josephus and from parallel passages
in Jeremiah, Chronicles, and I Esdras, are as follows.
2K 18.13
2K 21. i
2K 21.19
2K 22. i
2K.22.3
2K 23.23
2K 23.31
2K 23.36
2X24.8
2X24.12
2K 24.18
2X25.1
2X25.2-3
2K 25.8
Sennacherib invades Judah in the i4th year of Hezekiah.

Manasseh reigns for 5 5 years.
Amon reigns for 2 years.
Josiah reigns for 31 years.
Josiah makes arrangements for temple repairs in the i8th
year of his reign <in the 8th (BL) / yth (AN) month).
The Passover is celebrated in Jerusalem in the i8th year of
Josiah's reign.
Jehoahaz reigns for 3 months <and 10 days (Jos.)>.
Jehoiakim reigns for 11 years.
Jehoiachin reigns for 3 months (and 10 days (2C 36.9; i
Esd 1.42; Jos.)>.
Jehoiachin is taken captive in the 8th year of Nebuchadrezzar's reign.
Zedekiah reigns for 11 years.
Jerusalem is besieged in the 9th year of Zedekiah, in the
loth month <on the loth day (MT; Je 52.4; Jos.)>.
Jerusalem is captured in the nth year of Zedekiah, <in
the 4th month, (Je 39.2; Je 52.5~6(MT); Jos.)> on the 9th
day.
Jerusalem is destroyed and its inhabitants deported in the
5th month, on the yth day (MT, ABN) / 9th day (L) / loth
day (Je 52.12) / new moon (Jos.), this being Nebuchadrezzar's igthyear.
156
2K 25.25
2K 25.27

Gedaliah is assassinated in the yth month.
Jehoiachin is released from prison in the 37th year of his
exile, in the i2th month, on the 27th (MT, LXX) / 25th
(Je 52.31, MT) / 24th (Je 52.31, LXX) day, in the year
of Evil-merodach's
( reign/accession 03^ rilBO)(MT;Je 52.31, LXX). "i
1 reign (inD^TS DJtZD) (LXX; Je 52.31, MT).
f
Most of the variants listed here are fairly trivial as far as the overall
chronology of this period is concerned. There are two minor
variants in reign lengths: Jehoiachin is credited with a reign of 3
months and 10 days in Chronicles, i Esdras, and Josephus, and
Jehoahaz is ascribed the same reign length in Josephus (Kings has
'3 months' in both cases). Both variants are almost certainly
secondary. In Jehoiachin's case the phrase 'and 10 days' (2T"NP571
O^ ) probably originated as a misplaced correction to Jehoiachin's accession age, which is given as '8 years' (On3tP rttlfttP) in
2 Chronicles 36.9 as against '18 years' (HltP mtPS? ni&tP) in 2
Kings 24.8 (cf. BHS ad loc.). Chronicles' reign length for
Jehoiachin was subsequently taken over by I Esdras and
Josephus (Ant 10.98), and the latter apparently ascribes the same
reign length to Jehoahaz (Ant 10.83). However, Josephus's total
of 514 years 6 months and 10 days for the Davidic monarchy is
incompatible with two reigns of 3 months and 10 days, so that it
is likely that this second variant is a secondary corruption which
originated through assimilation to Jehoiachin's reign length in
the text of Antiquities.
Textual variation over dates associated with the siege and
capture of Jerusalem is equally insignificant for the overall
chronology. The absence of 'in the 4th month' in 2 Kings 25.3 and
LXX's text of Jeremiah 52.6 is clearly an accidental omission,
since a reference to the month of Jerusalem's capture is required by
the following phrase, 'on the 9th (day) of the month'; and the
absence of 'on the loth day' in LXX's text of 2 Kings 25.1 and in
Jeremiah 39.1 is probably another accidental omission. The
original date of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple is likely
to have been the yth day of the 5th month, as in MT's and
LXXABN's text of 2 Kings 25.8; LXXL's date, the 9th day of the
5th month, is explicable as the result of accidental assimilation to
the date of Jerusalem's capture ('the 9th (day) of the month', 2K
157
25.3),54 while the date given in Jeremiah 52.12, the loth day of the
5th month, probably reflects accidental assimilation to the date on
which the siege commenced ('the loth (day) of the month', Je
52.4)The precise day of Jehoiachin's release from prison is also of
little chronological importance,55 but greater significance attaches
to the question of whether he was released 'in the year of
(Evil-merodach's) accession' (ID /ft nitPH) or 'in the year of
(Evil-merodach's) reign' (iroVft/ID^ft nilZO). A number of
scholars have, for chronological reasons, preferred the second
possibility, which they interpret as meaning 'in the first year of his
reign'.56 But this is hardly a legitimate interpretation: 1D7ft rtttZD,
or IDD/ft DltZD, can no more be taken to mean 'in the first year of
his reign' than they can be taken as meaning 'in the 2nd year of his
reign' or 'in (any other) year of his reign'. The only interpretation
along these lines which is linguistically possible is that Evilmerodach released Jehoiachin 'in the only year of his reign'and
this is contradicted by the historical fact that Evil-merodach
reigned for 2 years (in addition to his accession year). We therefore
have no option but to translate "D/ft Dlt^S as 'in the year of his
accession' and to reject IfO/ft DltTS as historically meaningless.57
One final chronological variant occurs in 2 Kings 22.3.
According to both MT and LXX Josiah made arrangements for
the repair of the temple, and was told of the discovery of 'the book
54. It is also possible that the date was deliberately altered because Titus's
destruction of the second temple occurred on the 9th of Ab (Montgomery and
Gehman 1950:567; Gray 31977:766).
55. On text-critical grounds it may be suggested that the original figure is
preserved in LXX's text of Jeremiah 52.31, according to which Jehoiachin was
released on the 24th day of the month. '27th' (nS73Bn D"HtPX7) in 2 Kings 25.27 may
then be explained as a corruption of '24th' (HUmX! D'HtPX?): graphic confusion of
nsmNl and nSUHZfi was made easier by the previous occurrence of SJ3EH within
the same verse (Jehoiachin is released in the 37th year of his exile). The other
variant, '2jth' (!"HPDm D'HBW) in MT's text of Jeremiah 52.31, may be explained as
a partial assimilation to '745' (WDm D^SmN DISQ S7327) in the preceding verse.
56. See Lewy (1924:27), Albright (1932:101-102), Vogelstein (1944:8,26-27),
and Finegan (1964:210). The latter contravenes elementary rules of Hebrew
grammar by interpreting IPNT HN as an adjectival modifier of ID^tt rtflP3 (it is of
course the object of NtM).
57. It is also worth noting that the Phoenician equivalent of IDÔfi3K73occurs
in a Sidonian inscription of the 5th century BC (CIS I:4 = Cooke 1903:40)n"V3
DHS IÔ imniwna "Jâ 'IpVia HBO [S]Ba ('in the month Mopha in the
accession year of Bodashtart, king of the Sidonians').
158
of the law', in the i8th year of his reign, but LXX also tells us more
specifically that this happened in the 8th (LXXBL) or yth
(LXXAN) month of that year. Whichever month date is preferred
in LXX it might reasonably be argued that text-critical considerations favour the originality of LXX's longer text over MT's
shorter text: either month date is, or would appear to be, in direct
contradiction to the fact that Josiah's subsequent celebration of the
Passover is also dated to the i8th year of his reign, and it is
therefore easy to see why a later editor might have chosen to
suppress a month date at this point, but less easy to account for its
later insertion (Begrich 19293:75). However, literary considerations make it more probable that the shorter text is original (see
below, p. iy6n.). As far as the inner-Greek variation over the
month number is concerned, it is probably easier to assume that
'8th month' was changed to 'yth month' in order to associate the
covenant ceremony which followed the discovery of the lawbook
with the Feast of Booths, than to explain a reverse alteration of 'yth
month' into '8th month'. This last reading possibly originated as a
corrupt variant or dittography of the preceding year-date ('in the
18th year of King Josiah').
5
THE HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY OF
ISRAEL AND JUDAH
5. i Calendars and dating systems
External chronological evidence relating to the historical chronology of Israel and Judah is provided by Mesopotamian and (to a
lesser extent) Egyptian sources. In order to make proper use of this
information it is necessary to have some understanding of the
calendars and dating systems used in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and
also of the calendars and dating systems used by Israel and Judah
during the period of the monarchy. As far as Mesopotamia is
concerned the facts are relatively straightforward. During the first
millennium BC the Assyrians and Babylonians followed a lunisolar
calendar in which cycles of twelve lunar months (354 days) were
adjusted to correspond with the solar year and its cycle of seasons
by periodic insertion of an intercalary month; the first month of
this calendar was Nisan, corresponding to March/April of the
Julian calendar.1 During the same period Assyrian and Babylonian
reigns were postdated, so that a king's first regnal year was
identified with the calendar year which began on Nisan i after his
accession.2 In order to distinguish Mesopotamian years from
Julian years it is convenient to use the abbreviation 'Nis.' (for
'Nisan calendar'): thus '612 BC (Nis.)' refers to the Babylonian or
1. On this and other Mesopotamian calendars, such as the Middle Assyrian
calendar of the second millennium BC, see Hunger 1976-80. The modern Gregorian
calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 AD, is a slightly modified
version of the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. Historians
normally use the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar to refer to dates
earlier than 1582 AD, except when calculating the dates of seasonal events in remote
antiquity; see Bickerman 2i98o: xof.
2. Seep. 85.
160
Assyrian year which began in Nisan of 612 BC and ended in Adar

of6n BC.3
In Egypt a solar calendar was used for civil purposes.4 This
divided the year into twelve months of 30 days each plus five
epagomenal days at the end of the year. But unlike the Julian
calendar, with its system of leap years, the Egyptian calendar made
no provision for the fact that the true solar year is fractionally
longer than 365 days, with the result that the Egyptian new year
(Thoth i) retreated progressively through the seasons by one day
in every four Julian years. In 26 BC, when Augustus reformed the
Egyptian calendar by introducing a system of leap years, Thoth I
corresponded to August 29. However, in the sixth century BC the
Egyptian year began in January, while in the tenth century BC it
began in April of the Julian calendar. Unfortunately we do not
know whether the regnal years ascribed to Egyptian rulers during
the Third Intermediate Period (from the eleventh century to the
mid-seventh century BC) were identical with civil calendar years,
or whether, as in the New Kingdom, they were reckoned from the
actual date of accession (Kitchen 19733:74^). All we know is that
at some point between the end of the New Kingdom and the start
of the Saite Dynasty (in 664 BC) the New Kingdom dating system
was abandoned in favour of the earlier system of antedating, in
which a king's first regnal year was identified with the calendar
year which began on Thoth i preceding his accession.5
The major calendrical/dating problem in reconstructing Israelite and Judean chronology concerns the nature of the calendar(s)
and dating system(s) that were used in pre-exilic Israel and Judah.
The official Judean calendar of post-exilic times was more or less
identical with the Babylonian calendar, except that months were
initially numbered rather than named.6 But we clearly cannot
assume that the same calendar was necessarily used in pre-exilic
Israel and Judah, although it would obviously simplify the task of
3. See appendix E for a list of Baby Ionian/Jewish month names and their
modern calendrical equivalents.
4. See Parker 1950; Bickerman21980140-43.
5. See p. 86f. for a discussion of Egyptian dating systems.
6. The use of Babylonian month names (as in the modern Jewish calendar) does
not appear to have become widespread in Judean circles until comparatively late in
the post-exilic period, although they were used for official purposes under the
Persian empire, and they are also used by Nehemiah (a Persian official) in the
so-called 'Nehemiah Memoir'. See de Vaux 1961:185.
The Historical Chronology of Israel andjudah
161
correlating Mesopotamian and Israelite-Judean data if this were

the case.
There is in fact a wide spectrum of scholarly opinion concerning the pre-exilic Israelite-Judean calendar, which is
variously supposed to have been a lunisolar, solar, or lunar
calendar beginning in either autumn or spring. One point on which
there is fairly general agreement is that the original IsraeliteJudean calendar was probably broadly identical with the CanaanitePhoenician calendar, in view of the fact that month names which
are attested in Phoenician inscriptions also occur in the account of
the construction and dedication of the temple in i Kings 6-8; the
months in question are 'Ziv, which is the second month' (iK 6.1,
37), 'Bui, which is the eighth month' (iK 6.38), and 'Ethanim,
which is the seventh month' (iK 8.2). This view is disputed by
Kugler (1922:12-17) and Gandz (1954:627), who argue that the
use of Canaanite month names in these passages may be explained
on the assumption that there was an abortive attempt by Solomon
to introduce Phoenician month names in place of the allegedly
earlier system of numbering months, which was promptly reintroduced after Solomon's death.7 But this theory is improbable, for
there is little doubt that Abib, which is mentioned in several
passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy (Ex 13.4; 23.15; 34.18; Dt
16.1), belongs to the same series of month names, even if it is as yet
unattested in Phoenician. Kugler's contention that 1*0X11 tZHn is
merely a description ('the month of ripening barley ears') and not a
proper month name, is hardly convincing, since the month names
used in i Kings 6-8 have precisely the same descriptive character:
Ziv (IT) is the month of 'flowers', Ethanim (D^DXri) the month of
'permanent streams' (i.e. the month when only permanent streams
were still flowing), and Bui (711) the month of'rain' or 'produce'.
On the question of whether the ancient Israelite-Judean
calendar was lunisolar, solar, or lunar, it may be noted that a
majority of scholars have generally favoured the first alternative.8
However, Koenig (1906) argued that Israel and Judah originally
7. Few modern scholars will be convinced by Kugler's opinion that the
antiquity of this system is demonstrated by Joshua 4.19 (a Priestly note on the date
of Israel's entry into Canaan). The use of ordinal numbers to identify months is in
fact restricted to passages that are, for the most part, clearly exilic or post-exilic (the
month numbers in i Kings 6-8 are probably late glosses).
8. Proponents of this view include Kugler (1922:2-12), Mowinckel (1952:2025), Segal (1957), and de Vaux (1961:188-190).
162
followed a solar calendar, and this theory was later restated and
developed by Morgenstern in a series of long articles on the
subject.9 Finally Gandz (1954) has argued that the ancient
Israelite-Judean calendar was a purely lunar calendar (like the
Islamic calendar) in which no effort was made to adjust the lunar
year of 354 days to the solar year of 365^ days.
Gandz's theory has significant chronological consequences
which set it apart from the lunisolar and solar theories of other
scholars. The lunar year is n days shorter than a solar year, and
100 lunar years are therefore equivalent to only 97 solar years, so
that if Israel and Judah originally followed a lunar calendar it will
be necessary to subtract 3 years for every 100 years of IsraeliteJudean chronology before we can relate this to Mesopotamian or
Egyptian chronology. However, Gandz's theory must certainly be
rejected. An unadjusted lunar calendar wanders progressively back
through the cycle of seasons, making it impossible for seasonal
festivals to be dated to a particular calendar month or to other
specific points in the calendar. The alleged lunar character of the
ancient Israelite-Judean calendar is therefore refuted by the
existence of seasonal festivals which were dated in this waythe
Feast of Unleavened Bread, dated to Abib (Ex 13.4 etc.), and the
Feast of Ingathering at 'the end/turn of the year' (Ex 23.16; 34.22).
Gandz attempts to counter these objections by arguing that Abib is
not really a proper month name (see above), and that HltP ('year')
in Exodus 23.16 and 34.22 denotes the agricultural cycle rather
than the calendar year (Gandz 1954:631, 635). Neither of these
arguments is convincing; the first has been rejected above, and the
assumption that Israel and Judah distinguished between agricultural years and calendar years is of doubtful validity (see below,
p. i67f.).10
9. See Morgenstern 1962 for a summary article with a bibliography of his earlier
studies. Morgenstern's views are also summarized and endorsed by Finegan
(1964:35-37).
10. A further argument that is sometimes adduced in favour of the solar or
lunisolar nature of the Israelite-Judean calendar is the seasonal character of the
month names Abib, Ziv, Ethanim, and Bui (see above). But this argument, being
essentially etymological, is not necessarily relevant to the historical nature of the
Israelite-Judean calendar during the monarchic period. It is not inconceivable that
an originally lunisolar calendar with seasonal month names might develop into a
purely lunar calendar through the abandonment of a system of intercalary months.
Compare the analogous development of the Middle Assyrian calendar in the second
millennium BC: available evidence suggests that this calendar, which was a lunar
163
It is less important for our purposes that we should decide

between solar and lunisolar calendrical theories, since 100 solar
years are more or less exactly equivalent to 100 lunisolar years. But
it may be noted that what limited evidence there is tends to favour
the second alternative, although we must certainly discount the
oft-repeated argument that the lunar character of the IsraeliteJudean month is demonstrated by the fact that Hebrew words for
'month' (JTV, tZHh) are similar or identical to words meaning
'moon' (n*V) or 'new moon' (tZHri)11the etymological connection
between 'month' and 'moon' in English and other European
languages does not alter the fact that there is no correlation
between months and moons in the solar calendar used by modern
western societies. Equally unconvincing is Gandz's a priori
argument that evolutionary development from a solar calendar to a
lunisolar calendar is without parallel in other cultures (Gandz
1954:626), since the point at issue is not evolutionary development
but the possible replacement of a solar calendar with a lunisolar
calendar.12 On the other hand there is some force in the argument
that a lunar or lunisolar calendar is suggested by the importance of
the new moon festival in pre-exilic Israel and Judah (Gandz
1954:632). And since the ancient Israelite-Judean calendar was
evidently similar if not identical to the Phoenician calendar, it may
also be noted that Phoenician calendar months apparently were tied
to phases of the moon (Kugler 1922:7), and that references to S7D/0
calendar in the sense that months were not adjusted to keep in step with the cycle of
seasons, developed from an earlier calendar in which some form of seasonal
adjustment was carried out (Hunger 1976-80:299).
n. This argument is used by Mowinckel (1952:22), Gandz (1954:630), and de
Vaux (1961:183), among others; it is worth noting that Mowinckel, unlike Gandz
and de Vaux, does not fall into the trap of confusing FIT1 ('month') and n*T
('moon').
12. A parallel may be found in Ptolemaic Egypt, where in the 3rd century BC the
Macedonian (lunisolar) calendar replaced the Egyptian (solar) calendar for official
and religious purposes (Bickerman 2 i98o:38f.). It is also worth noting that Gandz's
notion of a uniform progression from lunar to lunisolar to solar calendar is belied by
the development of the Middle Assyrian (semi-lunar) calendar from the Old
Assyrian (lunisolar) calendar. [See n. 10; the Middle Assyrian calendar was
lunisolar to the extent that it operated with lunar months and a solar year, but
unlike a true lunisolar calendar it made no attempt to correlate these two calendrical
units, so that different years began with different months. This is not unlike the
situation which exists in our own calendar, which does not attempt to correlate
months and weeks, with the result that different months and years begin on
different days of the week.]
164
"*lEh or 'first Mopha' in Punic inscriptions (KAI 110.3; 137-5)

provide evidence of the lunisolar character of the Punic calendar,
assuming that this designation is correctly interpreted as indicating
an intercalary month (like 'first Adar' in the Babylonian-Jewish
calendar).13
A final argument in favour of the lunisolar character of the
ancient Israelite calendar may be taken from I Kings 12.32-33,
which accuses Jeroboam of having wilfully altered the date of the
autumn festival from the seventh to the eighth month. This has
been interpreted by J. B. Segal (1957:257-259) as evidence that
Jeroboam intercalated an extra month in that particular year, but it
is more likely that the passage describes a permanent alteration in
the date of the autumn festival, since it is cited as an act of wilful
perversity comparable with Jeroboam's institution of the calf-idols
at Dan and Bethel (iK 12.28-30), his construction of shrines at
the 'high places' (iK 12.31), and his appointment of non-levitical
priests (iK 12.31). It is, however, historically improbable that
Jeroboam would have gratuitously altered the month in which the
festival was held, since this could only have diminished its
effectiveness as a rival to the Judean festival. But it is also unlikely
that the story is a complete fabrication, for the accusation that
Jeroboam altered the date of the autumn festival is a curious
accusation for the Deuteronomistic writer of this passage to have
invented, especially sinceunlike the previous charges against
Jeroboamit does not actually contravene Deuteronomic legislation. It may therefore be suggested that in later times the autumn
festival was indeed celebrated a month later in the north than in the
south, and that this circumstance was put to apologetic use by the
author of i Kings 12.32-33, who traced it back to an act of wilful
perversity by Jeroboam. There is no reason, though, to suppose
that the date of this festival was in fact altered by Jeroboam or by
anyone else, and a more probable explanation is that the north
Israelite calendar had in later times fallen a month behind the
Judean calendar, with the result that the Israelite month in which
the festival was celebrated was now equivalent to the following
month of the Judean calendar. The most probable reason for this
13. See Berliner (1916), who argues that 'first Mopha' cannot be a regular
calendar month such as 'first Tishri' or 'first Kanun' in the Syrian calendar,
because the month name 'Mopha' is also attested without an accompanying
qualifier.
165
shift is that it occurred through the insertion of an additional

intercalary month in the northern kingdom (or the omission of an
intercalary month in the south).14 Similar shifts in the correlation
of different calendars are known to have happened on other
occasions, one instance being the shift in correlation between the
Macedonian and Syrian/Babylonian calendars which occurred
during the first half of the first century AD (Finegan 1964:61-73;
Bickerman 2 i98o:25).
Having established that the pre-exilic Israelite-Judean calendar
was probably lunisolar, and that it was certainly not a purely lunar
calendar, we may turn to the question of the point at which the
calendar year was reckoned to begin. Here the Biblical evidence
would appear to be quite unambiguous. Certain texts, which are
normally regarded as late, clearly presuppose a calendar that began
in the spring; thus, for example, Exodus 12.2 (P), which places
divine authority behind a spring calendar in which the Passover
month (Abib/Nisan) is counted as the first month. On the other
hand certain other texts, including texts which are normally
regarded as early, apparently presuppose a calendar which began
in the autumn. Among these are Exodus 23.16 and Exodus 34.22,
which state that the Feast of Ingathering (later known as the Feast
of Booths) was to be celebrated at the 'end' or 'turn' of the year: the
Hebrew expressions are Hlt^H 1*1X222, 'at the going out of the year'
(Ex 23.16), and Hlt^n DSIpn, 'at the going round of the year' (Ex
34.22).15 Similarly legislation requiring that the land be left fallow
14. Contrast Talmon (1958), who cites i Kings 12.32-33 as evidence that the
Israelite calendar began one month later than the Judean calendar, but ascribes this
difference to a deliberate calendrical alteration by Jeroboam.
15. There has previously been some dispute over the significance of these
expressions. However, Kutsch (1971) has convincingly refuted the theory that
n3E?n flXS3 denotes the beginning of the year (Begrich 19293:80-81); this notion
primarily depends upon a false analogy with the use of NX"* and related nominal
forms to refer to the rising of celestial bodies. An alternative explanation of nDlpn
mtrn is offered by Vogelstein (1944:30-31), who follows Begrich (19293:80) in
arguing that HDlpn in Psalm 19.7 denotes the mid-point of the sun's circuit (the
point at which the sun 'turns back' to travel undernesth the earth), and concludes
that nitrn riDlpn in Exodus 34.22 must be taken to denote the middle of the year
(LXX: peaovvros rov tviavrov). But it is much more probable that HBIpn in
Psslm 19.7 denotes the end-point of the sun's celestial circuitthe 'course' referred
to in verse 6and that LXX's transition of Exodus 34.22 merely reflects the fact
that the Feast of Booths occurred halfway through the year in the spring calendar of
post-exilic Judaism; contrast 2 Chronicles 24.23, where nitm DSIpfl1? refers to the
spring, and is accordingly translated as êra TIJV awreXeiav rov tviavrov, 'after
166
every yth and every 5Oth year (Ex 23.10-11; Lv 25.1-22) only
really makes sense if the year began in the autumn, since a year
starting in the spring cuts across two agricultural cycles. Again, the
instruction that a trumpeter should be sent out on the Day of
Atonement to proclaim the 5<Dth year as a jubilee year (Lv
25.812) makes excellent sense in the context of an autumn
calendar in which the Day of Atonement came a few days after the
new year, but is less satisfactory within the context of the spring
calendar which the text in its present (post-exilic) form clearly
presupposes (Leviticus 25.9 dates the Day of Atonement to the
tenth day of the seventh month, with the result that the jubilee year
is apparently proclaimed six months in advance). One final piece of
evidence which appears to point to an autumn calendar is the fact
that the (loth century) Gezer Calendar (KAI182) begins its list of
agricultural activities with two months of ingathering (^jON).
The obvious conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that the
ancient Israelite-Judean calendar began in the autumn, and that
this was subsequently replaced by a spring calendar resembling the
Babylonian calendar.16 There are, however, a significant number
of scholars who dispute this view, maintaining that Israel and
Judah followed a spring calendar throughout the monarchic
period,17 or that the spring calendar was used in Israel but not in
Judah,18 or conversely that the spring calendar was used in Judah
but not in Israel.19 The theory that Israel and Judah each
employed different calendars during the period of the divided
monarchy is essentially a device for harmonizing minor discrepancies in the chronology of Kings; there is no independent
evidence which supports this hypothesis,20 and the evidential value
the end of the year', (avvrehtia is also used as the Greek equivalent of HDIpri in
Sirach 43.7, where it occurs in an obscure passage dealing with the phases of the
moon.) Further evidence that HDIpD denotes the completion of a circuit or cycle is
provided by Job 1.5, where the cognate verb ^ppH ('go around') is used to refer to
the end of a week-long cycle offcast days.
16. Wellhausen 1885:108-109; Begrich 19293:69-90; Mowinckel 1932:174176; Auerbach 1952; de Vaux 1961:190-193, and others.
17. Mahler 1916:210-220; Kugler 1922:136-150. Clines (1974) leans towards
this view, but argues that the evidence is inconclusive.
18. Coucke 1928:1252; Vogelstein 1944: i7f.; Thiele 31983:51-54; Pavlovsky
andVogt1964:323-324.
19. Kleber 1921:15; Tadmor 1962:265-267.
20. Cf. Thiele 31983:53: 'For Israel there seems to be no scriptural evidence as
to the time of the beginning of the regnal year. However, when a Nisan-to-Nisan
167
of chronological discrepancies which might be resolved in this way

is vitiated by the existence of numerous discrepancies which
require more drastic methods of harmonization. In any case one
would naturally expect that two kingdoms which shared close
cultural ties and had been politically united under David and
Solomon would have initially used the same calendar. It is unlikely
that Jeroboam would have adopted a spring calendar simply
because he had become aquainted with the Egyptian wandering
calendarwhich at that time began in the springduring the
period of his political exile in Egypt (Coucke 1928:1952; Thiele
3
I983:53)The theory that Israel and Judah followed a spring calendar
throughout the monarchic period has tended to be espoused by
scholars who have sought to deny the late date which Wellhausen
and others ascribed to P (which uses a spring calendar). The
central argument put forward by supporters of this theory is that
evidence which apparently favours an autumn calendar is simply
irrelevant, since it relates to the agricultural year, which was not
necessarily identical with the civil calendar year. Clines (1974) puts
the case against an autumn calendar as follows. Exodus 23.14-17
and 34.18-23 describe a series of agricultural festivals ending,
appropriately, with the Feast of Ingathering, when each year's
agricultural work was completed (Clines 1974:26-27). The
sabbath and jubilee years are likewise agricultural years (Clines
1974:30). The Gezer Calendar is arranged according to the
activities of the farmer's year, and is in any case inconsistent with
Exodus 23.14-17 and 34.18-23 in that it attests a year which
begins (rather than ends) with ingathering (Clines 1974:38).
This argument is at first sight quite plausible, in view of the
agricultural associations of the texts used to argue for an autumn
calendar, but it loses its plausibility on closer inspection. For a
start, it is hardly legitimate to describe the sabbath and jubilee
years as (merely) 'agricultural years', when as well as being years of
agricultural inactivity they were also years of 'release' (HOTDtP) or
'liberation' ("TlTT), in which debts were to be remitted (Dt
15.7-11), Israelite debt-servants released (Dt 15.12-18; Lv
regnal year is used for Israel together with a Tishri-to-Tishri year for Judah, the
perplexing discrepancies disappear and a harmonious chronological pattern
results.' Other devices by which Thiele achieves this 'harmonious chronological
pattern' were discussed in the previous chapter.
168
25.39-55), and property outside cities was to revert to its

original owners (Lv 25.25-34). There is also significant evidence
that in early post-exilic times the sabbath year was not regarded as
an agricultural year, even though the spring calendar year of that
period obviously did not correspond to the cycle of agricultural
seasons. Leviticus 25.34 states that Israelites are permitted to sow
and harvest for six years but that in the seventh year the land is to be
left fallow. Leviticus 25.20-22 then deals with the problem of what
the Israelites are to eat in the seventh year, and the answerrather
surprisinglyis that God will ensure that the sixth year produces
enough food for three years, and that the Israelites will therefore be
able to eat the produce of that year until the harvest of the ninth year
provides a new supply of food. What, we may ask, happened to the
harvest of the eighth year, when agricultural activities were once
more permitted? The only satisfactory explanation is that for the
writer of Leviticus 25.20-22 the sabbath year began in the spring,
thus preventing the harvesting of crops sown in the autumn of the
sixth year and also the sowing of crops to be harvested in the
summer of the eighth year, with the resultant loss of two
consecutive harvests; only in the second half of the eighth year
could crops be sown once again, producing a harvest for the ninth
year.21 The fact that the writer of Leviticus 25.20-22 thereby failed
to distinguish between calendar years and agricultural years, even
though this distinction would have rescued his legislation from the
realms of Utopian impracticality, must make it rather doubtful that
such a distinction would have been recognized by earlier writers
either. It should be noted that Leviticus 25.20-22 is clearly a
secondary reinterpretation of legislation which originally envisaged
the loss of a single harvest and which therefore presupposed a year
which began in the autumn. Finally, it must be said that the Gezer
Calendar cannot be dismissed as a catalogue of activities listed
according to the agricultural cycle, since this fails to account for the
fact that the Calendar begins with ingathering, which is the final
activity of this cycle.22
21. The same explanation has previously been given by Morgenstern (1935:8386).
22. One other piece of evidence which supports an original autumn calendar is
cited by Clines (1974:39-40) as positive evidence in favour of an original spring
calendar. The only agricultural festival which is dated to a specific calendar month
in pre-Priestly legislation is the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the month Abib
(Ex 23.15; 34.18; Dt 16.1). Clines is undoubtedly right in claiming that some
169
Having now considered and rejected the 'agricultural year'

theory, we must look a little more closely at the apparent
discrepancy, noted by Clines, between the Gezer Calendar and the
festal calendars of Exodus: the Gezer Calendar clearly presupposes
a year which began with ingathering,23 whereas the Exodus
calendars date the Feast of Ingathering to the 'end' or 'turn' of the
year. Taken in isolation these passages might reasonably be taken
to indicate that the Feast of Ingathering was celebrated in the final
month of the autumn calendar year, and since this festival is
elsewhere dated to Ethanim, or the seventh month of the spring
calendar (iK 8.2; 12.32; Lv 23.34), this leads naturally to the
conclusion that Ethanim was the final month of the autumn
calendar.24 Other evidence, however, suggests that Ethanim was
regarded as the first month of the autumn calendar. This is
indicated by the fact that the list of agricultural seasons given by
the Gezer Calendar appears to correspond with a calendar
beginning in September/October,25 and also, more clearly, by the
fact that the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the seventh
month (Lv 16.29) logically has the character of a new year's ritual
designed to expiate sins and impurities incurred during the
previous year;26 the new year associations of the Day of Atonement
explanation of this month-date is called for, but it is not very likely that Abib is
mentioned simply 'because it is a more significant month than the other months in
which the harvest and ingathering festivals fall, i.e. because it is the first month of
the year of months.' A more probable explanation is that Abib is mentioned
precisely because it was not the first month of the year: the Feast of Ingathering was
dated to the 'end' of the autumn year and consequently did not need a specific
month-date, but the Feast of Unleavened Bread occurred halfway through the
autumn calendar year, and was therefore dated specifically to the month Abib.
23. It is doubtful that ingathering as an agricultural activity really occupied two
whole months, which is the period allotted to 'ingathering' in the Gezer Calendar,
but the term is probably intended as the description of a season in which there was
relatively little other farming activity.
24. Auerbach 1952:334-335. Cf. Kutsch 1971:20-21 and Day 1985:19-20.
25. Donner and Rollig 31971-6: II: 182.
26. Note the occurrence of a similar ritual in Babylonia on Nisan 5, the fifth day
of the Babylonian new year (de Vaux 1961:508; ANET p-333f.). Against the view
that the Day of Atonement was not instituted before post-exilic times (Wellhausen
1885:108; de Vaux 1961:509-510) it must be said that in this case it is hard to
account for the fact that this ritual was not performed until the seventh month of the
post-exilic calendar (contrast Ezekiel 45.18-20, which provides for an atonement
ritual on the first day of the first month). It does not seem to me that much weight
can be attached to the silence of pre-exilic sources: the Day of Atonement, as it is
170
are also reflected in the fact that it provided the occasion for the
proclamation of jubilee years (Lv 25.9). Finally, some account
should also be taken of the fact that the present Jewish calendar,
which has reverted to an autumn new year in disregard of Exodus
12.2, counts Tishri (= Ethanim) as the first month of the year.27
Cumulatively this evidence suggests that we should reexamine
the assumption that Exodus 23.14-17 and 34.18-23 require the
Feast of Ingathering to be celebrated in the final month of the year.
This assumption presupposes that the Hebrew expressions T1N223
nittfn ('at the end of the year') and rtttPn DDlpfl ('at the turn of
the year') indicate the period immediately preceding the end of the
calendar year. But since the Mishnaic Hebrew expression nN22"lft
I"Qttf ('the end [going out] of the sabbath) denotes the day after
the sabbath,28 it may reasonably be asked whether the Biblical
expressions cited above do not denote the period immediately after
the end of the calendar year; this is also supported by the fact that
LXX translates fiWTl DDIpDT 5 in 2 Chronicles 24.23 as êra TT)V
auvre'Aeiav rov evtavTov, 'after the end of the year.' There is in
this case no inconsistency between the Exodus passages and other
evidence: the Feast of Ingathering is celebrated in the first month
after the end of the year, and Ethanim (= Tishri) is consequently
identified as the first month of the autumn calendar.
Evidence that Israel and Judah originally followed an autumn
calendar raises the important question of when the Judean
community adopted the Babylonian spring calendar. The most
obvious possibility of course is that this occurred during the
Babylonian exile, as is suggested by the fact that most or all of the
passages which presuppose a spring calendar are either exilic or
post-exilic in date (Wellhausen 1885:109; Mowinckel 1932: i75f.).
It obviously cannot be argued from Exodus 12.2 (P) that the spring
calendar dates back to the time of Moses; but neither can one argue
from the month dates in Jeremiah 36 and 2 Kings 25 (and parallel
described in Priestly legislature, is not a feast day, and is therefore naturally absent
from the festal calendars of Exodus and Deuteronomy.
27. This calendar is not explicitly attested before the Mishnah, though it
presumably existed from an earlier date. The impracticality of relating sabbath and
jubilee years to the spring calendar may have been one reason for the readoption of
an autumn calendar.
28. See Jastrow 1903:746 and Kutsch 1971:19; similarly the Mishnaic Hebrew
expression IVST'SB? SX2S1Q ('the end of the seventh year') denotes the year after the
seventh year.
171
passages) that the spring calendar was introduced in pre-exilic

times (contra Begrich 19293:7072). There is no doubt that
Jeremiah 36 presupposes a spring calendar, for the ninth month, in
which Jeremiah's scroll was read to Jehoiakim, is clearly identified
as a winter month by the fact that Jehoiakim is depicted as sitting
in front of a brazier in his winter palace. Nor is there any doubt
that the dates associated with the fall of Jerusalem reflect the same
spring calendar: Jerusalem was destroyed in the fifth month
according to 2 Kings 25.8, and we know from Jeremiah 40.10 and
41.8 that this occurred during the summer. But since the book of
Jeremiah and the final chapters of Kings were both composed
during the Babylonian exile, and almost certainly in Babylonia
rather than Palestine,29 this proves only that the authors of these
passages expressed month dates according to the spring calendar
with which their readers were familiar.
There are, however, a number of indications which suggest that
the spring calendar was in fact adopted somewhat earlier than the
exilic period. In the first place it is surely curious, if the spring
calendar was first adopted in Babylonia, that Babylonian month
names were not adopted at the same time. The standard explanation, that these names were initially avoided because of their pagan
associations (de Vaux 1961:185), is hardly convincing in view of
the fact that later Judaism had no such scruples about adopting
them.30 In any case it is only Tammuz which shows obvious pagan
associations, and similar associations are also evident in the
Babylonian personal names carried by a number of prominent
exiles.31 A more probable explanation of the fact that the Judean
29. Nicholson 1970:116-135. A Palestinian origin for the final chapters of
Kings is (in my opinion) virtually inconceivable in view of the fact that 2 Kings 25
seeks to assert that southern Palestine was totally depopulated during the exile:
Nebuzaradan is said to have deported almost the entire population of Judah (2K
25.11-12), after which the remaining population fled en masse to Egypt following
the murder of Gedaliah (2K 25.26). Such an account could hardly have been
written by a Palestinian author, but may reasonably be viewed as the work of a
Babylonian exile who sought to prove that the community of Babylonian exiles were
the true remnant of the Judean nation.
30. See p. i6on. The fact that Nehemiah uses Babylonian month names in the
'Nehemiah Memoir' is clear proof that pious Jews were unconcerned about the
pagan associations of these names long before they entered into general circulation.
31. E.g. Shenazzar, Sheshbazzar, and Mordecai (iC 3.18; Ezr 1.18; 2.2), whose
names are compounded with the divine names Sin, Shamash (Shash), and Marduk.
Note also 'Shawash-sharezer' ("12SN"1W127), a Judean exile mentioned on a
6th-century seal (Avigad 1965:228).
172
community did not initially use Babylonian month names for the
months of the spring calendar is that this calendar was originally
adopted in Palestine during the pre-exilic period when these names
would have been unfamiliar to most Judeans.
A second indication that the spring calendar was adopted in
pre-exilic times is provided by the fact that Jehoiakim's n-year
reign is incompatible with Babylonian chronological data unless it
is reckoned according to a spring calendar. We know from
evidence provided by the Babylonian Chronicle that Josiah was
killed in or shortly before Tammuz of 609 BC (Nis.), and also tha
Jehoiakim replaced Jehoahaz in or shortly after Elul of the same
year (see below, p.225f.)- Jehoahaz is ascribed a reign of only 3
months (2K 23.31), and must therefore have been deposed in
favour of Jehoiakim before the end of the Judean year in which
Josiah was killed,32 which is either 609 BC (spr.) or 610 BC (aut.)
according to whether Judah followed a spring calendar or autumn
calendar at this date. The end of Jehoiakim's reign may also be
dated with similar precision, for we know from the Babylonian
Chronicle that Jehoiachin, his successor, was deposed in Adar of
598 BC (Nis.) (see p. 228); Jehoiachin, who like Jehoahaz reigned
for only 3 months (2K 24.8), must accordingly have succeeded
Jehoiakim in either the second half of 598 BC (spr.) or the first hal
of 598 BC (aut.). We therefore have three possible sets of Judean
dates for Jehoiakim's reign: 610 BC (aut.) to 598 BC (aut.), 610 BC
(aut.) to 598 BC (spr.), or 609 BC (spr.) to 598 BC (spr.).33 Howev
it is only the second and third sets of dates which are compatible
with the 11-year reign which 2 Kings 23.36 ascribes to Jehoiakim,
for if the latter reigned from 610 BC (aut.) to 598 BC (aut.) he mu
necessarily be ascribed a reign of either 12 regnal years (counted
non-inclusively) or 13 regnal years (counted inclusively). On the
other hand a reign which began in 609 BC (spr.) and ended in 59
BC (spr.) works out at n regnal years if these are counted
non-inclusively, while a reign which began in 610 BC (aut.) and
ended in 598 BC (spr.) works out at n regnal years (counted
32. With either postdating or antedating, reign lengths are not stated in fractions
of a year unless they began and ended within the same calendar year (any king
whose reign spanned the first new year from his accession was automatically
credited with at least one regnal year).
33. Hypothetically one might add a fourth set of dates, 609 BC (spr.) to 598 B
(aut.), but no one believes that Judah changed from spring calendar to autumn
calendar in the course of Jehoiakim's reign.
173
non-inclusively) if it is also supposed that the change from autumn

to spring calendar involved lengthening the year preceding the
change by six months or thereabouts (see below, p. iy8f.). The
obvious conclusion to be drawn from this is that Judah adopted the
spring calendar before or during Jehoiakim's reign, for while it is
reasonable to suppose that an exilic writer may have replaced
original month names by their equivalent numbers in the spring
calendar it is much less likely that he would have carried this
calendrical revision to the extent of altering original reign lengths.
A number of scholars have nevertheless attempted to defend the
view that Judah followed an autumn calendar throughout the
pre-exilic period by arguing that Jehoiakim came to the throne at
the beginning of 609 BC on this calendar.34 This is untenable,
however, for it requires us to suppose either that Jehoahaz's reign
extended from 610 BC (aut.) to 609 BC (aut.) or that there was an
interval of days or weeks between the removal of Jehoahaz in 610
BC (aut.) and Jehoiakim's accession in the following calendar year,
609 BC (aut.). The first of these alternatives requires Jehoahaz to be
ascribed i regnal year, non-inclusively dated (or 2 years by
inclusive dating), and thus conflicts with his stated reign length of
only 3 months (see n. 32). And the second is excluded by virtue of
the fact that if Jehoiakim came to the throne in the calendar year
following the removal of Jehoahaz, this would necessarily have
been counted either as Jehoahaz's last regnal year (although the
latter was no longer on the throne)in which case we are once
again saying that Jehoahaz's (official) reign extended from 610 BC
(aut.) to 609 BC (aut.)or as Jehoiakim's first regnal year, which
produces a total of 12 years for Jehoiakim's reign.35 To suppose
that 609 BC (aut.) was counted as Jehoiakim's zero accession-year,
even though Jehoahaz's reign ended in 610 BC (aut.), would be to
do violence to the basic principles of postdating, in which zero
accession-years were used to avoid i-year overlaps between
34. Malamat 1956; 1968:140-141; 1975:127; Thiele 31983:182); Horn 1967;
Freedy and Redford 1970:464-467.
35. An analogous situation in Mesopotamian chronology is provided by the
circumstances of Tiglathpileser Ill's accession on i3th lyyar 745 BC, after a period
of anarchy which began in the previous calendar year. Later chronologists
responsible for the Assyrian Kinglist counted 745 BC (Nis.) as the final year of
Tiglathpileser's predecessor's reign, even though he was no longer in effective
control, and may have already been deposed; Tiglathpileser, on the other hand,
counted 745 BC (Nis.) as the first year of his own reign.
174
successive reigns, not to create i-year gaps in the chronology.36

There is, then, a strong case for thinking that the spring
calendar was adopted in Judah during pre-exilic times, and that
this occurred before or during the reign of Jehoiakim. A terminus
post quern for the change from autumn to spring calendar is
provided by the fact that the latter was almost certainly adopted
under Mesopotamian influence and is therefore unlikely to have
been introduced before the reign of Ahaz, when Judah first came
into direct contact with the expanding Assyrian empire under
Tiglathpileser III. This gives us seven Judean reigns during
which the spring calendar was possibly adopted, these being the
reigns of Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz,
and Jehoiakim.
Scholars who have held that the spring calendar was adopted
during pre-exilic times have generally interpreted this as a direct
consequence of Assyrian or Babylonian suzerainty. Thus Begrich
(19293:157) and Jepsen (1964:28, 36) argue that since Judah
became a vassal-state of Assyria during the reign of Ahaz, the
spring calendar was most probably introduced along with the
Assyrian system of postdating at the accession of Ahaz's successor,
Hezekiah.37 A similar line of reasoning is followed by Andersen
(1969:100-102), except that Andersen prefers to date the calendar
change to the period following Hezekiah's capitulation to Sennacherib, most probably at the accession of his successor, Manasseh.
36. Other arguments against the chronological reconstructions of Malamat et al.
are presented by Clines (1972). The most serious of these is that if we date
Jehoiakim's first regnal year to 608 BC (aut.), the battle of Carchemish in the
summer of 605 BC (Nis.) must then be equated with Jehoiakim's 3rd regnal year,
606 BC (aut.), whereas according to Jeremiah 46.2 it occurred in Jehoiakim's 4th
regnal year. Thiele (2i965:161-163, 31983:183) attempts to get round this
difficulty by arguing that although Kings uses an autumn calendar for Judean (and
Babylonian) dates, the book of Jeremiah uses a Nisan calendarexcept in the case
of passages which are paralleled in Kings!
37. A change from antedating to postdating would almost certainly have been
effected at the beginning of a reign, as it would hardly have been practical to
renumber regnal years retrospectively. There is, however, no obvious reason why a
calendar change could not have been introduced at any time. Begrich argues that
the adoption of the spring calendar during the middle of a king's reign would have
introduced a possible confusion in the numbering of regnal years, since the year
preceding the change might either have been lengthened or shortened by six
months; but the decision to begin a new regnal year six months early or late would
presumably have been the subject of an official decree, so that it is unlikely that this
would have caused any real confusion at the time.
175
A third possibility is argued by Auerbach (1952:336; 1959), who

has been followed by de Vaux (1961:185, 191-192) and Finegan
(1964:200-203). Auerbach claims that Biblical evidence demonstrates that the autumn calendar was still in use during the reign of
Josiah, and that the spring calendar must therefore have been
introduced in the course of Jehoiakim's reign, when Judah became
a vassal-state of the Babylonian empire.38
Auerbach's principal argument for asserting that the autumn
calendar was still in use during Josiah's reign is based on the fact
that the account of events in Josiah's i8th year which is given in 2
Kings 22-23 seems to be incompatible with a calendar which
began in the spring (cf. Wellhausen 1885:108). According to this
account Josiah was told of the discovery of 'the book of the law'
after making arrangements for temple repairs during the 18th year
of his reign (2K 22.3). After listening to the book being read and
having consulted Huldah the prophetess he then convened a
special assembly of the Judean people in order to conclude a covenant
with Yahweh. Josiah is then said to have carried out a series of
religious reforms in both Judah and Samaria, finally returning to
Jerusalem and arranging a special celebration of the Passover, also
dated in the i8th year of his reign (2K 23.23). It is clearly
impossible that all these events can have occurred within the
two-week period between the start of the spring calendar year and
the date of the Passover (i4th Nisan), and Auerbach infers from
this that Josiah's i8th year began in the autumn. In which case,
since it is unlikely (in Auerbach's opinion) that Josiah would have
subsequently introduced the Mesopotamian calendar at a time
when he was asserting Judean independence from Assyria, and
since it is also unlikely that the spring calendar was introduced
during the short reign of Jehoahaz, we come down to Jehoiakim's
reign as the earliestand latestdate for the introduction of the
new calendar. More specifically, it is argued by Auerbach that the
new calendar was adopted in recognition of Babylonian suzerainty
during the summer of 604 BC (Nis.), when (according to Auerbach)
Jehoiakim went to offer his submission to Nebuchadrezzar in
company with other Syro-Palestinian rulers (ABC 5.obv.i5f.).39
38. Pavlovsky and Vogt (1964:344-346) combine these last two positions by
arguing that the spring calendar was first introduced during the reign of Manasseh
and then reintroduced during Jehoiakim's reign.
39. Evidence discussed below (p. 22yn.) suggests that Jehoiakim did not in fact
ij6
This argument is superficially attractive, but it is based upon an

uncritical reading of 2 Kings 22-23. In tne first place it should be
noted that the account of the reforms given in 2 Kings 23.420 has
undoubtedly undergone considerable secondary expansion, as is
shown by the marked concentration of non-classical syntactic
constructions.40 More important, however, is the fact that this
entire section has clearly been secondarily inserted into its present
context, since it interrupts the obvious narrative connection
between 2 Kings 23.3 (Josiah and 'all the people' conclude a
covenant with Yahweh) and 2 Kings 23.21 (Josiah commands 'all
the people' to keep the Passover).41 Without this secondary
insertion there is no difficulty in supposing that the Passover was
celebrated within two weeks of the discovery of the 'book of the
law', in which case the dates given in 2 Kings 22-23 are compatible
with either a spring or an autumn calendar.42
A more important clue to the date at which the spring calendar
was introduced is provided by the festal calendar of Deuteronomy
16.117, which, interestingly, is cited by both Begrich and
Auerbach in support of mutually incompatible conclusions. Two
features of this passage are of relevance. One is that Deuteronomy
offer his submission until the autumn of 604 BC (Nis.).
40. These include the use of Unconverted Perfects after the conjunction Waw
(WOT, rvapm, pnn, KBI, T^trm, "nan, "pan: 2K 23.4,5, 8, 10,12,14,15),
and the apparent use of the definite article with construct noun forms (JV7X7 UH
rnx, Dvnxn BTK i3pn, and Vx rrn naran: 2K 23.12,17,17).
41. Cf. Kugler (1922:139-141), who argues that the reforms described in this
section were actually carried out in Josiah's I2th year, as stated in 2 Chronicles
34.3-7. However, the Chronicler's account is almost certainly a secondary rewriting
of the account given in Kings, and cannot therefore be used as independent
historical evidence (Williamson 1982:397^). 2 Kings 23.4-20 was probably
moved from an earlier position after 2 Kings 23.23 in order to absolve Josiah of
charges of impropriety in having celebrated the Passover before the temple had yet
been purified.
42. Note, however, that LXX's text of 2 Kings 22.3 states that Josiah made
arrangements for temple repairs in the 8th (or 7th) month of his 18th year, and that
this can only be reconciled with 2 Kings 23.23 (dating the Passover to the same
year) if it is assumed that '8th month' is given as the later equivalent of Bui, the
second month of the old autumn calendar (or that '7th month' is given as the later
equivalent of Ethanim). But LXX's month date is almost certainly secondary, since
it requires us to suppose that five (or six) whole months elapsed between the time
that Josiah learned of the discovery of the lawbook and his subsequent celebration
of the Passover; the original narrative of 2 Kings 22-23 (m which 2 Kings 23.3 was
followed directly by 2 Kings 23.21) indicates a much shorter period of no more than
a few days or weeks.
177
16.i follows Exodus 23.15 and 34.18 in dating the Feast of

Unleavened Bread (here amalgamated with the Passover) to the old
Canaanite month Abib, which suggests that Deuteronomy in its
original form was written before the introduction of the spring
calendar and its system of numbering months (cf. Auerbach
1952:336). On the other hand Deuteronomy 16.13-15, in contrast
to Exodus 23.16 and 34.22, conspicuously omits any statement that
the Feast of Booths (or Feast of Ingathering) was to be celebrated at
the 'end' or 'turn' of the year, and would therefore appear to offer
evidence that Deuteronomy was written after the spring calendar
had replaced the old autumn calendar (Begrich 19293:89). A
satisfactory interpretation of Deuteronomy 16 should clearly take
account of both points, and it may therefore be suggested that the
author of this passage wrote while the old calendar was still in use
(hence the reference to Abib) but consciously chose not to endorse
the old autumn new year. This in turn suggests that the spring
calendar was adopted not because it was imposed by either the
Assyrians or the Babylonians (there is no evidence that either
power imposed its calendar on vassal nations),43 but rather because
the Deuteronomic school favoured the adoption of this calendar as
part of its programme of eliminating Canaanite influences in
Israelite religion. There is no doubt that the spring calendar was
well-suited to this purpose, as it effectively severed the original
connection between the Feast of Booths and the Canaanite new
year (with its attendant rituals) while giving increased prominence
to Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which the
Deuteronomic programme combined and transformed into the
most important of the three annual festivals. If this is correct we
may conclude that the spring calendar was most probably
introduced, along with other Deuteronomic reforms, in the reign of
Josiah.44 The silence of 2 Kings 22-23 on tms matter is nott
43. It is worth noting that Assyria apparently adopted the Babylonian lunisolar
calendar in the reign of Tiglathpileser I (1115-1076 BC), when Assyria was most
definitely not a Babylonian vassal-state (see Weidner 1935-6:27-29).
44. Morgenstern (1935:6-7) also argues that the introduction of the BabylonianAssyrian calendar was one of the Deuteronomic reforms implemented by Josiah.
However, in Morgenstern's view this calendar reform consisted in the replacement
of an old solar calendar which began in the autumn with a new lunisolar calendar
which also began in the autumn, but paradoxically numbered its months from the
spring (!); this new calendar, being lunisolar rather than solar, dissociated the Feast
of Booths from its original equinoctial date and thus enabled it to be divested of
alleged solar trappings which had been taken over from Canaanite religion.
178
particularly surprising, since this is clearly a selective (and

idealized) account of Josiah's reform. But it would be hazardous to
argue that the new calendar was actually introduced in Josiah's i8th
year. The historical authenticity of this date must be seriously
questioned in any case: it belongs to a series of schematic dates, and
works out, in Deuteronomistic chronological schematism, at
exactly 365 years from the division of the kingdom (see p. y8f.).
Judah's adoption of the spring calendar poses two further
questions which must be considered briefly, the first being
whether we should posit a similar calendrical change for the
northern kingdom of Israel. The only scholar to have suggested
this (to my knowledge) is Jepsen (1964:28, 36), who makes the
logical assumption that if Judah adopted the spring calendar when
she became a vassal-state of Assyria the same is likely to have
happened in Israel. Conversely, if I am right in arguing that the
Assyrians did not impose their calendar on Judah, there is little
reason to suppose that they will have imposed it on Israel either. In
which case we have no grounds for thinking that the kingdom of
Israel did not use the old autumn calendar throughout its
existence.
The second question concerns the manner in which the new
calendar was introduced. The change from autumn calendar to
spring calendar will necessarily have entailed lengthening or
shortening the last year of the old calendar by six months or
thereabouts. Auerbach (1959:120) argues that the spring calendar
was introduced during the reign of Jehoiakim, and suggests that
Jehoiakim's 5th year was lengthened by five months so that it
extended from Marheshvan of 605 BC (Jul.) to Nisan of 603 BC.45
On the other hand Andersen (1969:101-102), who dates the
introduction of the spring calendar to Manasseh's accession,
argues that Manasseh's accession year was shortened by six
According to Vogelstein (1944:7) the spring calendar was întroduced in Josiah's
reign (see below). More recently, Hayes and Hooker (1988:85-88) have independently concluded that the spring calendar was introduced in the i8th year of Josiah's
reign as part of his religious reform. Rather strikingly, they also claim that the law
book on which this reform was based was not (the core of) Deuteronomy but some
form of P; their main argument is that P, in contrast to Deuteronomy, specifically
requires a spring calendar (Ex 12.2). My own view on this is that Exodus 12.2
endorses an existing calendar against earlier Priestly traditions which presupposed
an autumn calendar (see p. 168).
45. In Auerbach's opinion the autumn calendar began in Marheshvan, not
Tishri; see p. 169 above.
179
months, so that it lasted from Tishri of 697 BC (Jul.) to Nisan of

696 BC.46 Purely practical considerations would appear to favour
the second of these procedures: it would presumably have been
confusing to have had a year in which the first five or six months
were repeated at the end of the year.
Some scholars, however, have noticed that the first procedure
(lengthening the year in which a calendar change occurred), if
repeated several times in a series of calendar changes, would have
the effect of reducing the total number of Judean regnal years in a
given period, and have accordingly concluded that this provides a
convenient way of accounting for minor deficits in Judean
chronology. Vogelstein (1944:7), faced with an apparent 2-year
deficit in Judean regnal years from the fall of Samaria (in
Hezekiah's 6th year) to the death of Josiah,47 proposes an ad hoc
series of calendar changes in the reigns of Hezekiah (introduction
of spring calendar), Manasseh (reintroduction of autumn calendar), and Josiah (reintroduction of spring calendar). Pavlovsky and
Vogt propose a similar series of changes in the reigns of Manasseh
(introduction of spring calendar), Josiah (reintroduction of autumn
calendar), and Jehoiakim (reintroduction of spring calendar).
Little credibility attaches to either of these proposals, which may
be catalogued with other harmonistic devices employed by modern
Biblical chronologists.
Turning from calendrical matters, we must also consider the
related matter of the dating system(s) used in Israel and Judah
during the monarchic period. It is clear from literary-historical
evidence in Kings (and Josephus) that Israelite and Judean reigns
were inclusively antedated for much of the period of the divided
monarchy.48 But it is also virtually certain that postdating had been
introduced in pre-exilic Judah by the beginning of Jehoiakim's
reign. One indication of this is the fact that direct Hebrew
equivalents of res sarriiti ('beginning of reign'), which was used in
46. This presupposes of course that Manasseh did not become king until the
second half of the autumn calendar year (between Nisan and Tishri), although there
is no evidence to support (or refute) this assumption.
47. The fall of Samaria is commonly dated to 722 BC (Nis.), 113 years before the
death of Josiah in 609 BC (Nis.), whereas there are only (23 + 55 + 2 + 31 =) in
Judean years from Hezekiah's 6th year to Josiah's 3ist year. This discrepancy is
increased to 3 years if the fall of Samaria is dated to 723 BC (Nis.): see p. 206ff.
48. See last chapter. The different types of dating system used in the ancient
near east have also been discussed on p. 85ff.
180
Mesopotamia as a technical term for the period between a king's

accession and his first regnal year, occur in four chronological
notices associated with Jehoiakim and Zedekiah (see p. 86f.; two
of these notices are textually suspect, but this leaves two notices
associated with Jehoiakim and Zedekiah which are not suspect).
This indication falls short of proof, however, since it is possible
but unlikely that the Hebrew expressions (DD/DQ fTt^X"! and
variants) are used in a general sense to refer to the early part of
Jehoiakim's and Zedekiah's reigns, without carrying the specific
sense of res sarruti in Babylonian texts.49 A more significant
indication is therefore to be found in the fact that Jehoiakim's
11-year reign is incompatible with Babylonian chronological data
unless Jehoiakim's regnal years are counted non-inclusively on
either a spring calendar or on an autumn calendar for the first part
of Jehoiakim's reign but on a spring calendar thereafter (see above,
p. 171 f.). Additional proof that Jehoiakim's reign was postdated
rather than non-inclusively antedated is provided by the fact that
the battle of Carchemish, which occurred in 605 BC (Nis.), is dated
in Jeremiah 46.2 to Jehoiakim's 4th year; this presupposes that
Jehoiakim's first regnal year was the year after his accession in 609
BC(Nis.). 50
Postdating, like the spring calendar, was almost certainly
adopted through Mesopotamian influence and is therefore unlikely
to have been introduced in Judah before the reign of Ahaz, which
effectively means that Hezekiah's accession is the earliest occasion
at which it could have been implemented (it is unlikely that the
changeover was implemented during the course of Ahaz's reign,
since this would have required Ahaz's earlier years to be
renumbered retrospectively).51 There is no direct Biblical evidence
49. See p. 86n. It should be said that res sarruti is sometimes used in a
non-technical sense in Assyrian inscriptions, and it is possible that this Assyrian
usage also occurs in Nabonidus's Sippar Cylinder (Tadmor 1965:353).
50. It makes no difference to the argument at this point whether Jehoiakim's
accession year was 609 BC (spr.), as is the case if the spring calendar was introduced
by Josiah, or 610 BC (aut.).
51. Contrast Coucke (1928:12511".), Thiele (31983:47-50), Schedl (19623:94),
and Pavlovsky and Vogt (1964:323), who assume that postdating was used in Judah
from the time of the division of the kingdom (except for an interlude in which
antedating was adopted). It is undoubtedly true that figures given in existing
Biblical chronologies (in particular that of MT) presuppose postdating for a
number of early Judean reignsthough with less consistency than these scholars
supposebut this almost certainly reflects the activity of the exilic Deuterono-
181
which would allow us to date the introduction of postdating more

precisely within the period between Hezekiah's accession and
Jehoiakim's accession; but since postdating and the spring calendar were both introduced from Mesopotamia, it is not unreasonable to conjecture that they were both adopted simultaneously
(Jepsen 1964:28; Andersen 1969:101)or rather that the decision to introduce postdating was taken at the same time as the
decision to introduce the spring calendar. If, as I have argued, the
spring calendar was probably adopted during Josiah's reign, it
follows that postdating was most probably introduced at the
accession of Josiah's successor, Jehoahaz (this being the earliest
point at which a decision taken during Josiah's reign could be
practically implemented). This conclusion is supported by a
detailed consideration of Judean chronology from Hezekiah's
accession to the fall of Jerusalem (see below, p. 222ff.).
One final question which must be considered is whether
postdating was ever adopted by the northern kingdom of Israel.52
It must be said that there is no direct evidence that postdating was
or was not adopted in Israel, but the most probable assumption is
that it was not adopted. Those who argue to the contrary generally
assume that the introduction of postdating, like the introduction of
the spring calendar, was a necessary consequence of Assyrian
suzerainty; but there is little reason to suppose that the Assyrians
imposed either their calendar or their dating system on vassal
nations.
The main conclusions of the previous discussion may now be
summarized as follows.
1. The original Israelite-Judean calendar was probably lunisolar and began in the autumn, with Ethanim ( = Tishri) as
the first month.
2. Judah later adopted the Baby Ionian-Assyrian calendar,
but initially replaced Babylonian-Assyrian month names
with ordinal numbers; this calendar, which was also
lunisolar but began in the spring, was probably adopted
during the reign of Josiah.
mistic chronologist, who presupposed non-inclusive dating in his schematization of
Judean chronology (see pp. 9of., i36f.).
52. The following scholars have argued that postdating was adopted in Israel:
Lewy (1927:16), Coucke (1928:1256-1259), Begrich (19293:113), Vogelstein
(1944:21), Thiele (31983:59-60), Jepsen (1964:28, 34), and Pavlovsky and Vogt
(1964:344).
182
3. Judah also adopted the Mesopotamian system of postdating in place of the earlier Israelite-Judean system of
(inclusive) antedating; this probably happened at the
accession of Josiah's successor, Jehoahaz.
5.2 A historical reconstruction of Israelite andjudean chronology

5.2.1 From the division of the kingdom to Jehu's revolt
The primary source of external evidence relating to Israelite and
Judean chronology are the historical records of Assyria and
Babylonia. We are therefore fortunate in having an accurate
chronological framework for Assyrian and Babylonian history
during the first millennium BC.53 This framework, which is based
upon Mesopotamian chronographic texts (kinglists, eponym lists,
and chronicles), is securely related to Julian chronology through
the Ptolemaic Canon, a kinglist compiled by Alexandrian astronomers for use in astronomical calculations.54 However, since the
53. There is a slight degree of uncertainty concerning Assyrian chronology
before the eponymy of Ninurtanasir in 783 BC (Nis.), which arises from the fact that
one out of six eponym lists for this period gives six eponyms from Silli-ishtar to
Ninurtanasir (inclusive), whereas the remaining five lists have only five eponyms at
this point. [The situation is actually a little more complex than this. Four lists (Cb2,
Cc, Ca6, STT 1.47) agree, with some variation in names, on essentially the same
sequence of eponyms: $illi-istar, Nabusarrusur, Adaduballit, Marduksarrusur,
Ninurtanasir. A fifth list (STT 1.46) omits Nabusarrusur but compensates by
inserting the name of $illi-istar's predecessor (Adadmusammer) between Marduksarrusur and Ninurtanasir. The sixth list (Ca3) places Nabusarrusur between
Marduksarrusur and Ninurtanasir, and inserts a sixth eponym, Baldfu (possibly a
hypocoristic form of Adaduballif), in the position occupied by Nabusarrusur in the
first four lists.] Assyriologists since Forrer (1915:5f.) have generally taken the view
that the shorter tradition is original, and have therefore dated Silli-ishtar's
eponymy to 787 BC (Nis.); but Shea (1977:240-242) has argued in favour of the
longer tradition, and accordingly dates Silli-ishtar's eponymy to 788 BC (Nis.).
However, Shea's arguments are conclusively refuted by Brinkman (1978:173-175)5
who points out that Shea fails to take account of the two eponym lists from
Sultantepe (STT 1.46,47), and also makes an elementary miscalculation in working
out Shalmaneser Ill's accession date from figures given by the Assyrian Kinglist.
These figures, when added correctly, plainly support the shorter chronology
against the longer chronology advocated by Shea.
54. See Ginzel 1906:138f. and Bickerman 2i98o:8i-82, 109-111. The Ptolemaic Canon gives reign lengths and continuous totals for successive Babylonian,
Persian, Ptolemaic, and Roman rulers beginning with Nabonassar (748-734 BC).
The accuracy of this information has been established by means of dated
183
Mesopotamian calendar began in the spring, whereas the IsraeliteJudean calendar originally began in the autumn, it is obvious that
Mesopotamian calendar years cannot be equated with Israelite or
Judean calendar years (except during the final period of the Judean
monarchy, when Judah had adopted the Mesopotamian spring
calendar): each Mesopotamian calendar year corresponds to the
last six months (or so) of the Israelite-Judean year which began in
the previous autumn, plus the first six months (or so) of the
following Israelite-Judean year. 841 BC (Nis.), for example, is
equivalent to the last six months of 842 BC (aut.) plus the first six
months of 841 BC (aut.).
841 BC (Nis.) is in fact the date of a key synchronism between
Assyrian and Israelite chronology, corresponding to the i8th year
of the reign of Shalmaneser III, when the latter conducted an
inconclusive campaign against 'Hazael of Aram' and received
tribute from various rulers including 'Jehu the Omrite'55 (Shi
astronomical phenomena recorded in Ptolemy's Almagest; for example, the total
lunar eclipse which is recorded as having occurred on the night of Thoth 29/30 in
the first year of Merodachbaladan is astronomically datable to March 19 721 BC
(Ginzel 1906:143). The earlier part of the Canon overlaps with Mesopotamian
chronographic literature, thereby confirming the basic accuracy of this literature
(which was evidently one of the primary sources of chronological data in the
Canon). Additional confirmation is provided by the fact that the Assyrian Eponym
Chronicle records the occurrence of a solar eclipse in the month Sivan of the
eponymy of Bursagalecoinciding with a solar eclipse which is astronomically
datable to June 15 763 BC.
55. 'IA-it-a (var. 'IA-a-u) mar 'Hu-um-ri-ithe designation mar Humri is
gentilic rather than patronymic, indicating that Jehu was ruler of Bit Humri (the
common Assyrian name for Israel); similarly the rulers of Bit Agusi, Bit Adfni, Bit
Dakuri etc. are designated mar Agiisi, mar Adfni, mar Dakuri and so forth (Tadmor
1973:149). McCarter's theory that ' I A-it-aj1 IA-a-u is not Jehu but Joram
(McCarter 1974) must be considered highly improbable. McCarter argues that
'IA-a-u is an Assyrian representation of *Yaw, which is allegedly an (otherwise
unattested) hypocoristic of *Yawram ( = Joram), while the variant (and usual)
spelling 'lA-u-a supposedly represents *Yawa\ i.e. *Yaw plus the hypocoristic
ending *-a'. But hypocoristic names consisting solely of a theophoric element, or of
a theophoric element plus -a'are rare in Semitic, and Yahwistic hypocoristica of this
type are unattested. It may also be noted that McCarter's argument for interpreting
1
IA-a-u as *Yaw is based on the assumption that the 'Az-ri-ia-a-u who is
mentioned in the annals of Tiglathpileser III is the same person as Azariah of
Judah, whose name appears as VTX7 on two pre-exilic seals; but we now know that
this is almost certainly not the case (see below, p. 195.) By contrast KVRlA-u-du\di,
which is the Assyrian writing of *Yahud ( = Judah), provides clear support for the
conventional view that 'lA-u-a is the Assyrian spelling of Jehu (* Yehffa (?); IA may
be read as ia, ie, ii, or iu, and for *-hu'a as a variant of *-hu compare flXITl = N1H in
Qumran manuscripts.) For further discussion see Weippert (1978), who is probably
184
22.1-26; 32.m.45-iv.5; 33-B; Kurb 21-30). Since Assyrian

campaigns almost invariably began in the spring it is probable that
Jehu's payment of tribute occurred in the late summer of 841 BC, in
which case he must presumably have come to the throne either
during or before the Israelite year 842 BC (aut.).56 But we also know
that Jehu cannot have come to the throne much before 842 BC
(aut.). Shalmaneser Ill's previous campaign in the west was in the
14th year of his reign, 845 BC (Nis.), when he fought against a
coalition of twelve Syro-Palestinian states led by Hadadezer of
Aram and Irhuleni of Hamath (Shi 5.1.14-24; 33.91-92; Bull
99-102). Hadadezer, referred to as 'Benhadad' in the Bible, was
subsequently murdered by Hazael (2K 8.7-15; cf. Shi 5.1.25-27),
who must therefore have become king in 846 BC (aut.) at the
earliest. And since the book of Kings places Hazael's accession
before that of Jehu, this means that 846 BC (aut.) is also the earliest
date at which Jehu could have become king. Jehu's accession may
therefore be dated within a possible range of five Israelite years,
from 846 BC (aut.) at the earliest to 842 BC (aut.) at the latest.
Further Assyrian evidence would appear to provide us with a
way of arriving at a precise date for Jehu's accession. In 853 BC
(Nis.), in the 6th year of his reign, Shalmaneser III fought for the
first time against the twelve-state coalition headed by Hadadezer
and Irhuleni, which on this occasion is said to have included forces
led by 'Ahab of Israel'57 (Shi Mon 11.78-102; cf. Shi 33.54-66
and Shi Bull 67-74). This battle, which was fought at Qarqar on
the Orontes, almost certainly occurred during the summer of 853
BC (Shalmaneser set out from Assyria on lyyar 14: Shi Mon 11.78)
and may therefore be dated to the Israelite year which began in the
autumn of 854 BC. Ahab, then, was still on the throne in 854 BC
(aut.), 12 years before the latest possible date for Jehu's accession.
Now the chronology of Kings assigns reign lengths of 2 and 12
years respectively to Ahab's successors, Ahaziah and Joram, and
right in suggesting that the isolated occurrence of 'IA-a-u is a scribal error for
'IA-u-a.
56. Even if Jehu paid tribute in the autumn of 841 BC, i.e. at the beginning of the
Israelite year 841 BC (aut.), it is doubtful that his accession may be dated any later
than 842 BC (aut.). The single regnal year ascribed to Ahaziah is evidence that the
latter was assassinated before the first new year of his reign (see p. lyan.); unless we
date Ahaziah's entire reign within the first few weeks of 841 BC (aut.), we must
therefore conclude that Ahaziah was assassinated by Jehu in or before 842 BC (aut.).
57. 'A-ha-ab-bu KURSir-'i-la-a-a.
185
these two reign lengths total precisely 12 years in all when

allowance is made for i-year overlaps produced by inclusive
antedating. Unless, therefore, we dismiss the Biblical figures as
unreliable, we must necessarily conclude that 854 BC (aut.) was th
last year of Ahab's reign, and 842 BC (aut.) the first year of Jehu'
reign. Ahab cannot have ended his reign after 854 BC (aut.), sinc
this would require us to date Jehu's accession after 842 BC (aut.)
Conversely, Jehu cannot have begun to reign before 842 BC (aut.)
for in this case Ahab's death is pushed back before 854 BC (aut.)
when Ahab participated in the battle of Qarqar.
The possibility of establishing absolute dates for Ahab's death
and Jehu's accession on the evidence presented above has been
pointed out many times since Riihl (1894/5:45-50) first realized
that Israelite and Judean reigns of the early monarchic period were
originally dated inclusively. However, several scholars have also
pointed out problems with this chronology. One of these arises in
connection with the date of Ahab's death: according to i Kings 22
Ahab died while fighting the Arameans at Ramoth-Gilead; but in
the second half of 854 BC (aut.) Ahab was fighting alongside the
Aramean army at Qarqar. A similar though less widely recognized
problem concerns the date of Jehu's accession: according to 2
Kings 9.14-15 the Israelite army was defending Ramoth-Gilead
against Hazael when Jehu staged his revolt; but in 842 BC (aut.
Hazael was occupied in fighting the Assyrians. If we assume that
the Biblical narratives of i Kings 22 and 2 Kings 9 are historically
reliable, we must apparently conclude that the Biblical figures for
the reigns of Ahaziah and Joram (of Israel) are historically
unreliable.
A number of scholars have come to precisely this conclusion;
and since there is little scope for reducing Ahaziah's 2-year reign
they propose that Joram's reign should be reduced by up to 6
years. Various justifications are offered in support of these
reductions, the simplest of which is given by Begrich (19293:108 f.)
and Jepsen (1964:41). Their argument is as follows. According to
2 Kings 1.17 Joram became king in the 2nd year of Jehoram of
Judah. The latter is said to have reigned for 8 years according to
MT (2K 8.17). Jehoram's 8th year, which was also the first and
only year of Ahaziah of Judah, was therefore equivalent to Joram's
7th year. And since Ahaziah of Judah and Joram of Israel were
both assassinated at the same time it follows that Joram can have
186
reigned for no more than *j years, not 12 years. However, this

seemingly plausible argument is actually based upon a conflation
of chronological data from separate and disparate chronological
systems. The synchronism given in 2 Kings 1.17 does not properly
belong within MT's chronology and can only be fitted into this
chronology if one resorts to a series of procrustean alterations or
hypothetical coregencies. It is identical, however, with the synchronism given by LXXL in 2 Kings i.iSa, and fits (almost)
perfectly into LXX's chronology, showing that it is simply one of
several synchronisms in MT which were taken over from the
chronology found in LXX;58
Other proposals for reducing Joram's reign length have been
put forward by Lewy (1927:26), Mowinckel (1932:260-261),
Albright (1945:20,21), and Miller (1967:287-288). There is no
point in discussing each of these in detail, as none is very
convincing. But some consideration may be given to the views of
Albright and Miller in view of the degree of influence exerted by
their respective chronologies. Albright's chronology of the early
monarchy is founded on the assumption that chronological data in
Chronicles are at least as reliable as chronological data in Kings
(Albright 1945:18-19). According to 2 Chronicles 16.1 Baasha
attacked Judah in the 36th year of Asa's reign. Allowing for i-year
overlaps produced by inclusive antedating this is the 54th year
from the division of the kingdom ((17-1) + (3-1) + 36 = 54).
However, according to figures for Israelite reign lengths, Baasha
died in the 46th year from the division of the kingdom ((22-1) +
(2-1) + 24 = 46). Albright accordingly concludes that we must
reduce Rehoboam's reign by 'at least 8, probably 9 years' (p. 20),
and proceeds to compensate for this by making corresponding
reductions in the reigns of Omri and Joram (both reduced from 12
to *8 years). But it is hardly legitimate to base a whole series of
major corrections to the chronology of Kings on a single piece of
chronological data given by the Chronicler, who may simply have
invented this figure along with other dates in Asa's reign (see
Rudolph 1955:239^). Albright offers no evidence to support the
authenticity of Chronicles' data over against the chronology of
Kings, apart from asserting that the historical value of material in
Chronicles which is not paralleled in Kings is being established by
58. See above, p. 92. The true synchronism for Joram's accession within MT's
chronology is given in 2 Kings 3.1.
187
(unspecified) 'archaeological discoveries' (Albright 1945:18).

The weakness of Albright's proposals is noted by Miller
(1967:2781".), who attempts to replace them with a set of similar
reductions based on chronological data from the Lucianic text of
the Septuagint. Unfortunately Miller fails to notice that LXXL
gives 10 years (not 8 years) as Jehoram's reign length (see p. I23n.),
so that his argument that Joram's reign length must be reduced to
8 (or 7) years59 is in fact based upon an unintentional conflation of
chronological data from MT (Jehoram's reign length) and LXXL
(Joram's accession date). This is effectively Begrich's argument in
a slightly different guise: Joram became king in Jehoram's 2nd year
(LXX's chronology); Jehoram reigned for 8 years (MT's chronology); therefore Joram reigned for *8 years, comprising 7 years of
Jehoram's reign plus Ahaziah's single year (Miller, unlike Begrich,
does not equate this with Jehoram's last regnal year). The other
reductions which Miller proposes (Baasha 24 - * 18 years; Asa 41 -
*3i years) are based upon an uncritical acceptance of LXX's
(corrupt) synchronism for Elah's accession (see p. I32n.).
Having rejected these various proposals for reducing Joram's
reign we must clearly reconsider the historical reliability of i
Kings 22 and 2 Kings 9. There are good reasons for doubting the
historical accuracy of i Kings 22:
1. i Kings 22 describes an attempt by Ahab to recover RamothGilead from the Arameans, but Ramoth-Gilead appears to
have remained in Israelite possession until after Joram's
death; according to 2 Kings 9.14-15 the latter was wounded
while defending Ramoth-Gilead (cf. 2 Kings 10.32-33,
which dates the loss of Gilead to Jehu's reign).
2. According to Assyrian annals Israel and Aram were
members of a 12-state alliance which confronted Shalmaneser III not only in 853 BC (Nis.), but again in 849 BC
(Nis.), 848 BC (Nis.), and 845 BC (Nis.); it is therefore
improbable that the battle described in i Kings 22 could
have occurred during this period.
3. i Kings 22.26 refers to 'Joash the king's son' (i.e. the
59. On p. 287 of his study Miller states that Joram's reign must be reduced from
twelve to 'nine years', but this is apparently an error for 'eight years': on the
following page Joram's reign is dated from 851/849 to 844/842 (i.e. 8 years
inclusive).
18 8
crown prince; see p. 104), but Ahab's successor was

Ahaziah, not Joash.
There is therefore a strong case for thinking that i Kings 22 has
been secondarily associated with Ahab, as is argued by Jepsen
(1942), Whitley (1952), and Miller (1966; 1968); the latter is
probably correct in arguing that the narrative originally concerned
Jehoahaz of Israel, whose son and successor was indeed named
Joash.60
It is less easy to demonstrate that 2 Kings 9 is not an accurate
account of events associated with Jehu's revolt. However, the
example of I Kings 22 should make us wary of emending the
chronology of Kings, which is ultimately based on historical
records, to make it conform with narratives that are essentially
legendary (or folk-historical) in character, and Astour (1971) has
put forward an alternative and plausible reconstruction of events
which does not contradict the chronological data of Kings. In 841
BC (Nis.) Israel was indeed confronted with a serious military
60. A further argument against the historicity of i Kings 22 is of dubious
validity. It is often stated that the expression used in i Kings 22.40 ('and Ahab slept
with his fathers') presupposes that Ahab died a natural death. But this is most
probably a stereotyped death-formula, which was usually omitted when the
circumstances of a king's death were described in any detail (as in most cases of
violent death), but which does not of itself refer to non-violent death, as argued by
Alfrink (1943) and others. The strongest argument against this theory is provided
by the circumstances of Jehoiakim's death. Jeremiah 22.18-19 asserts that
Jehoiakim will lie unlamented and unburied: 'They shall not lament for him ... with
the burial of an ass he will be buried, dragged and thrown aside outside the gates of
Jerusalem.' Similarly Jeremiah 36.30 predicts, 'His corpse will be thrown aside to
the heat by day and the frost by night.' On the other hand 2 Kings 24.6, which fails
to provide any details of Jehoiakim's death, states simply that 'Jehoiakim slept with
his fathers.' The common assumption that the prophecies of Jehoiakim's death in
Jeremiah were unfulfilled, and that Jehoiakim actually died a peaceful death, is in
my view hardly credible. Whatever erroneous predictions Jeremiah may have
made, it is highly unlikely that an obvious prophetic failure of this magnitude would
have been included (twice!) by the Deuteronomistic redactors of the book of
Jeremiah, particularly in view of the Deuteronomistic belief that inaccurate
predictions were the mark of a false prophet (Dt 18.22; Je 28.5f.). It is therefore
much more probable that the Jeremiah prophecies are actually fulfilled predictions,
or vaticinia ex eventu, which accurately reflect the circumstances of Jehoiakim's
death. We know from 2 Kings 24.2f. that Jehoiakim died while Judah was being
attacked by Babylonian and allied forces; if the Jeremiah passages are to be
believed, we may probably infer that he died while fighting outside Jerusalem, and
the Judean army failed to recover his dead body. It is worth noting that Jehoiakim is
one of only two Judean kings, not counting those who died in exile, whose burial is
not mentioned in Kings (the other, curiously, is Hezekiah).
189
threat to her northern borders, but this threat came not from
Hazael and the Arameans but from the Assyrian army of
Shalmaneser III. According to Assyrian inscriptions Shalmaneser
concluded his campaign of this year by marching south from
Damascus to the Hauran regionwhere he destroyed 'innumerable towns'and then west to Mt. Ba'li-ra'si, which should
probably be identified with Mt. Carmel (Shi 22.1-25; 32.111.45iv. 15).61 Astour argues that Joram was wounded at RamothGilead while attempting to block Shalmaneser's march across
northern Israelite territory, and that this was later remembered in
Israelite folk tradition as a battle against the Aramean forces of
Hazael, who made repeated incursions into Israelite territory
during later years. This explanation also offers a plausible
explanation of Hosea's reference to the destruction of Beth-Arbel
by 'Shalman' (Ho 10.14): Beth-Arbel lay directly in the way of
Shalmaneser's march from Hauran to Carmel and was therefore an
obvious target for Assyrian reprisals. This in turn gives us a
convincing political motive for Jehu's revolt, which may logically
be regarded as a pro-Assyrian move intended to appease Shalmaneser and prevent further Assyrian reprisals.
Having seen that there is no good reason to alter the chronology
of Kings to make it conform to the (folk-historical) narratives of i Kings 22 and 2 Kings 9, we may reasonably accept the
chronological evidence that Ahab died in 854 BC (aut.), and that
Jehu came to the throne in 842 BC (aut.). This evidence is of major
importance for the reconstruction of Israelite and Judean historical
chronology, in that it allows us to translate our earlier reconstruction of the original chronology of Kings into an absolute
chronology of Israelite and Judean history. The table given below
presents a reconstruction of Israelite and Judean history from the
division of the kingdom to Jehu's revolt; it is identical with the
table given on p. I3yf., with the addition of absolute dates
calculated backwards from 842 BC (aut.).
Rehoboam
Abijam
i
i7/aci
2
3
61. Cf. Aharoni 2 1979:341.
937
921
920
919
17
18
19
Jeroboam
190
3
4
5
918
917
916
915
914
913
912
25
26
27
28
29
892
891
890
889
888
39
40
878
877
876
4
5
Asa
aci/6
2
Jehoshaphat
4i/aci
21
22
23
24
Jehoram
aci/25
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Ahaziah
/Athaliah
10
*u/aci/i
856
855
854
853
852
851
850
849
848
847
846
845
844
843
842
20
21
22
23
24
*25/aci
d2/aci
Nadab
Baasha
21
22
23
Elah
Zimri/Omri
aci/24
aci/ac/2
ii
i2/aci
Ahab
2
22
*23
*24/aci
2/aci
Ahaziah
Joram
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
I/I2
Jehu
There are, unfortunately, no external synchronisms between

Israelite/Judean chronology and Mesopotamian chronology during the earlier part of this period. Ahab was evidently the first
Israelite or Judean king to encounter the armies of Assyria, and his
involvement in the battle of Qarqar is consequently our earliest
synchronism between Israelite and Mesopotamian chronology.
But we do have a previous synchronism between Judean and
191
Egyptian chronology. In the 5th year of Rehoboam's reign,

according to i Kings 14.25^, Shishak king of Egypt marched
against Jerusalem and successfully extracted a large payment of
tribute. Shishak, alias Shoshenq I, founder of the 22nd (Libyan)
Dynasty, has also left his own record of this campaign in the form
of a triumphal relief and accompanying list of conquered territories, which was inscribed on one of the walls of the temple of Amun
at Karnak. This inscription unfortunately does not tell us in which
year of Shoshenq's reign the campaign occurred; but since there is
evidence that Shoshenq began quarrying stone for his Karnak
building programme in the 2ist year of his reign (Caminos 1952) it
is commonly assumed that his Palestinian campaign was conducted
shortly before this date. Hornung (1964:24, 29) argues that it
should probably be dated between Shoshenq's i8th and 2ist years,
most probably in the 2Oth year of his reign; while Kitchen
(19733:73-74) maintains that Shoshenq is unlikely to have waited
for as long as three years before commissioning the relief, and
that the campaign may therefore be dated to Shoshenq's 2Oth or
21 sty ear.
This appears to provide an (almost) exact synchronism between
Egyptian and Judean chronology, against which we may hope to
test our historical reconstruction of Judean and Israelite chronology. According to this reconstruction Rehoboam's first year was
937 BC (aut.), and his 5th year, 933 BC (aut.); so Shoshenq's 2Oth
year should be roughly equivalent to 932 BC (Jul.).62 This puts
Shoshenq's first year in approximately 951 BC (Jul.). By contrast,
most Egyptologists, including Hornung and Kitchen, have agreed
with Breasted (1906:1:45) in dating Shoshenq's reign from 945 BC
to 924 BC, which is in line with earlier reconstructions of Israelite
and Judean chronologybeginning with Riihl 1894/95, and
including Thiele 31983 and Andersen 1969in which the start of
Rehoboam's reign is dated to 931 BC or thereabouts. Thiele
(31983:80) observes that Breasted's date for Shoshenq's Palestinian campaign (c. 926 BC) is 'in almost complete accord' with his
62. This presupposes that Shoshenq's Palestinian campaign is more likely to
have occurred in spring or summer (during the last nine months or so of 933 BC
(aut.)) than in winter. The Egyptian civil calendar at this period began in April of
the Julian calendar, but it is not known whether the 22nd Dynasty correlated regnal
years with calendar years (by antedating), or whether they followed the New
Kingdom practice of counting regnal years from the actual date of accession.
192
own reconstruction of Israelite and Judean chronology. What he

failed to realize, however, is that this seemingly impressive
agreement results from the fact that Egyptian chronologists,
without always admitting it, have commonly based their chronology of this period on the Biblical synchronism for Shoshenq's
invasion. Thus Kitchen (19733:72^) remarks that 'neither the
2Oth nor the 2ist Dynasty can so far offer us any information from
which one may calculate their absolute dates BC', and then
proceeds to use Thiele's date for Rehoboam's 5th year as a fixed
point in working out the chronology of the Third Intermediate
Period. In a similar fashion Hornung (1964:24-29), who also
follows Thiele fairly closely in matters of Biblical chronology, uses
the same Biblical synchronism as a fixed point in reconstructing
New Kingdom chronology. Breasted almost certainly used the
same synchronism in dating Shoshenq's reign, though he does not
admit to this. He was certainly aware of the Biblical date for
Shoshenq's campaign (Breasted I9O6:IV:348), and it is hardly a
coincidence that his dating of Shoshenq's reign, which is purportedly based on dead reckoning from the Persian invasion of Egypt
in 525 BC, is in close agreement with Riihl's earlier reconstructio
of Israelite and Judean chronology (most of Breasted's chronology
of the intervening period has since been heavily modified).
Egyptian chronology is therefore of little use to modern
reconstructions of Israelite-Judean chronology in this instance. By
contrast, Biblical chronology is apparently crucial to current
reconstructions of Egyptian chronology for this period, so that if
my reconstruction of Israelite and Judean chronology is correct
and if Shoshenq's Palestinian campaign has been correctly
dated within the reigns of Shoshenq and RehoboamEgyptian
chronologists will have to revise their calculations to take
account of a 6-year increase in the dates of Shoshenq's reign.
Such an increase would not appear to pose serious problems in
Egyptian chronology, and might even be desirable, if Kitchen
(i973b:231-232) is correct in asserting that the currently accepted dates (945-924 BC) are minimal by earlier and later Egyptia
chronology. Albright's low chronology of the Third Intermediate Period (Albright 1953; 1956), in which Shoshenq's
reign is dated from 935 to 914 BC, does not appear to have
gained much acceptance in Egyptological circles, and is also
essentially dependent upon his low chronology of the early
193
divided monarchy in Israel and Judah (Albright 1953:6f.).63

Two caveats should be added to this discussion. In the first
place it must be said that not all Egyptologists agree that
Shoshenq's Palestinian campaign is to be dated in the final years of
his reign. Thus G. R. Hughes (Epigraphic Survey I954:vii) has
stated that the Egyptian evidence shows only that the campaign
occurred some time before the tenth month of Shoshenq's 2ist
year, while Redford (1973:10) has argued that the campaign most
probably occurred fairly early in Shoshenq's reign. It should also
be noted that the Biblical evidence for the date of Shoshenq's
campaign is less strong than it might appear. The book of Kings
gives equally precise dates for Shalmaneser V's conquest of
Samaria ('in the 6th year of Hezekiah', 2K 18.10) and for
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah ('in the i4th year of king
Hezekiah', 2K 18.13), implying an interval of only 8 years between
these events (or 10 years from the start of the siege of Samaria). We
know, however, from Assyrian and Babylonian evidence that the
conquest of Samaria (in 723 or 722 BC (Nis.)) preceded Sennach
erib's invasion of Judah (701 BC (Nis.)) by over 20 years, so that th
Biblical date for one (or both) of these events is demonstrably
incorrect. One cannot assume that the Biblical date for Shoshenq's
campaign is necessarily any more reliable. These dates belong to a
series of dates which seems to have been schematically arranged so
that events occur at multiples of 5 years from the division of the
kingdom (see p. 77f.).
5.2.2. From Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria
The period from Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria is without

doubt the most historically problematical period of Israelite and
63. Kitchen (19733:181; 19736:232) is particularly scathing of Albright's
chronology, although it should be noted that Redford (1973:13) dates Shoshenq's
death to c. 906 BC (see below), which is 8 years after Albright's date. Albright's
identification of an alleged lunar eclipse in Takeloth IPs I5th year with an eclipse
which occurred in 822 BC has not been accepted by Egyptologists; see Kitchen
(19733:181), who asserts that this is chronologically impossible, and argues with
most contemporary Egyptologists, that the Chronicle of Prince Osorkon, which
supposedly refers to this eclipse, actually refers to the non-occurrence of a lunar
eclipse. More recently, Barta (1980) has argued that the Chronicle does refer to the
occurrence of a lunar eclipse, which he identifies with an eclipse that occurred in
850 BC. See Baer 1973, Kitchen 1982, Barta 1984, and Krauss 1985:174-177 for
further discussion of this (non-P)event.
194
Judean chronology. If my earlier conclusions are correct, the

cause of these problems may be attributed to the fact that
Deuteronomistic modifications to the original chronology of
Kings were mostly concentrated in this part of the chronology.
Nevertheless, the original chronology of this period is not entirely
irretrievable, but may be partially reconstructed from literaryhistorical evidence provided by internal discrepancies in the
existing chronology of Kings and variant figures given by
Josephus. The results of such a reconstruction have been summarized in the table on p. 154, which spans the period from Jehu's
revolt to the reigns of Menahem and Azariah, but breaks off at
the point where there is insufficient literary-historical evidence to
continue a full reconstruction. This provides us with a literaryhistorical basis for the historical reconstruction of Israelite and
Judean chronology of this period, which may then be checked
against external chronological evidence and supplemented with
the help of such evidence in places where there is insufficient
evidence for literary-historical reconstruction.
We may begin by using the absolute date for Jehu's accession
which was established above in order to translate our reconstruction of the original chronology of Kings from Jehu's revolt to the
reigns of Menahem and Azariah into an absolute historical
chronology of this period. The following table is identical to the
table given on p. 154, with the addition of absolute dates calculated
forwards from 842 BC (aut.).
Athaliah
Joash
2
3
4
5
6
aci/y
842
i Jehu
841
840
839
838
837
836
2
3
4
5
6
7
21
816
1i
32
33
34
35
806
805
804
803
802
301/27 Jehoahazaz
ii
12
13
14
15
Amaziah
36
37
aci/38
II
12
13
14
15
25
26
Azariah
27
aci/28
801
800
799
789
788
787
786
785
195
16
i7/aci Jehoash
2
12
13
14
15
aci/i6 Jeroboam
ii
775
774
773
772
14
752
75i
750
749
748
747
746
745
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
aci/ac/ac/4i
12
13
Zechariah/
Shallum/Menahem
There are no external synchronisms with Egyptian chronology

during the period covered by this table; and in the case of Judean
chronology there are no external synchronisms with Mesopotamian chronology either, since putative references to 'Azriyau
the Judean' in the annals of Tiglathpileser III are now known to be
illusory.64 There are, by contrast, two Israelite kings of this period,
64. See Na'aman (1974), who shows that a fragment formerly ascribed to
Tiglathpileser III and thought to refer to 'Azriyau (or Izriyau) of Judah' (K 6206 =
'Tgl An 103-119') joins on to a second fragment (BM 82-2-23, 131), formerly
ascribed to Sargon II. As a result of this join it is now clear that a line
which was previously read as [' I\z-ri-ia-u KURIa-u-di (and translated
ungrammaticallyas 'Izriyau of Judah') should be read ...ina bi-ri[t mi-i\$-ri-ia (or
d]s-ri-ia) u KUR la-u-di, 'between my [bojrder (or [territory) and the land of
Judah' (Na'aman 1974:26; Borger 1979:134). In Na'aman's opinion the name
found in lines 4 and n of the combined text is to be restored as r'Ha^[za-qi-i\a-a-u (Hezekiah), and the document ascribed to Sennacherib; but this is
disputed by Borger (1979:134-135), who rejects Na'aman's restoration (without
suggesting an alternative) and also argues that the combined text might still be
ascribed to Sargon II. It is clear, however, that the text is entirely unrelated to
196
in addition to Jehu, who are mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions;

the two kings are Jehoash (or Joash) and Menahem.
5.2.2. i Israelite chronology
Jehoash is named in the Rimah stele of Adadnirari III, which was
published in 1968 by Stephanie Dalley. In this inscription
Adadnirari claims to have subjugated the lands of Amurru and
Hattu (i.e. north Syria) 'in a single year' (cf. Dalley [Page]
1969:458.), and records having received tribute from 'Mari of
Aram', 'Joash of Samaria',65 and the Tyrians and Sidonians.66
However, Adadnirari's claim to have subjugated north Syria in a
single year, though repeated in the Sheikh Hammad stele, is
evidently an exaggeration, for the Eponym Chronicle lists no less
than three consecutive campaigns against northern Syria from 805
to 803 BC (Nis.) (a fourth is possibly recorded for 802 BC (Nis.));
and we may therefore be wary of accepting the Rimah stele's
apparent claim that the conquest of northern Syria also occasioned
the payment of tribute by Aram and other central or southerly
Syro-Palestinian states including Israel. It is true that the Saba'a
stele also links Adadnirari's campaign against Damascus with his
conquest of north Syria, which it dates to Adadnirari's 5th regnal
year (806 BC (Nis.)),68 but the chronological evidence of this stele is
passages in Tiglathpileser's annals which refer to a certain Azriyau of unknown
nationality. The latter is mentioned in connection with an and-Assyrian alliance of
north-Syrian states, and was possibly the ruler of Hamath (see below, p. ipSn.);
another north-Syrian ruler with a Yahwistic name was Yaubi'di of Hamath, who is
mentioned in the annals of Sargon II.
65. 'lA-'a-su KURSa-me-ri-na-a-a. IA should probably be read I'M, as was first
suggested by Malamat (1971). Note that Assyrian < s > regularly corresponds with
Hebrew (and West Semitic) < s > in first millennium loanwords and transcriptions: Dalley [Page] 1968:148; Kaufman 1974: i4of.
66. The Calah Slab records the imposition of tribute on 'Hattu, the whole of
Amurru, Tyre, Sidon, Israel, Edom, and Philistia' (Adn Cal 11-14).
67. The Eponym Chronicle lists a campaign 'against the sea' (a-na UGU
tam-tim) for this year. This has sometimes been taken to refer to the Mediterranean
coast (Dalley 1968:147), but it is more probable that it refers to Sealand in
southern Mesopotamia (Brinkman 1968:217).
68. This is probably an error for '6th year', since according to the Eponym
Chronicle the Assyrian army campaigned against the Mannaeans in 806 BC
(Nis.)the cuneiform signs for '5' and '6' are similar in form. Note that
Pa-lar-ds-tu~*., 'Philistia', in older editions and translations of the Saba'a stele (line
12) is a misreading of Hat-te rGAL-te~ti 'great Hattu', or (simply) Hat-te-^-e^,
'Hattu' (Tadmor 1969; 1973:145).
197
put into doubt by the fact that it too, like the Rimah stele,
condenses the three-year conquest of north Syria into a single
year's campaign. There are, in any case, serious chronological
problems in dating Jehoash's accession as early as 806 (or 805) BC
(Nis.).69 It may be noted that all existing inscriptions of Adadnirari
III belong to the literary category of 'summary inscriptions' (also
known as 'display inscriptions'); and it is a recognized feature of
this category that events of varying dates are arranged on an
essentially geographical basis rather than in strict chronological
sequence (Tadmor 1973:141). We should also note that the Rimah
stele apparently combines two separate documents, one of which is
written in the first person and recounts the conquest of north
Syria, while the other is written in the third person and lists tribute
received from various countries (Tadmor 1973:141-144). It
cannot be taken for granted that the two documents necessarily
refer to the same campaign (or series of campaigns).
It is therefore possible that Adadnirari's conquest of Damascus, and his receipt of tribute from Jehoash of Israel, occurred
some years after his conquest of north Syria, which was completed
in 803 (or possibly 802) BC (Nis.). This is in fact a necessary
assumption on most reconstructions of Israelite chronology
(Jehoash's accession is usually dated after 802 BC),?O but it is also
69. None of the currently accepted reconstructions of Israelite chronology puts
Jehoash's accession this early, although in Mowinckel's chronology Jehoash's
accession was in fact dated to 805 BC (aut.). However, Mowinckel arrived at this
date in a rather curious fashion. Having excluded Athaliah's 7-year reign from his
calculations (in his opinion Athaliah was merely queen regent during the minority
years of Joash of Judah), Mowinckel proceeded to compensate for this reduction in
Judean chronology by subtracting 5 years from Jehu's reign, but was apparently
unaware of having done so: on p. 242 Jehu is credited with a reign of 28 years (and it
is clear from Mowinckel's subsequent remarks that this is not a typographical error)
but the dates assigned to him, 843-821 BC (aut.), clearly presuppose a reign of only
23 years inclusive. More recently Shea (19783) has (independently?) arrived at
strikingly similar conclusions in his attempt to harmonize the chronology of Kings
with the chronological statements of the Saba'a and Rimah stelae; the only material
difference is that Shea compensates for his deletion of Athaliah's reign by
subtracting 7 years from the reign of Jehoahaz. [Shea (19853:13) has since
discarded this proposed reduction in Jehoahaz's reign in favour of Cody's theory of
a coregency between Jehoahaz and Jehoash (Cody 1970:333f.).]
70. Begrich (19293) and Jepsen (1964) date Jehoash's accession to 802 BC (aut.);
and Jepsen (1970) has since argued that this dste is vindicated by the evidence of the
Rimsh stele. But it is far from certain that Adadnirari was actuslly in the west in 802
BC (Nis.); (he wss more probably campaigning in southern Mesopotamia (see
above, p. i96n.).
198
supported by Assyrian evidence, since Tadmor has shown that

Adadnirari's campaign against Damascus must probably be identified with the expedition to Mansuate recorded in the Eponym
Chronicle for 796 BC (Nis.) (Millard and Tadmor 1973:61-64).71
Jehoash's payment of tribute may therefore be dated to either
797 BC (aut.) or 796 BC (aut.) by the Israelite calendar; according t
the reconstructed chronology given in the previous table this will
have been Jehoash's 4th or 5th regnal year.
The next Israelite king after Jehoash to receive a mention in
Assyrian historical records is 'Menahem of Samaria',72 who is
named in the annals of Tiglathpileser III alongside 'Rezin of
Aram' as one of a number of Syro-Palestinian and Anatolian
rulers who are said to have paid tribute at the end of a campaign
involving Azriyau in northern Syria (Tgl An 123-157).73 Because
of the fragmentary state of Tiglathpileser's annals74 this campaign
71. Tadmor argues that Mansuate, an ancient Syrian city, was located in the
Beqa valley, where he suggests Adadnirari may have set up his base camp for the
campaign against Damascus. Another possibility, argued by Lipinski (1970), is that
Mansuate should be identified with presentday Masyat (alternatively known as
Masyador Ma$yaf), about 28 miles west-south-west of Hamath.
72. 'MejMi-ni-hi-im-me URVlKURSa-me-ri(-i)-na-a-a (Tgl An 150; Iran 11.5).
73. Azriyau is commonly supposed to have been the leader of the anti-Assyrian
coalition against which this campaign was directed. But there is little to support this
assumption now that K 6206 (= 'Tgl An 103-119') has been reassigned to Sargon
or Sennacherib (see above, p. i95n.). The only relatively unbroken passage in the
annals which mentions Azriyau speaks of '19 districts of Hamath together with the
towns in their vicinity on the coast of the western sea' sa i-na hi-it-ti u gul-lul-ti a-na
' Az-ri-ia-a-u e-ki-i-mu (Tgl An 130-131). The final clause of this excerpt is usually
translated: 'which had unlawfully defected to [or: sided with] Azriyau'; but this
presupposes an otherwise unattested meaning ofekemu, or that e-ki-i-mu is a scribal
error for another (unidentified) verb. However, ekemu ana in its only attested
meaning ('take away from') makes perfectly good sense: 'which they (the rebels) had
unlawfully taken away from Azriyau.' In this case, as Tadmor (1961:268) remarks,
'we must conclude that this act towards Azriyau was considered by Tiglath-Pileser
as a rebellion against Assyria, and that Azriyau was in fact Tiglath-Pileser's ally.'
(Tadmor himself rejects this interpretation on the grounds that 'the text... seems to
imply (line i n ) that Azriyau was a foe, not an ally'but this is part of K 6206,
which is no longer ascribed to Tiglathpileser.) If one combines this conclusion with
Tadmor's suggestion that Hamath, which is not listed as one of the rebellious states,
remained loyal to Assyria (cf. Weippert 1973:44), a possible inference is that
Azriyau was ruler of Hamathalthough in this case it must be supposed that he
died (or was assassinated) in the course of the revolt: the tribute list which
concludes this section of the annals names 'Eniel of Hamath' as a tributary (Tgl An
151-152).
74. See Tadmor 1967 for a discussion of the surviving textual evidence. The
annals were inscribed on stone slabs (also bearing reliefs) which were originally
199
is undated, but since the tribute list which concludes this section of
the annals is followed immediately by a dated heading (Tgl An
157) introducing the events of Tiglathpileser's 9th year, 737 BC
(Nis.)j there is little doubt that it occurred in Tiglathpileser's 8th
year, 738 BC (Nis.)- Confirmation of this dating is provided by th
Eponym Chronicle, which records the capture of Kullani (Biblical
Calneh/Calno) in north Syria for this year, and which also states
that Ulluba (in Urartu), which was one of the places to which
Tiglathpileser deported Syrian populations at the end of the
Azriyau campaign (Tgl An 133), was captured in the previous
year.75 This view is disputed by Thiele (31983:142-159), who
claims that Tiglathpileser's annals were not arranged in chronological sequence (in contrast to the normal arrangement of
Assyrian annals), and that Menahem might therefore have paid
tribute as early as 743 BC (Nis.), when according to the Eponym
Chronicle the Assyrian army was campaigning in the vicinity of
Arpad.76 But Thiele's claims are rejected by most Assyriologists,77
incorporated in Tiglathpileser's palace at Calah (Nimrud). But this was abandoned
not long after Tiglathpileser's death and was subsequently plundered for building
materials by Esarhaddon, who re-used the reliefs in his own (unfinished) palace.
The fragmentary nature of the surviving text of the annals, and the problems
involved in arranging the existing sources in their correct sequence, have not always
been properly appreciated by Biblical scholars, presumably because the consecutive
line-numbering of Rost's edition gives a misleading impression of completeness and
continuity; thus Shea (i9y8b:45f.) speaks of'glaring omissions', without apparently realizing that these occur in portions of text which are no longer preserved.
75. Thiele (31983:150) argues that a previous campaign against Ulluba might
have occurred in 743 BC (Nis.). But his evidence for this is derived from 'summary
inscriptions', which are usually arranged on geographical rather than chronological
principles.
76. According to lines 83-91 of Tiglathpileser's annals (which probably do form
a connected sequence, although lines 83-89 and 90-91 are preserved on separate
fragments) it was 'in Arpad' (ina qabal URUAr-pad-da) that Tiglathpileser received
tribute from various Syro-Palestinian and Anatolian rulers. However, Thiele's
assumption that Tiglathpileser was already inside the city of Arpad in 743 BC (Nis.)
is based on a mistranslation of the Eponym Chronicle's entry for this year.
Luckenbill (ARAB 2 1198) translated this as follows: 'in the city of Arpadda. A
massacre took place in the land of Urartu (Armenia).' But the correct translation
(Tadmor 1961:253) is 'a defeat on Urartu was inflicted in Arpad' (i.e. in the
territory of Arpad)the Eponym Chronicle records that Tiglathpileser spent the
following three years campaigning against Arpad before it was captured. One
should also question Thiele's assumption that the tribute list in lines 83f. of the
annals is a parallel version of the list given in lines i5of. (similarly Tadmor
1961:256); it is more probable that the two lists refer to two separate payments of
tribute (Tadmor 1967:179f. See below, p. 2Oof.).
2OO
and are essentially a product of the fact that his own reconstruction
of Israelite chronology, in which Menahem's last regnal year is
dated to 742 BC (Nis.), is at variance with Assyrian evidence as this
is usually interpreted.
Further Assyrian evidence of Israelite-Assyrian contacts during
Menahem's reign is provided by a stele found in Iran and
published by Levine in I972.78 This includes a list of tributaries
(Tgl Iran 11.3-19), which, aside from differences of order, is
virtually identical with the list given in lines 150154 of Tiglathpileser's annals. There are, however, two significant differences
between the two lists: the Iran stele omits Eniel of Hamath from its
list and names Tubail (Ittobaal) rather than Hiram as king of Tyre.
Whatever the reason for the omission of Hamath in the Iran stele,
the logical inference to be drawn from the fact that the king of Tyre
is named differently is that the two lists refer to tribute paid on
separate occasions. Since the Iran stele appears to have been
erected during Tiglathpileser's campaign against the Medes in 737
BC (Nis.), Levine (19723:15) concluded that the tribute list given
by this text records the payment of tribute in 737 BC (Nis.), wit
Hiram having recently been succeeded by Tubail. But it has since
been pointed out (Cogan 1973; Katzenstein 1973:205) that Hiram
is mentioned in Tgl ND 4301 + in connection with events which
occurred in 734-732 BC (Nis.).79 The tribute list given by the Ira
stele must therefore predate the list given in lines 150-154 of
Tiglathpileser's annals, and Cogan plausibly suggests that the
former refers to the payment of tribute which occurred in 740 B
(Nis.) following Tiglathpileser's capture of Arpad (cf. Tgl An
83-91 ).80 This will presumably have been the occasion referred to
in 2 Kings 15.19: Israel's status as an Assyrian vassal-state had
77. See Tadmor 1961:2585. for a convincing refutation. Tadmor notes that
Thiele's arguments are seriously weakened by the fragmentary nature of the annals,
and that the main argument for dating Menahem's payment of tribute to 743 B
(Nis.) is based on a mistranslation of the Eponym Chronicle (see previous note).
78. Levine 19723. The relevant passage is also quoted and discussed in Levine
i972b and Weippert 1973.
79. See Tgl ND 4301 + rev.sf., which describes measures taken against
'[Hi]ram of Tyre, who had made [an alliance] with Rezin.'
80. The Eponym Chronicle lists three consecutive campaigns against Arpad in
742 to 740 BC (Nis.). Curiously, though, a statement that Arpad was captured 'afte
three years' (a-na 3 MU-MES) is attached to the second of these campaigns.
Tadmor (19611254) is probably correct in arguing that the statement is misplaced,
but see Weippert 1973:36.
201
apparently lapsed during the period of Assyrian weakness which

followed the death of Adadnirari III, and Menahem, confronted
with a renewed display of Assyrian power, evidently thought it
prudent to renew Israel's allegiance in order to avoid the fate that
had befallen Arpad.
Menahem's payment of tribute in 740 and 738 BC (Nis.)
provides us with two important fixed points in Israelite chronology, which clearly invalidate any chronological scheme in which
the end of Menahem's reign is dated earlier than 739 BC (aut.).81
Both dates are compatible with the reconstruction of Israelite
chronology given above. On this reconstruction Menahem's first
year is 745 BC (aut.). Menahem will therefore have paid tribute in
the 5th or 6th year of his reign (741 or 740 BC (aut.)) and again in
his 7th or 8th year (739 or 738 BC (aut.)), which is within the reign
length of 10 years ascribed to him in 2 Kings 15.17. The fact that
Menahem must therefore have reigned for a minimum of 7 years
suggests that the Biblical figure of 10 years may well be correct,
despite the use of 10 and 20 as schematic round numbers for the
reigns of Pekah and Pekahiah; it is unlikely that Menahem's
original reign length was greater than 10 years, as Deuteronomistic
schematization of the chronology of Kings was designed to
lengthen this chronology rather than shorten it. If this assumption
is correct and 10 years is in fact the original figure, Menahem's
reign may be dated from 745 to 736 BC (aut.).
Menahem's successor, Pekahiah, reigned for only 2 years
according to MT, which has clearly preserved the original figure
against LXXAL's schematic figure of 10 years. Pekahiah's reign
may therefore be dated from 736 to 735 BC (aut.), in which case
Pekah's assassination of Pekahiah in 735 BC (aut.) must have
occurred at approximately the same time that Tiglathpileser was
campaigning in Philistiathe Eponym Chronicle records that the
Assyrian army campaigned 'against Philistia' in 734 BC (Nis.).
Pekah's usurpation of the Israelite throne was almost certainly an
anti-Assyrian move, which quite possibly had Aramean backing,
since (on these dates) it was followed more or less immediately by
the formation of an anti-Assyrian alliance between Aram, Israel,
and Tyre (Tyrian involvement is stated in Tgl ND 4301 + rev.5f.;
81. This includes the chronologies of Thiele (31983), Schedl (19623), Pavlovsky
and Vogt (1964), and Andersen (1969), which date Menahem's last year to either
742 or 743 BC (aut./Nis.).
2O2
see n.yp above). This alliance was apparently initiated and led
by Rezin of Aram, and resulted in a two-year Assyrian campaign
'against Damascus' in 733 and 732 BC (Nis.) (Ep Chr). One might
also suppose that the Philistine campaign of 734 BC (Nis.)
represented the first stage of Tiglathpileser's response to this
revolt (Begrich 1929^; but there is little support for this view in
the Assyrian texts, although it is compatible with the chronology
given above. The Philistine campaign was apparently directed
against Hanno of Gaza, who initially fled to Egypt but subsequently returned and was reinstated by Tiglathpileser (Tgl Ki
8-15; ND 400 14-19; ND 4301+ rev.13-16). However, none of
the inscriptions which describe this campaign give any indication
that Hanno was acting in concert with Rezin. The one Philistine
ruler who certainly was implicated in Rezin's alliance appears to
have remained loyal to Assyria during 734 BC (Nis.): Mitinti of
Ashkelon is said to have rebelled against Tiglathpileser, and to
have died (committed suicide?) after learning of Rezin's defeat
(Tgl An 235-236); but the tribute list given in Tgl K 3751 j f .
mentions him alongside 'Jehoahaz (Ahaz) of Judah'82 as one of the
rulers who paid tribute to Tiglathpileser in 734 BC (Nis.).83 It is
worth noting that this list conspicuously fails to mention Aram,
Israel, and Tyre,84 which suggests that the anti-Assyrian alliance
82. >Ia-u-ha-ziKURla-u-da-a-a (Tgl K 3751 n).
83. This date is established by the following considerations.
1. Judah and other southern states included in this list are not included in
tribute lists dating to 740 and 738 BC (Nis.).
2. Mitinti of Ashkelon was a member of Rezin's anti-Assyrian alliance in
733-732 BC (Nis.).
This leaves 734 BC (Nis.) as the only possible date for the payment of tribute
recorded in this inscription (Assyrian attention was directed elsewhere in 737-735
BC(Nis.)). Cf. Tadmor and Cogan 1979:505.
84. It is unlikely that these are to be restored in the break at the end of line 7
(Weippert 1973:53), since this presupposes a radical departure from the order of
tributaries in Tgl An 150-154, whereas a comparison of the two lists suggests that
with one exception (Urik of Que and Shipitbaal of Byblos are reversed in K 3751)
they follow the same order.
Annals
^3751
150 Kustaspi of Kummuh
7 Kustaspiof Kummuh
Rezin of Aram
Menahem of Samaria
151 Hiram of Tyre
Shipitbaal of Byblos
Urik of Que
Urik of Que
Shipitbaal of [Byblos]
Pishirish of Carchemish
[Pishirish of Carchemish?]
203
of these states was formed in direct response to Tiglathpileser's

invasion of Philistia in 734 BC (Nis.)j and that Mitinti of Ashkelon,
having paid tribute to Tiglathpileser in that year, was shortly
afterwards persuaded to join the alliance. It was presumably at this
time also that Aram and Israel tried unsuccessfully to bring Judah
into the alliance through an attack on Jerusalem that was intended
to topple the Davidic dynasty (zK i6.5f.; Is 7.1 f.).8S
The exact course of the Assyrian campaign 'against Damascus'
in 733 and 732 BC (Nis.) is unclear from the fragmentary state of
Tiglathpileser's annals; but it is evident from Assyrian and Biblical
texts that it culminated in the capture of Damascus and the
annexation of Aramean and northern Israelite territory, and that
Rezin and Pekah both lost their lives as a consequence of this
152 Eniel| of Hamath
Panammu of Sam'al
Tarhulara of Gurgum
Shulumal of Melid
153 Dadil|ofKashka
Washurmeof Tabal
Us-hit of Tuna
Urpalla of Tuhana
Tuhamme of I stunda
154 UrimmeofHubisna
Zabibe queen of Arabia
8 [Eni]elof Hamath
Panammu of Sam'al
Tarhulara of Gurgum
Shul[umal of Melid]
[Dadil of Kashka?]
9 [Wa]shurmeof Tabal
Us-hit of Tuna
Urpalla of Tuhana
Tuham [me of I stunda]
[UrimmeofHubisna?]
10 [M]atanbaal of Arvad
Shanip of Beth Ammon
Shalaman of Moab
[
]
[
]
11 [M] itinti of Ashkelon
Jehoahaz ofJudah
Qausmalak of Edom
Muse[
]
[
]
12 [H]annoof Gaza
85. If this reconstruction of events is correct, Ahaz (who paid tribute along with
Mitinti and other rulers at the end of Tiglathpileser's Philistine campaign) was
already an Assyrian vassal when he appealed to Tiglathpileser for help against
Pekah and Rezin (2K 16.7-9). This contradicts the usual assumption that it was
Ahaz's appeal to Tiglathpileser which brought Judah into a vassal relationship with
Assyria (Herrmann 1975:248; Donner 1977:427; Jagersma 1982:159; Soggin
1984:228), but it agrees with the Biblical account, which suggests that Ahaz's
appeal was made on the basis of an existing vassal relationship ('I am your servant
and your son'). Oded's attempt to show that the 'Syro-Ephraimite' attack on
Jerusalem was a purely local affair which was unrelated to the wider political
situation (Oded 1972) is in my opinion quite unconvincing.
2O4
campaign: Rezin appears to have been executed by the Assyrians

after Tiglathpileser had captured Damascus (2K 16.9), while
Pekah was assassinated in a political coup which followed Tiglathpileser's annexation of northern Israelite territory (Tgl An 227228; Ki 15-19; 2K 15.29-30). It is unfortunate that the annals
fragment which appears to describe Pekah's assassination is badly
damaged and therefore undated, but since the relevant passage also
makes reference to 'former campaigns (girreteya mahrdte) in which
Israelite towns and cities had been attackedpresumably in 734
and 733 BC (Nis.)it most probably describes events which
occurred in 732 BC (Nis.).86 Further evidence for the date of
Pekah's assassination has been provided by a recent study (Borger
and Tadmor 1982) in which it is pointed out that a corrected
reading of Tgl ND 4301 + indicates that Pekah's successor,
Hoshea, travelled or sent messengers to Sarrabanu in southern
Mesopotamia in order to offer his submission to Tiglathpileser.87
Tiglathpileser is known to have campaigned in this area in 731 BC
(Nis.) and again in 729 BC (Nis.) (Ep Chr; ABC 1.1.19-23), and
there is little doubt that Hoshea's payment of tribute should be
dated to the first of these occasions. Now if Pekah had been
succeeded by Hoshea as early as 733 BC (Nis.), we should clearly
have expected the latter to have offered his submission in 732 BC
(Nis.) in Damascus (along with Ahaz of Judah: 2K 16.10). The
only plausible reason why this did not happen is that Pekah was
assassinated after or shortly before Tiglathpileser's return to
86. Begrich 19293:99^; Tadmor 1967:180. Borger and Tadmor (1982:249)
consider 731 BC (Nis.) to be a possible date for Pekah's assassination; but it can
hardly be dated as late as 730 BC (aut.), as Schedl (19623:101) and Andersen
(1969:97) suppose.
87. Therelev3ntp3SS3geisTgl43oi + rev.9-11 (cf. rev.25andKi 15-19).
($)[...}ra-nagi*[-mir-ti-su ... a-di mar-s]i-ti-su-nu a-n[a ...](io)[... 'A-u-si-t
a-na LU]GAL-u-ti ina UGU-su-n[u ds-kun...]( 11)[... a-na e-pes ARADu-te a-na URUS]ar-ra-ba-nia-dimah-ri-ia[...]
'(9)[... A]ll [Israel ... together with] their [possessions [I deported] to
[Assyria ...](io)[... Hoshea I made k]ing over them[...](n)[... to render
servitude ... to SJarrabsnu before me [...]'
Wisemsn (1956:124, 126) read ka-ra-ba-ni for S]ar-ra-ba-ni, and transited this
3s 'pleading to my presence.' But S}ar-ra-ba-ni is confirmed by collation
(Borger and Tadmor 1982:246), and is also supported by the parallel in rev.25,
referring to an unknown ruler said to have sent/brought tribute to Tiglathpileser in Calah.
205
Assyria.88 Pekah's assassination and Hoshea's accession may

therefore be dated in the second half (probably) of 732 BC (Nis.)
which is equivalent to the first half of the Israelite year which
began in the autumn of 732 BC. Pekah's entire reign will thus hav
occupied a period of only 4 years (inclusive) from 735 BC (aut.) t
732 BC (aut.), in contrast to the schematic figure of 20 years give
in Kings. It is of interest to note that a schematic increase from 4 to
20 years is exactly proportional to the schematic increase from 2 to
10 years in the case of Pekahiah's reign, where both schematic and
pre-schematic figures are preserved as textual variants.89
Hoshea's accession to the Israelite throne inaugurated the final
chapter in the history of the northern kingdom, which came to an
abrupt end shortly afterwards with the Assyrian siege and capture
of Samaria. According to the Biblical account (2K 17.3-6;
18.9-11), Hoshea had asserted Israelite independence from
Assyria by withholding his yearly payment of tribute, and had also
sought Egyptian support by sending messengers to 'So, king of
Egypt'.90 Tiglathpileser's successor, Shalmaneser V, reacted by
launching a military campaign against Hoshea, at which point the
latter apparently decided to abandon his revolt, and went to offer
88. If one accepts Tiglathpileser's claim to have 'appointed' Hoshea (Tgl Ki
1718) the most probable inference is that Pekah was assassinated shortly before
Tiglathpileser's departure, and that Hoshea gained immediate Assyrian recognition of his succession on condition that he send tribute to Mesopotamia in
formal token of his allegiance. Compare the fact that Hezekiah is said to have
sent tribute to Nineveh after Sennacherib's Syro-Palestinian campaign (Sn Pr
111.37-49).
89. Wellhausen (1875:630-631) proposed to resolve the discrepancy
between Assyrian and Biblical chronology at this point by identifying Pekah
with Pekahiah and ascribing him a reign of 2 years (MT's figure for Pekahiah's
reign) rather than 20 years. But this solution, which has recently been
rediscovered by Reade (1981:5), is hardly justified by the fact that Pekah and
Pekahiah have nearly identical names ('Pekah' is a hypocoristic of 'Pekahiah').
The fact that Pekah is almost always referred to as 'Pekah ben Remaliah' in
Biblical texts (and simply as 'ben Remaliah' in Isaiah 7.9) is an indication that
the Biblical writers (and pre-Deuteronomistic tradition in Isaiah 7.9) were
careful to distinguish the two rulers.
90. Probably Osorkon IV (Kitchen 19733:372^). Hoshea most probably
revolted immediately after Tiglathpileser's death in 727 BC (Nis.), the death of
an Assyrian ruler being the regular occasion of revolts by Assyrian provinces
and vassal-states. An excerpt from Menander's translation of the annals of Tyre
which is preserved by Josephus (Ant 9.283-287) appears to indicate that Tyre
and other Phoenician cities also revolted at this time (see Katzenstein
i973:22of.).
206
his submission and pay tribute.91 This rather belated offer of

submission failed to satisfy Shalmaneser: Hoshea was arrested and
Shalmaneser proceeded to lay siege to Samaria, which fell after a
three-year siege in Hoshea's 9th regnal year. Throughout this
three-year period (counted inclusively from Hoshea's yth regnal
year) Hoshea apparently remained in Assyrian custody, and
Samaria was presumably governed by its council of elders (cf. 2K
IO.I). 92
Hoshea came to the throne in 732 BC (aut.) according to

evidence presented above; his 9th regnal year, counted inclusively
from 732 BC (aut.), is therefore 724 BC (aut.), and the siege of
Samaria is to be dated as having lasted from 726 BC (aut.) to 724 BC
(aut.). These dates are in close agreement with the fragmentary
evidence of the Eponym Chronicle (Cb3), which reports that
Shalmaneser V came to the throne in 727 BC (Nis.) and undertook
91. The Biblical account might conceivably be interpreted as indicating two
Assyrian campaigns, the first of which induced Hoshea to renew his allegiance
to Assyria by paying tribute (2K 17.3), whereas the second resulted in the siege
and capture of Samaria (2K 17.4-6). But Katzenstein (1973:225^) is on weak
ground in arguing that Shalmaneser first campaigned in the west in 727 BC
(Nis.), shortly before he succeeded Tiglathpileser on the Assyrian throne. It is
true that Luckenbill's translation of the Eponym Chronicle states clearly that
the Assyrians campaigned 'against Damascus' in that year (ARAB 2 1198; cf.
Thiele 31983:224 for an adaptation of Luckenbill's translation, to which
Katzenstein refers). However, Olmstead's reconstruction of the Eponym
Chronicle, which forms the basis of Luckenbill's translation, gives a-na
URU
Di[-mas-qt] (note the brackets), with a note that 'the Di, omitted by later
editors, was evidently clear in the time of G.Smith Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch. II
32if.' (Olmstead 1914/15:357, 336). This is inaccurate: Smith failed to read
anything more than a-na URV[ in the Eponym Chronicle's entry for 727 BC
(Nis.), and the Di to which Olmstead refers is given by Smith as the last visible
sign in the Eponym Chronicle's entry for 728 BC (Nis.) (Schrader 1875:342 read
D[i at this point). We do not in fact know where the Assyrians campaigned in
727 BC (Nis.), and there is no evidence that this campaign (wherever it was
directed) was not conducted by Tiglathpileser himself.
92. A number of Biblical scholars have sought to avoid this conclusion by
arguing that 2 Kings 17.3-6 contains two parallel accounts derived from the
royal annals of Israel and Judah (cf. Jones 1984:542^): in the Israelite account
(verses 3-4) we are told that Hoshea was imprisoned, but 'reference to the fall of
Samaria and the deportation of its inhabitants is discreetly avoided' (Jones
1984:546), whereas the Judean version mentions the 'unpalatable facts' of the
siege and deportation (Jones, ibid.). But there is little justification for
identifying separate sources, and it is surely far-fetched to suppose that the
Israelite annals could have attempted to conceal the fact of Samaria's capture.
Judean sources were far less reticent in reporting the Babylonian capture of
Jerusalem in 598 and 587 BC (Nis.).
207
the first campaign of his reign in 725 BC (Mis.)- This campaign,

which presumably began in the spring (i.e. in the second half of
726 BC (aut.)),93 was followed by two further campaigns in 724 and
723 BC (Nis.). In each case the name of the place or places against
which these campaigns were directed is no longer preserved; but
since the three years of military campaigns listed in the Eponym
Chronicle coincide in date with the three-year siege of Samaria on
Biblical evidence, and since the Babylonian Chronicle records the
capture of Samaria as the one notable achievement of Shalmaneser
V's reign (ABC i.i.28),94 there are strong grounds for accepting
Olmstead's proposal to restore 'Samaria' in the Eponym Chronicle's entries for this period (Olmstead 1904/5). In this case the fall
of Samaria may be dated to the first half of 723 BC (Nis.), or the
second half of 724 BC (aut.).
Against this date it must be noted that the majority of
Assyriologists put the fall of Samaria a year later, in 722 BC (Nis.),
and that this second date is commonly cited by Biblical scholars as
an established fact.95 However, the main evidence for this later
dating has now been discarded. For a long time it was taken for
granted that the fall of Samaria could be dated to 722 BC (Nis.) by
the fact that Sargon II claims to have captured Samaria during his
accession year (Sg Kh 10-17; Cal iv.25-41). But this claim
contradicts both the Biblical account, which implies that Shalmaneser V was responsible for the capture of Samaria,96 and also the
Babylonian Chronicle, which says so unambiguously (ABC
i.i.28). Consequently, since Tadmor's important discussion of the
matter (Tadmor 1958:31-40), almost all Assyriologists now
accept that Sargon's claim to have captured Samaria in his
93. This was traditionally the season in which Assyrian military campaigns
were undertaken.
94. There is no longer any serious doubt that UKU$d-ma-ra-a'-in is to be
identified with Samaria. See Tadmor 1958:39-40.
95. Albright (1945:17) considered this to be 'the only date [in pre-exilic
Israelite and Judean chronology] which is absolutely certain.' Similarly,
according to Andersen (1969:97^), 'muss es als gesichert angesehen werden,
dass Samaria im Jahre Tisri 722/21 fiel.' But Olmstead's date for the fall of
Samaria is accepted by Thiele (^1983:163-168) and Jepsen (1964:33; 1968:43).
96. 2 Kings 17.3-6 states that 'Shalmaneser, king of Assyria' came against
Hoshea (v. 3), and that 'the king of Assyria' then laid siege to Samaria (v. 5), and
captured it after 3 years (v. 6). Only by forced exegesis can it be maintained that
the 'king of Assyria' who captured Samaria may be distinguished from the 'king
of Assyria' who laid siege to the city.
2o8
accession year is historically inaccurate. This claim was apparently

one of several attempts, made late in Sargon's reign, to conceal the
fact that the first few years of Sargon's reign were marked by
widespread internal revolts that prevented him from undertaking
external military campaigns until his 2nd regnal year (Tadmor
1958:31). However, Sargon was in fact responsible for recapturing
Samaria, which revolted upon the death of Shalmaneser V along
with a number of other western provinces and vassal-states (Sg Kh
23f.;LD33f.;ACi6f.). 97
Tadmor's rejection of Sargon's claims to have captured Samaria
during his accession year was in many ways a vindication of
Olmstead's earlier discussion (Olmstead 1904/5). But having
demolished the main evidence for dating the fall of Samaria to 722
BC (Nis.), Tadmor nevertheless attempted to retain this date by
arguing that Samaria must have been captured shortly before
Shalmaneser V's death in Tebeth 722 BC (Nis.). Two main
arguments are advanced (Tadmor 1958:37n.). (i) An interval of
more than one year between the fall of Samaria and the death of
Shalmaneser would have given the latter sufficient time to have
deported the Samarians and set about reorganizing Samaria as an
Assyrian province. (2) If Samaria was captured only a few weeks
before Sargon's accession Sargon's claim to have taken Samaria in
his accession year 'would not be entirely unjustified.' But it is not
at all obvious why Sargon's appropriation of his predecessor's
achievement is any more justified if Samaria was captured a few
months before his accession than if it was captured just over a year
before his accession. And Tadmor's first argument begs the
question of how we know that Shalmaneser V did not deport the
Samarians and set about reorganizing Samaria as an Assyrian
province. Shalmaneser's annals have not survived, and Sargon's
claim to have deported the Samarians and turned Samaria into an
Assyrian province is not self-evidently any more reliable than his
claim to have been responsible for capturing Samaria in the first
place; having claimed responsibility for the initial capture of
Samaria Sargon obviously had to claim responsibility for these
subsequent activities. Furthermore, if Sargon was not responsible
for capturing Samaria, then his claim to have deported its
inhabitants is in direct contradiction to the Biblical account:
97. This revolt, which was organized by Yaubi'di (also called Ilubi'di) of
Hamath, was suppressed in Sargon's 2nd year, 720 BC (Nis.).
209
according to 2 Kings 17.6 the same 'king of Assyria' who captured

Samaria in Hoshea's 9th year was also responsible for deporting
the Israelites to Assyria.
Two further comments are in order. Firstly is should be
remarked that Ferrer's proposal to restore 'Sam'al', 'Que', and
'Hilakku' in the Eponym Chronicle's entries for 725 to 723 BC
(Nis.) (Forrer 1920:71) is not a satisfactory alternative to Olmstead's restoration of these entries (contra Tadmor 1958:33n.),
since it is based on the assumption that Samaria was captured by
Sargon at the end of a one-year (!) campaign which began in
the last year of Shalmaneser's reign. Secondly, Tadmor's date
for the capture of Samaria cannot easily be reconciled with the
9-year reign length which Kings ascribes to Hoshea, unless
Hoshea's accession is dated impossibly late, or it is argued that
Hoshea's reign ended with his arrest shortly before the siege of
Samaria (Tadmor 1958:37; 1962:287)which is in direct contradiction to the Biblical statement that the siege of Samaria began in
Hoshea's jth year (2K i8.9).98 Hoshea's regnal years were
evidently counted up to the capture of Samaria even though he was
apparently under Assyrian arrest during the siege; the fact that he
was not replaced by another king suggests that he was still
regarded as the legitimate ruler.
5.2.2.2 Judean chronology
Judean chronology from Jehu's revolt to the fall of Samaria poses
an even more difficult set of historical problems than Israelite
chronology of the same period. I have argued that there is
sufficient literary-historical evidence to reconstruct the Judean
chronology of Kings in its pre-schematic form as far as the reign of
Azariah, and that this in turn may be translated into an absolute
historical chronology in which Azariah's accession is dated to 772
BC (aut.).99 Although there is no external historical evidence by
which this reconstruction may be tested, it is at least partially
corroborated by the fact that it is interdependent with my
98. This theory was first advanced by scholars who accepted Sargon's claim
to have captured Samaria in his accession year. See Kugler 1922:160-161, Lewy
1927:15-16, Begrich 19293:103, Mowinckel 1932:196-197, and Albright
1945:22.
99. See table on p. I94f.
2io
reconstruction of Israelite chronology down to the reign of

Menahem, which is itself consistent with Mesopotamian chronology of the same period. But beyond Azariah's accession there is
insufficient evidence for a purely literary-historical reconstruction,
and little historical evidence to use in its place. All we know for
certain is that according to Assyrian evidence noted earlier
(p. 202) Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglathpileser in 734 BC (Nis.). Thi
leaves us with an interval of around 38 years between Azariah's
accession and Ahaz's payment of tribute; and it is obvious that
there is no way in which the reign lengths ascribed to Azariah (52
years) and Jotham (16 years) can possibly be fitted into this period.
In the absence of any direct evidence for dating Azariah's
and Jotham's reigns, Judean chronology of this period is best
approached by looking at evidence relating to the reigns of Ahaz
and Hezekiah. The book of Kings offers us three specific
synchronisms between Judean and Assyrian chronology during the
reign of Hezekiah. Two of these are connected with the siege and
capture of Samaria: according to 2 Kings 18.9-10 Samaria came
under siege in Hezekiah's 4th year and was captured in Hezekiah's
6th year. Since we have just established that 723 BC (Nis.) / 724 B
(aut.) is the most probable date of the fall of Samaria, this points to
729 BC (aut.) as the date of Hezekiah's accession.100 However, 2
Kings 18.13 dates Sennacherib's invasion of Judah to Hezekiah's
14th year, and we know from Assyrian evidence that this occurred
in 701 BC (Nis.).101 On the probable assumption that Sennacheri
set out from Assyria in the spring, his invasion of Judah is likely to
100. This assumes that Hezekiah's reign was antedated; this date would be
raised to 730 BC (aut.) if postdating were assumed.
101. This date is based upon the following evidence. Sennacherib's military
campaigns are numbered but not dated in his annals. However, termini ante quos
are provided by dated colophons, while those campaigns which were directed
against Babylonia are dated in the Babylonian Chronicle according to Babylonian regnal chronology. Sennacherib's first campaign ended with the capture of
Hirimmu and Hararatu (Sn Pr 1.54-64) in Belibni's first year as king of Babylon
(ABC i.ii.24-25), which was 702 BC (Nis.); and his second campaign was
evidently undertaken in the same year, since the Bellino Cylinder, which
recounts the first two campaigns, is dated in the eponymy of Nabule'u (Sn Bell
colophon), also 702 BC (Nis.). Sennacherib's third campaign, against western
rebel states including Judah (Sn Pr 11.37-111.49), must therefore have occurred
in or after 701 BC (Nis.). But this is also the latest possible date, since
Sennacherib's fourth campaign, which ended with the replacement of Belibni
by Ashurnadinshumi (Sn Pr 111.50-75), is dated in the Babylonian Chronicle
(ABC i .ii.26-31) to Belibni's 3rd regnal year (700 BC (Nis.)).
211
have occurred in the Judean year which began in the autumn of

702 BC, which gives us 715 BC (aut.) as the date of Hezekiah's
accession.102
One (or both) of these dates is plainly erroneous, but there is
disagreement among scholars as to which synchronism, or synchronisms, should be rejected. However, it is generally assumed
that one or other of the two sets of synchronisms (those relating to
the siege and capture of Samaria, or the synchronism relating to
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah) is historically reliable, and
Biblical chronologists may therefore be divided into two main
groups according to whether they date Hezekiah's accession
somewhere between 729 BC and 727 BC or whether they date it in
716 or 715 BC (variation over the exact date reflects differing
assumptions about calendars and dating systems, or disagreement
concerning the date of the capture of Samaria).103 Various reasons
are given for preferring one or other of these dates. Wellhausen
(1875:635-636) argued that the fall of Samaria was less important
to Judean writers than the deliverance of Jerusalem, and that it was
therefore more likely that an inaccurate date would have been
attached to the former event than to the latter.104 Others (e.g.
Smith 1873:323) have argued that 'i4th year of King Hezekiah' in
2 Kings 18.13 should be emended to C24th year of King Hezekiah'
(this reduces the discrepancy but fails to eliminate it). Alternatively, it is suggested that some process of scribal or editorial
miscalculation has occurred; and one widely held theory is that the
date given in 2 Kings 18.13 was secondarily calculated from 2
Kings 20.6, where Hezekiah is promised an additional 15 years of
life following his recovery from a near-fatal illness, and 2 Kings
18.2, in which Hezekiah is said to have reigned for 29 years in
102. Or 716 BC (aut.) if Hezekiah's reign is postdated.
103. The first group (dating Hezekiah's accession between 729 and 727 BC)
includes Lewy (1927:15, I9n.), Coucke (1928:1265-1268), Begrich (1933:74),
Vogelstein (1944:2-3), Tadmor (1962:277-279), Schedl (19623:112-119),
Jepsen (1964:291"., 36-38; 1968:44-46), and Pavlovsky and Vogt (1964:342343). The second group (dating Hezekiah's accession to 716 or 715 BC) includes
Wellhausen (1875:635-638), Mowinckel (1932:214-220), Albright (1945:22),
Thiele (31983:174), and Andersen (1969:98). Vogelstein attempts to harmonize
both sets of synchronisms by positing an 'era of Hezekiah's reform', which
allegedly began in 714 BC.
104. Contrast Vogelstein (1944:2), who argues that the fall of Samaria was
'so terrifying' that 'for generations, probably, people were unable to forget that
this blow had fallen in the 6th year of Hezekiah.'
212
total.105 Proponents of this theory point out that the story of

Hezekiah's illness is only loosely connected with the story of
Sennacherib's invasion, and might originally have belonged to a
quite different historical context. However, this observation may
be carried a stage further by noting that 2 Kings 20.6 has the
appearance of being a secondary addition to the story of Hezekiah's
illness that was inserted precisely in order to create a link between
this story and the story of Sennacherib's invasion. It is therefore
more likely that the reference to 15 additional years in 2 Kings 20.6
was secondarily calculated from the date in 2 Kings 18.13 than that
the latter was calculated from the former.
There are, in fact, strong reasons for thinking that neither
synchronism is historically authentic. If Hezekiah's accession is
dated to 729 BC (aut.) or thereabouts, we are faced with a deficit of
2 to 3 years (or more) in Judean chronology from Hezekiah's
accession to the death of Josiah in 609 BC (Nis.), which requires us
to lengthen Hezekiah's reign and/or the reigns of one (or more) of
his successors by an equivalent amount.106 If, on the other hand,
Hezekiah's accession is dated to around 715 BC (aut.), Ahaz's reign
must then be extended by 3 to 4 years (or more) in order to take
account of the fact that he is listed as one of a number of
Syro-Palestinian rulers who are said to have paid tribute to
Tiglathpileser III in 734 BC (Nis.). There is, however, no plausible
reason why either of these reigns should have been shortened in
the first place; Deuteronomistic schematization of the chronology
of Kings sought to lengthen this chronology rather than reduce it.
A further reason for rejecting these synchronisms is that they
appear to have been constructed to reflect a schematic pattern of
Israelite-Judean history within the overall looo-year framework of
Deuteronomistic chronology (see p. yyf.). If we simply add
together the pre-Priestly Judean reign lengths of this chronology
we arrive at a total of 400 years from the division of the kingdom to
the Babylonian exile, with the fall of Samaria in Hezekiah's 6th
year occurring two-thirds of the way through this period, 267 years
after the division of the kingdom. In this scheme Sennacherib's
105. See Coucke 1928:1266; Tadmor 1962:279; Jepsen 1964:29-32;
Pavlovsky and Vogt 1964:343.
106. The book of Kings ascribes 29 + 55 + 2 + 31 years to Hezekiah,
Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah, giving a total of 114 to 117 years depending on
whether postdating or antedating is assumed.
The Historical Chronology of Israel and Judah
213
invasion of Judah in Hezekiah's I4th year occurs 275 years after

the division of the kingdom (125 years before the fall of Jerusalem),
and Shalmaneser's attack on Samaria in Hezekiah's 4th year occurs
265 years after the division of the kingdom, 10 years before
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah. The two Assyrian attacks on
Israel and Judah have evidently been juxtaposed quite deliberately
in 2 Kings 18, and the schematic lo-year interval which separates
them serves to reinforce this juxtaposition and underline similarities and dissimilarities between the two occasions.107
The schematic nature of these Biblical synchronisms requires
us to look elsewhere for evidence which may be used to date the
reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Fortunately there is one piece of
evidence which lies outside the framework of Deuteronomistic
chronology, and which therefore has considerable importance as
having presumably escaped Deuteronomistic schematization.
Isaiah 14.28-32 contains an oracle against Philistia which is dated
to the year of Ahaz's death, but which also incorporates historical
allusions which may be dated in relation to Mesopotamian
chronology. In view of its chronological importance it is worth
quoting the passage in full.
28
29
30
31
32
:mn xtpan rrn rnx -jân ma niBD
"paDatznawo "J^D nrcVs Tiawn Vx

:*pis7a fpBMnDi s7BXKxtiwmirrwato
ixaT n&aV D'lpaKi D^T msa ism
:nrr innxan jmv asna Tiam
Y?3 nffVe 11BJ
TSrpS7T-Itttrpyyn
tYHsnaa -TTQ pxi
an
]ws?
pexa -o
<
v
ni
o
7amsrnai
nar *ya ions nai ]rs w rr\rr ^
28 In the year that King Ahaz died there came this oracle:
29 Do not rejoice all Philistia, that the rod which struck you is
broken,
for from the snake's root there comes forth a viper, and its
fruit is a flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy will lie
down in safety,
107. As evidence of deliberate juxtaposition it may be noted that Shalmaneser's attack on Samaria is also recounted in its appropriate narrative context in
2 Kings 17.3-6.
214
31
32

and/but I (LXX: he) will kill your root (LXX: offspring)
with famine, and he (iQIs a : I) will slay your remnant.
Wail, o gate! Cry, o city! Despair, all Philistia!
For smoke is coming from the north, and there is no
straggler in their ranks.
And what should one answer the messengers of the nation
(LXX: nations)?
That Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her (iQIsa: him)
the poor of his people will find refuge.
Textual notes
29
30
31
32
"]DE B31P: LXX translates this phrase as a construct chain, o

uyo? TOV TraiovTos vâs ('the yoke of your smiter'). But
despite Isaiah 9.3, with 13 tZttin 031P ('the rod of his oppressor'),
"]Dtt is more probably an appositional modifier of D3tP (cf. Is
14.5-6).
5"1!T ... Tlftni: the awkward juxtaposition of ist sg. and 3rd sg.
may be resolved either by reading TPfcm, 'and/but he will kill'
(LXX: dvf\ft Se), in place of TlQiTI, or by reading JHilX, 'I
will slay' (iQIsa: JTinN) instead of riST.
"]tP"llP: LXX's TO aTTp/u,a aov ('your offspring') is often
thought to reflect a variant *"J57"1T, but it is probably only
a free translation of "[CHIP; compare vyo? as a free
translation of D31Z? in the previous verse.
*7"T13, 'straggler': literally 'one who separates himself.'
iQIsa reads "TTltt, 'one who measures''there is none
who can measure their ranks' (?).
''ll: LXX has eQvaiv, 'nations' (similarly the Peshitta and
Targum), but MT is probably more original.
H3, 'in her': this is preferable to iQIsa 13, 'in him', which
is probably influenced by Psalm 2.12 and similar passages.
Before we can make use of this passage for chronological

purposes we must obviously first consider the question of its
authenticity. There is little doubt that verses 29 and 31 belong
together as part of a single unit, as is shown by the close
syntactic parallelism which exists between them, and by the
repetition of 'all Philistia' ("]^D DtP^D) in both verses. On the
other hand verse 303 is almost certainly intrusive, and should
probably be regarded as a secondary addition (Wildberger 1978:
586); some scholars (Donner 1964: no; Kaiser 1974:51; Clements
19803:149) prefer to transpose v. 303 sfter verse 31 or 32, but this
rsises the problem of 3ccounting for its initisl dispkcement from
215
that position. Having removed v. 303 it is possible to view v. 3ob as

the original continuation of the previous verse, provided one reads
Tram ('and he will kill') in place of Tiam ('and I will kill'),
following LXX. But it is then difficult to account for the secondary
insertion of v. 303, and a more probable solution is to view the
whole of verse 30, which forms a good antithetical couplet, as a
fragment inserted on the catchword principle (tZ^tP in verse 3ob
echoes tZHttf in the previous verse).108 Verse 32 has also been
viewed as secondary by some scholars (e.g. Fullerton 1925/6:95^),
but it provides a suitable conclusion to verses 29 and 31, and
should probably be retained as an integral part of the original
oracle, which is therefore to be found in verse 29 and verses 31 to
32. This nucleus is entirely appropriate to the political situation of
Isaiah's time, and is also consistent with the political message of
other Isaianic oracles (see p. 217), so that its own Isaianic authenticity may be safely accepted.109
A second question which must be considered concerns the
accuracy of the oracle's superscription (v. 28); for even if the basic
oracle is Isaianic it may still be argued that the heading is a
secondary addition inserted by a late redactor who had no reliable
knowledge of the circumstances in which the oracle was originally
delivered (Clements 19803:148; cf. Kaiser 1974:51^). But this is
improbable: the majority of oracles and narratives in Isaiah 1-35
are undated, and it is hard to see why a late redactor should have
singled out this particular oracle to be provided with a fictitious
date. The theory that this date was inserted because the 'broken
rod' of verse 29 was identified with Ahaz is highly unlikely (cf.
Gray 1912:266), for there is no record of Ahaz ever having 'struck'
the Philistines. Furthermore, Isaiah's commission as a prophet is
also dated to the year in which a Judean king died (Is 6.1: nitPl
108. This presupposes that "JEntP ('your root') rather than *"]S71T ('your
offspring') is the original reading in verse 306. Against the alleged unsuitability
of EntP in this context (Begrich 1933:70 and others) it may be noted that IVHNtP
('remnant'), which parallels EHC? in this verse, is used to mean 'descendants' in
at least two Biblical passages (Gn 45.7; 28 14.7), and that BHtP is used in
parallelism with ''"ID ('fruit' = 'descendants') in verse 29 and in other passages
(Is 37.31; Am 2.9; Ho 9.6; KAI 14.11-12).
109. Kaiser (1974:52-53) is one of the few modern commentators to have
questioned the Isaianic authenticity of the oracle's nucleus, but this must be set
against his general predilection for dating oracles to the Persian or Hellenistic
periods.
216
irPTS? "jVftn mtt, 'in the year that King Uzziah died'), and there is
certainly no reason to question the authenticity of this dating.110
Having now established the probable authenticity of the oracle
(excluding v. 30) and its heading we may turn to consideration of
their chronological implications. The oracle itself was evidently
delivered shortly after the death of an Assyrian king, since verse
2pb alludes to a succession of (oppressive) rulers,111 while the
reference to an attack from the north (v. 31) clearly identifies the
enemy as Assyria, and thus excludes the possibility that Ahaz was
the ruler whose death prompted Philistine rejoicing.112 Now there
are only two Assyrian rulers whose deaths might conceivably have
coincided with the death of Ahaz: Tiglathpileser III, who died in
Tebeth 727 BC (Nis.) (ABC i.i.24), and Shalmaneser V, who died
in Tebeth 722 BC (Nis.) (ABC i.i.29). Since Tebeth was the tenth
month of the Mesopotamian calendar Ahaz's death must therefore
have occurred in either 727 BC (aut.) or 722 BC (am.).
A majority of scholars have argued in favour of identifying the
dead Assyrian ruler with Tiglathpileser III.113 There are two main
arguments for this identification, (i) Tiglathpileser III campaigned against Philistine cities in 734 BC (Nis.) and again in
733732 BC (Nis.),114 whereas there is no evidence that Shalmaneser V ever campaigned in this area; the phrase "]3fc OSttf ('the rod
no. Kaiser's assertion that the opening words of Isaiah 14.28 'are clearly
based upon 6.1' (Kaiser 1974:51) rather begs the question; why should we
assume that either date is based upon the other? Nobody, so far as I am aware,
argues that the date given in 2 Kings 22.3 (for example) is based upon the date in
2 Kings 18.13 because there are similarities in phraseology.
in. Verse 29b/3 is almost certainly in semantic parallelism with verse 29ba;
i.e. the verse refers to a single succession involving two rulers (rather than two
successions involving three rulers).
112. This theory has few modern advocates, but has been defended by Irwin
(1927/8), who argues that verse 28 has to be understood as giving not merely the
time but also the occasion of the following oracle. However, if this were the case
we should naturally extend the same understanding to Isaiah 6.1, although, as
Irwin admits (p. 76n.), the causal connection between the death of Uzziah and
the inaugural vision of Isaiah is not entirely obvious. Those who identify the
'broken rod' of verse 29 with Ahaz are also faced the problem mentioned above
of accounting for the fact that Ahaz is not known to have 'struck' Philistia. Irwin
(1927/8:84-85) argues, unconvincingly, that Ahaz was directly responsible for
Tiglathpileser Ill's invasion of Philistia, and might therefore be regarded as one
who had indirectly struck at Philistia.
113. Coucke 1928:1266-1267; Begrich 1933; Tadmor 1962:278; Pavlovsky
andVogt 1964:342-343; Wildberger 1978:578.
114. See above, p. 201 ff.
217
which struck you') is therefore more appropriately applied to

Tiglathpileser than to Shalmaneser. (2) If Ahaz died in 727 BC
(Nis.)j Hezekiah's 6th year could coincide with the fall of Samaria
in 722 BC (Nis.)- But this second argument carries little weight,
since Samaria probably fell in 723 BC (Nis.),115 and we have already
seen that the Biblical synchronism between Hezekiah's reign and
the fall of Samaria is difficult to reconcile with later Judean
chronology. The first argument may also be rejected: the 'rod' of
verse 29 probably refers not to Tiglathpileser (or any other
Assyrian ruler) but to Assyria itself (cf. Isaiah io.5).116 The
Philistines are cautioned by Isaiah against believing that the death
of one Assyrian ruler meant the end of Assyrian rule in the west;
that this was the perennial hope of Assyrian provinces and
vassal-states is reflected in the series of revolts which almost
invariably greeted the deaths of successive Assyrian rulers.
A better case can be made for associating the oracle with the
death of Shalmaneser V in 722 BC (Nis.).117 We know from
Sargon's inscriptions that Gaza was one of the Assyrian vassalstates which revolted at this time (Sg Kh 56-58; LD 25-26; Cyl
19), whereas there is no evidence that any Philistine city rebelled in
727 BC (Nis.). Isaiah 14.29-32 is highly appropriate to this
situation, and may plausibly be interpreted as Isaiah's response to
messengers from Gaza ('the messengers of the nation', v. 32) who
were attempting to persuade Judah to join the revoltother
Isaianic oracles show that Isaiah consistently opposed Judean
involvement in political intrigues against Assyria, arguing that
Judah should rely solely upon Yahweh's supernatural protection
(Is 18.1-6; 30.1-5, 15-17; 31.1-5). It must be admitted,
however, that with the lack of Assyrian historical evidence for
Shalmaneser V's reign one cannot exclude the possibility that
some other Philistine city might have revolted in 727 BC (Nis.);
and it is also conceivable that a planned Philistine revolt was
abandoned before it resulted in direct conflict with Assyria.
115. See above, p. 206ff.
116. Note that this alleviates the 'curious mixture of metaphors' which
Fullerton (1925/6:87) and others have commented upon.
117. Donner 1964:111-113; Clements 19803:148. Fullerton (1925/6) dates
the oracle to 720 BC (Nis.) following Sargon's defeat at Der. But it is probably an
exaggeration to describe this defeat as a 'disaster' (Fullerton 1925/6:94); and
Fullerton's interpretation also fails to take account of the clear reference to a
succession of rulers in verse 29b.
218
Consequently although the oracle in Isaiah I4.29f. is most

plausibly associated with the death of Shalmaneser V, it is also
possible that it was delivered 5 years earlier following the death of
Tiglathpileser III. On this evidence Ahaz's death is most probably
to be dated to 722 BC (aut.), but might also be dated to 727 BC
(am.).
Either of these dates is compatible with Judean chronology
beyond this point, depending on whether postdating was adopted
as early as Hezekiah's reign or at the start of Jehoahaz's reign (see
p. 223ff.). There is, however, little doubt that dating Ahaz's death
to 722 BC (aut.) fits more easily with Judean chronology up to this
point. According to 2 Kings 16.2 Ahaz reigned for a total of 16
years, which brings us back to 737 BC (aut.) or 742 BC (aut.) as the
date of Ahaz's accession. But Ahaz is unlikely to have become king
as early as 742 BC (aut.): Isaiah 7.14 appears to indicate that he was
fairly recently married at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite attack
on Jerusalem c. 734 BC (aut.),118 and it is also improbable that the
combined reigns of Azariah and Jotham can be reduced to as little
as 31 years (inclusive) from 772 to 742 BC (aut.).119 Consequently if
118. The 'young woman' (!"ID7S7n) mentioned in this verse is almost
certainly Ahaz's wife, though this is disputed among Biblical scholars. The only
other serious possibility is to identify her as Isaiah's wife; but the one positive
argument in favour of this identification is that Isaiah had two other children
with symbolic names (Shear-yashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz). However,
Shear-yashub was born before the birth of Immanuel was announced, and it is
therefore unlikely that Isaiah's wife could still be referred to as a 'young
woman': the word HQ7S7, while it certainly does not mean 'virgin', is probably
inapplicable to a woman with children. (Some have attempted to meet this
objection by suggesting that Isaiah had more than one wife, or that his first wife
had died and he had since remarried. See Gottwald 1958:42-43.) Clements
(19803:86) argues that the young woman cannot be identified with Ahaz's wife
on the grounds that this would make Ahaz responsible for the prophetic
significance of the child's name. But this objection misses the point, since it is
clear from parallel birth annunciations (Genesis 16.11; 17.19 etc.) that the final
clause of Isaiah 7.14 is to be interpreted not as a prediction but as an instruction.
The young woman 'shall call (is to call) his name Immanuel.' Or, more
probably, nXTpl ('and she shall call') should be revocalized as "TlXTj?1] ('and
you shall call'; LXX: /cat /caAe'aei?): compare the 2nd singular forms of S"1j? in
Genesis 16.11 and Genesis 17.19. In this case Ahaz is himself instructed to call
the child Immanuel, and must obviously be the child's father. It may also be
noted that Isaiah 8.8 ('... will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel') is more
naturally addressed to Ahaz's future heir than to one of Isaiah's sons.
119. See below; a chronology in which Azariah's and Jotham's reigns are
reduced to this extent is not compatible with Biblical accession ages for Azariah,
219
Ahaz's death is dated to 727 BC (aut.), one should probably reduce

his reign length by 5 years or so in order to date his accession
somewhere in the vicinity of 737 to 734 BC (aut.). This is
unnecessary if Ahaz's death is dated to 722 BC (aut.). On this dating
Ahaz must evidently have reigned for a minimum of 13 to 14 years,
since he is recorded as having paid tribute to Tiglathpileser III in
734 BC (Nis.), and this figure is close to his stated reign length of 16
years. In view of these considerations, Ahaz's reign is most
probably to be dated from 737 BC to 722 BC (aut.).120
This leaves us with 36 years (inclusive) between Azariah's
accession in 772 BC (aut.) and Ahaz's accession in 737 BC (aut.). It is
obvious from this that Azariah's reign length must be drastically
reduced from the Biblical figure of 52 years, but it is not
immediately obvious whether the Biblical figure for Jotham's reign
length must also be reduced. Let us begin by assuming that the
Biblical figure for Jotham's reign (16 years) is in fact correct. In
this case Azariah's reign must be reduced from 52 to *2i years (21
years plus 16 years equals 36 years when allowance is made for a
i-year overlap produced by inclusive antedating), which gives us
the following dates for Azariah's and Jotham's reigns: Azariah,
772-752 BC (aut.), and Jotham, 752-737 BC (aut.). There are,
however, two main objections to this chronology. The first of these
concerns the prophetic ministry of Isaiah, which began in the year
of Azariah's (Uzziah's) death (Is 6.1) and ended some time after
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in 702 BC (aut.). If Azariah died in
752 BC (aut.) then Isaiah's ministry will have spanned a period of
Jotham, and Ahaz unless one assumes that Azariah and Jotham fathered their
respective heirs at an average age of only 14 years.
120. Kugler (1922:163) gives almost the same dates for Ahaz's reign
(736-721 BC (spr.)), and cites 2 Chronicles 30.1-11 as evidence that Hezekiah
came to the throne after the fall of Samaria. This passage, which is also cited by
scholars who date Hezekiah's accession c. 715 BC (e.g. Thiele 21983:175^)
relates how Hezekiah in his first regnal year (2C 29.3) invited the inhabitants of
northern Israel to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem, and appears to
presuppose a situation in which the northern kingdom had already fallen. But
any attempt to use this passage for chronological purposes is precariously
dependent upon the historicity of Hezekiah's Passover celebration (and also on
the Chronicler's dating of this putative event). The book of Kings makes no
mention of this Passover, and appears to rule out the possibility of its occurrence
by the categoric assertion that 'no such Passover [as Josiah's] had been kept
since the days of the judges who judged Israel, during all the days of the kings of
Israel and of the kings of Judah' (2K 23.22).
22O
over 50 years, which is possible but perhaps excessive, especially as

there are relatively few Isaianic oracles which can plausibly be
dated to the period before the Syro-Ephraimite attack on Jerusalem in c. 734 BC (aut.).121 A second and more serious problem
concerns Azariah's and Jotham's accession ages, which are 16 and
25 years respectively according to 2 Kings 15.2 and 15.33. If these
figures are historically correct, and if Azariah reigned for only *2i
years, the latter was only (16 + 21 = ) 37 years old when he died,
and (37 - 25 =) 12 years old when Jotham was born, which is quite
improbable.122 Yet if Azariah's reign is increased from *2i to *3i
years in order to avoid this problem, and Jotham's reign is reduced
accordingly from 16 to *6 years, we are then faced with an even
worse discrepancy between Jotham's and Ahaz's accession ages.
According to 2 Kings 16.2 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became
king; thus if Jotham's reign is reduced to *6 years it follows that
the latter was (25 + 6 =) 31 years old when he died, and (31 - 20 =)
11 years old when Ahaz was born.123
121. Clements' assertion that there are no Isaianic oracles from this period
(Clements 19803:73) is based upon his acceptance of Jepsen's chronology, in
which Azariah's death is dated to 736 BC (aut.) (and Jotham's death is dated 5
years earlier!). But the Isaianic nucleus of Isaiah 2-5, with its attacks on social
injustice and its largely unspecific threats of future punishment, fits the
situation before 734 BC (aut.) rather well; compare the content of Amos's
prophecies, which date from the reign of Jeroboam II (785-745 BC (aut.)
according to the chronology set out above).
122. This calculation is only approximate, since a person's age was
presumably calculated (as a rule) from his/her actual date of birth, whereas
regnal years in this period were counted from the new year preceding a king's
accession. Thus a king might be 16 years old at his accession, but only 15 years
old at the start of his first regnal year (i.e. at the new year preceding his
accession). If this is taken into account in calculating Azariah's age at Jotham's
birth we end up with a margin of error of i year either way:
l6(-i) + 21 = 37 (-1)
37(-0 -25(-i) = 12 + 1
There is one further complication. By our system of reckoning a person is 12
years old in the ijth year of their life (one celebrates one's i2th birthday at the
end of 12 complete years). However, in Hebrew age reckoning a person was 12
years old in the i2th year of their life: compare Genesis 7.6 with Genesis 7.11
(Noah is 600 years old in the 6ooth year of his life), and Genesis 17.12 with
Leviticus 12.3 (a child is 8 days old on the 8th day of his life). Hebrew ages must
therefore be reduced by i year to arrive at a modern equivalent: if Azariah was
only 12 +1 years old by Hebrew reckoning when he fathered Jotham, this is
equivalent to 11 + i years old by our reckoning.
123. Taking account of the factors discussed in the previous note it would be
more accurate to say that on these figures Jotham was 11 i years old when Ahaz
221
In view of the genealogical problems which arise if Azariah's

age is set as low as *2i years or as high as *3i years, the most
reasonable course open to us is to increase our original estimate of
Azariah's reign length from *2i to *26 years, and to reduce
Jotham's reign accordingly from 16 to *n years. On these figures
Azariah was (16 + 26 =) 42 years old when he died, and (42 - 25 =)
17 years old when Jotham was born; while Jotham was (25 + 11 =)
36 years old when he died, and (36 - 20 =) 16 years old when Ahaz
was born.124 Taking this as a reasonable approximation, Azariah's
reign may be dated from 772 to 747 BC (aut.), and Jotham's reign
from 747 to 737 BC (aut.). But it must be emphasized that this is
only an approximation: if we assume that 14 years is the minimal
age for either king to have fathered his successor (see previous
note), the date at which Jotham succeeded Azariah might be raised
by up to 3 years or lowered by up to 2 years.
The following chart incorporates the results of the preceding
discussion into a synchronistic chronology of Israelite and Judean
history from Azariah's accession to the death of Ahaz, and
completes the table given on p. I94f.127
was born, by Hebrew reckoning, or 10+1 years old by our system of age
reckoning.
124. Once again, we should allow a margin of error of i year either way, and
then subtract i year to arrive at the equivalent ages in our system of age
reckoning. Compare the ages suggested above with Amon's age on fathering
Josiah, which works out at (22 + 2 - 8 =) 16+1 years (Hebrew reckoning), or
Josiah's age on fathering Jehoahaz, which also comes to (8+ 31-23 = ) 16 + i years
old (Hebrew reckoning). Josiah's age on fathering Jehoiakim, which works out
at only (8 + 31 - 25 = ) 14+ i years (Hebrew reckoning) is probably the minimal age
at which any king is likely to have fathered an heir. It may be noted that Josiah
was only 8 years old when he came to the throne, and is likely to have married at
an early age in order to maintain the dynastic succession.
125. According to this chronology Ahaz came to the throne 2 years before Pekah.
This is in contradiction to 2 Kings 15.37, where we are told that Rezin and Pekah
began to attack Judah during Jotham's reign ('in those days Yahweh began to send
Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah'). However, 2
Kings 15.37 is contradicted by Isaiah 7, according to which news of the SyroEphraimite conspiracy reached Jerusalem during Ahaz's reign, and may therefore
be disregarded as a later addition. The insertion of this verse is possibly connected
with the fact that Pekah's reign length was increased from *4 to 20 years: the
Deuteronomistic chronologist responsible for lengthening Pekah's reign length
may also have decided to lengthen the Syro-Ephraimite attack on Jerusalem into a
more protracted period of harassment comparable with Hazael's earlier
depredations (note the similar phraseology of 2 Kings 10.32-33).
222
Azariah
aci
772
14
21
22
752
75i
750
749
748
747
746
745
744
743
742
74i
740
739
738
737
736
735
734
733
732
731
730
729
728
727
726
725
724
723
722
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
23
24
25
Jotham
26/aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Ahaz
aci/n
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
13
14
15
Hezekiah
i6/ac
aci/ac/ac/4i
2
Jeroboam
Zechariah/
Shallum/Menahem
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
lo/aci
2/aci
Pekahiah
Pekah
aci/4
Hoshea
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Samaria besieged
Fall of Samaria
5.2.3 From the fall of Samaria to the Babylonian exile
The task of reconstructing Judean chronology during this period is

complicated by the question of Judah's adoption of the Mesopotamian spring calendar and postdating system. Indirect evidence discussed in the first section of this chapter suggests that the
spring calendar was probably adopted during the reign of Josiah;
and I have argued that postdating was probably adopted at the
The Historical Chronology of Israel and Judah
223
same time, and first implemented at the accession of Josiah's

successor, Jehoahaz. With regard to the manner in which the
spring calendar was introduced I have suggested that purely
practical considerations make it more likely that the year preceding
the change was shortened by six months than that it was
lengthened by this amount (p. iy8f.).
According to our reconstruction of Israelite and Judean
chronology up to this point Hezekiah came to the throne in 722 BC
(aut.), 2 years after the fall of Samaria. The following chronology
of the period from Hezekiah's accession to the Babylonian exile is
calculated from this date using Biblical figures for the reigns of
Judean kings, and is based upon my earlier conclusions about the
introduction of the spring calendar and postdating, namely: (i)
that the spring calendar was adopted during Josiah's reign; (2) that
the year preceding its adoption was shortened by six months; and
(3) that postdating was introduced at Jehoahaz's accession.
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Arnon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
(29 years)
(55 years)
(2 years)
(31 years)
(3 months)
(n years)
(3 months)
(n years)
722-694 BC (aut.)
694-640 BC (aut.)
640-639 BC (aut.)
639-60980 (aut./spr.)
609 BC (spr.)
609-598 BC (spr.)
598 BC (spr.)
598-587 BC (spr.)
There are comparatively few external synchronisms with

Mesopotamian or Egyptian chronology during the earlier part of
this period. Hezekiah is named in Assyrian texts which describe
Sennacherib's third campaign of 701 BC (Nis.),126 but the Biblical
date for this event (2K 18.13) is schematic and historically
unreliable (see p.2i2f.). It should be noted that the chronology
given above is incompatible with the 'two-campaign theory'
favoured by the Albright school and recently resuscitated by Shea
(i985b), according to which the story of the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem in 2 Kings 18.17-19.37 relates to a hypothetical
126. Sn Pr 11.37-111.49 (and earlier editions of Sennacherib's annals); 61-3
17-22; Neb 13-15. Na'aman (1974) is probably correct in adding K 6206+ BM
82-3-23,131 (see above, p. I95n.).
224
second Palestinian campaign undertaken by Sennacherib towards

the end of his reign. Such a campaign could not have occurred
before 690 BC (Nis.), for there is no record of it in the latest edition
of Sennacherib's annals, written after his eighth campaign of 691
BC (Nis.).127 Proponents of this theory must therefore adopt a
chronology based upon the (schematic) date in 2 Kings 18.13,
which allows Hezekiah's death to be dated c. 687 BC. But there are
serious problems with this chronology (p. 212), and the discrepancies between 2 Kings 18.13-16 and 2 Kings iS.iyf. that have
given rise to the two-campaign theory are more satisfactorily
accounted for by differences in literary genre (Clements I98ob).128
Hezekiah's successor, Manasseh, is mentioned twice in Assyrian texts belonging to the reigns of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.
In the first of these (Esrh NinAF v.55) Manasseh is listed as one of
twenty-two western vassals who were required to contribute
materials for rebuilding the Assyrian palace at Nineveh. Work on
the palace was completed in 676 BC (Nis.): copies of Nineveh Prism
A are dated to the eponymy of Atarilu, 673 BC (Nis.), but the
historical introduction of this text covers only the first 5 years of
Esarhaddon's reign; and a copy of Nineveh Prism B, which
127. The Babylonian Chronicle (ABC i.iii.i6-i8) dates this campaign 'year
unknown' (MU NU ZIT). However, the previous campaign is dated by the
Babylonian Chronicle to the first year of Mushezibmarduk of Babylon, 692 BC
(Nis.) (ABC I.iii.i3-i6), and the Taylor Prism, containing the latest edition of the
annals, is dated to the eponymy of Belemuranni, 691 BC (Nis.).
128. Hezekiah's accession age of 25 years (2K 18.2) poses serious problems for
any chronology that accepts the Biblical figures for Ahaz's reign length and
accession age. According to 2 Kings 16.2 Ahaz became king when he was 20 years
old and reigned for 16 years, which means that if Hezekiah's accession age is
correct, Ahaz was only 11 +1 years old (Hebrew reckoning) when Hezekiah was
born10 + i years old by our reckoning (see p. 22on.). This is manifestly impossible,
and we may therefore conclude that the Biblical figure for Hezekiah's accession age
is most probably incorrect. This conclusion is strengthened by the following
considerations, (i) There is an apparently deliberate numerical parallelism between
the reigns of Hezekiah and Amaziah, in that both are ascribed identical reign
lengths and accession ages. I have argued earlier that Amaziah's reign length was
secondarily lengthened to agree with Hezekiah's (p. 149); and it may reasonably
be argued that in this case the reverse process has occurred, with Hezekiah's
accession age having been altered in conformity with Amaziah's accession age. (2)
There is good reason to think that the Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7.14f. relates to
the birth of Ahaz's eldest son, who should presumably be identified with Hezekiah
(see above, p. 2i8n.). If this is correct, the latter will presumably have been born
shortly after the Syro-Ephraimite invasion (c. 734 BC (aut.)), and cannot have been
more than 13 years old at his accession in 722 BC (aut.).
225
contains a parallel but less detailed text, is dated to the eponymy of

Banba, 676 BC (Nis.).129 The second Assyrian text which names
Manasseh (Ash PrC 1.25) contains a similar list of twenty-two
western vassals who had to provide troops for Ashurbanipal's first
Egyptian campaign in 667 BC (Nis.).130 These references are of only
limited value in dating Manasseh's 55-year reign: it is universally
agreed that this began well before 676 BC (Nis.) and ended long
after 667 BC (Nis.).
A more important synchronism between Mesopotamian and
Judean chronology is provided by Josiah's death at the battle of
Megiddo (2K 23.29^). Josiah, unlike Hezekiah and Manasseh, is
not mentioned in Assyrian or Babylonian records; but his death is
securely dated to the summer of 609 BC by the fact that the 'large
Egyptian army' which crossed the Euphrates in Tammuz of
Nabopolassar's I7th year, 609 BC (Nis.), (ABC 3.66f.) was
undoubtedly the same Egyptian army as that which Josiah
unsuccessfully attempted to prevent from reaching the Euphrates
(2K 23.29f.).131 This date agrees perfectly with the chronological
table given above, and so provides independent confirmation of
this chronology, which was calculated from Hezekiah's accession
in722Bc(aut.). 132
129. Heidel 1956; Borger 1956:125.
130. The date of this campaign is provided by the 'Esarhaddon Chronicle'
(ABC 14.40-44), which places it in the first year of Shamash-shumukin, king of
Babylon.
131. Reade (1981:2) is probably the only recent scholar to have questioned this
synchronism, which is incompatible with his reconstruction of Israelite and Judean
chronology in which Josiah's death is dated to 608 BC (Nis.). Reade argues that the
Babylonian Chronicle mentions movements by the Egyptian army only in years
when it came into contact with the Babylonians, and therefore has no relevance to
possible Egyptian moves in those years, e.g. 608 BC (Nis.), when the Babylonians
campaigned in a different direction. However, the Egyptian army which defeated
Josiah is specifically said to have been on route for a rendezvous with the 'king of
Assyria', who is also mentioned in the Babylonian Chronicle's entry for 609 BC
(Nis.), but who disappeared from the scene after the Egyptians failed to recapture
Haran on his behalf in 609 BC (Nis.). This failure brought an end to the last
vestiges of Assyrian power, leaving the Babylonians free to turn their attention to
the east; there are no further references to Assyria in the Babylonian Chronicle, and
no further clashes between Babylonian and Egyptian forces are reported until
Nabopolassar's 2Oth year, 606 BC (Nis.).
132. Note, however, that the same date is also arrived at if we start from 727 BC
(aut.), which is a less probable date for Hezekiah's accession (see p.2i8f.), and
assume that postdating was introduced at the start of Hezekiah's accession (this is
the earliest date at which it is likely to have been introduced), and that the adoption
226
According to 2 Kings 23.31!". Josiah's successor, Jehoahaz,

reigned for only 3 months before he was deposed by Necho, who
arrested him at Riblah in the land of Hamath. This fits in rather
well with the evidence of the Babylonian Chronicle. Josiah's death
is likely to have occurred in Sivan of 609 BC (Nis.), for the Egyptian
army probably took nearly a month to cover the 650 kilometres
from Megiddo to the Euphrates (Clines 1972:30^; Malamat
1975:125). After crossing the Euphrates the Egyptians proceeded
to lay siege to Haran, which held out against them until Elul
(ABC 3.68f.), when the arrival of the Babylonian army brought the
siege to an end (it is not clear whether the Egyptian army was
defeated or withdrew without a fightthe Chronicle is broken at
this point). The Egyptian army presumably began its return
journey more or less immediately, and is therefore likely to have
reached Riblah in Elul or Tishri. This gives us a period of 3 to 4
months from Josiah's death in Sivan to Jehoahaz's deposal in Elul
or Tishri, which is in close agreement with the Biblical figure of 3
months for Jehoahaz's reign.133
Jehoahaz was replaced by Jehoiakim, apparently an elder
brother, who reigned for n years (2K 23.26). During his reign
'Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became
his servant for 3 years, but subsequently turned back and rebelled
against him' (2K 24.1). Jehoiakim's acceptance of Babylonian
suzerainty was undoubtedly a result of Nebuchadrezzar's decisive
victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish, which left him in
effective control of Syria and Palestine, and which occurred in the
final year of Nabopolassar, 605 BC (Nis.), shortly before the latter's
death on 8th Ab (ABC 5.1-11). However, Jehoiakim is unlikely to
have submitted to Nebuchadrezzar immediately, and it was
of the spring calendar involved lengthening the previous year by six months. This
produces the following chronology for the period from Hezekiah's accession to the
death of Josiah.
Hezekiah
(29 years)
727-698 BC (aut.)
Manasseh
(55 years)
698-643 BC (aut.)
Amon
( 2 years)
643-641 BC (aut.)
Josiah
(31 years)
641-60960 (aut./spr.)
133. This should not necessarily be regarded as an exact figure. It is worth
noting that the reign lengths of all Israelite and Judean kings who reigned for less
than a year appear to be calendrical round numbers: Zimri is said to have reigned
for 7 days (a week), Shallum for i month, Jehoahaz of Judah and Jehoiachin for 3
months (a quarter), and Zechariah for 6 months.
227
probably not until 604 BC (Nis.)when Nebuchadrezzar received

tribute from 'all the kings of Hattu'that he was forced to transfer
his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon.134 The 3-year period of
Jehoiakim's vassalship may therefore be dated from Nebuchadrezzar's first regnal year, 604 BC (Nis.); and Jehoiakim's rebellion against Babylonian suzerainty is thereby dated to Nebuchadrezzar's 4th year, 601 BC (Nis.), when a Babylonian attempt to
invade Egypt was repulsed with heavy losses on both sides (ABC
5.rev.6-7). The extent of the damage incurred by Nebuchadrezzar's army is reflected in the fact that Nebuchadrezzar was
forced to spend the following year refitting his horses and
chariotry (ABC 5.rev.8); it was not until Nebuchadrezzar's 6th
year, 599 BC (Nis.), that the latter was able to return to the west,
where he is said to have despatched his army on raids against Arab
tribes of the Syrian desert (ABC 5.rev.9-10).
Reprisals against Judah possibly began in the same year with
military action by Chaldean and foreign contingents of Nebuchadrezzar's army (zK 24.2). This was followed by a full-scale siege of
Jerusalem, which is described in both Hebrew and Babylonian
sources. According to 2 Kings 24. lof. the siege began during
Jehoiachin's reign and was initially conducted by Nebuchadrezzar's officials, with Nebuchadrezzar arriving once the siege was
already underway.135 At this point Jehoiachin surrendered, and
134. There is evidence to suggest that Jehoiakim waited until the last possible
moment before offering tribute. The Babylonian Chronicle is somewhat broken at
this point, but it appears that Nebuchadrezzar captured a Syro-Palestinian city,
probably Ashkelon (URlJx-x(-x)-il-lu-nu), in Kislev of 604 BC (Nis.) (ABC
5.18-20). This was in all probability the occasion of the national fast which,
according to Jeremiah 36.9f., was proclaimed in Judah in the 9th month (Kislev) of
Jehoiakim's 5th year (604 BC (spr.)). At this stage it would seem that Jehoiakim had
not yet offered his allegiance to Nebuchadrezzarhence the alarmed reaction to
Jeremiah's prediction of a Babylonian invasion (verse 29)but he will doubtless
have submitted shortly thereafter. See Malamat 1956:251-252.
135. This version of events may need to be modified in view of the following
textual considerations. In 2 Kings 24.10 MT informs us that 'Nebuchadrezzar's
servants' ("IXimDSl "H2X7) came up to Jerusalem and laid siege to it, but LXX
(supported by the Peshitta and a small number of Hebrew manuscripts) states that
'Nebuchadrezzar' came up to Jerusalem. This conflicts with verse 11, where we are
told that Nebuchadrezzar came to Jerusalem when his servants were already
besieging the city, but it is probably the original reading, since the consonantal text
found in most Hebrew manuscripts has a singular verb presupposing a singular
subject (JIT'S?; Qere 1 /37). If this assessment is correct it is highly unlikely that verse
10 originally preceded verse n, and we should probably conclude that verses 10
and 11 are textual variants which originally belonged to separate textual traditions
228
Nebuchadrezzar appointed Zedekiah in his place before taking

Jehoiachin into exile along with a significant number of nobles and
artisans.136 The Babylonian Chronicle (ABC 5.rev. 11-13) confirms the broad outline of this account, and also gives a precise date
for the capture of Jerusalem and the arrest of Jehoiachin. Here we
are told that Nebuchadrezzar mustered his army and set off for
Hattu (Syro-Palestine) in his yth regnal year in the month Kislev,
and that having encamped against 'the city of Judah' he captured it
and arrested its king on Adar 2nd; after which he appointed 'a king
of his own choice' and returned to Babylon with heavy tribute.
This gives us our most precise synchronism between Mesopotamian and Judean chronology: according to Babylonian evidence Jehoiachin's reign ended on Adar 2nd 598 BC (Nis.), and this
agrees with the less precise date given in the chronological table on
p. 223. Since Jehoiachin is ascribed a reign of only 3 months, this
evidence also allows us to date the end of Jehoiakim's reign fairly
precisely: bearing in mind that '3 months' may be a round
calendrical figure (p. 226n.) it would appear that Jehoiakim met his
death in Marheshvan or Kislev of 598 BC (Nis.), at approximately
the same time that Nebuchadrezzar is said to have left Babylon.
The book of Kings is oddly silent about the circumstances of
Jehoiakim's death, but we have seen that there is Biblical evidence
once these variants were combined it is understandable that verse 10 should have
been harmonized with verse 11 by the insertion of "T3S7 ('servants'). Either variant
might theoretically be original, but it is more probable that verse 10 is a rewriting of
verse 11 (with Nebuchadrezzar's arrival put back to the start of the siege) than that
the reverse should be the case. This has one important consequence for the date of
the siege. It is only 2 Kings 24.10 which associates the start of the siege with the
reign of Jehoiachin; and if this verse is secondary it is equally possible that the siege
may actually have begun during Jehoiakim's reign.
136. The precise number varies according to different texts. According to 2
Kings 24.14 Nebuchadrezzar deported 10,000 Judeans at this point. However, 2
Kings 24.16 puts the number of deportees at 7,000, plus 1,000 smiths and
craftsmen, while Jeremiah 52.28 gives a more modest figure of 3,023 Judeans. This
last figure is probably correct; the Babylonians do not appear to have conducted
mass deportations on the scale practised by the Assyrians, and the round numbers
given by Kings are unlikely to be historical. In any case 2 Kings 24.14 is probably a
late addition, as evidenced by its non-classical use of an Unconverted Perfect after
Waw (H/ini). Those who prefer to harmonize Biblical discrepancies wherever
possible may follow Malamat (1975:134f.) in postulating two deportations: a main
deportation of 7,000 Judeans (2K 24.16) followed by a later deportation of 3,023
Judeans (Je 52.28), making a total of 10,000 deportees in all (2K 24.14). But it is
unclear how the 1,000 smiths and craftsmen of 2 Kings 24.16 are to be accounted
for on this theory.
229
which suggests that Jehoiakim came to a violent end (see p. i88n.).

If we take the view that the siege of Jerusalem began during
Jehoiakim's reign (see above, p.22yn.) it may be argued that
Jehoiachin began to negotiate terms of surrender immediately after
Jehoiakim's death, and that it was this which prompted Nebuchadrezzar to set out from Babylon and take personal credit for the
city's capture.
Biblical evidence for the date of Nebuchadrezzar's second
capture of Jerusalem is unfortunately contradictory, and the
existing text of the Babylonian Chronicle breaks off several years
before this event. In consequence, Biblical scholars have long been
divided over whether Jerusalem fell in 587 EC (Nis.) or 586 BC
(Nis.).137 The argument in favour of the second of these dates is
fairly straightforward: 2 Kings 25.8 and its parallel, Jeremiah
52.12, date the destruction of Jerusalem and the associated
deportation to Nebuchadrezzar's I9th year, which in Babylonian
chronology was 586 BC (Nis.). However, the validity of this dating
is put in serious doubt by the fact that the book of Kings dates the
previous capture of Jerusalem and the arrest of Jehoiachin to
Nebuchadrezzar's 8th year (2K 24.12), whereas the Babylonian
Chronicle dates these events to Nebuchadrezzar's jth year (ABC
5.rev.11-13). By contrast, Jeremiah 52.28f. (a postscript to the
book of Jeremiah) dates the first deportation of Judeans to
Nebuchadrezzar's yth year, which is in agreement with the
Babylonian Chronicle's date for the first capture of Jerusalem, but
dates the second deportation to Nebuchadrezzar's i8th year.
Given the agreement which exists between Jeremiah 52.28 and the
Babylonian Chronicle over the date of the first capture of
Jerusalem and subsequent deportation, there is a strong case for
preferring the date of the second deportation given by Jeremiah
52.29 over that given by 2 Kings 25.8 and Jeremiah 52.12. On this
evidence the second capture of Jerusalem occurred in 587 BC (Nis.).
The Deuteronomistic editors of Kings and (the main body of)
Jeremiah evidently miscalculated the length of Nebuchadrezzar's
137. The following scholars have favoured 587 BC (Nis.): Riihl (1894/5), Kugler
(1922), Coucke (1928), Begrich (19293), Mowinckel (1932), Albright (1945), Noth
(1958), Kutsch (1959; 1974), Jepsen (1964), Andersen (1969), and Gazelles (1983).
Supporters of the later date, 586 BC (Nis.), include Kamphausen (1883), Lewy
(1927), Vogelstein (1944), Thiele (21983), Malamat (1956; 1968; 1975), Tadmor
(1956; 1962), Vogt (1957; 1975), Auerbach (1961), Schedl (i962b), Horn (1967),
and Freedy and Redford (1970).
230
reign and numbered Nebuchadrezzar's years one year too high:

compare also Jeremiah 25.1 and 32.1, which wrongly equate
Jehoiakim's 4th year with Nebuchadrezzar's first year, and
Zedekiah's loth year with Nebuchadrezzar's i8th year. This
miscalculation probably arose because Nebuchadrezzar was mistakenly thought to have become king before the start of 605 BC
(Nis.), when he campaigned in the west on his father's behalf,
whereas he did not in fact become king until Elul ist of that year,
shortly after the battle of Carchemish (ABC 5-iof.); the same
mistaken belief may also be reflected in Jeremiah 46.2's anachronistic reference to 'Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon' as victor at the
battle of Carchemish.138
Other considerations make it virtually certain that Jerusalem
fell in 587 BC (Nis.). We know from the Babylonian Chronicle that
Jehoiachin's reign ended on Adar 2nd 598 BC (Nis.),139aand since
Judah used the Mesopotamian system of postdating during this
period it follows that Zedekiah's n-year reign will have lasted
from 598 to 587 BC (Nis.). Those who wish to date the fall of
Jerusalem to 586 BC (Nis.) have sought to avoid this conclusion by
one of two arguments, both of which violate basic principles of the
postdating system by assuming that in situations where a king
came to the throne shortly after the new year, the remainder of that
year might be reckoned as a zero accession-year even if it had not
been assigned to his predecessor's reign. Thus Vogt and others
have argued that Nebuchadrezzar could have taken several weeks
138. Contrast Freedy and Redford (1970:466), who think that it is the dates in
Jeremiah 52.28f. which are mistaken, despite the agreement between Jeremiah
52.28 and the Babylonian Chronicle. Other scholars have looked for various ways of
harmonizing Jeremiah 52.28f. with the chronological statements of Kings, one
fairly obvious possibility being the suggestion that there were actually four
deportations in Nebuchadrezzar's yth, 8th, i8th, and I9th years (Malamat
1957:77-78; 1968:154); by a curious coincidence the book of Kings mentions only
the second and fourth of these deportations, while Jeremiah 52.28f. mentions only
the first and third. Alternative and equally improbable suggestions may be found in
Seder Olam Rabba, chapters 25 and 27, and Vogelstein 1944:12.
139. Vogt (i957:93f.) argues unconvincingly that although Jehoiachin was
arrested on Adar 2nd 598 BC (Nis.), he was not officially deposed until Nisan 597 BC
(Nis.): Nebuchadrezzar apparently deferred his decision over Jehoiachin's fate
because he was initially uncertain whether to replace him or not. Note, however,
that if Jehoiachin's reign had extended into Nisan of 597 BC (Nis.) this would
necessarily have been counted as his first regnal year under the postdating system.
Thus the fact that Jehoiachin is credited with a reign of only 3 months is evidence
that he was deposed before the end of 598 BC (Nis.).
The Historical Chronology of Israel andjudahh
231
to organize affairs in Jerusalem following its initial capture on

Adar 2nd 598 BC (Nis.), and that as a result Zedekiah may not have
been appointed until the start of 597 BC (Nis.); counting this as his
zero accession-year brings us to 586 BC (Nis.) for the second
capture of Jerusalem in Zedekiah's i ith year.140 On the other hand
Malamat and others argue that Judah followed an autumn calendar
throughout the pre-exilic period, so that Zedekiah's first year will
have begun in the autumn of 597 BC (Jul.), and Zedekiah's nth
year will have overlapped with Nebuchadrezzar's I9th year, 586 BC
(Nis.).141 This second chronology avoids the need to posit what is
effectively a zero calendar-year at the start of Zedekiah's reign
but only because it has already posited a zero calendar-year at the
beginning of Jehoiakim's reign (see p. I73f.).
Further evidence that Jerusalem fell in 587 BC (Nis.) and not
586 BC (Nis.) is provided by Ezekiel 33.21, which states that
Ezekiel learnt of the capture of Jerusalem on the 5th day of the
loth month of the I2th year of the first exile.142 The interpretation
of this date depends of course upon the starting point from which
the years of the first exile were counted, and those who argue that
Nebuchadrezzar required several weeks to organize affairs after his
initial capture of Jerusalem have cited Ezekiel 33.21 as evidence
that the second capture of Jerusalem should be dated to 5#6 BC
(Nis.): if the first deportation occurred early in 597 BC (Nis.), the
I2th year (inclusive) from this date is 586 BC (Nis.). Or alternatively, if the first deportation is dated to 598 BC (Nis.) it might still
be argued that the first year of this deportation did not begin until
the following year, i.e. that it was effectively postdated, by analogy
with regnal chronology. In fact, however, there is clear evidence
that the first year of the exile of Jehoiachin was 598 BC (Nis.).
According to 2 Kings 25.27 and Jeremiah 52.31 Jehoiachin was
140. Vogt 1957:92^; 1975; Auerbach 1961; Schedl I962b.
141. Malamat I956;i968:140-141; 1975:127; Thiele 31983:190-191; Horn
1967; Freedy and Redford 1970:464-467.
142. Some scholars have followed LXXL and the Peshitta in reading 'nth year'
rather than 'i2th year', since this resolves a discrepancy between Ezekiel 33.21 and
Ezekiel 26.1, where an oracle alluding to the fall of Jerusalem is dated to the nth
year of Jehoiachin's exile (thus Zimmerli 1983:191, among others). But a better
solution is to follow LXXA in reading 'i2th year' (*f"l3tP rT")lPX7 TUP1) instead of
'nth year' (TCXS mtPS7 T)tPX73) in Ezekiel 26.1. The book of Ezekiel elsewhere uses
TCSD miPS? nnS for 'nth year' (Ezk 30.20; 31.1); and the only other instance of
mtPS7 TUPX7 in Ezekiel (Ezk 40.49) is clearly a corruption of miPS7 TUP (LXX
SoJSexra; see Zimmerli 1983:342).
232
released from prison in the 37th year of his exile, in the accession
year of Evil-merodach.143 The latter came to the throne in 562 BC
(Nis.)5 and since this is equated with the 37th year of Jehoiachin's
exile it follows that Jehoiachin's first year of exile was 598 BC
(Nis.). Thus Ezekiel learnt about the capture of Jerusalem from a
survivor 5 months after its destruction and the deportation of its
inhabitants (dated to the 7th day of the 5th month by 2 Kings
25.8f.)j which is a reasonable interval considering the source of his
information; according to Ezra 7.9, Ezra took 4 months to make the
reverse journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem in what are described
as favourable circumstances ('with Yahweh's favourable hand
upon him').
143. ID1??} niBQ; the variant iroVft D3tT3 ('in the year of his reign'), which is
given in MT's text of Jeremiah 52.31 and implied by LXX's translation of 2 Kings
25.27, is historically meaningless since Evil-merodach reigned for more than a
single year (see p. 157).
6
FROM P TO USSHER
Previous chapters of this book have traced the development of
Biblical chronology in reverse to uncover a series of different
chronologies. In the preceding chapter, the earliest of these was
used as a basis for reconstructing the historical chronology of
Israel and Judah. This chapter returns to the point we started
from, and surveys the development of Biblical chronology in the
opposite direction: from P to the chronologies of MT, SP, and
LXX, and from here to the chronologies of later Jewish and
Christian interpreters.
6. i Revised Biblical chronologies
6.1.i MT
The Masoretic text has to a large extent preserved the original
figures of Priestly chronology. Apart from the ambiguous addition
of a 2-year period between the flood and the birth of Arpachshad,
MT's postdiluvian chronology is essentially the same as the
original Priestly chronology. In the antediluvian period, there are
three instances where MT's chronology diverges from the original
Priestly chronology: MT's figure for Jared's age of begetting is 100
years higher than the original Priestly figure, Methuselah's age of
begetting is 118 years higher than the original Priestly figure, and
Lamech's age of begetting is 129 years higher than the original
Priestly figure (see table on pp. 44-5). These alterations were
discussed above (p. I3f.), where I argued that MT or the textual
tradition behind MT adopted higher figures for these three
antediluvians to ensure that they died before the flood.
But there may also have been other reasons for these alterations.
The Samaritan Pentateuch contains modified antediluvian figures
234
which were also designed to prevent Jared, Methuselah, and

Lamech from surviving the flood, but in this case the overall
chronology was not affected, since chronological modifications
were applied to the lifespans of these three ancestors rather than to
their ages of begetting. The fact that modifications to MT's
antediluvian figures also altered the overall chronology raises the
possibility that this reflects a deliberate revision of the original
Priestly chronology.
The following table sets out MT's chronology in years from
creation. Because of the ambiguity surrounding the date of
Arpachshad's birth (discussed above: p. i8f.), there are two
possible sets of figures for postdiluvian chronology.
Flood
Abraham
1656 AM
1946/8 AM
Entry into Egypt

Exodus
Foundation of temple
Destruction of temple
2236/8 AM
2666/8 AM
3146/ 8 AM
35?6/8 AM
One date stands out from other dates in this table. It has often been
pointed out that if we ignore the 2-year period between the flood
and the birth of Arpachshad, MT's date for the exodus is
two-thirds of the way through a 4Ooo-year era. If this is a
deliberate feature of the chronology, then one of the effects of this
revision of MT's chronology is to give greater prominence to the
exodus and the events at Sinai, and this agrees with the importance
of these events in later Judaism.
There is another more intriguing feature of MT's chronology.
If this was devised to place the exodus two-thirds of the way
through a 4OOO-year era, then it is striking to note that the 3999^
year of this era is also the year of the Maccabean rededication of the
temple in 164 BC: on MT's chronology there are 323 years from the
destruction of the temple to the year 3999, and there are also 323
years from the destruction of the temple in 587 BC to the
Maccabean rededication of the temple in 164 BC. If we apply the
postdating system used in the original version of Priestly chronology, the first year of the rededicated temple is exactly 4000 years
from the creation of the world.1
i. This association between the year 4000 AM and the rededication of the temple
was pointed out by Murtonen (1954:137) and Johnson (1969:32) and has been
From P to Ussher
235
The obvious inference to be drawn from this is that MT's

chronology was created in the Maccabean period and was devised
to portray the Maccabean rededication of the temple as the start of
a new era of history. But there is a problem which must be
considered. This interpretation presupposes that the authors of
MT's chronology had access to accurate chronological information
for the period from 587 to 164, whereas evidence from other
ancient sources suggests that Jewish writers of the Greco-Roman
period had a rather inaccurate notion of postexilic chronology. The
most celebrated example is provided by the rabbinic tractate Seder
Olam Rabba, which allows a total of 52 years for the entire duration
of the Persian period. Other examples include Josephus (Ant
20.234), who calculated a period of 414 years from the end of the
exile (538 BC) to the accession of Antiochus Eupator (164 BC), and
the Hellenistic chronographer Demetrius (fragment 6), who
apparently reckoned a period of 338 years and three months from
Nebuchadrezzar's deportation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (587
BC) to the accession of Ptolemy IV (in 222 BC). Within the Bible,
the author of Daniel calculated an interval of 490 years for the
period from 587 BC to 164 BC (Dn 9.24-27).
The example from Daniel can be dismissed immediately. 490
(seventy times seven) years is a schematic figure which had to
match the seventy years of Jeremiah's prophecy (Dn 9.2), whether
the author knew of the true duration of this period or not. The
same objection applies to the 52-year period of Seder Olam Rabba,
for this is another schematic figure, which was also designed to fit
into a 49<D-year period from Nebuchadrezzar's destruction of the
first temple to Titus's destruction of the second temple (see below,
p. 257). And Josephus's period of 414 years is part of a larger
calculation which allows a round total of 950 years from the
foundation of the first temple to the Maccabean rededication of the
second temple: 466 years from the foundation of the temple to its
destruction, 70 years exile, and 414 years to the rededication of the
temple.2
discussed by Thompson (1974:15) and Hayes (1979:25). Johnson calculates 3756
years to the exile, 50 years for the exile, and 374 years from the edict of Cyrus (538
BC) to 164 BC to arrive at a total of 4000 years instead of 3999 years; but the interval
between 587 BC and 538 BC is 49 years rather than 50 years.
2. Elsewhere, Josephus calculates a period of 470 years from the foundation of
the temple to its destruction (Ant 10.147), which is equivalent to the 430 years of
236
This leaves us with Demetrius's 338-year period from the fall of

Jerusalem to the accession of Ptolemy IV. In contrast to other
examples of chronological inaccuracy this cannot be dismissed as
schematic. On the face of it, it seems that Demetrius underestimated the interval between 587 BC and 222 BC by 27 years. But
matters are actually less straightforward than this. Demetrius
fragment 6 contains three chronological calculations: 128 years and
six months from Sennacherib's (!) captivity of the northern tribes
to Nebuchadrezzar's captivity of Jerusalem, 573 years and nine
months from the captivity of the northern tribes to the time of
Ptolemy IV, and 338 years and three months from the second
captivity to the time of Ptolemy IV. Apart from the fact that
Demetrius has evidently confused Shalmaneser's capture of
Samaria with Sennacherib's invasion of Judah,3 there is clearly
something wrong with his arithmetic or with the text as it stands.
338 years and three months plus 128 years and six months does not
add up to 573 years and nine months; and the interval between
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah and the fall of Jerusalem is 125
years and six months according to Biblical figures. In all probability, '128 years' is a textual corruption of *I25 years, and '573
years' is a corruption of *473 years, in which case the 338-year
period must also be emended to *348 years (473 - 125 years). This
is still incorrect historically, but the error is reduced from 27 to 17
years.
the Masoretic text plus an extra 40 years for Solomon (whom Josephus credits with
an 8o-year reign).
3. Bickerman (1975:80-84) assumes that Demetrius is referring to three separate events: the captivity of the northern tribes, Sennacherib's invasion of
Judah, and Nebuchadrezzar's captivity of Jerusalem. But what the text actually says
is this: 'In his book Concerning the Kings in Judah Demetrius says that the tribes of
Judah, Benjamin, and Levi were not taken captive by Sennacherib, but that from
this captivity to the last captivity which Nebuchadrezzar took from Jerusalem there
were 128 years and six months. From the time when the ten tribes were taken
captive from Samaria to Ptolemy IV there 573 years and nine months; from the time
that the captivity from Jerusalem occurred there were 338 years and three months.'
Now although Demetrius does not say in so many words that Sennacherib deported
the northern tribes, this is clearly implied by the fact that he refers to a captivity
under Sennacherib ('from this captivity to the last captivity') in which the southern
tribes (Judah, Benjamin, and Levi) were not deported, and then goes on to speak of
the captivity of the ten (northern) tribes. It is manifestly absurd to suppose that
Demetrius envisaged a separate captivity under Sennacherib, in which no tribes
were actually deported, and then counted the number of years between this
non-captivity and the final captivity of Jerusalem.
From P to Ussher
237
Why then did Demetrius miscalculate the period from 587 BC to

222 BC by 17 years? One possibility is that he did not have access to
accurate chronological information. But there is also another
possibility. 17 years is the exact number of years which elapsed
between the initial foundation of the second temple in the second
year of Cyrus (537 BC: Ezr i.i; 3.8) and its subsequent refoundation in the second year of Darius (520 BC: Hg i.i). If Demetrius
confused these two events, as he seems also to have confused
Shalmaneser's capture of Samaria with Sennacherib's invasion of
Judah, this would automatically create a 17-year discrepancy in his
calculations at this point. If this explanation is correct, Demetrius's sources for postexilic chronology must have been completely accurate, and there is no reason to suppose that the authors
of MT's chronology could not also have had access to accurate
chronological sources. One obvious possibility is that Demetrius
and the MT chronologists derived their information directly or
indirectly from temple records.
6.1.2 SP
I argued in chapter 2 that SP has largely preserved the original
Priestly chronology of the antediluvian period, but that it has
departed from the original chronology by adopting increased ages
of begetting for postdiluvian ancestors in Genesis n, and by
modifying the 43O-year period of Exodus 12.40 to cover the period
in Egypt together with the previous 215 years in Canaan. This had
the effect of adding 435 years to Priestly chronology in the period
from the flood to the exodus. The following table sets out SP's
chronology for this period.
Flood
Abraham
Entry into Egypt
Exodus
1307 AM
2247/9 AM
2537/9 AM
2752/4 AM
There are two points which may be noted about this chronology. The first is that it dissociates the year 2800 AM from the
foundation of the Jerusalem temple (the Samaritans had their own
sanctuary at Gerizim), and the second is that it brings the date of
the settlement (2752/4 plus 40 years: Ex 16.35) to
to within a few
238
years of the same date. Now according to a Samaritan tradition

which is preserved in the Tolidah chronicle (Bowman 1977:44),
the conquest of Canaan extended over a 7-year period.4 If we
disregard the 2-year interval between the flood and the birth of
Arpachshad and assume that the Samaritan chronology uses
postdating, the first year of the conquest is 2793 AM,5 and the
seventh year of the conquest is 2799 AM. According to the Tolidah
chronicle (Bowman 1977:44), this was also the year in which
Phinehas calculated the correct intervals of the Samaritan calendar
'according to the breadth of Mount Gerizim'.6 SP's chronology
therefore associates the year 2800 AM with the first year of the
Samaritan calendar, which is probably also the first year of the
Gerizim sanctuary (the year after its foundation).7
6.1.3 LXX
The Septuagint contains a longer chronology than either MT or
SP, which results from the fact that antediluvian and postdiluvian
ancestors in Genesis 5 and n have consistently high ages of
begetting (there is also an extra postdiluvian ancestor, Kenan II).
This increase is partially offset, however, by the fact that LXX
chronology changes the 430 years spent in Egypt to a period of 430
years in Canaan and Egypt.
The following table presents LXX chronology from creation to
the exile. See pp. 44-5 for the figures on which this is based, and
note that postdiluvian figures incorporate the 2-year period from
the flood to the birth of Arpachshad, while the interval from the
foundation of the temple to the exile incorporates the lower LXX
figure for Rehoboam's reign (see page 38f. for discussion of this
last point).
Flood
2242 AM
Abraham
3314 AM
4. See also Joshua 14.10.

5. Strictly speaking, the exodus should also be postdated to 2753 AM, since it
occurred at the start of the year.
6. However, in another passage (Bowman 1977:41), the establishment of the
calendar is dated to the first year of the conquest.
7. This was first argued by Jepsen (1929), except that Jepsen uses a slightly
different set of calculations to place the foundation of the Gerizim sanctuary in the
year 2800 AM.
From P to Ussher
Entry into Egypt
Exodus
239
3604 AM
3819 AM
4259AM
4689 AM
This shows evident signs of chronological schematism. If LXX

chronology uses a non-inclusive dating system such as postdating
or non-inclusive antedating, the first year of the exodus is 3820 AM,
the temple's first year is 4260 AM, and the first year after the
destruction of the temple is 4690 AM. If we then add 70 years to the
rebuilding of the second temple (Zc 1.12), the first year of the
rebuilt temple is 4760 AM, which is 240 years before 5000 AM. This
raises the obvious question: what (if anything) happened in 5000
AM? 240 years from the foundation of the second temple in 520 BC
brings us down to 280 BC, which is interesting when one considers
that the Letter of Aristeas dates the translation of the Pentateuch to
the reign of Ptolemy II (282-247 BC). However, the chronology
found in LXX probably existed in Hebrew texts used by the
translators (see below), in which case it cannot originally have been
meant to commemorate the LXX translation. Another possibility
is that 5000 AM was associated with the conquests of Alexander the
Great in 333 BC onwards or with the division of his empire after
323 BC: 240 years is, after all, a schematic figure which may be no
more accurate than Daniel's 49O-year period. A third possibility is
that nothing happened in 5000 AM. The chronology may have been
created in the years preceding 5000 AM by people who had
witnessed the dissolution of the Persian empire and looked forward
to the inauguration of a new world era which would presumably
see the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom.
There is also evidence of a second LXX chronology which adds
40 years to the original LXX chronology to place the first year of
the second temple (or the first year of the postexilic period) in 4800
AM. This chronology is attested in Codex Vaticanus (LXXB),
which reckons 435 years for the period in Canaan and Egypt (Ex
12.40), and then adds 30 years to Jehoram's reign (2K 8.17) to give
a total of 465 years from the foundation of the temple to its
destruction (counting 17 years for Rehoboam's reign). LXXB's
figure for Jehoram's reign is corroborated by LXXA, but stands in
striking disagreement with accession synchronisms and is clearly a
secondary alteration, which may have originated as a scribal error
240
(see p. 129). The same chronology could also have existed in LXX
manuscripts which added 40 years to the period from the exodus to
the foundation of the temple by adopting MT's figure of 480 years
for this period, although this is not true of existing Lucianic
manuscripts which read '480 years', since these require a 435-year
total for the duration of the first temple, with Rehoboam's 12-year
reign (iK 12.243) increased to 17 years in line with i Kings 14.21.
The two main features which distinguish LXX's chronology
from the chronologies of MT and SP are that it has consistently
adopted higher ages of begetting for the pre-Abrahamic period,
and that it also gains an additional 130 years by inserting an extra
postdiluvian ancestor (Kenan II) and assigning him the same ages
as Shelah. In most cases the higher age of begetting is 100 years
greater than the corresponding low figure, but this is reduced to a
5O-year difference in the case of Nahor, and increased to a 135-year
difference in the case of Lamech. I argued earlier that the 135-year
increase in Lamech's age of begetting represents a secondary
alteration of an original loo-year increase (see p. 15). If we
disregard this secondary addition of 35 years to Lamech's figure,
the consequence of adding 100 years to fifteen pre-Abrahamic ages
of begetting from Adam to Lamech and from Arpachshad to Serug
(Noah's and Shem's ages are unvarying), with a further 50 years
for Nahor and 130 years for Kenan II, is to increase the original
Priestly chronology by 1680 years. This produces the chronological scheme shown in the following table (the original Priestly
totals are given in brackets).
Flood
Abraham
Entry into Egypt
Exodus
2209/7 AM
3279AM
3 5 69 AM
4000 AM
4479AM
4909 AM
(! 309/7 AM)
(1599 AM)
(18 89 AM)
(2320 AM)
(2799AM)
(3229AM)
The most interesting feature of this chronology may be seen in the

fact that the exodus is dated to 4000 AM. This gives the exodus, and
the events of Sinai, a much greater degree of chronological
significance than in the original Priestly chronology: in the original
chronology the exodus was dated 720 years after the birth of
Abraham in 1599 AM and 480 years before the foundation of the
From P to Ussher
241
temple in 2799 AM, whereas in this chronology the exodus is the

key event to which all other events are related. This is a significant
ideological shift, which may be seen as a deliberate correction of
the original Priestly ideology.
This revised version of Priestly chronology should be regarded
as the ancestor of LXX chronology. It was this which resulted in
the transmission of two distinct chronological traditions giving
shorter and longer chronologies for the period from Adam to
Abraham. Both traditions are also reflected in MT and SP to some
degree. It should be noted, however, that MT's figure for
Lamech's age of begetting (126 years higher than the original
Priestly figure) appears to be derived from the LXX figure
(increased by 135 years) rather than the earlier, loo-year higher
figure (see above, p. 15). If this assessment is correct, it follows
that the original LXX chronology was probably created within the
Hebrew textual tradition which lies behind the Septuagint
translation, rather than being an innovation of the Septuagint
translators.
6.2 Postbiblical ch ronologies

6.2.1 Jewish chronologies
6.2.1.1 Demetrius
Some of the chronological calculations of the Hellenistic Jewish
historian Demetrius have been discussed already (see above, pp.
235-7, and p.35f.). Demetrius wrote in Greek during the reign of
Ptolemy IV (222-205 BC). In fragment 2, Demetrius calculates a
period of 3624 years from creation to the entry into Egypt, and
1360 years from the flood to this event (Demetrius 2.18), which
was followed by a period of 215 years spent in Egypt (Demetrius
2.19). This last total agrees with LXX chronology, as does the
I36o-year interval from the flood to the entry into Egypt. On the
other hand, the 3624-year interval from creation to the entry into
Egypt is 20 years higher than the original LXX total, and
presupposes a figure of 187 years (as in MT) rather than 167 years
for Methuselah's age of begetting.
If Demetrius's original chronology incorporated 187 years for
242
Methuselah's age of begetting, this could have implications affecting the date of MT's chronology. For if Demetrius borrowed this
figure from the chronology found in MT, that chronology would
necessarily have to be earlier than the Maccabean date suggested
above. Alternatively, MT and Demetrius may be drawing on an
independent chronological tradition. There is also a third possibility: '187 years' is found as a secondary reading in a number of
LXX manuscripts, and it is possible that Demetrius's chronology
was corrected to agree with this later version of LXX chronology.
Demetrius's chronology of the period after the exodus is not
preserved in existing fragments. However, indirect evidence of
Demetrius's chronology for this period may possibly be found in a
comment by Clement of Alexandria (Stromata 1.113), who noted
that some authorities allowed a period of 595 years from the death
of Moses to the accession of Solomon, whereas others allowed 576
years (Clement himself prefers 523 years and seven months).
Elsewhere, Clement contrasts Demetrius's chronology with the
chronologies of Philo the Elder and Eupolemus. Wacholder
(1974:63-4) has inferred from this that the totals given in Stromata
1.113 are
are taken from the chronologies of Demetrius on the one
hand, and Eupolemus and Philo the Elder on the other. If we add
40 years in the wilderness to the first total, and then add the first
four years of Solomon's reign (to the foundation of the temple), the
number of years from the exodus to the foundation of the temple is
639 years, which should possibly be increased to 639 years and six
months by allowing an extra six months for David's reign (cf. 2
Samuel 5-5).8 This is 200 years higher than LXX's figure of 440
years from the exodus to the temple, and may be regarded as a
correction to the LXX figure which was designed to allow
sufficient time for the chronological periods specified in Judges
and Samuel.
6.2.1.2 Eupolemus
Eupolemus was a Palestinian Jewish historian who wrote in Greek
in the middle of the second century BC. In one of the surviving
fragments of his work (fragment 5) he is said to have calculated a
period of 5149 years from creation to the 5th year of the reign of
8. Josephus's figures for this period total 591 years and six months (see appendix
B), which Josephus rounds up to 592 years (Ant 8.61).
From P to Ussher
243
'Demetrius'which is synchronized with the I2th year of 'Ptolemy

of Egypt'and 2580 years from the exodus to the same date; the
second figure is almost certainly a scribal error for *i58o years.
The identity of the Seleucid ruler Demetrius to whom
Eupolemus refers is disputed by scholars. Earlier scholars identified him with Demetrius II (145-140 BC), but modern scholars
favour Demetrius I (162-150 BC) because this fits the Ptolemaic
synchronism better (Wacholder 1974:41). However, the grounds
for this identification are now weakened by the fact that Wacholder
(following Gutschmid) has shown that the synchronism with
Ptolemaic chronology was inserted by a later editor, who also
inserted a note which continued the chronology for 120 years after
Eupolemus's date. This editor clearly identified Demetrius with
Demetrius I, but this identification should not automatically be
accepted as being correct.
Eupolemus's chronology for the period from creation to the
exodus apparently differed from all other surviving chronologies.
5149 minus *i58o brings us to 3569 AM (or 3570 AM) for the date of
the exodus, which is 250 years lower than LXX's date for this
event (3819 AM) and 903 years higher than MT's date (2666 AM).
What is more interesting is the fact that 1580 is clearly a schematic
figure. If we now return to the second of Clement of Alexandria's
totals for the period from the death of Moses to the accession of
Solomon, which was probably derived from Eupolemus's chronology (see above, p. 242), it can be seen that this fits neatly into a
i58o-year period. 576 years from the death of Moses to the
accession of Solomon, plus 40 years in the wilderness, plus 4 years
of Solomon's reign,9 adds up to 620 years for the period from the
exodus to the foundation of the temple, leaving 960 years from the
foundation of the temple to the 5th year of Demetrius's reign. Now
960 years divides equally into two periods of 480 years, of which
the first 480 years are accounted for by the period between the
foundation of the first temple and foundation of the second
9. Fragment 2b of Eupolemus's history states that Solomon became king when
he was 12 years old and began work on the temple when he was 13 years old, which
appears to contradict the Biblical statement that the temple was founded in the 4th
year of Solomon's reign. In fact, however, Eupolemus's chronology is in agreement
with LXX's account of the foundation of the temple, which states that the task of
preparing stones and timbers for the temple had been underway for 3 years before
the temple was actually founded in Solomon's 4th year (iK 5.27-6.1, LXX).
244
temple.10 So Eupolemus calculated a round schematic figure of

480 years from the foundation of the second temple to the 5th year
of Demetrius, exactly mirroring the 48o-year period from the
foundation of the first temple to the foundation of the second
temple.
Why did he do this? The only reasonable explanation is that the
5th year of Demetrius was marked by an event which Eupolemus
considered to be comparable in its significance to the foundation of
the first and second temples. One would be hard pressed to find an
event in the 5th year of Demetrius 1(158 BC) which could fit this
description. On the other hand, the 5th year of Demetrius II (141
BC) witnessed the Maccabean liberation of Jerusalem (through the
expulsion of the Seleucid garrison) and the emergence of an
independent Jewish state with Simon (brother of Judas Maccabaeus) as high priest.11 Eupolemus is known to have had close
Maccabean associations, since he is normally identified with
'Eupolemus the son of John, son of Accos' whom Judas Maccabaeus sent to Rome as part of a mission 'to establish friendship and
alliance, and to free themselves from the yoke' (iM 8.1718).
6.2.1.3 Jubilees
The book of Jubilees (written in about the middle of the second
century BC) contains a distinctive jubilee chronology in which
dates are expressed in years, weeks of years, and jubilees (weeks of
weeks of years) from the world's creation. The overall chronology
is overtly schematic, with the interval from creation to the
settlement in Canaan being an exact total of fifty jubilees, or 2450
years (Jub 50.4). Jubilees' original chronology for the antediluvian period was apparently identical with the original Priestly
10. This 48o-year period is part of the original Priestly chronology, and is also
preserved by later Jewish chronological tradition in Seder Olam Rabba. See below,
p.256.
11. Cf. I Maccabees 13.50-52: 'Then (the garrison) cried to Simon to make
peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the
citadel from its pollutions. On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one
hundred and seventy-first year [of the Seleucid era, = 141 BC], the Jews entered it
with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed
instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed
and removed from Israel. And Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate
this day with rejoicing.'
From P to Ussher
245
chronology, but its present antediluvian chronology has been

modified to bring it closer to SP's chronology (see pp. 22-6).
The postdiluvian chronology of Jubilees contains large numbers of discrepancies, and has probably been worked over by
several different editors. For example, Jubilees 11.15 dates the
birth of Abraham to 1876 AM, and this agrees with the date given
by Jubilees 12.12 for Abraham's 6oth year (1936 AM). But it fails to
agree with dates which are given for Abraham's migration (1953
AM: Jub I2.28f.), the birth of Ishmael (1965 AM: Jub 14.24), the
birth of Isaac (1987 AM: Jub 16.15), and Abraham's death (2057 AM
according to Jubilees 21.if., or 2109 AM according to Jubilees
22.1 ).12 However, these discrepancies do not affect the overall
scheme of 50 jubilees from creation to the settlement.
There are two other points that may be made with regard to the
chronology of Jubilees. Firstly, Jubilees includes the extra postdiluvian ancestor (Kenan II) found in LXX's chronology. Secondly, the postdiluvian ages of begetting which are implied by
Jubilees' chronology are higher than the original Priestly figures
(given by MT), but lower than the increased ages of begetting
found in SP and LXX: on average, Jubilees' implied ages are 30
years higher than MT's figures. The inclusion of Kenan II is
significant, since it strengthens the case for thinking that Kenan II
existed in Hebrew texts of Genesis before the Septuagint translation was produced (see p.24of.): Jubilees was almost certainly
written in Hebrew, and Hebrew fragments have been found at
Qumran.
6.2.1.4 Josephus
Chronological data from Josephus has been used in previous
chapters to reconstruct earlier forms of Biblical chronologies
where the Biblical evidence appeared to be incomplete or defective. Josephus's two main works, the Jewish War and the Antiquities
of the Jews (written during the last decades of the first century AD),
provide a wealth of chronological information which draws on
Biblical and non-Biblical traditions. Besides giving lifespans and
12. It is true that Jubilees does not state how old Abraham was when he left
Haran, but we are told Abraham's age at the births of Ishmael and Isaac (86 years
and too years: Jub 14.24; 15.17), and his age when he died (175 years: Jub 21.2),
and these agree with Biblical figures.
246
reign lengths (etc.) which resemble Biblical notices, but sometimes

contain divergent figures, Josephus also punctuates his narratives
with chronological summaries stating year totals for extended
periods such as the durations of the northern and southern
tne
kingdoms (Ant 9.280; 10.143) or
or the interval from the foundation
of the temple to its destruction by Titus (War 6.269). In some
cases these summaries were evidently calculated by Josephus from
chronological data in his own narrative: for example Josephus's
chronological notices for the period from the exodus to the temple
add up to 591 years and six months (see appendix B), and Josephus
gives the total duration of this period as 592 years (Ant 8.61).
Significantly, this total takes no account of the duration of Abdon's
period of rule, which is not stated in Josephus's narrative.
In other cases, chronological totals may have been taken over
from Josephus's sources. For example, Jewish War 6.269 states
that the period from the foundation of the temple to its destruction
by Titus was 1130 years, and the period from the rebuilding of the
temple in Cyrus's second year to its destruction by Titus was 639
years. The period from the foundation of the temple to its
destruction by Titus therefore breaks down into a period of 491
years to the foundation of the second temple plus 639 years to its
destruction. Now 491 years is one year greater than a schematic
total of 490 years, and 639 years is a year short of a round total of
640 years, which makes it appear as if Josephus has disguised an
originally schematic chronology by redividing it into two nonschematic periods. Alternatively, the original chronology may have
specified a 49O-year period from the foundation of the temple to
the return from exile (in Cyrus's first year) followed by 640 years
from the return to the destruction of the second temple. Either
way, it is unlikely that Josephus would have created a schematic
chronology which he then went on to conceal, so a more probable
explanation is that he took over and adapted these totals from one
of his sources.
Josephus's use of sources may also account for the existence of
major discrepancies between different chronological statements.
We have seen that in Antiquities 8.61 Josephus calculates an
interval of 592 years from the exodus to the foundation of the
temple. Elsewhere, however, Josephus allows 612 years for the
period from the exodus to the temple (Ant 20.230; Ap 2.19).
Similar discrepancies occur in other places: Saul is said to have
From P to Ussher
247
reigned for 40 years in Antiquities 6.378, but in Antiquities 10.143

his reign is given as 20 years. There are various ways in which
these discrepancies may be explained,13 but the most straightforward explanation may be that Josephus had access to various
conflicting sources of chronological information, and did not
always take care to check that his calculations for a particular
period agreed with calculations that he had stated elsewhere. One
should also allow for the possibility that Josephus may have
changed his mind in certain cases. It is worth noting that
chronological discrepancies of this type do not normally occur
within the space of a single book (this contrasts with the situation
in Kings or Jubilees, where chronological discrepancies occur
within the space of a few chapters or verses): Josephus's longest
work (the Antiquities) spans twenty books and was presumably
written over an extended period of time.
Josephus gives three different chronologies for the period from
creation to the exodus. The first of these is found in books i and 2
of the Antiquities (1.80-88, 148-154; 2.318-319), and is similar to
LXX chronology. According to Antiquities 1.82, there were 2262
years from Adam to the flood, which is identical to the figure given
in LXX manuscripts which have borrowed MT's figure for
Methuselah's age of begetting (187 years).14 Josephus's figures for
antediluvian ages of begetting and total lifespans are shown in the
following table.
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
230 + (700)
205+ (707)
190+ (715)
170+ (740)
165+ (730)
162 + (800)
165 + (200)
187 +(782)
188+ (519)
= 930
912
= 905
= 910
= 895
= 962
= 365
= 969
= 707
600+350 = 950
13. Von Destinon (1880) argues that Josephus's chronology has suffered from
scribal and editorial corruptions, and was originally consistent.
14. 2262 years is the total found in the best manuscript of the Antiquities at this
point (R), but other manuscripts (SPL) have 2656 years, which seems to be partially
assimilated to MT's total and does not agree with Josephus's figures for
antediluvian ages of begetting. SeeNiese i88s-95:i:xxxv and Thackeray 1930:38.
248
Apart from the fact that Josephus agrees with the secondary LXX
figure for Methuselah's age of begetting, the only other case of
disagreement between Josephus and LXX chronology concerns
Lamech's total lifespan, where Josephus's figure of 707 years is
reminiscent of MT's figure of 777 years (the LXX figure is 753
years).
Josephus's postdiluvian chronology in Antiquities 1.148-154 is
similar but not identical to LXX chronology. The stated total of
992 years (Ant I.I48)15 is actually 80 years less than LXX's figure;
this is because Josephus does not include Kenan II, who
contributes 130 years to LXX's chronology, but adds an extra *5O
years to Nahor's age of begetting.16 Josephus's ages of begetting
for this period are shown in the following table.
years from flood
Arpachshad
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
12
135
130
134
130
130
132
120
70
One significant point about these figures is that they actually add
up to 993 years, which is one year higher than Josephus's stated
total. This discrepancy is almost certainly to be attributed to the
fact that Nahor's age of begetting has been accidentally reduced
from *I29 by scribal omission of the original units. Nahor's
original figure was therefore 100 years higher than MT's figure,
15. This is the figure found in manuscripts R and O; other manuscripts (SPL)
have 292 years at this point, which disagrees with Josephus's individual figures and
is evidently assimilated to MT's total (the same manuscripts have partially
assimilated Josephus's antediluvian total to MT's total). See Thackeray 1930:7273, and contrast Wacholder 1968:452^, who follows von Destinon in arguing that
292 is the original figure. Wacholder's position is curious, since he accepts R's
figure of 2262 years for the antediluvian period, but criticizes Niese for following
RO in Antiquities 1.148-154. Von Destinon, by contrast, argued that Josephus's
entire chronology for the pre-Abrahamic period was originally identical with MT's
chronology, thereby harmonizing the chronology of Antiquities i with chronological data in Antiquities 10.147 (discussed below).
16. The figure found in existing manuscripts (120 years) is 41 years higher than
LXX's figure, but this is almost certainly a scribal error for '129' (see below).
From P to Ussher
249
which is also the case with other postdiluvian ages of begetting,

except that the units in Reu's and Serug's ages of begetting are
switched around in Josephus's chronology. This also explains
another curious feature of Josephus's postdiluvian chronology,
which is the 12-year interval between the flood and the birth of
Arpachshad (MT, SP, and LXX have 2 years at this point): this is
probably a scribal correction of '2 years', which was intended to
compensate for the loss of 9 years from Nahor's age of begetting.
Josephus's postdiluvian chronology continues with a statement
that Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran (Ant 1.154),
and is later taken up with a statement that the exodus occurred 430
years after Abraham's migration to Canaan, which was also 215
years after the entry into Egypt (Ant 2.318). This is identical with
LXX's chronology for this period. Josephus's overall chronology
in the first two books of the Antiquities is given in the following
table.
Flood
Abraham
2262 AM
3254 AM
Entry into Egypt

Exodus
3544 AM
3759 AM
A quite different chronology for this period is to be found in

Antiquities 8.61-62. This gives the numbers of years which elapsed
from the exodus, from Abraham's migration, from the flood, and
from creation to the foundation of the temple. The stated figures
are as follows: 592 years from the exodus to the foundation of the
temple, 1020 years from Abraham's migration to the foundation of
the temple, 1440 years from the flood, and 3102 years from
creation. This produces the following chronology for the period
from creation to the exodus.
Flood
1662 AM
Abraham's migration
Exodus
2082 AM
2510 AM
The interval from creation to the flood is 6 years greater than

MT's total for this period, which is most easily explained if we
suppose that this chronology presupposes LXX's figure for
Lamech's age of begetting (188 years as against 182 years in MT),
250
but otherwise follows MT's antediluvian chronology. From the

flood to Abraham's migration there are 420 years, which is 55 years
more than in MT's chronology,17 and from Abraham's migration
to the exodus there are 428 years, which contrasts with 645 years in
MT and 430 years in LXX. The interval from creation to the
exodus is 100 years greater than in Jubilees' chronology.
A third chronology is found in Antiquities 10.147, which states
the number of years from the foundation of the temple to its
destruction, and the number of years from the exodus, from the
flood, and from creation, to the same event. The figures are: 470
years from the foundation of the temple to its destruction, 1062
years from the exodus to this event, 1957 years from the flood, and
3513 (variant: 4513) years from creation. This gives the following
chronology for the period from creation to the exodus.
Flood
1556 AM
Exodus
2451 AM
This produces a date for the exodus which is identical to MT's

chronology if one reduces the period in Egypt from 430 years to
215 years in accordance with the exegetical tradition that the 430
years of Exodus 12.40 were to be counted from Abraham's entry
into Canaan. Curiously, however, the date for the flood is 100
years less than in MT's chronology, while the interval from the
flood to the exodus is 100 years greater than in MT's chronology
(with a 215-year reduction to the period in Egypt). The simplest
way of explaining this is to suppose that the figure of 1957 years
from the flood to the destruction of the temple is a scribal
corruption of * 1857 years.
6.2.1.5 Pseudo-Philo
Pseudo-Philo's Book of Biblical Antiquities (Liber Antiquitatum
BiblicarunT) was probably written in Hebrew towards the end of
the first century AD, and survives in Latin translation. It contains
various items of chronological data, including a set of antediluvian
figures which resemble figures from the Septuagint (LAB 1.1-22;
5.8). These are shown in the following table.
17. This possibly reflects the addition of Kenan II: Jubilees' chronology allows
57 years from the birth of Kenan II to the birth of Shelah (Jub 8.1,5).
From P to Ussher
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
251
(230) + 700 = (930)

105 4- 707 = (812)
180 +715 - (895)
520 + 730 = (1250)
165 + 730 = (895)
172 + 800 = (972)
165 + 200 = (365)
187 +782 = (969)
182 + 585 = (767)
300
600+350 =950
Numbers which are shown in brackets are not stated in the text;
Adam's age of begetting is inferred to be 230 (as in LXX) from the
fact that the number of his remaining years agrees with the LXX
figure (MT has 130 + 800 at this point).
For the most part, this chronology agrees with LXX chronology
in giving ages of begetting which are 100 years or so higher than
the ages of begetting found in SP. But there are three striking
anomalies. Firstly, Seth's age of begetting is the same as SP's and
MT's figure, which is 100 years less than the figure found in LXX.
Secondly, Kenan's age of begetting is 350 years higher than the
LXX figure. And thirdly, Noah's age of begetting is 200 years
lower than the figure found in MT, SP, and LXX. The difference
in Noah's age of begetting is curious (and hard to explain), but
Kenan's age of begetting is probably a scribal error for '170 years'
(reading 'CLXX' for 'DXX'), and Seth's age of begetting may also
be an error for '205 years' (reading 'CCV for 'CV').18 There are
also two other cases where the figures given by Pseudo-Philo are
unmatched by Biblical figures, but these differences have the effect
of cancelling each other out: Enosh's age of begetting is 10 years
lower than the LXX figure, while Jared's age of begetting is 10
years higher than in LXX.
If these corrections to Seth's and Kenan's ages of begetting are
adopted, Pseudo-Philo's chronology for the antediluvian period is
14 years longer than LXX's chronology (the flood occurs in 2256
AM). This is because LAB incorporates two of MT's figures:
Methuselah's age of begetting is 187 years (167 years in LXX), and
Lantech's age of begetting is 182 years (188 years in LXX).
18. Cohn 1898:281.
252
However, according to LAB 3.6, the flood occurred 1652 years

after creation, which is 590 years less than LXX's original total,
and 4 years less than MT's figure. So how can we explain this
discrepancy? One possibility is that 3.6 is a secondary addition to
the text (Harrington et al. 1976:11:87-88), but it is also possible
that 3.6 contains the original total, and that the chronology in
chapter i has been modified to agree with Septuagint chronology
(Cohni898:282).
There are some indications which appear to favour this second
alternative. Firstly, although Pseudo-Philo does not give a full set
of chronological figures for postdiluvian ancestors from Shem to
Abraham, those figures which are given are closer to MT's figures
than to LXX's (LAB 4.12-15). These are shown in the following
table.
Reu
Serug
+119
29 + 67
Nahor
Terah
34 + 200
70
LAB's figures differ from those of MT and LXX (and some of

them look as if they are assigned to the wrong person: Serug lives
30 + 200 years in MT, and Nahor lives for 29+119 years), but
Serug's age of begetting is 101 years less than in LXX, and
Nahor's age of begetting is 45 years less than the LXX figure. The
fact that LAB resembles MT's chronology more closely than
LXX's chronology at this point may therefore suggest that its
antediluvian chronology would also have been closer to MT's
chronology, but was later altered. The fact that LAB's postdiluvian chronology was not altered in this way could then be
explained by supposing that an editor who modified LAB's
antediluvian chronology did not trouble to alter LAB's postdiluvian figures because LAB does not contain a complete
chronology of the postdiluvian period.
Pseudo-Philo's chronology of the patriarchal period is identical
to the chronology found in Seder Olam Rabba, which is based on
the Masoretic Text:19 the Israelites are in Egypt for 210 years
(LAB 8.14), and the 35O-year period from God's promise to
Abraham to the birth of Moses (LAB 9.3) presupposes a 43O-year
19. The chronology of Seder Olam Rabba is discussed below on p. 255 f.
From P to Ussher
253
period from God's promise to the exodus, since Moses was 80

years old when this happened (LAB 9.3 also mentions a i3O-year
period from the start of the Egyptian period to the birth of Moses,
which is 80 years less than the total period in Egypt).
LAB 10.7 and 19.5 follow standard Biblical tradition in
allowing 40 years for the wilderness period, and Pseudo-Philo
gives various items of chronological data for the period of the
judges, but he also omits items which would allow one to construct
a continuous chronology for this period. One interesting piece of
chronological information is revealed to Moses shortly before his
death. In LAB 19.7 God says to Moses, 'I will show you the place
where they will serve me for 740 years. And after this it will given
into the hands of their enemies, and they will destroy it, and
foreigners will surround it.' It is usually thought that this refers to
the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadrezzar (although
some scholars also argue that the calendar date given in the same
versethe i7th day of the 4th monthis derived from a date
which was associated with the siege of the second temple).20 But 740
years is a far longer period than any other chronology allows for the
duration of the first temple, and it is therefore more natural to
suppose that this figure represents the combined durations of the
first and second temples. However, this creates an opposite
problem, since 740 years is rather a short interval for the period
from the foundation of the first temple to the destruction of the
second temple: Seder Olam Rabba allows 410 years for the duration
of the first temple, 70 years destruction, and 420 years for the
duration of the second temple, giving an overall total of 900 years.
There are various possible solutions to this problem. If 740 is
the correct figure, it is easier to suppose that Pseudo-Philo
assumed a comparatively short period for the duration of the
second temple than that he added over 300 years to the Biblical
total for the period of the first temple. But it is also possible that
740 is not the correct figure. Cohn (1898:327) suggested that 740
(DCCXL) was to be emended to 850 (DCCCL), since this agrees
with Seder Olam Rabba's chronology for the period from the
settlement to the Nebuchadrezzar's destruction of the first temple.
Cohn's suggestion assumes that the 'place where they will serve
me' is the land of Israel rather than the temple, whereas the
20. See Cohn 1898:327; this is denied by Harrington etal. 1976:11:67-70.
254
passage clearly describes the destruction of a city or building; but if

DCCXL (740) can be emended to DCCCL (850), one might also
consider adopting DCCCC (900) as the original reading.
This suggestion may or may not be correct, but if it is correct, it
would imply that Pseudo-Philo's overall chronology was similar to
the chronology of Seder Olam Rabba. According to this chronology, the second temple was destroyed in 3828 AM. This is
interesting for the following reason. LAB 28.8 gives the total
duration of the present world as either 4000 years (according to one
family of manuscripts) or 7000 years (according to another family),
and the most recent edition of LAB (Harrington et al. 1976: II:
163-164) argues that 4000 years is the correct reading. It is
probably easier to suppose that 4000 years was changed to 7000
years than to suppose that the reverse happened. The idea that the
world would last for 7000 years became the dominant view of
Christian interpretations of Biblical chronology (which were based
on Septuagint figures),21 but is much less strongly attested in
Jewish writings. It is found in the long recension of 2 Enoch
(33.1-2), and there is also a reference to 7000 'ages' in recension B
of the Testament of Abraham (7.16). By contrast, the Testament of
Moses dates the death of Moses to 2500 AM (TMos 1.2), and
calculates 250 'times' (weeks of years) from the death of Moses to
the Messiah (10.12), making a total of 4250 (2500+1750) years
from creation to the Messiah. And according to the Babylonian
Talmud (T. b. Abodah Zarah 93; T. b. Sanhedrin 97b), the 'school
of Elijah' reckoned 4000 years from creation to the Messiah and a
further 2000 years for the Messianic age.
There is one final complication to this discussion. According to
LAB 19.15, God replies to Moses's request for information on the
duration of the world by saying 'Four and a half have passed and
two and a half remain'. If this is a cryptic reference to a 7oco-year
era (the unspecified units of time are millennia), it could be argued
that '7000 years' is the original reading in LAB 28.8. But there is a
serious problem with this interpretation, because no other ancient
writer dated the death of Moses as late as 4500 years after creation
(on LXX's chronology Moses died in 3859 AM). Moses's death was
most commonly dated in the middle of the third millennium from
creationin 2500 AM according to the Testament of Moses, 2450
21. Seep.258f.
From P to Ussher
255
AM according to Jubilees, or 2488 AM according to the chronology

of Seder Olam Rabba. However, there is no unit of time which can
be multiplied by 4^ to give a result which is close to 2500 (4^
sevenths of 4000 is 2571^, but why would Pseudo-Philo have used
units of 571\ years?).
In my view, LAB 19.15 does presuppose a yooo-year era, but
this does not necessarily prove that '7000 years' is the original
reading in LAB 28.8. The manuscript variation between '4000'
and '7000' in LAB 28.8, and the discrepancy between the
antediluvian figures of LAB i and the antediluvian total of LAB
3.6, are evidence of two competing chronologies: a short (original?)
chronology which resembles Seder Olam Rabba's interpretation of
MT's chronology, and a longer chronology which is similar to
Christian interpretations of LXX chronology. The 4^ + 2^ scheme
of LABb 19.15 agrees with this longer (secondary?) chronology,
except that it suggests an unusually high date for Moses's death.
6.2.1.6 Seder Olam Rabba
Seder Olam Rabba, traditionally ascribed to Jose ben Halaphta
(2nd century AD), is a rabbinic tractate which is devoted to the
subject of Jewish chronology from the time of creation to the end
of the Biblical period and beyond. Twenty-nine chapters are
devoted to the subject of Biblical chronology, and a final chapter
sketches Jewish chronology from the end of the Biblical period to
the destruction of the second temple. This chronology also forms
the basis of the Jewish world era, in which dates are stated in years
from creation, and year i corresponds to 3761 BC.
Seder Olam Rabba's account of Biblical chronology combines an
interest in midrashic expansionadding details such as the
calendar date on which Moses broke the tablets of the lawwith a
concern for chronological harmonization which is continued by
many modern Biblical scholars. One point of interest is that Seder
Olam Rabba interprets the 43O-year period of Exodus 12.40 as
applying to the period spent in Canaan and Egypt (SOR i), despite
the fact that MT (in contrast to SP and LXX) makes no reference
to Canaan, and gives this as the duration of Israel's period in
Egypt. The finer details of this chronology (SOR i, 3) are as
follows. The 43O-year period of Exodus 12.40 incorporates the
4OO-year period mentioned in Genesis 15.13. This second period is
256
counted from the birth of Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old.
According to figures given in Genesis, Isaac was 60 years old when
Jacob was born, and Jacob was 130 years old when he entered
Egypt, which leaves 210 years for the period in Egypt. (This period
of 210 years is also equated with Job's lifespan, which is inferred
from Job 42.16, 'after this Job lived 140 years', and Job 42.10, 'and
the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had previously [70 years]').
This leaves an obvious difficulty: if the 4OO-year period of Genesis
15.13 began in Abraham's looth year, the 43O-year period of
Exodus 12.40 must be dated from Abraham's yoth year, which is 5
years before Abraham left Haran for Canaan (according to Genesis
12.4 Abraham was 75 when he left Haran). Seder Olam Rabba
confronts this problem with impeccable logic: Abraham left Haran
for an initial visit to Canaan when he was 70 years old, and then
returned to Haran for 5 years before migrating to Canaan in his
75th year!
Within the monarchic period, Seder Olam Rabba reduces the
interval from the foundation of the first temple to its destruction
from 430 years (MT) to 410 years (SOR 28), thereby removing a
2O-year surplus in Judean chronology for the period from the
division of the kingdom to the fall of Samaria (in MT there are 261
Judean years but only 241 Israelite years for this period).22 Despite
this 2O-year reduction in the duration of the first temple, the
interval between the foundation of the first temple and the
foundation of the second temple is 480 years (as in the original
Priestly chronology): Seder Olam Rabba 28 counts 410 years for
the duration of the first temple and 70 years from the first temple's
destruction to the foundation of the second temple.
Seder Olam Rabba's outline of postexilic chronology is overtly
schematic, being fitted into an overall scheme of 490 years from the
destruction of the first temple to the destruction of the second
temple. This is derived from Daniel's prophecy of seventy weeks
of years (SOR 28). Chapter 30 divides the overall period of 490
years into five smaller periods:
22. This is effected by having a 7-year overlap between Jehoshaphat and
Jehoram and a I5~year overlap between Amaziah and Uzziah (SOR 17; 19. See
pp. 100 and 105). This removes 22 years from MT's total, but an extra year is
added by counting inclusively from Solomon's 4th year, and another year may have
been obtained by adding together the 3-month reign lengths of Jehoahaz and
Jehoiachin and then rounding up the 6-month total to a whole year.
From P to Ussher
257
1. 70 years from the destruction of the first temple to the

foundation of the second temple; this is further divided
into 52 years of exile and 18 years from the return to the
foundation of the second temple (SOR 29).
2. 34 years of the Persian kingdom after the foundation of the
second temple (giving 52 years for the entire duration of
the Persian empire).
3. 180 years for the kingdom of Greece.
4. 103 years for the Hasmonean kingdom.
5. 103 years for the 'kingdom of Herod'.
The historical absurdity of Seder Olam Rabba's 52-year period
for the duration of the Persian empire (which actually lasted for
over two centuries) has been noted by other scholars, but the
significant point in this is that '52 years' is an inherently schematic
number (see page 37n.), which is used here as part of a larger
schematic total. Within this total, the 52 years of the Persian
kingdom follow 52 years of Babylonian exile, and this symmetry is
repeated with 103 years of the kingdom of Herod following 103
years of the Hasmonean kingdom. Another element of chronological schematism is to be seen in the fact that Nebuchadrezzar is
ascribed a reign of 45 years (SOR 28: he actually reigned for 43
years), which breaks down into 19 years preceding the destruction
of the temple (2K 25.8) and 26 years after the destruction of the
temple; the 52 years of Babylonian exile are thus equally divided
into 26 years under Nebuchadrezzar and 26 years under his
successors. To round matters off, there are 18 years from the time
that Judah came under Babylonian dominion to the Babylonian
exile,23 making a total of 70 years from the start of Babylonian
dominion to the end of the exile (SOR 28; compare Jeremiah
25.n;29.io).
6.2.2 Christian chronologies
6.2.2.1 The New Testament

The apostle Paul appears to have had a minor interest in matters of
Biblical chronology. In Acts 13.19-21, Paul gives a chronological
23. This happened in Nebuchadrezzar's 2nd year according to SOR 24, and
there are 18 years (counting inclusively) from this year to Nebuchadrezzar's igth
year.
258
summary of events from the exodus to the time of David. This

comprises 40 years in the wilderness, followed by 450 years from
the settlement to the time of Samuel, and another 4o-year period
for the reign of Saul. The combination of 450 and 40 years is
interesting in view of the significance attached to 49O-year periods
in Daniel and elsewhere; in Paul's chronology there are 490 years
from the exodus to the reign of Saul, and the same number of years
from the settlement to the reign of David.
In a second passage (Galatians 3.17), Paul states that the Mosaic
law was introduced 430 years after God's promise to Abraham.
This agrees with Septuagint and Samaritan chronology, but is in
conflict with (a natural interpretation of) MT's chronology for this
period. However, one cannot infer that Paul was necessarily
following Septuagint (or Samaritan) chronology at this point, since
rabbinic exegesis (in Seder Olam Rabba and elsewhere) calculated
the same number of years from Masoretic evidence. It may be
noted that this figure, whatever its origin, adds on to the 53O-year
total of Acts 13 to give 960 (2 x 480) years from Abraham's
migration to the reign of David.
6.2.2.2 Eastern Christianity
Early Christian interpretations of Biblical chronology after the ist
century AD were strongly influenced by the belief that the history
of the world would last for six millennia corresponding to the six
days of the world's creation, and that this would be followed by a
seventh sabbatical millennium paralleling the day on which God
rested from his creation (compare the eschatological millennium in
Revelation 20.2, which possibly derives from an early formulation
of this scheme, and certainly influenced its later development).24
One result of this analogy between the creation of the world and its
subsequent history was that the birth of Christ was normally dated
to the sixth millennium of world history, because Adam, who
prefigured Christ (according to Christian doctrine), was created on
the sixth day of the world's creation. Since this belief agreed rather
well with the chronological data of the Septuagint, the earliest
24. Epistle of Barnabas 15.4-5; Irenaeus, Contra Haereses V:28.2~4; John
Malalas, Chronographia X; Hippolytus, In Danielem IV124. The following survey
of patristic and mediaeval Christian chronologies is based on studies by A. D. v. den
Brincken (19573,195?b) and V. Grumel (1958).
From P to Ussher
259
Christian fathers were agreed that the birth of Christ could be

dated more or less exactly in the middle of the sixth millennium.
Theophilus of Antioch, writing in or soon after 180 AD, calculated a
period of 5698 years from the death of Adam to the death of
Marcus Aurelius in that year (Ad Autolycum 3.28), and Clement of
Alexandria (born c. 150 AD) calculated 5784 years from Adam to
the death of Emperor Commodus in 192 AD (Stromata 1.2). Julius
Africanus (c. 164 to 240), who wrote an influential world chronicle
synthesizing Biblical and non-Biblical history, calculated that
there were exactly 5500 years to the birth of Christ (he also
calculated 3000 yearshalf of 6000 yearsto the death of Peleg,
whose name means 'half or 'division').
Various motivations underlie early Christian interest in chronology. One of these was apologetic: Christian writers sought to
reject the accusation that Christianity was a recent superstition by
claiming that Christianity was the legitimate continuation of
Jewish religion, and by using Biblical chronology to prove that
Moses and the prophets antedated Greek writers and philosophers
by several centuries. But their interest in chronological schematism shows that they also used chronology to express their belief
that history manifested a divine purpose which could be traced
from creation to the end of the present era. This belief had one
further consequence. If one could calculate how long ago the world
had been created, and if it was agreed that the present era was to
last for six millennia, one could presumably also calculate the date
at which the present era would end. Actually, most Christian
writers were careful to avoid offering explicit calculations on this
point (which might contravene New Testament passages such as
Mark 13.32 or Acts 1.7); and they also took care to leave a
respectable interval between their own time and the year 6000,
which presumably helped to discourage popular expectations of an
immediate eschaton.
6.2.2.3. Eusebius
The most important Christian chronographer after Julius Africanus was Eusebius (c. 260-340 AD), who produced a synchronistic
chronicle of world history to his own time, in which the events of
different nations were arranged in parallel columns and dated in
260
years from the birth of Abraham.25 In the first book of his

Chronicle Eusebius also offers a general discussion of the chronologies of each nation: the section on Hebrew chronology discusses
chronological differences between the Septuagint, Samaritan
Pentateuch, and Masoretic Text, and presents various arguments
in favour of Septuagint chronology (although it is worth noting
that Eusebiusand Africanus previouslydisregarded Kenan II
in his calculations). Eusebius argued for a shorter chronology than
had previously been accepted, and dated the birth of Christ to 5199
AM (one year short of a schematic total of 5200 years). Eusebius's
Chronicle was translated into Latin and extended to 378 AD by
Jerome, and this chronology subsequently gained general acceptance in the west. On the other hand, eastern Christianity continued
to use the earlier, longer chronology (the Byzantine world era
began in September 5509 BC).
6.2.2.4 Bede
Western Christianity appears initially to have taken little notice of
the fact that the Eusebian chronology transmitted by Jerome and
later western chroniclers conflicted with the chronological figures
contained in Jerome's Vulgate translation of the Hebrew Biblical
text (presumably because these figures did not support traditional
belief in a 6ooo-year era of the world). This resulted in a popular
expectation that the world would end in around 800 AD. However,
Bede, writing in the early part of the 8th century, calculated from
the Vulgate that there were only 3952 years from creation to the
birth of Christ. This caused Bede to be accused of heresy, but his
chronology was subsequently adopted by the western church,
particularly after the expected end of the world failed to materialize, and Bede's date for the creation of the world remained the
accepted date for over eight centuries in the west.
6.2.2.5 Luther
The Protestant Reformation witnessed a new interest in Biblical
chronology, in which schematic considerations were once again
prominent. Martin Luther (1483-1546) published his own
25. See the study of Eusebius's Chronicle by Mosshammer (1979).
From P to Ussher
261
calculations in a work entitled Supputatio annorum mundi, which

first appeared in I54I. 26 According to Luther's chronology, there
were 3960 years from creation to the birth of Christ, which is
hardly different from Bede's figure. But the significant feature of
Luther's chronology is that it was designed to associate the
beginning of the Christian era with the year 4000 AM. Luther dated
the death and resurrection of Christ to 34 AD (= 3994 AM), which
was also the start of the final y-year week of Daniel's seventy weeks
of years in Luther's chronology. This final week accordingly ended
in 4000 AM, and halfway through this period (in Luther's
chronology) there occurred the Apostolic council of Acts 15. This
council had momentous significance for Luther, since he believed
that it had publicly abolished the Mosaic law and inaugurated a
new age of grace.
Luther also had a particular reason for wishing to associate the
year 4000 AM with the start of the Christian era. According to the
Babylonian Talmud, the Rabbinic 'school of Elijah' calculated that
the world would last for a total of 6000 years: 'the first 2000 years
are to be void, the next 2000 years are the period of the Law, and
the following 2000 years are the period of the Messiah' (T. b.
Abodah Zarah 93; T. b. Sanhedrin 9yb). This saying was
well-known to the reformers. Luther learnt of it through Car ion
and Melanchthon, and worked out his chronology to fit this
scheme. Ironically, he was unaware of the fact that the saying came
from the Talmud, and seems to have thought that it derived from
the Biblical prophet Elijah.
6.2.2.6 Ussher
James Ussher (1581-1656), Archbishop of Armagh from 1625, is
famous for the fact that he dated the creation of the world to
October 23rd 4004 BC.27 The exegetical route by which Ussher
26. Luther's chronology is discussed in detail by Barr (1989).
27. Ussher's chronological works include the Annales Veteris Testamenti, a
chronological digest of events from creation to the Maccabean period, which
appeared in 1650, Annalium Pars Posterior (its sequel), which appeared in 1654, and
Chronologia Sacra, which presents an argued defence of the chronology set out in
the Annals, and was published posthumously in 1660. An English translation of the
Annals was published in 1658. Ussher's chronological calculations later gained
quasi-canonical status through their insertion into the margins of English Bibles
published after 1701.
262
arrived at this date has been discussed by James Barr (1984), who
also draws attention to the fact that Ussher's chronology is
deliberately schematic (Ussher makes the same point in his own
preface to the Annals'). In Ussher's scheme of things, Christ is born
in 4 BC (shortly before the death of Herod the Great), the
Jerusalem temple is completed 1000 years earlier in 1004 BC, and
the world is created 3000 years before that, making a total of 4000
years from creation to the birth of Christ (this agrees with the
Rabbinic tradition that there would be 4000 years from creation to
the age of the Messiah). In this respect Ussher stood in direct line
from the original Biblical chronologists, who used similar patterns
of chronological schematism to express their own (pre-Christian)
ideologies.
Ussher also combined two other strands of chronological
tradition. As a classical scholar, he followed Eusebius in seeking
to incorporate Biblical and classical data in a universal chronicle
of human history. He also continued the strong JewishChristian tradition of attempting to harmonize chronological
discrepancies in the Biblical text. Ussher pursued this last
objective with an attention to chronological detail which went
beyond that of his predecessors, and it was probably this aspect
of his work which caused his chronology to be incorporated into
the margins of English Bibles from 1701 till the early part of
this century.
There is one other feature of Ussher's chronology which
deserves comment. Ussher was not the first person to have dated
the creation of the world to 4004 BC. Forty years before the first
volume of the Annals appeared, Thomas Lydiat had published a
chronological study entitled Emendatio temporum, in which the
creation of the world was dated to the same year. This appeared in
1609, when Ussher was in England, acquiring books for the library
of Trinity College, Dublin. During this visit Ussher was introduced to Lydiat and invited him to stay with him in Dublin, where
Lydiat apparently assisted Ussher in his own chronological
researches. Comparison of Lydiat's study with Ussher's work
reveals a number of clear similarities, and Ussher's chronology
could almost be described as a revision of Lydiat's. This is shown
in the following table, which is based on Ussher's table in
Chronologia Sacra, p. I, with the addition (in brackets) of figures
from Lydiat's chronology.
From P to Ussher
263
yrs
1 Creatio
2 Flood to Abraham's migration
3 Abraham's migration to exodus
4 Exodus to foundation of temple
5 Foundation of temple to its destruction
6 Destruction of temple to birth of Christ
1656
426
430
479
424
583
mos
0
6
o
o
3
3
days
0
14
o
17
8
25
[yrs]
[1656]
[422]
[430]
[479]
[429]
[590]
But the differences are no less important than the similarities.

Ussher's chronology is more detailed and more precise than
Lydiat's chronology. The original edition of the Annals comprises
1356 pages in two folio volumes, whereas Lydiat's book was a mere
334 pages of octavo. Ussher's overall scheme of chronology was
also different from Lydiat's. Both scholars dated the creation of the
world to 4004 BC; but Lydiat dated the birth of Christ in 4007 AM
(= 3 AD), whereas Ussher dated it seven years earlier in 4000 AM,
thereby correcting a weak point in Lydiat's chronology (Herod the
Great had died in 4 BC) while also achieving an appropriate round
figure for the birth of Christ.
7
CONCLUSION
A major part of this study has been concerned with the task of
reconstructing the original pre-schematic chronology of the book
of Kings and using this to construct a historical chronology of the
Israelite and Judean kingdoms. Previous attempts to construct a
historical chronology of Israel and Judah have mostly failed to
recognize the schematic nature of Biblical chronology, and have
therefore started from a false set of principles. One group of
scholars have used a variety of harmonistic devices in an attempt to
demonstrate that the chronology of Kings is (for the most part)
internally consistent and historically accurate, while other scholars
have argued that the chronology has been corrupted through an
accidental process of editorial misunderstandings or scribal corruptions. Both positions are mistaken: the chronology of Kings is
historically inaccurate, but it is not corrupt. The reason it is
inaccurate is that the Biblical writers were more interested in
chronological schematism than in historical accuracy. Biblical
chronology is essentially mythical.
This does not mean that it is historically worthless. Large parts
of Biblical chronology are indeed worthless from a historical
perspective, but this is not true of the chronology of Kings. In its
present form, the chronology of Kings is no less schematic than the
chronology of Genesis or Judges, but it differs from these
chronologies in having been constructed from an originally
non-schematic chronology. The historical reconstruction of Israelite and Judean chronology which was presented in chapter 5 is
based on a literary-historical analysis of the chronology of Kings
(chapter 4), in which I argued that textual variants and internal
discrepancies can be used in a partial reconstruction of an original
pre-schematic form of this chronology.
Conclusion
265
From a narrow historical viewpoint, the schematic nature of the

chronology of Kings is a nuisance which has to be recognized and
dealt with. But there is another way of looking at this. The fact that
the Biblical writers valued mythical schematism more highly than
historical fact so far as chronology was concerned suggests that the
'historical' books of the Bible may be more appropriately categorized as myth than as history. Some of the events described in these
books are purely fictitious (the flood, for example), while others,
such as Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, are historical events that
have (to varying degrees) been fictionalized. For the Biblical
writers, the historicity of an event (or date) was less important than
its meaning. This is not to say that mythical events and dates were
regarded as non-historical by the Biblical writers or their contemporaries, any more than Ussher saw his own (schematic) chronology
as fictitious. Mythical creativity is largely a matter of selecting and
reshaping elements from earlier traditions.
The mythical purpose of chronological schematism is that it
serves to express a belief that history is governed by a divine plan.
Events which occur at regular intervals are not the result of chance:
chronological schematism shows the hand of God in history, just as
cosmic order shows the hand of God in creation. The precise
nature of the divine plan varies according to different schemes. In
Deuteronomistic chronology, God's plan concerned Israel's occupation of the land of Canaan, whereas in Priestly chronology the
plan is centred on Abraham and the temple. In Christian schemes
of chronology, the divine plan is naturally centred on Christ. Some
versions of Biblical chronology incorporate an eschatological
element. The early Christian scheme of seven millennial ages
looked forward to the inauguration of God's kingdom on earth at
the end of the sixth millennium, followed by the final eschaton a
thousand years later. This does not seem to have been a significant
concern of the original Biblical writers. The original Priestly
chronology was probably fitted into a 4<DOO-year era. But in
Priestly chronology the end of the present era does not seem to
have been a matter of significant interest, and the year 4000 lay in
the distant future, 720 years after the foundation of the second
temple. The Deuteronomistic scheme of 1000 years in Canaan
does not allow one to predict God's plan for the next 1000 years,
although the fact that God's plan for Israel had been inextricably
linked with the land of Canaan in the past could presumably be
266
Secrest of the Times
taken as grounds for hoping that this might also be true in the
future.
Schematism is really a natural human activity. The twentieth
century has its own versions of chronological schematism. There
are fundamentalist groups which see history as a succession of
'dispensations' or ages, and there are others who believe that
events are controlled by stars or planets, and that we are currently
living in the 'age of Aquarius'. These are fringe beliefs which are
not taken seriously by most people. But the division of history into
centuries and millennia is itself schematic. And most academic
disciplines (including Biblical scholarship) are highly schematic in
the way they categorize their subject matter. From this perspective, chronological schematism is simply one of the ways in which
people have sought to categorize and make sense of the universe.
APPEND IX A
BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGICAL DATA
The following tables give ages of begetting (for ancestors and

patriarchs), periods of rule, and other significant chronological
intervals. Unstated totals are given in parentheses, and data which
are not directly attested in the Biblical text (or Josephus) have been
starred. Curly brackets indicate that a number is not included in a
following total.
A.I Priestly chronology :
from creation to the foundation of the second temple
(Gns.3)
(Gns.6)
(Gns.9)
(Gns.i2)
(Gns.is)
(Gns.iS)
(Gn 5 .2i)
(Gn5.25)
(Gns.28)
(Gn 5 . 3 2)
(Gn 7.6; 9. 28)
(Gn 11.10)
(Gn n.io)
(Gnii.i2)
(Gnu. 13)
(Gn 11.14)
(Gn 11.16)
(Gnn.i8)
(Gn 11.20)
(Gn 11.22)
(Gn 11.24)
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
age at flood
Shem
(total)
flood to Arpachshad
Arpachshad
Kenan
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
MT
LXX
SP
(Priestly)
130
105
90
70
65
162
65
187
182
{500}
600
230
205
190
170
165
162
165
167
130
105
90
70
65
62
65
67
130
105
90
70
65
62
65
188
{500}
600
53
{500}
600
*69
53
{500}
600
{100}
{100}
{100}
{100}
(1656)
(2242)
(1307)
(1309)
35
135
130
135
35
3
34
30
32
30
29
130
130
134
130
132
134
130
132
130
130
79
79
3
34
30
32
30
29
268
(Gnu. 26)
(Gn2i. 5 )
(Gn 25.26)
(Gn47.9)
Terah
70
70
(total)
(290/2)
(1070/2)
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob, age on
entering Egypt
70
(940/2)
70
(290)
IOO
IOO
IOO
60
130
60
130
60
130
(290)
(290)
(290)
(290)
Israel in Egypt
Israel in Canaan
and Egypt
430
(215)
(215)
430
(IK6.I)
Exodus to temple
480
(Kings)
ist temple period
(430)
(total)
(Ex 12.40)
IOO
60
130
430
430
440
480
(430/5)
(430)
'Exile'
*(50)
A.2 Deuteronomistic chronology:

from the settlement to the Babylonian exile
(Ju 3.8)
(Ju 3.11)
(Ju 3.14)
(Ju 3.30)
(Ju 4.3)
(Ju 5.31)
(Ju 6.1)
(Ju 8.28)
(Ju 9.22)
(Ju 10.2)
(Ju 10.3)
(Ju 10.8)
(Ju 12.7)
(Ju 12.9)
(Jui2.n)
(Ju 12.14)
(Ju 13.1)
(Ju 15.20; 16.31)
(184.18)
(187.15)
Moabite oppression
Abimelech
Tola
Jair
Ammonite oppression
Jephthah
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
Samson
Eli
Samuel
(total)
(1813.1)
(lK2.Il)
Saul
sole rule
David
MT
8
40
18
80
20
40
7
40
3
23
LXX
8
50
18
80
20
40
7
40
3
23
Jos.
8
40
18
(81)
20
40
7
40
3
(Dtr)
*7
40
18
80
20
40
7
40
3
23
22
22
22
22
18
6
7
10
eo
18
6
7
18
6
7
18
*7
7
IO
10
40
20
40
40
20
40
30
(480)
O
O
40
40
2O
40
20
20
(450)
2
(30)
(430) (450)
{(40)/20}
40
22
40
40
40
40
Appendix A
(iKn.42)
(iK 12.243)
(iK 14.21)
(1X15.2)
(iKis.io)
(iK 22.42)
(2K8.I7)
(2K 8.26)
(2K.II.4)
(2K 12.2)
(2K 14-2)
(2K 15.2)
(2K 15-33)
(2K 16.2)
(2K 18.2)
(2K2I.I)
(2K2I.I9)
(2K22.I)
(2K 23.31)
(2K23-36)
(2K 24.8)
(2K.24.i8)
Solomon
Rehoboam
Rehoboam
Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah
Joash
Amaziah
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
(total)
40
17
3
4i
25
8
i
7
40
29
52
16
16
29
55
269
40
12
17
6
41
25
10
i
7
40
29
52
16
16
29
55
31
31
{3 mos}
II
{3 mos}
ii
(474)
80
17
3
4i
25
8
i
7
40
29
52
16
16
29
55
2
31
{3 mos} {3 mos}
ii
ii
{3 mos} {3 mos}
ii
ii
(474/9)
(514)
40
17
6
41
25
*n
I
7
40
29
52
16
16
29
55
2
31
{3 mos}
ii
{3 mos}
ii
(480)
APPEND IX B
CHRONOLOGICAL DATA IN JOSEPHUS
B.I From the exodus to the foundation of the temple
(Ant%.6i)
(Ant 20.230;
Ap2.i9)
total
total
592 years
612 years
(Ant 4-176, 327)

(Ant 5.117)
(Ant 6.84)
(Ant 5.181)
(Ant 5.184)
(Ant 5.187)
(Ant 5. 197)
(,4r5.i97)
(ylwr 5.200)
(Ant 5.209)
(/4wr 5.211)
(^wz 5.232)
(A nt 5.239)
(^nt 5.254)
(/Iwt 5.263)
(Ant 5.270)
(^wf 5.271)
(^wf 5.272)
(Ant 5. 273-4)
(^wr 5.275)
(Ant 5.316)
(/1m 5.359)
(/Ir6.294)
G4nr 6.294, 378)
G4wr6.378)
(Ant 10.143)
(Ant 7.65, 389)
(Ant 7-389)
(/Iwt8.6i)
Moses
Joshua
anarchy
'Kenaz'
Moabite oppression
Ehud
Shamgar
Barak
Gideon
Abimelech
Jair
Ammonite oppression
Jephthah
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
Samson
Eli
Samuel (sole rule)
Samuel and Saul
Saul (sole rule)
Saul
David in Hebron
David in Jerusalem
Solomon before temple
40 years
25 years
i 8 years
{8 years} [see p. 67n.
40 years
i 8 years
80 years
i year
20 years
40 years
7 years
40 years
3 years
22 years
i 8 years
6 years
7 years
10 years
40 years
20 years
40 years
12 years
1 8 years
22 years (Lat: 2)
{20 years}
7 years, 6 months
33 years
4 years
(total)
(591 years, 6 months)
Appendix B
271
B.2 Judean kings: from David's accession to

the Babylonian exile
(Ant 10.143)
total
(Ant 7.389)
(Ant 7.389)
David in Hebron
David in Jerusalem
Solomon
Rehoboam
Abijam
(Ant %. 211}
(Ant 8.264)
(Ant 8.285)
(Ant 8.314)
(Ant 9.44)
(Ant 9.104)
(Ant 9.121)
(^wr 9.143)
Asa
(y49.I42f.,272)
(Ant 9.204)
(Ant9.22j)
(Ant 9-243)
(^wr 9.257)
(y4r 10.36)
(/for 10.46)
C<4rcr 10.47)
(Ant 10.77)
(^nt 10.83)
(/4nr 10.98)
(Ant 10.98)
(/Iwr 10.135)
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah
Joash
Amaziah
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
514 years, 6 months, 10 days

7 years, 6 months
33 years
80 years
17 years
3 years
41 years
25 years
8 years
i year
7 years
40 years
29 years
52 years
1 6 years
I 6 years
29 years
55 years
2 years
31 years
3 months, 10 days
ii years
3 months, 10 days
ii years
(total)
(514 years, 12 months, 20 days)
Abijam's accession
Amaziah's accession
Uzziah's accession
Hezekiah's accession
18th
2nd
14th
4th
Synchronisms:
(Ant
(Ant
(Ant
(Ant
8.264)
9.186)
9.216)
9.260)
year of Jeroboam I
year of Jehoash
year of Jeroboam II
yearofHoshea
B.3 Israelite kings :from the division of the kingdom

(Ant 9.280)
total
(Ant 8.287)
(AntS.2%7)
(Ant 8.299)
(Ant 8.307)
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
240 years, 7 months, 7 days

22 years
2 years
24 years
2 years
2y2
(Ant 8.311)
(Ant 8.312)
(Ant 8.316)
(Ant 9.19)
(Ant 9.27)
(Ant 9.160)
(Ant 9.173)
(Ant 9.177)
G4nf 9-205, 215)
(/4wr 9.228)
(Ant 9.22%)
(/Iwr 9.232)
(^nr 9.233)
(Ant 9.234)
(Ant 9.258)
Zimri
Omri
Ahab
Ahaziah
Joram
Jehu
Jehoahaz
Jehoash
Jeroboam
Zechariah
Shallum
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
Hoshea
(total)
7 days
12 years
22 years
2 years
12 years
27 years
17 years
16 years
40 years
6 months
30 days
10 years
2 years
20 years
9 years
(239 years, 7 months, 7 days)
Synchronisms:
04r 8.287)
(/Iwr 8.312)
(^9.173)
G4t9.i77)
(Ant 9.205)
(Ant 9-277)
(^4wf 9.278)
Nadab's ac
Omri's ace
Jehoahaz's
Jehoash's a
Jeroboam';
siege of Sai
fall of Sam
2nd
3Oth
2 ist
37th
15th
7th
9th
= 7th
year of Asa
year of Asa
year of Joash
year of Joash
year of Amaziah
yearofHoshea
yearofHoshea
year of Hezekiah
APPENDIX C
MESOPOTAMIAN CHRONOLOGY
(FIRST MILLENNIUM)
The following tables are based on Brinkman's chronological

appendix in Oppenheim 21977:335-348, which should be consulted on points of detail. Note, however, that reigns are dated
from the year of accession to conform to the way in which I have
dated Israelite and Judean reigns; this contrasts with Brinkman's
practice of dating reigns from the first regnal year (i.e. the year
following an accession year).
C.i Kings of Assyria

Adadnirari II
Tukultininurta II
Ashurnasirpal II
Shalmaneser III
Shamshi-adad V
Adadnirari III
Shalmaneser IV
Ashurdan III
Ashurnirari V
Tiglathpileser III
Shalmaneser V
SargonII
Sennacherib
Esarhaddon
Ashurbanipal
Ashuretelilani
Sinshumulishir
Sinsharishkun
Ashuruballit II
(21 years)
(7 years)
(25 years)
(35 years)
(13 years)
(28 years)
(10 years)
(18 years)
(10 years)
(18 years)
(5 years)
(17 years)
(24 years)
(12 years)
(42 years)
912-891 BC (Nis.)
891-884 BC (Nis.)
884-859 BC (Nis.)
859-824 BC (Nis.)
824-811 BC(Nis.)
811-783 BC (Nis.)
783-773 BC (Nis.)
773-755 BC (Nis.)
755-745 BC (Nis.)
745-727 BC (Nis.)
727-722 BC (Nis.)
722-705 BC(Nis.)
705-681 BC (Nis.)
681-669 BC (Nis.)
669-627 BC (Nis.)
(3 years)
-612 BC(Nis.)
612-609BC (Nis.)
274
C.2 Babylonian rulers
Nabonassar
Nabunadinzeri
Nabushumukin II
Nabumukinzeri
Tiglathpileser
Shalmaneser
Merodachbaladan II
Sargonll
Sennacherib
Mardukzakirshumi II
Merodachbaladan II
Belibni
Ashurnadinshumi
Nergalushezib
Mushezibmarduk
Sennacherib
Esarhaddon
Ashurbanipal
Shamash-shumukin
Kandalanu
interregnum
Nabopolassar
Nebuchadrezzar II
Evilmerodach
Neriglissar
Labashimarduk
Nabonidus
(14 years)
(2 years)
(i month)
(3 years)
(2 years)
(5 years)
(12 years)
(5 years)
(2 years)
(i month)
(9 months)
(3 years)
(6 years)
(i year)
(4 years)
(8 years)
(12 years)
(i year)
(20 years)
(21 years)
(i year)
(21 years)
(43 years)
(2 years)
(4 years)
(3 months)
(17 years)
748-734 BC (Nis.)
734-732 BC (Nis.)
732 BC (Nis.)
732-729 BC (Nis.)
729-727 BC (Nis.)
727-722 BC (Nis.)
722-710 BC (Nis.)
710-705 BC (Nis.)
705-703 BC (Nis.)
703 BC (Nis.)
703 BC (Nis.)
703-700 BC (Nis.)
700-694 BC (Nis.)
694-693 BC (Nis.)
693-689 BC (Nis.)
689-681 BC (Nis.)
681-669 BC (Nis.)
669-668 BC (Nis.)
668-648 BC (Nis.)
648-627 BC (Nis.)
627-626 BC (Nis.)
626-605 BC (Nis.)
605-562 BC (Nis.)
562-560 BC (Nis.)
560-556 BC (Nis.)
556 BC (Nis.)
556-539 BC (Nis.)
C.3 Persian rulers
Cyrus II
Cambyses II
Bardiya
Darius I
Xerxes I
Artaxerxes I
Xerxes II
Darius II
Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes III
Arses
Darius III
(9 years)
(8 years)
(6 months)
(36 years)
(21 years)
(41 years)
(i| months)
(19 years)
(46 years)
(21 years)
(2 years)
(5 years)
539-530 BC (Nis.)
530-522 BC (Nis.)
522 BC (Nis.)
522-486 BC (Nis.)
486-465 BC (Nis.)
465-424 BC (Nis.)
424 BC (Nis.)
424-405 BC (Nis.)
405-359 BC (Nis.)
359-338 BC (Nis.)
338-336 BC (Nis.)
336-331 BC(Nis.)
APPENDIX D
ISRAELITE-JUDEAN CHRONOLOGY
D.I Kings of Israel
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri
Omri
Ahab
Ahaziah
Joram
Jehu
Jehoahaz
Jehoash
Jeroboam
Zechariah
Shallum
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
Hoshea
(*25 [ > 22] years: [LXX])

(2 years)
(24 years)
(2 years)
(7 days)
( 12 years)
(*24 [ > 22] years)
(2 years)
( 12 years)
(27 years: Jos.)
(17 years)
(16 years)
(41 years)
(6 months)
(i month)
(10 years)
(2 years)
(*4 [ > 20] years)
(9 years)
937-913 BC (aut.)
913-912 BC (aut.)
912-889 BC (aut.)
889-888 BC (aut.)
888 BC (aut.)
888-877 BC (aut.)
877-854 BC (aut.)
854-853 BC (aut.)
853-842 BC (aut.)
842-816 BC (aut.)
816-800 BC (aut.)
800-785 BC (aut.)
785-745 BC (aut.)
745 BC (aut.)
745 BC (aut.)
745-736 BC (aut.)
736-735 BC (aut.)
735-732 BC (aut.)
732-724 BC (aut.)
D.2 Kings of Judah

Rehoboam
Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah
Joash
Amaziah
Azariah
Jotham
(17 years)
(6 years: LXX)
(41 years)
(25 years)
( * i i [ > i o : LXX] years)
(i year)
(7 years)
(*38[> 40] years)
(*28 [ > 29] years)
(?26 [ > 52] years)
(?n [> 16] years)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
772-?747 BC (aut.)
?747-737 BC (aut.)
937-921 BC
921-916 BC
916-876 BC
876-852 BC
852-842 BC
842 BC
842-836 BC
836-799 BC
799-772 BC
276
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
(16 years)
(29 years)
(55 years)
(2 years)
(3 1 years)
(3 months)
(n years)
(3 months)
(n years)
737-722 BC
722-694 BC
694-640 BC
640-639 BC
639-609 BC
609 BC
609-598 BC
598 BC
598-587 BC
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut.)
(aut./spr.)
(spr.)
(spr.)
(spr.)
(spr.)
D-3 Synchronistic table: from the division of the kingdom

The following table draws together three tables presented earlier
(pp. 189!"., I94f., and 222.). Synchronisms which are given by MT,
LXX, or Josephus are indicated by bold print.
Rehoboam
Abijam
i7/aci
2
Asa
3
4
5
aci/6
2
3
4
5
921
920
919
918
917
916
915
914
913
912
17
18
19
20
889
888
39
40
4i/aci
878
21
856
855
854
853
852
851
22
23
24
Jehoram
aci/25
2
Jeroboam
21
22
23
24
877
876
Nadab
Baasha
*25/aci
d2/aci
892
891
890
25
26
27
28
29
Jehoshaphat
937
21
22
23
aci/24
aci /ac/2
Elah
Zimri/Omri
ii
12/aci
Ahab
22
*23
*24/aci
Ahaziah
2/aci Joram
2
277
Appendix D
Ahaziah
/Athaliah
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
*n/aci/i
2
3
4
5
6
aci/y
Joash
Amaziah
12
13
14
15
25
26
2?
Azariah
aci/28
21
22
23
24
25
Jotham
21
816
31
32
806
805
804
803
802
80 1
800
799
33
34
35
36
37
aci/38
ii
26/aci
2
3
4
5
6
7
850
849
848
847
846
845
844
843
842
841
840
839
838
837
836
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
I/I2
Jehu
3
4
5
6
7
aci/27
Jehoahaz
ii
12
13
14
15
16
17/aci
2
789
788
787
786
785
aci/i6
775
774
773
772
ii
12
13
14
752
751
750
749
748
747
746
745
744
743
742
74i
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
aci/ac/ac/41
2
3
4
5
Jehoash
12
13
M
15
Jeroboam
Zechariah/ Shallum
/Menahem
278

8
9
:o
Ahaz
aci/n
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
13
14
15
Hezekiah
i6/ac
740
739
738
737
736
735
734
733
732
73i
730
729
728
727
726
725
724
723
722
6
7
8
9
lo/aci
2/aci
Pekahiah
Pekah
3
aci/4
Hoshea
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Samaria besieged
Fall of Samaria
APPEND IX E
BABYLONIAN/JEWISH MONTH NAMES AND
THEIR JULIAN EQUIVALENTS
1 Nisan
2 lyyar
3 Sivan
4 Tammuz
5 Ab
6Elul
7 Tishri
8 Marheshvan
9 Kislev
10 Tebeth
11 Shebat
12 Adar
(Canaanite Abib)
(Canaanite Ziv)
(Canaanite Ethanim)
(Canaanite Bui)
March/April
April/May
May/June
June/July
July/August
August/ September
September/October
October/November
November/December
December/January
January/February
February/March
BIBLIOGRAPHY
i. Ancient Texts
Adadnirari III, Calah Slab (Adn Gal),
edition: Tadmor 1973: i48f.,
translations: ANETp. 28if.; ARAB i 738f.; TUATi p. 367^
Adadnirari III, Rimah stele (Adn Rim),
edition: Dalley 1968,
translations: Dalley 1984:1971".; TUAT i p. 368.
Adadnirari III, Saba'a stele (Adn Sab),
edition: Tadmor 1973:1441".,
translations: ANETp. 282; ARAB i 7321".; TUA T i p. 369.
Adadnirari III, Sheikh Hammad stele (Adn SH),
edition: Millard and Tadmor 1973:57^,
translation: TUA Tip. 369.
Ashurbanipal, Prism C (Ash PrC),
edition: Streck 1916:1381".,
translations: ANETp. 294; ARAB 2 8741".
Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (ABC},
edition: Grayson 1975,

translations: ANETp. 3011"., 5631".; TUAT i p.4Oif.
Demetrius, historical fragments,
editions: Jacoby i958:666f.;Holladay 1983:51^,
translation: OTPzp. 843f.
Eponym Chronicle (Ep Chr),
edition: Ungnad 1938,
translation: ARAB 2 1198.
Esarhaddon, Nineveh Prisms A [Formerly 'B' or 'C'] and F (Esrh NinAF)
edition: Borger 1956:36^,
translations: ANETp. 289f.; ARAB 2 499f., 688f.; TUA T i p. 392f.
Esarhaddon, Nineveh Prism B [Formerly 'A'] (Esrh NinB),
edition: Borger 1956:36^, 125,
translations: ANETp. 290; ARAB 2 525f.
Eupolemus, historical fragments,
editions: Jacoby 1958:672^; Holladay 1983:93^,
translation: O TP 2 p. 861 f.
Josephus, Contra Apionem (Ap),
edition: Niese 1885-95,
translation: Thackeray 1926.
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities (Ant),
Bibliography
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Marcus and Wikgren 1963, Feldman 1965.
Josephus, Jewish War (War),
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Jubilees (Jub),
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Pseudo-Philo, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB),
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translation: OTP2 p. 297f.
Sargon II, Ashur Charter (Sg AC),
edition: Saggs 1975:115.,
translations: ARAB 2 1321".; TUATi p. 387.
Sargon II, Calah Prism (Sg Cal),
edition: Gadd 1954:1731".,
translation: TUATi p. 382.
Sargon II, Cylinder Inscription (Sg Cyl),
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Sargon II, Khorsabad annals (Sg Kh)
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translations: ANETp. 284f.;ARAB2if.; TUAT i p. 3785.
Sargon II, Large display inscription (Sg LD),
edition: Peiser 1890:525.,
translations: ANET p. 2%tf.;ARAB2 521".; TUATi p. 3835.
Seder Olam Rabba (SO/?),
edition: Ratner 1897.
Sennacherib, Bellino Cylinder (Sn Bell),
edition: Luckenbill 1924:555., 995.,
translation: ARAB 2 2685., 3725.
Sennacherib, Bull inscriptions 1-3 (Sn 61-3),
edition: Luckenbill 1924:765.,
translations: ANET p. 288; ARAB 2 3235.; TUATi p. 390.
Sennacherib, Nebi Yunus inscription (Sn Neb),
edition: Luckenbill 1924:855.,
translations: ANET p. 288; ARAB 2 3445.; TUATi p. 3905
Sennacherib, Prisms (Sn Pr),
edition: Luckenbill 1924:235., 1285.,
translations: ANET p. 2875.; ARAB 2 2325., 4235.; TUATi p. 3885.
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 5: Basalt Statue (Shi 5),
edition: Michel 1947:575.,
translations: ANET p. 280; ARAB i 6795.; TUATi p. 365.
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 22: annal 5ragment (Shi 22),
translations: ANET p. 280; ARAB i 6715.; TUATi p. 3655.
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 32: marble slab (Shi 32),
translation: TUA T i p. 3665.
Shalmaneser III, Ashur text 33: Black Obelisk (Shi 33),
282
edition: Michel 1955:13?f.; 1956:221 f.,

translations: ANETp. 2y8f.; ARAB i 553f.; TUAT i p. 362f.
Shalmaneser III, Bull Inscription (Shi Bull),
edition: Billerbeck and Delitzsch 1908: i44f.,
translations: ANETp. 279?.; ARAB i 64of.; TUAT i p. 3635.
Shalmaneser III, Kurba'il statue (Shi Kurb),
edition: Kinnier Wilson 1962.
Shalmaneser III, Monolith Inscription (Shi Mon),
edition: Peiser 1889,
translations: ANETp. 277f.; ARAB i 5941".; TUAT i p. 36of.
Testament of Levi (TLev),
edition: de Jonge 1978,
translations: Charles 1908; Hollander and de Jonge 1985; AOT p. 5051".; OTP
i p. 775fTestament of Moses (TMos),
edition: Charles 1897,
translations: AOTp. 6oif., OTP i p. y i g f .
Tiglathpileser III, Annals (Tgl An),
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Tiglathpileser III, Iran stele (Tgl Iran),
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Tiglathpileser III, 'Kleinere Inschrift i' (Tgl Ki),
translations: ANETp. 283f.; ARAB i 8i5f.; TUAT i p. 373f.
Tiglathpileser III, tablet K 3751 (Tgl K 3751),
translations: ANETp. 282; ARAB i 786f.; TUAT i p. 37^.
Tiglathpileser III, tablet ND 400 (Tgl ND 400),
edition: Wiseman I95i:2if.,
translation: TUAT i p. 375f.
Tiglathpileser III, tablet ND 4301 + ND 4305 + ND 5422 + K 2649 ( + ) ND
5419, with duplicate DT 3 (Tgl ND 4301 +)
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(ND 5422,ND 5419), C735 (1920), pi. 39 (K 2649), Rost 1893 pi. 34 (DT 3),
translations: ARAB i 8osf. (DT 3); TUATi^6-jf.
Tolidah Chronicle,
texts: Neubauer 1873; Bowman 1954,
translation: Bowman 1977:37^
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INDEX OF ANCIENT TEXT REFERENCES

i. Hebrew Bible
Genesis
4
5-1 1
5
5.1-28
5-i
5-3
5-6
5-9
5.12
5-15
5.18
5.21
5-25
5.28
5-30-32
5-32
6.3
7.6
7.11
7-13
8.13
8.14
9.28-29
9.28
9.29
10
n
11.10-32
I I . IO
I I . 12
11.13
11.14
II.I6
II.I8
1 1. 2O
11.22
11.24
14
8n., 19,28,46
n, 17,28,238
6
8
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44> 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
6
7, 44, 267
30
6,7,i8,2i,2in.,44,22On.,
267
14,21, 2in.,22on.
28
20
21
7,21,24,44,267
24
IO
11,17,28,237,238
6
7, 18,22,44,60, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
7, 44, 267
11.26
11.32
12.4
15
15.13-16
15-13
16.6
i6.n
17
17.1
17-5
17.7
17.12
17.17
17.19
17.24-25
17.24
21.5
23.1
25-7
25.17
25.20
25.26
26.43
35-28
37-2
38.12
41.1
41.46
45-6
45-7
46.11
47-9
47.28
50.22
50.26
Exodus
3
6
7,15,44,268
16
15,30,33, 44,256
50
36
36,255,256
30
2i8n.
48
30
10
49
22On.
11,310.
2i8n.
30
33,44
2
, 30, 33, 44, 268
30, 3 in.
30,33,44
30
3i
2,31,33,44,268
3i
31,33,44
31,33,44
7i
60
31,44
31,60
21511.
35n.
2,31,33, 36n., 44, 268
8n., 31,33,3411., 44
31,320., 33
31,33,44
Son.
34n.,35,35n.
294
Exodus (cont
6.2-9
6.13
6.14-30
6.14-25
6.i6f.
6.16
6.18
6. 20
7-1
7-7
12.2
12.40-41
12.40
13.4
16.29
16.35
21.21
23.IO-II
23.14-17
23-I5
23.16
34.18-23
34-18
34.22
40.17
Leviticus
12.3
16.29
23-34
25.1-22
25-3-4
25.8-12
25-9
25.20-22
25-25-34
25-39-55
26
26.42
26.45
Numbers
2.16
2.31
9.22
11.9
;
49
35
35
34
28, 3in.
34n.
34n.
34n.
35
35n., 36n.,42n.
165, 170, 17811.
32
2,33,37,44,237,239,250,
255,256,268
161, 162
6on.
237
6on.
1 66
167, 170
161, i68n., 177
162, 165, 177
167, 170
161, i68n., 177
162, 165, 16511., 177
40, 4211.
22On.
169
169
1 66
168
1 66
1 66, 170
168
168
167
49
50
5
8n.
8n.
6on.
6on.
32.13
33-29
33-38-39
37n.
34n.
42n.
Deuteronomy
15.7-11
15.12-18
16.1-17
16.1
16.13-15
18.22
167
167
176
161, i68n., 177
177
i88n.
Joshua
4.19
11.23
14.10
14.15
24.31
Judges
2.7-10
2.8f.
3-8
3-8
3.11
3.14
3.30
3-31
4.1
4-3
i6in.
70
6m., 6511. ,23811.
70
72
72
56
76
57, 70, 72, 73, 268

55556,57558,70,72,268
57,72,73,268
55,57,72,77,268
70,77
77
8.28
56, 57, 72, 73, 268

55,57,72,268
57,72,73,268
55,57,72,268
9f-
76
9.22
10.1-5
57, 72, 74, 268

70, 74, 77
57, 59, 72, 74, 268
57, 59, 72, 74, 268
5-31
6.1
10.2
10.3
IO-4
10.8
11.26
11.38
12.7-15
12.7
12.9
I2.II-I2
12. I I
12.14
74
57,71,72,73,268
56,71,73
6on.
70, 74, 77
57, 58, 59, 72, 74, 268
57, 59, 72, 74, 268
56, 58, 58n.
57, 59, 72, 74, 268
57,59,72,74,268
Index of Ancient Text References
Judges (com
13.1
55, 57,72,73,268
15.20
56,57,59,71,72,74,268
16.21
56
16.31
57, 72, 74, 268
12.32
14.1-20
14.1-18
14.16
14.20
14.21
/ Samuel
4.18
14.255.
14.25
14.31
15.1-2
15.1
15.2
15-3
15.8
15.9-10
15-9
15.10
15.24
15.25
15.28
15.31
15-33
16.6
16.8
16.10
16.15
16.21-22
16.23
16.28
16.283
16.29
16.30
6.1
7-2
7.15-17
7-15
12
I3.I
I 3 -2f.
2 Samuel
i.i
2.IO
2. I I
5-4
5-5
14.7
14.28
55,57,58,72,268
63
59,63,67,71
63
57,59,268
59
57, 58,59,6o,6on., 63, 67,
268
63
6on.
58,60
67
55,58
242
21511.
60
/ Kings
I.32f.
1-35
i.38f.
2. I I
5.27-6.1
6-8
6.1
6.11-13
6.37
6.38
8.1-n
8.2
11.42
12.243
I2.24g-n
12.28-30
12.31
12.32-33
103
103
82n.
56, 57, 268
2430.
161, i6in.
2, 8n., 32, 33, 36,37,3711.,
39,44,46, 55,61, 72n.,
114, 161,268
33n.
37n., 161
161
33n.
161, 169
56, 57, 269
38,380. ,57, 58, 123, 129,
130, i3on., 240,269
i3in.
164
164
164
295
169
131
13111.
133
81, 123
38,3811., 57, 58,84, 123,
129, 240, 269
191
77, 124
81
I2O, 124
84
38, 57, 109, 269

133
81, 88, 120, 124

124
I2O, I23I1.
57, 269
81
60, 124
81, 124
81
124
81, 124
60, 124
81, 124
83, 124, 132
83
83,84, 124, 127, 132
81
124
84, 124, 128
22.41-2
133
58
185, 187, 188, i88n. 189
187
81, i88n.
124
22.42
57, 269
21
22
22.26
22.4O
22.5O
81
22.52
60, 124, 128, 137
2 Kings
1.17
i.iSa
3-i
8.7-15
8.16-17
81,92,97,105,124, 127,
185, 186
109, 124, 130, 1 86
97,105,109,124,128 ,137,
i86n.
184
124
296
2 Kings (cont.)
92, 105, 106, 137
8.16
38, 57,59>i09, 185,239,
8.17
269
133
8.18
8.24
81
8.25-6
124
57,109,269
8.26
93
9f185, 187, 188, 189
9
9-4f.
82n.
9.14-15
185,187
9.29
92, 124, 127
10. 1
206
187, 22in.
10.32-33
10.36
124, 140
11.4
57,115,140,269
1 1 _9f.
82n.
1 1. 20
70
12.2
56, 57, 140, 269
12.7
77, 78, 79, 79n., 140
I3-I
79, 140
13.10
140
14.12
140
I4.I
IOI
14-2
57, 149, 269
14.15
IOI
14.17
100, 101, 1390., 140, 149
14.21
IOI
14.22
IOO, IOI
14.23
100, 140
I5-I-2
140
I5.I
in, 150
57, 111,220,269
103, 104
15.2
i5-5f15-5
15-7
15-8
15.13
15.17
I5.i9f.
15.19
15.20
15-23
15.25
15.27
15.29-30
15.30
I5-32-3
15.32
104
104
15-33
15-37
57, 220, 269

22in.
16.1-2
140
16.1
16.2
10711.
57, 1 12, 2l8, 22O, 22411.,
269
i6.5f.
16.7-9
16.9
16.10
17.1
17.3-6
17-3-4
17-3
17.4-6
17-5
17.6
18
18.1-2
18.1
18.2
I 02, 203
20311.
204
204
97, 140, 143
205, 2o6n., 2070., 21311.
2o6n.
2O6n., 20711.
2o6n.
2O7n.
77, 140, 20711. ,209
213
140
120
57, 112, 149,211,22411.,
269
18.9-12
18.9-11
18.9-10
18.9
18.10
120
205
210
78, i39n., 140,209

59, 77,78,79n., 99, 10711.,
140, 193
224
18.13-16
18.13
78, io7n., 112, 155, 193,
210,211,212, 2 i6n., 223,
224
18.17-19.37 223
i8.i7f.
224
14911.
19-37
20
112
20.6
149, I49I1. ,21 1, 212
140, 150
102, 140
Ii8n., 140, 151, 201
21. 1
57,109, I55>269
21.19
57,60,155,269
IO2
22.1
IO2, IO3, 20O
22.3
22-23
103
60, 140
23.3
IO2, IO3
234-20
140
204
23.4
23.5
97,113,140,152
23-8
140
23.10
97, 1 1 1
23.12
175, 176, 17611., 177
57,155,269
78, 155, 158, 175, 17611.,

2i6n.
176, 17611.
176, 1760.
17611.
17611.
17611.
17611.
17611.

2 Kings (com ;
23.14
17611.
23.15
17611.
23.17
17611.
23.21
176, I76n.
23.22
21911.
23.23
?8, 155. 175. i?6n.
23.26
226
23.29f.
225
23.3if.
226
57, I55>I72, 269
23-3I
23.36
57, 155, 172,269
24.1
226
24-2f.
i88n.
24.2
227
24.6
i88n.
24.8
57,109,155,156,172,269
24. i of.
227
24.10
22711., 228n.
24.11
22711., 22811.
24.12
79"-, 155,229
24.14
22811.
24.16
228n.
24.18
57,155,269
170, I7in.
25
25.1
78,155,156
25.2-3
155
25.2
78
156,157
25.3
25. 8f.
232
25.8
79n., 155, 156,171,229,
257
25.11-12
17111.
25.25
156
25.26
I7in.
25.27
156, 15711., 231,23211.
/ Chronicles
3.18
5.29f.
5.36
27.24
I7in.
36n.
36n.
95
2 Chronicles
16.1
20.31
21.5
21.19
1 86
109
109
6on.
22.2
24.23
25.9
25.i4f.
25.27
29.3
30.1-1 1
33-21
34-3-7
36.9
36.21
109
16511., 170
8n.
IOO
IOO, IOI
21911.
21911.
60
17611.
109, 155, 156
4in.
Ezra
1-6
i
i.i
3-8
4-4-5
4.6-6.18
4.24-5.2
5.7-17
5.13-16
7-9
52, 520., 53
39
237
17111.
17111.
53
237
52
5211.
52
52
53
232
Nehemiah
5.11
12.23
8n.
95
Esther
1-4
2.23
6.1
8n.
95
95
1.18
2.2
3.8f.
Job
1-5
42.10
42.16
l66n.
256
256
Psalms
2.12
19.6
19.7
214
i6sn.
16511.
297
298
Qoheleth
8.12
Isaiah
1-35
6.1
7
7-if.
7.6
7-9
7.i4f.
7.14
8.8
9-3
10.5
14.5-6
14.28-32
14.28
14.29-32
14.29
14.30
i4-3i
14.32
18.1-6
30.1-5
30.15-17
31.1-5
37-31
Jeremiah
I
1.2
i-3
3-6f.,
22.18-19
22.18
22.28
25.1
25.11
26.1
27.1
28.1
28. 5f.
29.10
31-9
32.1
35-1
36
8n.
215
215, 2i6n.,2i9
22in.
203
IO2
2O5n.
224n.
2i8,2i8n.
2i8n.
214
217
214
213,218
215, 2i6n.
217
214, 215, 21511., 216,
2i6n., 217, 21711.
214,215, 21511., 216
214, 215, 216
214,215,217
217
217
217
217
2i5n.
Son.
Son.
86n.
Son.
i88n.
86n.
109
4in., 86n.,23O
4in.,257
86, 86n.
6on., 86, 86n.
86, 86n.
i88n.
4in.,257
36.1
36.9f.
36.9
36.29
36.30
37.1
39.1
39.2
40.10
. 0
41.0
45.1
46.2
49-34
49-43
52.4
52.5-6
52.6
52.12
86n.
227n.
86n.
227n.
i88n.
86n.
156
155
171
171
52.28
52.29
52.31
86n.
4in.,86n., I74n., 180,230
86
86n.
155,157
155
156
I55> 157,229
229, 2300.
228n., 229, 23On.
229
156, i57n.,23i,232n.
Ezekiel
26.1
30.20
31.1
33.21
40.49
45.18-20
23in.
23in.
23in.
23i,23in.
23in.
i69n.
52.28f.
Daniel
5.2
7.6
9.2
9.24-27
II. 2
Hosea
5-5
6.2
9-6
10.14
104
52n.
235
235
52n.
102
6on.
2i5n.
I I . 12
189
1 02
Amos
2.9
2i5n.
IO2
230
86n.
170, 171

Haggai
i.i
1.6
1.15
2.isf.
51*237
53
51
53
Zechariah
i.i
1.7
1. 12
4-9
4in.
51
4i,4in.,239
52
43-7
2. New Testament
Mark
13.32
/lets
1.7
7-4
13
13.19-21
13.19-20
13.21
259
259
15
258
257
62
62, 63, 66, 6711.
/ Maccabees
8.17-18
244
24411.
I3-50-52
2 Enoch
33.1-2
Jubilees
4.27
4.28
4-33
5.22-23
23, 23n. ,26
14.24
15.17
21. if.
258
21.2
22.1
36. if.
4O.II-I2
3. Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha
/ Esdras
1.42
155
2 Esdras
14
14.3
i
i
SYrac/z
22
23,24
I6.I5
.Ret>e/aft'0
20.2
25
24,25
24
5-23
6. if.
6.17-18
6.17
6.18
6.25
8.1
8-5
10.16
11.15
I2.28f.
258
254
5 .22f.
12.12
Ga/afzaws
3-17
i66n.
42.20
45-1
46.1
46.3
50.4
23
23
23
23, 24, 2511.
230.
25on.
25on.
24
245
245
245
245, 245n.
245n.
245
245
245n.
245
32
32
32
32
32n.
32n.
244
Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum

i
252,255
I. 1-22
250
252,255
3.6
252
4.12-15
252
8.14
299
3OO
Liber Ant. Bibl. (cont)

9.3
252,253
10.7
253
19-5
253
19-7
253
19.15
254,255
27.16
7411.
28.8
4611., 254, 255
Testament of Abraham
7.16
254
5. Classical and patristic

literature
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata
1.2
259
1.113
242
Demetrius the Chronographer
2
241
2.17
36n.
2.18
241
2.19
3511.
6
235, 236
Testament of Levi
12.5
32n.
12.7
32n.
Epistle of Barnabas
15.4-5
25811.
Testament of Moses
1.2
4611., 254
10.12
4611., 254
Eupolemus
2b
5
4. Rabbinic literature
Hippolytus, In Danielem
iv:24
25811.
Seder Olam Rabba

i
255
3
255
11-15
6m.
II
4in.
13
67
17
105,25611.
18
105
19
ioo, 25611.
24
25711.
25
23011.
27
41,23011.
28
41,256,257
29
257
30
256
T. b. Abodah Zarah
93
4611., 254, 261
T. b. Sanhedrin
97b
4611. ,254, 261
2430.
242
Irenaeus, Contra Haereses

v:28.2~4
25811.
John Malalas, Chronographia
x
25811.
Josephus, Against Apion
i.38f.
41
1.154
4
2.19
246,270
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
i
24811.
1.80-88
247
1.82
247
1.148-154 247,248,2480.
1.148
248
1.154
249
2.318-319 247
2.318
249

Jewish Antiquities (cont.)
4.176
270
270
4-327
5.117
270
5.181
270
5.184
270
270
5.187
270
5-197
5.200
270
5.209
270
5.211
270
5.232
270
270
5-239
270
5-254
5-263
270
5.270
270
5.271
270
5.272
270
270
5-273-4
270
5-275
5.316
270
63, 270
5-359
6.31
63
6.84
270
6.95f63
6.292
63, 64, 65
6.294
270
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 670.,
6.378
247, 270
270
7-65
270, 271
7.389
8.61-62
249
6711., 24211., 246, 270
8.61
8.2II
8.264
8.285
8.287
8.299
8.307
8.311
8.312
8.314
8.316
9.19
9.27
9-44
9.104
9.121
9.i42f.
9-143
271
271
271
9.160
9.173
9.177
9.186
9.203
9.204
9.205
9.215
9.216
9.227
9.228
9.232
9.233
9.234
9.243
9.257
9.258
9.260
9.272
9.277
9.278
9.280
9.283-287
10.23
10.36
10.46
10.47
10.77
10.83
10.98
10.135
10. 143
10.147
20.230
20.234
301
145,272
272
272
271
I39n.
271
145,272
145,272
271
271
272
272
272
272
271
271
272
271
271
272
272
144,246,271
20511.
!49n271
271
271
271
156,271
156,271
271
64, 65, 66, 67, 246, 247,
270,271
23511., 24811. ,250
246, 270
235
271,272
271
271
272
1230., 272
271
272
272
272
271
271
271
271
271
Josephus, Jewish War

6.269
246
Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum
3.28
259
6. Northwest Semitic
Inscriptions
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum
1:4
I57n.
3O2
Kanaandische
Inschriften
14.11-12
110.3
137.5
182
und Aramdische
2150.
&4
164
166
7. Akkadian texts
Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles
204
1.1.19-23
1.1.24
216
i.i.28
207
1.1.29
216
2 ion.
I. ii. 24-25
1.11.26-31
2 ion.
224n.
I.iii.i3~i6
224n.
I.iii.i6-i8
225
3.66f.
226
3.68f.
101
4
IOI
5
5.1-11
226
230
5.iof.
227n.
5.18-20
5.obv.i5f.
175
227
5.rev.6-y
227
5. rev. 8
227
5. rev. 9-10
5. rev. 1 1-13 228, 229
14.40-44
225n.
Adadnirari III, Calah Slab

11-14
19611.
Ashurbanipal, Prism C
1.25
225
Esarhaddon, Nineveh Prisms A and F
V-55
224
K6206 +
Sargon II, Calah Prism

iv.25~4i
207
Sargon II, Cylinder Inscription
19
217
Sargon II, Khorsabad annals
10-17
207
23f.
208
56-58
217
Sargon II, Large display inscription
25-26
217
33f.
208
Sennacherib, Bull inscriptions 13
17-22
223n.
Sennacherib, Bellino Cylinder
colophon
21 on.
Sennacherib, Nebi Yunus inscription
13-15
223n.
Sennacherib, Prisms
1.54-64
2 ion.
11.37-111.49
2ion., 223n.
111.37-49
2O5n.
111.50-75
2 ion.
Shalmaneser III, Ashur texts
5.1.14-24
184
5.1.25-27
184
22.1-26
183
22.1-25
189
32.HI.45-IV.5 184
32.ni.45-iv.i5 189
33.54-66
184
33.91-92
184
33-B
184
i95n., I98n., 223n.
Sargon II, Ashur Charter

i6f.
208
Shalmaneser III, Bull Inscription

67-74
184
99-102
184

Shalmaneser III, Kurba'il Inscription
21-30
184
Skalmaneser III, Monolith Inscription
11.78-102
184
11.78
184
Tiglathpileser III, Annals
83-91
83-89
90-91
123-157
I98n.
133
150-154
2O2H.
151-152
157
227-228
235-236
Tiglathpileser III, 'Kleinere Inschrift /'

8-15
202
15-19
204,20411.
17-18
20511.
Tiglathpileser 111, ND 400
14-19
202
I98
130-131
150
Tiglathpileser III, K 3751

?f.
202
11
202n.
I99n., 2OO
I9911I99n.
199
19811.
19811.
199
Tiglathpileser III, ND 4301 +

rev.5f.
2Oon.,2Oi
rev.9-11
20411.
rev.13-16
202
rev. 2 5
2040.
204
2O2
Tiglathpileser 111, Iran stele

11.3-19
200
11.5
i98n.
303
Verse Account ofNabonidus

2.20
104
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
Aaron, 3411., 3611., 4211.
Abdon, 57, 6yn., 74, 75,246,268,270
Abib, 161, 162, i6zn., 165, i68n.,
16911., 177.279
Abijam, 38-39, 57, 77, 82, 82n., 84-85,
87-88, 88n., 93, 94, 109, 115, 120121, 123, i23n., 124, 125,126, 127,
129, 132-134, 135, 137, 139, 189,
269,271,275,276
Abimelech, 57, 74, 268, 270
Abraham, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, n, 12, 15,
16, 20-22, 2in., 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
3in., 32, 33, 36, 37, 1711., 40, 42,
43, 44, 46-50, 234, 237, 238, 240,
241, 245, 2450., 249, 250, 252, 256,
258,260,263, 265, 268
birth, 2, 20-22, 28, 30, 33, 36, 37,
40,46,49,240,245,260
migration, 5, 16, 30, 37n., 43, 44,
48,245,249,250,256,258, 263
accession year, 20, 83, 84, 85, 86, 9in.,
97, '57, 157"-, 173, 178, I79-i8o,
i8on., 207,208,2O9n., 232,273
Adadnirari III, 196-198, 19711., I98n.,
201,273
Adam, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18,
19, 2in., 22, 26, 27, 29, 30, 35n.,
44, 240, 241, 247, 251, 258, 259,
267
Africanus, Julius, 259,260
agricultural year, 162,167-169, i68n.
Ahab, 82, 84, 89, 92, 93n., 99, 106,
124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 133-134,
135, 136, 137, 138, 184-185, 187188, i88n., 189, 190,272, 275, 276
Ahaz, 57, 69n., 9On., 97, losn., iO7n.,
108, 112, 113, 114, 115, nyn., 140,
142, 143, 149"-, 151, 152, 153, '74,
180, 202, 2O3n., 204, 210, 212,
213-222, 2i6n., 2i8n., 2i9n.,
22On., 22in., 269,271, 276,278

Ahaziah (of Israel), 89, 90, 92, 93n.,
99, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129,
130, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138,
184, 185, 188, 190, 22411., 272, 275,
276
Ahaziah (of Judah), 57, 89, 90, 92, 93,
93n., 109, 115, 124, 126, 127, 128,
I28n., 129, 130, 136, 137, 138,
i84n., 185, 187, 190, 269, 271, 275,
277
Alexander the Great, 239
Amaziah, 57, 9911., 100-101, iom.,
lojn., n t , inn., 112, 113, 115,
I39n., 140, 141, 148, 149, 149I50n., 150, 151, I52n., 154, 195,
224n., 2560., 269, 271, 272, 275,
277
Amenemhet I, 87
Amon, 57, 115, 155, 174, 2i2n., 22in.,
223, 226n., 269, 271, 276
Amram, 28, 34, 34n., 350., 36n.
annals, Assyrian, 102, i83n., 187, 195,
i96n., 198-199, i98n., I99n., 200,
20on., 202n., 203, 204, 205n.,
2o6n., 208,2ion., 223n., 224,224n.
antedating, 2 in., 86-94, 87n., 88n.,
90n., 93n., 97, 99, 117, 11711., 119,
120, I2in., 122, 127, 128, I28n.,
129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 136, 137,
139, I39n., 147, 148, 149, I5on.,
152, 160, I72n., I74n., 179, 180,
i8on., 182, 185, 186, I9in., 2ion.,
2i2n., 219, 239
Antiochus Eupator, 235
Aram (Arameans), 183, 184, 185, 187,
189, 196, 198, 201-203, 202n.,
22in.
Arpachshad, 7, to, 12, 16, 17-19, 20,
21-22, 27, 29, 36, 43, 44, 46, 233,
Index of Subjects
234,238,240,248,249,267
Arpad, 199, 1990., 200, 2Oon., 201
Arses, 5211., 274
Artaxerxes 1,41, 52, 520., 274
Artaxerxes II, 5211., 274
Artaxerxes III, 5211., 274
Asa, 57, 82, 83, 84, 87-88, 88n., 89, 92,
93, 9911., 115, 120-121, 124, 125,
126, 127, 129, 131, 132, 13211., 134,
1
35> J38, 186, 187, 190, 269, 271,
272,275,276
Ashdod, 112
Ashkelon, 202-203, 202n., 2030.,
22 7n.
Ashurbanipal, 224, 225, 273, 274
Assyria (Assyrians), 85-86, 9in., 96,
99, 99n., 102-103, iO3n., iO7n.,
inn., 115, 133, I46n., 149, 151,
159-160, I59n., i62n., i63n.,
I73n., I74-I75> I77> I77n., 178,
i8on., 181, 182-185, i82n., i83n.,
187, 189, 190, 193, 196-218, I96n.,
igSn., 2O2n., 2O3n., 204n., 2O5n.,
2o6n., 2O7n., 223-225, 225n.,
228n.,273
Assyrian Kinglist, I73n., i82n.
Athaliah, 57, 92, 93, 108, 115, 124,
126, 127, 12811., 136, 138, 140, 141,
148, 151, 154, 190, 194, 1970., 269,
271,275,277
Atonement, Day of, 166, 169, 1690.
Aurelius, Marcus, 259
Azariah (son of Ahimaaz), 36n.
Azariah (son of Johanan), 36n.
Azariah (Uzziah), 57, 99n., 100-101,
ioon., ioin., 103-105, iO5n., 108,
in, 112, 113, 115, 118, I39n., 140,
141, 149, 150-151, I5on., 152, 154,
i83n., 194, 195, 209, 210, 2i6n.
218, 2i8-2i9n., 219-221, 220n.,
222, 256n., 269,271, 275, 277
Azriyau, 195, 195-196^, 198, igSn.,
199
Baasha, 82, 84, 93n., 99n., 115, 124,
125, 126, 129, 131, 134, 135, 138,
186, 187, 190,271,275,276
Babylon (Babylonia, Babylonians)
i in., 39-40, 41, 4in., 42, 51, 55,
59, 6on., 68, 69, 70, 77, 8on. 85-86,
305
86n., 9in., 94, 96, 104, 121, I3in.,

!55> I59~I6o, i6on., 165, 166,
i69n., 170-175^ I7in., I74n., 177,
I77n., 180, 182, i82n., i88n., 193,
2o6n., 2ion., 212, 223, 224n., 225232, 225n., 227n., 228n., 23on.,
257,274
Babylonian Chronicle, 6on., 96, n8n.,
172, 207, 2ion., 224n., 225n., 226,
227n., 228,229,230,23on.
Bede, 260,261
Belshazzar, 104, iO4n., 105
Benhadad,184
Berossus, 41
Book of Generations, 8-10, 16, 28-30,
36,5i>53
Booths, Feast of, 158, 162, 164, 165,
i65n., 167, 169, i69n., 170, 177,
I77n.
Calah (Nimrud), 102, I99n., 2O4n.
Calah Slab, I96n.
calendar year, 20, 2in., 87n., I45n.,
162,167-168,231
calendar, 6n., 107, 114, i I4n., 159,211
autumn (Tishri), 81, 112, 165-179,
180,181,183
Canaanite-Phoenician, 161, 163164
Egyptian, 160, i63n., 167,19in.
Gregorian, I59n.
Islamic, 162
Israelite-Judean (pre-exilic), 159178,181,183
Jewish, 170, i7On.
Judean (post-exilic), 160, i6on.
Julian, 159,159n., 160
lunar, 161, 162, i62n.
lunisolar, 159, 161, i62n., 163165,181
Macedonian, i63n., 165
Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Assyrian), 159, 160, 166, 170, 171, I7in,
172, 175, I77n., 178, 181, 183
2l6,222
Middle-Assyrian, I59n., 162i63n.

Punic, 164
Samaritan, 238, 238n.
solar, 160,161,162, i62n., 163-165
306
spring (Nisan), H2n., 159, 165179, 180, i8on., 181, 183,222-223,

226n.
Syrian, 165
Cambyses, 52n., 274
Canaan (Canaanites), 2, 32, 33, 34-35,
34n., 36n., 44, 46, 48, 49, 55-56,
57, 63, 65-66, 68, 73, 76, Son., 81,
96, 161, i6m., 177, I77n., 237,
238, 239, 244, 249, 250, 255-256,
265,268,270,279
Carchemish, 4in., 17411., 180, 2O2n.,
226,230
Carion, 261
Christ, 2, 258-259, 260, 261, 262, 263,
265
chronicles, 94-96,95n., 182
Clement of Alexandria, 242,243,259
Commodus, 259
coregencies, 81, 98, 99, 99n., 103-107,
losn., io6n., 108, no, 112, 114,
118,186,197n.
Cushan Rishathaim, 70
Cyrus, 39, 40, 4in., 51, 52, 53, 104,
235n., 237, 246, 274
Damascus, 189, 196-198, igSn., 202204, 206n.
Daniel, i, 52n., !O4n., 235, 239, 256,
258,261
Darius I, 41, 4in., 51, 52, 52n., 53,
237,274
Darius II, 52, 52n., 274
Darius III, 520., 274
David, 37n., 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 63,
65, 67, 70, 72n., 77, 81, 103, 119,
129, 148, I49n., I52n., 167, 242,
258,268,270,271
Deborah, 76
Demetrius I, 243,244
Demetrius II, 243, 244
Demetrius (the chronographer), 34n.,
35, 35-36n., 235, 236-237, 236n.,
241,242
Deuteronomistic chronology, 33, 5596, 98, 119, ii9n., 120, 121-122,
129, 134, 136-137, 143-144, 147,
148, 149, i5On., 152, 164, 178,
i8on., i88n., 194, 2OI, 212, 213,
22in., 229,265,268-269
Deuteronomistic History, 55, 66, 6970,69n., 72,80,94, 122

division of the kingdom, 59, 69n., 77,
78, 79, 80, Son., 81, 97, iO5n., 128,
145, 178, i8on., 186, 189, 193, 212,
213,256
Eber, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17-18, 19, 20, 27,
29,43,44, 248, 267
Edom (Edomites), too, I96n., 2O3n.
Eglon, 56
Egypt (Egyptians), 2, nn., 2 in., 28,
31-32, 32n., 33-34, 34n., 35, 35n.,
36, 36n., 37, 39-40, 4on., 42-43,
42n., 44, 46, 48, 49, 86-88, 87n.,
89, 95, 95*1., "6, 121, 159, 160,
i6on., 162, i63n., 167, I7in., 190193, igin., 192, 195, 202, 205, 223,
225-226, 225n., 227, 234, 237, 238,
239, 240, 241, 249, 250, 252, 253,
255-256,268
entry into Egypt, 2, 28, 32n., 33,
34, 35n., 36, 40, 43, 44, 46, 116,
225n., 234, 237, 239, 240, 241, 249,
268
Ehud, 70,76,77,270
Elah, 82, 84, 93n., 115, 124, 125, 126,
129, 131, 132, I32n., 135, 138, 187,
190,271,275,276
Elam (Elamites), 86n., 96
Elath, 100, toon.
Eli, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 6on., 61, 62, 63,
65, 66,6jn., 71, 72n., 268, 270
Elijah, School of, 46n., 254, 261
Elon, 57, 74,75,268,270
Eniel, I98n., 200,2O3n.
Enoch, 7,8,12,20,26,27,29,37n., 44,
247,251,267
Enosh, 7, 12, 16, 19, 27, 29, 44, 247,
251,267
Eponym Chronicle, gin., i83n., 196,
I96n., 198, 199, I99n., 2Oon., 201,
202,204,206,2o6n., 207,209
eponym lists, 182, i82n.
Esarhaddon, I99n., 224,273,274
Esarhaddon Chronicle, 225n.
Esau, 31
Esdras, second book of, i
Ethanim, 161, i62n., 169, 170, I76n.,
181,279
Index of Subjects
Eupolemus, 242-244
Eusebius, 56, 259-260,262
Evil-merodach, 156, 157, 232, 23211.,
274
exile (Babylonian), 2, 37n., 39-42,
4in., 43, 46, 48, 51, 53, 55, 58-59,
6on., 63, 65, 68, 69-70, 77, Son.,
94, 96, 114, 115, 116-117, nyrio
119, 121, 129, I3in., 155, 170, 171,
I7in., 212, 223, 235, 235n., 238,
257, 268
return from exile, 39-42, 4in., 48,
53, 246
exodus, i, 2, 32, 34, 36-3?* 36n., 39,
40, 4on., 42-43, 42n., 44, 46, 48,
51, 55, 61, 65, 67n., 72n., 96, 114,
116, 121, 234, 237, 238n., 239, 240,
241, 242, 243, 246, 247, 249, 250,
253,258,263,268,270
Ezekiel, 53-54^, 23 in., 232
Ezra, 232
flood, 5, 6n., 7, 8, 12, 13-15, I3n., 16,
18-19, 20, 21, 2in., 22-24, 23n.,
26, 27-28, 30, 37n., 40, 44, 46, 50,
116, 233-234, 237, 238, 240, 241,
247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 263,
265,267
Gaza, 202, 2O3n., 217
Gedaliah, 156, I7in.
Gerizim, 237, 238,238n.
Gezer Calendar, 166, 167, 168, 169,
i69n.
Gideon, 76,270
Gilead, 101,102,187
Greece, 257
Hadadezer, 184
Haggai, 52
Ham, 9,24
Hamath, 184, I96n., igSn., 200, 2O3n.,
2o8n., 226
Hanno, 202
Haran (brother of Abraham), 9
Haran (place), 15, 16, 30, 225n., 226,
245n., 249, 256
Hauran, 189
Hazael, 77, 78, 79, 183, 184, 185, 189,
22in.
307
Hebrew syntax, 6-8, 8n., 33, 34n.,

59-60, 6on., 66, 68, 79, 79n., 176,
I76n.
Hebron, 67,270,271
Hexaplaric recension of Septuagint,
38n., 58n., 60, I3in., 132
Herod, 2,257, 262,263
Heshbon, 71
Hezekiah, 57, 59, 77, 78, 79, 79n.,
9on., 99n., I07n., 108, in, 112,
113, 115, 120, i39n., 140, 143, 149,
i49-i50n., 152, I52n., 153, I53n.,
155, 174, 179, i79n., 180, 181,
i88n., 193, i95n., 2O5n., 210-213,
2ion., 2iin., 2i2n., 217, 218,
2i9n., 222-223, 224, 224n., 225,
225n., 226n., 269, 271, 272, 276,
278
Hippolytus, 258n.
Hiram, 200,202n.
Holiness Code, 49, 5 in.
Hoshea, 69n., 77, 78, 79n., 97, 99, 113,
114, 120, i39n., 140, 142, 143, 144,
146, 148, 152, I52n., 153, I53n.,
204-206, 2O4n., 2O5n., 2o6n.,
207n., 209,222,271,272,275,278
Huldah, 175
Ibzan, 57, 74,75, 268,270
Immanuel, 2i8n., 224n.
Ingathering, Feast of, see Booths,
Feast of
interregna, 98,98-99^
Irenaeus, 258n.
Irhuleni, 184
Isaac, 10, 30, 31, 33, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49,
50,245, 245n., 256, 268
Isaiah, 215,217,2i8n., 219,220n.
Ishbosheth, 58
Ishmael, 30,245,245n.
J (Yahwist), 30, 50
JE, 49,50
Jacob, 5, 10, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34n., 35n.,
36n., 42,43,44,49, 50, 256, 268
Jair, 57, 74, 268, 270
Japheth, 9,24
Jared, 10, 11, 12-14, Z6, 20, 26, 27, 29,
43,44, 233-234, 247, 251,267
Jehoahaz (of Israel), 79, I39n., 140,
308
141, 147, 149, 154, 188, 194, I97n.,
272,275,277
Jehoahaz (of Judah), 57, 115, 155, 156,

172, 173, 174, 175, 181, 182, 218,
22in., 223, 226, 226n., 25611., 269,
271,276
Jehoash (of Israel), 100, 101, inn.,
13911., 140, 141, 147, 148, 149, 150,
154, 195, 196-198, 19711., 271, 272,
275,277
Jehoash (of Judah), see Joash
Jehoiachin, 57,109, 115,116,155, 156,
157, I57n., 172, 223, 226n., 227229, 22811., 230, 2300., 231-232,
23 in., 256n., 269,271, 276
Jehoiakim, 57, 86, 86n., 115, 155,
171-174, I72n., i74n., 175, I75n.,
178, 179, 180, i8on., 181, i88n.,
22in., 223, 226-229, 227n., 228n.,
230,231,269,271,276
Jehoram (of Israel), see Joram
Jehoram (of Judah), 38, 38n., 39, 57,
77, 89, 90, 92, 92n., 93, 93n., 94,
97, 105-106, 1050., io6n., iO9n.,
115, 123, I23n., 124, 126, 127, 128,
129-130, 131, I3in., I32-I345 135,
136, 137, 138, 139, 185, 187, 190,
239,256n., 269,271,275, 276
Jehoshaphat, 57, 69n., 83, 89, 90, 91,
92, 93, 97, 105-106, io6n., 109,
115, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130,
135, 138, 190, 256n., 269, 271, 275,
276
Jehu, 81, 82n., 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 115,
124, 126, 127, 128, 134, 136, 137,
138, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147148, 151, 152, 154, 183-185, i83n.,
i84n., 187-189, 190, 193, 194, 196,
I97n., 209,272,275,277
Jephthah, 56, 57, 58, 65n., 71, 73, 74,
75,75n-, 76,268,270
Jeremiah, Son., i88n., 227n.
Jeroboam I, 82, 82n., 83,84, 85, 87, 88,
120, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127,
129, 131, i3in., 133-134, 135, 137,
164, i65n., 167,189,272,275,276
Jeroboam II, 9on., 100, ioin., in,
inn., 112, 113, I39n., 140, 141,
143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149,
I5O,
152, 154, 195, 22On., 222,
271,
275, 277
Jerome, 260
Jerusalem, 39n., 4in., 67, 77, 78, 79,
Son., 124, 155, 156, 171, 175, 181,
i88n., 191, 203, 2O3n., 2o6n., 211,
213, 218, 2i9n., 220, 22in., 223,
227-232, 227n., 23in., 235, 236,
236n., 244, 270,271
Joash (of Israel), see Jehoash
Joash (of Judah), 56, 57, 77, 78-79,
82n., 93, 93n., 99n., iO5n., 115,
139, 140, 141, 147, 148, 149, 151,
i52n., 154, 187-188, 194, 196,
I97n., 269,271,272,275,277
Job,256
Joram (of Israel), 69n., 89, 90, 92, 93,
93n., 97, 105, 106, 109, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, i28n., 129, 130-131,
133, 134, I35> 136, 137, 138, i83n.,
184-187, i86n., i87n., 189, 190,
272,275,276
Joram (of Judah), see Jehoram
Jose ben Halaphta, 68,255
Joseph, 31-32,3in., 32n., 33, 35n., 44
Josephus, 40-41, 62-68, 670., 118,
122, i23n., 132, 139, I39n., 144145, I45n., 147-148, 149, I49n.,
152, I53n., 154, 155, 156, 179, 194,
205n., 235, 235-236n., 242n., 245250, 247n., 248n., 267, 276
Joshua (high priest), 51
Joshua (Moses' successor), 56, 65n.,
67n., 72, 74n., 270
Josiah, 57, 69, 69n., 70, 78, 79, Son.,
112, 115, 155, 158, 172, 174, 175178, I76n., i77-i78n., 179, I79n.,
i8on., 181, 182, 212, 2i2n., 2i9n.,
22in., 222, 223, 225, 225n., 226,
226n., 269,271,276
Josiah's reform, 78, 79, 175-176,
I76n., 177-178, I77n., I78n.
Jotham, 57, 97, 103-105, iO5n., 108,
no, in, 112, 113, 114, 115, 118,
I39n., 140, 142, 151, 152, 210,
218-221, 2i8-2i9n., 22on., 22in.,
222,269,271,275,277
Jubilees, 1-2, 22-26, 23n., 25n., 32,
32n., 244-245, 245n., 247, 250,
25on.,255
jubilee year, 2, 22, 23, 23n., 24, 166,
Index of Subjects
167,170, I70n.
Judas Maccabaeus, 244
Kaige recension of Septuagint, 37, 38,
56n., 123, 139
Kanun, 1640.
Karnak, 191
Kenan (antediluvian), 7, 12, 20, 27, 29,
44,247,251,267
Kenan (postdiluvian), 7, 9, 12, 17, 18,
44, 238, 240, 245, 248, 25on., 260,
267
Kenaz, 74n., 270
kinglists, 104,105,182
Kiriath-jearim, 63,67,71
Kislev, 227n., 228,279
Kohath, 34,34n., 35n., 36n.
Kullani (Calneh), 199
Lamech, 7, 10, n, 12-15, l(>> 19> 2O>
21, 24, 25, 25n., 26, 27, 29, 43, 44,
233-234, 240, 241, 247, 248, 249,
251,267
Letter of Aristeas, 239
Levi, 28,34,34n., 35n., 36n.
Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, 46n.,
74n., 250-255
Lucianic recension of Septuagint, 3738, 38n., 56-57, 56n., 58, 60, 62,
75n., 120, 121, 123, I23n., 132,
I32n., 139, 187,240
Luther, 260-261
Lydiat, Thomas, 262-263
Mahalalel, 7, 12, 20, 27, 29, 44, 247,
251,267
Malalas, John, 258n.
Manasseh, 57, 109, 112, H2n., 115,
155, 174, I75n., 178, 179, I79n,,
2i2n., 223, 224, 225, 226n., 269,
271,276
Mansuate, 198,198n.
Marheshvan, 178, i78n., 279
Media (Medes), 95n., 200
Megiddo, 225,226
Melanchthon, 261
Menahem, 9On., 101-103, iO3n.,
H9n., 140, 142, I46n., 151,
I5in., 154, 194, 195, 196, 198201, 2Oon., 20in., 2O2n., 210,
222,
309
272,
275,
277
Menander, 2O5n.
Merodachbaladan, 183^,274
Mesopotamia, 20, 48, 55, 57, 6on.,
67n., 72, 73, 74, 74n., 75, 89,
104-105, 121, 159, i59n., 161, 162,
i73n., i74-i?5> 180-182, 183,
i83n., 190, 195, I96n., I97n., 204,
2O5n., 210, 213, 2l6, 222,
223,
225,
228,230,268,270
messiah, 46n., 254,261,262
Methuselah, 6n., 7, 10, n, 12-14,
I4n., 15, 16, 20, 25-27, 25n., 26n.,
29, 43, 44, 233, 234, 241, 242, 247,
248,251,267
Midian (Midianites), 55, 57, 73, 268,
270
Mitinti, 202,2O2n., 203,2O3n.
Mizpah, 63
Moab (Moabites), 55, 57, 73, 76,
203n., 268,270
Mopha, I57n., 164, i64n.
Mordecai, 95,17in.
Moses, i, 34,35n., 36n., 37n., 49, 8on.,
170, 242, 243, 252, 253, 254, 255,
259.270
Nabonassar, i82n., 274
Nabonidus, 104, iO4n., i8on., 274
Nabopolassar, 101, 225, 225n., 226,
274
Nadab, 82, 83, 84, 93n., 124, 125, 126,
129, 131, 134, 135, 138, 190, 271,
272,275,276
Nahor (father of Terah), 7, 10, 12, 15,
17, 20, 27, 28, 29, 30, 44, 240, 248,
249,252,267
Nahor (brother of Abraham), 9
Nebuchadrezzar, 2, 37, 39, 40, 4in.,
78,79n., 86n., 100, iO4n., 155,175,
226-231, 227n., 228n., 23on., 235,
236,236n., 253,257,257n., 274
Necho, 226
Nehemiah, i6on., I7in.
New Testament, 32n., 46n., 62, 63,
110,254,257-258,259
Nineveh, 205n., 224
Nisan, 159-160, 165, i69n., 178-179,
I79n.,279
Noah, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9n., 10, 12, I3n., 14,
3io
18, 20, 21, 2in., 22-24, 23n, 25,

2511., 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 44, 22on.,
240,247,251,267
Omri, 82, 83-84, 8411., 92, 93, 98-9911.,
124, 125, 127, 129, 132, I32n., 134,
135, 138, 144, 186, 190, 272, 275,
276
Origen, 3811.
Othniel, 7411., 76
Palestine, nn., 102, 171, 17111., 172,
191, 19111., 192, 193, 224,226, 242
Passover, 78, 155, 158, 165, 175-177,
1760., 21911.
Paul, 62, 257-258
Pekah, 101-103, iom., 1030., 10711.,
108, no, in, 112, 113, 114, 11911.,
1390., 140, 142, 144, 14411., 14611.,
151, 15111., 152, 201-205, 2030.,
20411., 20511., 22in., 222, 272, 275,
278
Pekahiah, 103, 10311., 11911., 12311.,
139, i39n., 140, 142, 143, 144,
146-147, 14611., 148, 151, 152, 201,
2O5, 2O5n., 222,
272,
275,
278
Peleg, 7, 12, 17, 20, 27, 29-30, 44, 248,

259,267
Persia (Persians), 52n., 95n., i6on.,
i82n., 192, 2i5n., 235, 239, 257,
274
Philistia (Philistines), 55, 57, 63, 71,
73> ?6, i96n., 201-203, 2O3n., 213,
214-217,2i6n., 268, 270
Philo the Elder, 242
Phinehas, 238
postdating, 20-21, 2in., 27, 37n., 42,
46, 85-86, 88-91, 9on., 9in., 93,
H2n., 117, ii7n., 119, 120, i2in.,
127, 134, 136, I39n., 149, I49n.,
I53n., 159. i?2n., I73> *74> i?4n.,
179-182, i8on., i8in., 2ion.,
2iin., 2i2n., 218, 222-223, 225n.,
230, 23on., 231, 234, 238, 238n.,
239
Priestly chronology, 5-54, 55, 58, 6162, 65, 68, 72n., 91, 93-94> 96, 98,
iO9n., 119, 121, 123, 127, 129,
I3in., 132-134, 136, 139, i6in.,
i70n, 233-234, 237, 240-241, 244,
244n., 245, 256, 265, 267-268

Priestly source (P), 5, 6, 8, 8n., n, 30,
31, 3in., 32, 33, 34, 35, 35n., 41,
43, 48-54> 5 m., 53-54n., 165, 167,
170, I78n.,233
Pseudo-Philo, 74n., 250-255
Ptolemaic Canon, 182, i82-i83n.
Ptolemy II, 239
Ptolemy IV, 235,236,236n., 241
Ptolemy (in Eupolemus), 243
Ptolemy's Almagest 183n.
Qarqar,99, 184, 185,190
Rachel, 31
Ramoth-Gilead, 105,187
Rebecca, 31
Rehoboam, 38-39, 38n., 57, 58, 77, 78,
82n., 84, 85, 87, 115, 123, 124, 125,
126, 129, 130, I30-i3in., 135, 137,
186, 189, 191-192, 238, 239, 240,
269,271,275,276
Reu, 7, 12, 17, 20, 27, 28, 29-30, 44,
248,249, 252,267
Rezin, 198, 2Oon., 202-204, 202n.,
2O3n.,22in.
Rimah stele, 196, 197,197n.
rival kingships, 99, iom., 102-103,
no
Saba'a stele, 196, I96n., I97n.
sabbath year, 167-168, i7On.
Samaria, 59, 69n., 77, 78, 79, 79n., 80,
97,99>99n., 101,105n., iO7n., 115,
138, 139, I39n., 140, 143, 145,
152-153, I53n., 155, 175, 179,
I79n., 193, 205-209, 2o6n., 2O7n.,
2O9n., 210, 211-213, 2iin., 2i3n.,
217, 2i9n., 222, 223, 236, 236n.,
237,256,271,272,276,278
Samson, 56, 57, 58, 6on., 71, 72n., 74,
75,76,268,270
Samuel, 57, 58-68, 6on., 62n., 258,
268,270
Sarah, 3 in.
Sargon II, 112, 195-196^, i98n.,
207-209, 2o8n., 2O9n., 217, 2i7n.,
273,274
Sarrabanu, 204
Saul, 57, 58-68, 6on., 62n., 67n., 72n.,
Index of Subjects
75, 76,77,119,246, 258, 268,270
Seder Olam Rabba, 41, 4111., 6in.,
67-68, 100, 105, 10511., 2300.,
235, 24411., 252, 253, 254, 255257, 258
Sennacherib, 78, 79, iO7n., 112-113,
I49n., 155, 174, 193, i95n., 1980.,
2O5n., 210-213, 2ion., 219, 223224, 223n., 236, 236n., 237, 265,
273,274
Septuagint, 5, 6, i4n., 55, 56, s8n.,
109, 118, H9n., 121, I2in., 122,
I23n., 14411., 145, I5on., 187, 238,
241,245,250,252,254,258,260
Serug, 7, 12, 16,20, 26, 27, 29,44, 240,
248,249,252,267
Seth, 7, 12, 16, 19, 2in., 27, 28, 29, 44,
247,251,267
settlement in Canaan, 2, 4in., 56, 58,
59, 6on., 61, 62, 63, 65, 65n., 70,
72, 73> 75> 76, 77, Son., 121, i6m.,
237,244,245,250,253,258
Shallum, 102, 115, 140, 142, 144, 151,
154, 195,222,226n., 272,275,277
Shalmaneser III, i82n., 183-184, 187,
189
Shalmaneser V, 78, 79, 193, 205-209,
2o6n., 2O7n., 213, 2i3n., 216-218,
236,237, 273,274
Shamgar, 67n., 70, 76-77, 270
Sheikh Hammad stele, 196
Shelah, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17-18, 20, 27, 29,
44, 240, 248, 25on., 267
Shem, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22,
24,26,27,29,30,44,240, 252, 267
Sheshbazzar, 53,17in.
Shishak (Shoshenq I), 77, 78, 124,
191-193,193n.
Sidon (Sidonians), I57n., 196, i96n.
Simon Maccabaeus, 244, 244n.
Sinai, 1-2, 37n., 49-50,234,240
Sinuhe 87
Solomon, 2, 37n., 39, 56, 57, 61, 82n.,
103, 114, 116, 148, i52n., 161, 167,
236n., 242, 243, 243n., 256n., 269,
270,271
summary inscriptions, 197, I99n.
Syria, 102,196,197,198,199,226,227
Syro-Ephraimite war, 102, 112, 2O3n.,
218, 220,22in., 224n.
311
tabernacle, 40,42n., 48,49,116

Takeloth II, i93n.
temple
first temple, i, 2, 32, 36-49, 36n.,
37n., 4on., 4in., 43, 51, 55, 58, 61,
67n., 72n., 77, 78, 79, io5n., 114,
115, 116-119, H7n., 121, 129,
I3in., 140, 148, 155, 156, I57n.,
158, 161, 175, I76n., 191, 234, 235,
235n., 237, 238, 239, 240-241, 242,
243-244, 243n., 246, 249, 250, 253,
256-257,262-263, 265, 268, 270
second temple, 39-48, 51-53, 68,
116, 119, 121, i57n., 234-235,
234n., 237, 239, 243-244, 246, 253,
254,255,256-257
Terah, 6, 7, 8, 8n., 9, 9n., 12, 15, 16,
20,27, 29,44, 248, 252, 268
Theophilus of Antioch, 259
Tibni, 83, 84n.
Tiglathpileser I, i77n.
Tiglathpileser III, 6on., 9in., 102,
15in., I73n., 174, i83n., 195, 195I96n., 198-205, I98n., I99n.,
2O3n., 2O4n., 2O5n., 2o6n., 210,
212,216-218, 2i6n., 219, 273, 274
Tirzah, 132
Tishri, i64n., 170, i78n., 179, I79n.,
181,279
Tola, 57, 67n., 74, 76,268
Tolidah, 35,35~36n., 238
Tubail, 200
Turin Canon, 87
Tyre (Tyrians), 196, I96n., 200, 2Oon.,
201, 202,2O2n., 2O5n.
Ulluba, 199, I99n.
Unleavened Bread, Feast of, 162,
i68-i69n., 177
Urartu, 199, i99n.
Ussher, 2,4,98,261-263,265
Uzziah, see Azariah
Vulgate, 260
Weeks, Feast of, 23-24
Xerxes I, 52, 52n., 274
Xerxes II, 52n.
Xerxes III, 52n.
312
Xerxes (in Esther), 95

Yaubi'di, 19611., 2o8n.
Zechariah (king of Israel), 113, 115,
140, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 148,
150, ison., 151, 152, 154, I95>222,
226n., 272, 275, 277
Zechariah (prophet), 51, 52

Zedekiah, 37n., 57, 78, Son., 86, 86n.,
1520., 155, 180, 223, 228, 230-231,
269,271,276
Zerubbabel, 51,53
Zimri, 82, 83, 84, 93n., 124, 125, 127,
129, 131-132, i32n., 133, 135, 138,
190,226n., 272,275,276
Ziv, 161, i62n., 279
INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS
Aharoni Y., 18911.

Albright W. F., 99, 9911., 102, 10511.,
108, non., n8n., isyn., 186, 187,
192, I935 I93n., 2Ojn., 2O9n.,
21 in., 223, 22911.
AlfrinkB., i88n.
Andersen K. T., 82n., 84n., 99, iO5n.,
no, in, inn., 112, H2n., 113,
114, ii4n., I28n., 174, 178, 181,
191, 2Oin., 2O4n., 2O7n., 21 in.,
229n.
AstourM. C., 188,189
Auerbach E., i66n., i69n., 175, 176,
177,178,178n., 229n., 23in.
AvigadN., I7in.
Baer K., i93n.
Barr ]., 2n., 26in., 262
Barta W., I93n.
Begrich J., 99, 99n., zoin., 106, 107,
non., 116, 117, ii7n., H9n., 158,
i65n., i66n., 171, 174, I74n., 176,
177, i8in., 185, 187, I97n., 202,
2O4n., 2O9n., 21 in., 2i5n., 2i6n.,
229n.
Berliner E., i64n.
Bickerman E. J., i59n., i6on., i63n.,
165, i82n., 236n.
Bimson J. J., 40,4in.
BodineW. R.,56n.
BolingR. G.,6m.
Borger R., i95n., 204,204n., 225n.
Bowman J., 35n., 238, 238n.
Breasted J. H., 191,192
Brincken A. D. v. den, 258n.
Brinkman J. A., i82n., I96n., 273
Buccellati G., 6on.
Burney C. F., 33n., I23n.
Caminos R. A., 191
Gazelles H., 229n.

Charles R. H., 23n.
Clements R. E., 214,215, 2i7n., 2i8n.,
22On., 224
Clines D. J. A., i66n., 167, i68n., 169,
I74n., 226
Cody A., I97n.
Cogan M., 200,2O2n.
Cohn L., 25in., 252, 253,253n.
Coucke V., 99, 106, i66n., 167, i8on.,
i8in., 21 in., 2i2n., 2i6n., 229n.
Cross F. M., i in., 49, 50, 5on., 69
Dalley S., 196,196n.
Day J., 166,169, i69n.
Destinon J. von, 247n., 248n.
DeVriesS.J.,6
DonnerH., i69n., 2O3n., 214,2i7n.
Driver S. R., 6on.
Finegan J., I57n., i62n., 165, 175
Forrer E., i82n., 209
Freedy K. S., I73n., 229n., 23on.,
23in.
Fullerton K., 215,2i7n.
Gandz S., 161,162, 163, i63n.
Gardiner A. H., 87, 87n.
Gehman H. S., 36n., I57n.
Ginzel F. K., i82n., i83n.
GoodingD.W., 123
GottwaldN. K., 2i8n.
Gray B., 215
Gray]., I57n.
Grayson A. K., 6on.
Green A. R., 123
Grumel V., 258n.
Harrington D. J., 252,253n., 254
Hayes J., 99n., 123, i78n., 235n.
314
Heidel A., 22511.

Helm R., 56
Herrmann S., 11 in., 114,11411., 2O3n.
HolladayW.L.,8on.
Hooker P. K.,99n., 123, iy8n.
Horn S. H., i?3n., 229n., 23in.
HornungE., 191, 192
Hughes G. R., 193
Hunger H., I59n., i63n.
Hurvitz A., 53n., 54n.
Irwin W. A., 2i6n.
Jagersma H., 11 in., 119,2O3n.
JastrowM., ijon.
Jepsen A., 21, 99, 99n., 100, ioin., n,
loin., iO5n., 106, non., 174, 178,
181, i8in., 185, 188, I97n., 2O7n.,
21 in., 2i2n., 22on., 229n., 238n.
Johnson M. D, 234n., 235n.
Jones G. H., 11 in., 2o6n.
Kaiser O., 214,215,2i5n., 2i6n.
Kamphausen A., 115,116,229n.
Katzenstein H. J., 200,2osn., 2o6n.
Kaufman S. A., i96n.
Kaufmann Y., 5 in.
Kitchen K. A., 160, 191, 192, i93n.,
2O5n.
KleberA. M., i66n.
Klein R. W., 6n., i in., 13,21
Koch K., 36n.
KoenigE., 161
Krauss R., i93n.
KreyE., 115, ii7n., 144
Kugler F. X., 99, 117, 161, i6in., 163,
i66n., I76n., 2O9n., 2i9n., 229n.
KutschE., i65n., i69n., i7on.,229n.
Lagarde P. A. de, I23n.
Larsson G., 6n.
Levine L. D., 200,2Oon.
Lewy J., 99, 99n., 100, ioin., io6n.,
118, ii8n., I57n., 18111., 186,
2O9n., 2iin.,229n.
Lipihski E., I98n.
Luckenbill D. D., i99n., 2o6n.
McCarter P. K., 6on., i83n.
Mahler E., i66n.
Malamat A., I73n., i74n., i96n., 226,

227n., 228n., 229n., 23on., 231,
23in.
Marcus R., 62n., 67n., 259
Mayes A. D. H., 69,69n.
Millard A. R., 198
Miller J. M., 84n., 123, I23n., I32n.,
186,187, i87n., 188
Montgomery J. A., 36n., I57n.
Moore G. F.,6in.
Morgenstern J., 162, i62n., i68n.,
I77n.
Mosshamrner A. A., 26on.
Mowinckel S., 99, iO5n., 117, 118,
Ii8n., 119, H9n., 120, 121, i6in.,
i63n., i66n., 170, 186, I97n.,
2O9n., 21 in., 229n.
Murtonen A., 234n.
Na'aman, I95n., 223n.
Nelson R. D., 69,69n.
Nicholson E. W., I7in.
Niese B., 247n., 248n.
Noth M., 33n., 6in., 69,72n., 22911.
Oded B., 2O3n.
Olmstead A. T., 2o6n., 207, 2O7n.,
208,209
Oppenheim A. L., 273
Parker R. A., i6on.
Pavlovsky V., 99, icon., 101, 108, 109,
non., i66n., I75n., 179, i8on.,
i8in., 2Oin., 21 in., 2i2n., 2i6n.
Polzin R., 53n.
Rahlfs A., 38n., I29n.
Rappaport S., 67n.
Reade J., 2O5n., 225n.
Redford D. B., 95, I73n., 193, i93n.,
229n.,23on., 23 in.
RendtorffR., son., sin.
RichterW.,6m.,69n.
RolligW., i69n.
Rost P., I99n.
Rowley H. H., 40,6in.
Rudolph W., 186
Riihl F., I28n., 185,191, 192, 229n.
Schedl C., 99, icon., 106, 108, 109,
Index of Modern Authors
315
i8on., aoin., 20411., 21 in., 22911.,

23111.
Schrader E., 2o6n.
Segal J. B., i6in., 164
Segal M. H., 68
Shea W. H., i82n., 19711., 1990., 223
Shenkel J. D, 380., I2in., 123
Skinner J., 18
Smith G., 115,2o6n.,2ii
Soggin J. A., 6m., 74,203n.
StenringK.,6n.
Thompson T. L., 235n.

Van Seters J., 95,95n.
VauxR. de, i6on., i6in., i63n., i66n.,
i69n., 171, 175
Vogelstein M., 99, 100, ioin., iO7n.,
I57n., i6sn., i66n., I78n., 179,
i8in., 21 in., 229n., 23on.
Vogt E., 99, ioon., 101, 108, 109,
non., i66n., I75n., 179, i8on.,
i8in., 2Oin., 2iin., 2i2n., 2i6n.,
229n., 230,23on., 23 in.
Tadmor H., 86n., 88n., 90n., 99, 99n.,

100, loin., 106, non., i66n.,
i8on., i83n., I96n., 197, 198,
I98n., i99n., 2oon., 2O2n., 204,
204n., 207, 2O7n., 208, 209, 21 in.,
2i2n.,2i6n., 22gn.
Talmon S., i65n.
Tengstrom S., son.
Thackeray H. St. J., 62n., 67n., 247n.,
248n.
Thiele E. R., 99, icon., 101, ioin.,
102, iO2n., iO3n., iosn., 106, 107,
no, 112, i2in., 123, I32n., i66n.,
167, i67n., I73n., I74n., i8on.,
i8in., 191, 192, 199, I99n., 2OOn.,
2Oin., 2o6n., 2O7n., 21 in., 2i9n.,
229n.,23in.
Wacholder B. Z., 62n., 242,243,248n.

Weidner E. F., I77n.
Weippert H., 69n.
Weippert M., i83n., I98n., 2OOn.,
202n.
Wellhausen J., 2,39,40,6on., 84n., 96,

99? 99n-> I05n., non., 114, 115,
116, 117, H7n., 118, n8n., 119,
121, i66n., 167, i69n., 170, 175,
2O5n.,2ii,2iin.
WhitleyC.F., 188
WifallW.R., 119,120
Wildberger H., 214,2i6n.
Williamson H. G. M., 52n., i76n.
Wiseman D. J., 2O4n.
Zimmerli W., 23 in.
JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Supplement Series
1 I, HE, WE AND THEY:
A LITERARY APPROACH TO ISAIAH 53
D.J.A. Clines
*2 JEWISH EXEGESIS OF THE BOOK OF RUTH
D.R.G. Beattie
*3 THE LITERARY STRUCTURE OF PSALM 2
P. Auflret
4 THANKSGIVING FOR A LIBERATED PROPHET:
AN INTERPRETATION OF ISAIAH CHAPTER 53
R.N. Whybray
5 REDATING THE EXODUS AND CONQUEST
JJ. Bimson
6 THE STORY OF KING DAVID:
GENRE AND INTERPRETATION
DJV1. Gunn
7 THE SENSE OF BIBLICAL NARRATIVE I:
STRUCTURAL ANALYSES IN THE HEBREW BIBLE (2nd edition)
D. Jobling
*8 GENESIS 1-11: STUDIES IN STRUCTURE AND THEME
P.D. Miller
*9 YAHWEH AS PROSECUTOR AND JUDGE:
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROPHETIC LAWSUIT (RIB PATTERN)
K. Nielsen
10 THE THEME OF THE PENTATEUCH
DJ.A. Clines
11 STUDIA BffiLICA 1978 I:
PAPERS ON OLD TESTAMENT AND RELATED THEMES
Edited by E.A. Livingstone
12 THE JUST KING:
MONARCHICAL JUDICIAL AUTHORITY IN ANCIENT ISRAEL
K.W. Whitelam
13 ISAIAH AND THE DELIVERANCE OF JERUSALEM:
A STUDY OF THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
R.E. Clements
14 THE FATE OF KING SAUL:
AN INTERPRETATION OF A BIBLICAL STORY
D.M. Gunn
15 THE DEUTERONOMISTIC HISTORY
M. Noth
16 PROPHECY AND ETHICS:
ISAIAH AND THE ETHICAL TRADITIONS OF ISRAEL
E.W. Davies
17 THE ROLES OF ISRAEL'S PROPHETS
D.L. Pctersen
18 THE DOUBLE REDACTION OF THE DEUTERONOMISTIC HISTORY
R.D.Nelson
19 ART AND MEANING: RHETORIC IN BIBLICAL LITERATURE
Edited by DJ.A. Clines, D.M. Gunn, & A.J. Hauser
20 THE PSALMS OF THE SONS OF KORAH
M.D. Goulder
21 COLOUR TERMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A. Brenner
22 AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD:

STORY AND THEOLOGY IN EXODUS 32-34
R.W.L. Moberly
23 THE GLORY OF ISRAEL:
THE THEOLOGY AND PROVENIENCE OF THE ISAIAH TARGUM
B.D. Chilton
24 MIDIAN, MOAB AND EDOM:
THE HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGE
JORDAN AND NORTH-WEST ARABIA
Edited by J.F.A. Sawyer & D.J.A Clines
25 THE DAMASCUS COVENANT:
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE 'DAMASCUS DOCUMENT
P.R. Davies
26 CLASSICAL HEBREW POETRY:
A GUIDE TO ITS TECHNIQUES
W.G.E. Watson
27 PSALMODY AND PROPHECY
W.H. Bellinger
28 HOSEA: AN ISRAELITE PROPHET IN JUDEAN PERSPECTIVE
G.I. Emmerson
29 EXEGESIS AT QUMRAN:
4QFLORILEGIUM IN ITS JEWISH CONTEXT
G.J. Brooke
30 THE ESTHER SCROLL: THE STORY OF THE STORY
D.J.A. Clines
31 IN THE SHELTER OF ELYON:
ESSAYS IN HONOR OF G.W. AHLSTROM
Edited by W.B. Barrick & J.R. Spencer
32 THE PROPHETIC PERSONA:
JEREMIAH AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE SELF
T. Polk
33 LAW AND THEOLOGY IN DEUTERONOMY
J.G. McConville
34 THE TEMPLE SCROLL:
AN INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY
J. Maier
35 SAGA, LEGEND, TALE, NOVELLA, FABLE:
NARRATIVE FORMS IN OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE
Edited by G.W. Coats
36 THE SONG OF FOURTEEN SONGS
M.D. Goulder
37 UNDERSTANDING THE WORD:
ESSAYS IN HONOR OF BERNHARD W. ANDERSON
Edited by J.T. Butler, E.W. Conrad & B.C. Ollenburger
38 SLEEP, DIVINE AND HUMAN, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
T.H. McAlpine
39 THE SENSE OF BIBLICAL NARRATIVE II:
STRUCTURAL ANALYSES IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
D. Jobling
40 DIRECTIONS IN BIBLICAL HEBREW POETRY
Edited by E.R. Follis
41 ZION, THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING:
A THEOLOGICAL SYMBOL OF THE JERUSALEM CULT
B.C. Ollenburger
42 A WORD IN SEASON: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF WILLIAM McKANE
Edited by J.D. Martin & P.R. Davies
43 THE CULT OF MOLEK:

A REASSESSMENT
G.C. Heider
44 THE IDENTITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE PSALMS
S.J.L. Croft
45 THE CONFESSIONS OF JEREMIAH IN CONTEXT:
SCENES OF PROPHETIC DRAMA
A.R. Diamond
46 THE BOOK OF THE JUDGES: AN INTEGRATED READING
E.G. Webb
47 THE GREEK TEXT OF JEREMIAH:
A REVISED HYPOTHESIS
S. Soderlund
48 TEXT AND CONTEXT:
OLD TESTAMENT AND SEMITIC STUDIES FOR F.C. FENSHAM
Edited by W. Claassen
49 THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN ANCIENT HEBREW
J.D. Fowler
50 THE CHRONICLER'S HISTORY
M. Noth
51 DIVINE INITIATIVE AND HUMAN RESPONSE IN EZEKIEL
P. Joyce
52 THE CONFLICT OF FAITH AND EXPERIENCE IN THE PSALMS:
A FORM-CRITICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDY
C.C. Broyles
53 THE MAKING OF THE PENTATEUCH:
A METHODOLOGICAL STUDY
R.N. Whybray
54 FROM REPENTANCE TO REDEMPTION:
JEREMIAH'S THOUGHT IN TRANSITION
J. Unterman
55 THE ORIGIN TRADITION OF ANCIENT ISRAEL:
THE LITERARY FORMATION OF GENESIS AND EXODUS 1-23
T.L. Thompson
56 THE PURIFICATION OFFERING IN THE PRIESTLY LITERATURE:
ITS MEANING AND FUNCTION
N. Kiuchi
57 MOSES: HEROIC MAN, MAN OF GOD
G.W. Coats
58 THE LISTENING HEART: ESSAYS IN WISDOM AND THE PSALMS
IN HONOR OF ROLAND E. MURPHY, O. CARM.
Edited by K.G. Hoglund
59 CREATIVE BIBLICAL EXEGESIS:
CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH HERMENEUTICS THROUGH THE CENTURIES
B. Uffenheimer & H.G. Reventlow
60 HER PRICE IS BEYOND RUBIES:
THE JEWISH WOMAN IN GRAECO-ROMAN PALESTINE
LJ. Archer
61 FROM CHAOS TO RESTORATION:
AN INTEGRATIVE READING OF ISAIAH 24-27
D.G. Johnson
62 THE OLD TESTAMENT AND FOLKLORE STUDY
P.G. Kirkpatrick
63 SHILOH: A BIBLICAL CITY IN TRADITION AND HISTORY
D.G. Schley
64 TO SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE:

ISAIAH 6.9-10 IN EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION
C.A. Evans
65 THERE IS HOPE FOR A TREE:
THE TREE AS METAPHOR IN ISAIAH
K. Nielsen
66 SECRETS OF THE TIMES:
MYTH AND HISTORY IN BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY
J. Hughes
67 ASCRIBE TO THE LORD:
BIBLICAL AND OTHER ESSAYS IN MEMORY OF PETER C. CRAIGIE
Edited by L. Eslinger & G. Taylor
68 THE TRIUMPH OF IRONY IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES
L.R. Klein
69 ZEPHANIAH, A PROPHETIC DRAMA
P.R. House
70 NARRATIVE ART IN THE BIBLE
S. Bar-Efrat
71 QOHELET AND HIS CONTRADICTIONS
M.V. Fox
72 CIRCLE OF SOVEREIGNTY:
A STORY OF STORIES IN DANIEL 1-6
D.N. Fewell
73 DAVID'S SOCIAL DRAMA:
A HOLOGRAM OF THE EARLY IRON AGE
J.W. Flanagan
74 THE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF BIBLICAL AND CANAANITE POETRY
W. v.d. Meer & J.C. de Moor
75 DAVID IN LOVE AND WAR:
THE PURSUIT OF POWER IN 2 SAMUEL 10-12
R.C. Bailey
76 GOD IS KING:
UNDERSTANDING AN ISRAELITE METAPHOR
M. Brettler
77 EDOM AND THE EDOMITES
J.R. Bartlett
78 SWALLOWING THE SCROLL:
TEXTUALITY AND THE DYNAMICS OF DISCOURSE
IN EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY
E.F. Davis
79 GIBEAH:
THE SEARCH FOR A BIBLICAL CITY
P.M. Arnold
80 THE NATHAN NARRATIVES
G.H. Jones
81 ANTI-COVENANT:
COUNTER-READING WOMEN'S LIVES IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
M. Bal
82 RHETORIC AND BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
D. Patrick & A. Scult
83 THE EARTH AND THE WATERS IN GENESIS 1 AND 2
D.T. Tsumura
84 INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD

L. Eslinger
85 FROM CARMEL TO HOREB:
ELIJAH IN CRISIS
A.J. Mauser & R. Gregory
86 THE SYNTAX OF THE VERB IN CLASSICAL HEBREW PROSE
A. Niccacci
87 THE BIBLE IN THREE DIMENSIONS
D.J.A. Clines, S.E. Fowl & S.E. Porter
88 THE PERSUASIVE APPEAL OF THE CHRONICLER:
A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
R.K.Duke
89 THE PROBLEM OF THE PROCESS OF TRANSMISSION IN THE PENTATEUCH
R. Rendtorff
90 BIBLICAL HEBREW IN TRANSITION:
THE LANGUAGE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
M.F. Rooker
91 THE IDEOLOGY OF RITUAL:
SPACE, TIME, AND STATUS IN THE PRIESTLY THEOLOGY
F.H. Gorman
* (Out of Print)

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JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

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Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

Copyright 1990 Sheffield Academic Press

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available

This book is a revised version of a doctoral thesis which was

Secrets of the Times

fellow at Merton College, Oxford. It was then revised during my

The Priestly chronology of the world

2.1 Pre-Abrahamic chronology

The Deuteronomistic chronology of Israel

3.1 Pre-Priestly chronological schematism

The original chronology of the book of Kings

4.1 Problems and solutions

The historical chronology of Israel and Judah

5.1 Calendars and dating systems

Secrets of the Times

6.1 Revised Biblical chronologies

6.2.1.6 Seder Olam Rabba

6.2.2 Christian chronologies

Appendix A Biblical chronological data

A. i Priestly chronology: from creation to the

Chronological data in Josephus

B. i From the exodus to the foundation of the temple

B.3 Israelite kings: from the division of the kingdom

Appendix C Mesopotamia!! chronology

C.i Kings of Assyria

Appendix D Israelite-Judean chronology

D.I Kings of Israel

Appendix E Babylonian/Jewish month names

Index of ancient text references

Index of modern authors

A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (New

A. E. Cowley, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, as edited and

Secrets of the Times

fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

2.3 Rabbinic literature

Seder Olam Rabba

2.4 Classical texts

Josephus, Jezuw/z Antiquities

2.5 Akkadian texts

Adadnirari III, Calah Slab

Secrets of the Times

Qumran Isaiah Scroll a

Chapter 14 of the second book of Esdras (also known as 4 Ezra)

Secrets of the Times

which he spent on Mount Sinai. The book of Jubilees is

One reason why modern Biblical scholarship has been inclined

Secrets of the Times

fundamental of these beliefs, which motivated Ussher just as it

2.1 Pre-Abrahamic Chronology

Secrets of the Times

significantly greater than those of the Masoretic Text, also has a

Chronological Data: Genesis 5-11

130 + 800 = 930

230 + 700 = 930

ioo + 5oo(= 600)

100 + 500 =600

135 + 303 =438