THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
TIME, BIBLICAL RECKONING OF.
ii.
The Chronological System. Creation to the Flood (§1). The Flood till the Exodus (§ 2). The Exodus to Solomon (§ 3). Solomon till the Return (§ 4). The Historical Data.
Lack of a Basal Era (§1). Synchronisms in I— II Kings (§ 2). Results from Assyrian Sources (§ 3). General Result (§ 4). III. The Abrahamic Date. 1. The Hebrew Chronology.
Chronology of P (§ 1). Chronology Based on the Exodus
(§2). Ussher's Basis (§3).
2. Egyptian Chronology.
3. Babylonian Chronology.
I. Chronological System: There is doubtless a
system of chronology in the Old Testament, indeed
more than one, and these cross each other; the age
and origin are unknown, though in the nature
of things such systems are relatively late. It is a
special and significant peculiarity of the Hebrew
spirit that the Hebrews earlier than
i. Creation any other people conceived the idea of
to the a common relationship of the nations
Flood. and of a definite ordering of all events
to a common purpose, leading them to
orient their own history in universal history. The
Hebrew chronological system comes out of this idea.
attached to the Babylonian system have long been known. The names of the patriarchs correspond to those of some of the Babylonian kings; the reigns of the latter covered long world-periods, corresponding to the lives of the patriarchs, except that the latter are systematically abbreviated. In the Babylonian system from the creation to Alexander the Great was 215 myriads of years; from the beginning to the end of creation 168 myriads, in the Bible 24 x 7 (= 168) hours; the Babylonians reckon from the first king Alorus to the flood 432,000 years (i.e., 72 x 6,000), in the Bible from Adam to Noah covers 1656 years (i.e., 72 x 23 years or 72 x 1,200 weeks).
Masoretic Text
Samaritan Text
Septuagint Text
Before the be;
After jetting
Total
Before the be
After getting
Total
Before After the begetting
Total
1. Adam
2. Seth
3. Enos
4. Cainan
(950)
(950)
167 (187)
802 (782)
6. Jared
7. Enoch ....
8. Methuselah
9. Lamech
10. Noah
To the flood
75?
(950)
Total
1,656
1,307
2,242 (2,262)
For the period before the flood (Gen. v.) the system works out in the above table, each item containing the years of a patriarch's life before the begetting of his first son, the years after that till his death, and the sum. It is to be noticed, however, that the Masoretic text, the Samaritan text, and the Septuagint have each its own tradition.
Correspondences between this system and that
Other relationships might be discovered. The Biblical author has leaned upon the Babylonian exemplar, but has subordinated his material to his own idea.
For the period between the flood and Abraham the following table of the three chief types of text results (Gen. xi. 10 sqq.).
While one may question whether the figures in
Masoretic Text
Samaritan Text
Septuagint Text
Before
After
Total
Before
After
Total
Before
After
Total
the begetting
the begetting
the begetting
1. Shem
2. Arphaxad
430 (400)
565 (535)
3. Kainan
4. Salah
5. Eber
370 (270)
504 (404)
6. Peleg
7. Reu
8. Serug
9. Nahor
79 (179)
129 (125)
208 (304)
10. Terah
(135)
(205)
(75)
(145)
(135)
(205)
Total
1,040
..
1,170 (1,270)
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Time
the first table under Masoretic text represent the original tradition, those in the second table claim attention because of their modesty; some, however, think those of the Samaritan text earlier, according to which Methuselah, Jared, and Lamech died in the year of the flood. It is to be remarked that 100 years of Shem may be deducted from the last table, and this results in the following :
2. The
Flood
till the
Exodus.
Hebrew.
Samaritan.
Septuagint.
[Eng. A. V.
From creation to the flood From the flood to Abraham's birth
1,656
1,307
2,262 1,070
1,656
Total
1,946
2,247
3,332
2,008]
The figures from Abraham on are in Gen. xii. 4,
xxi. 5, xxv. 26, xlvii. 9, xii. 40-41.
Age of Abraham at his call 75
Age of Abraham at Isaac's birth 100
Age of Isaac at Jacob's birth 60
Age of Jacob on entering Egypt 130
( 25 After Abraham's call < 60
(130
Hebrew.
Samaritan.
Septuagint.
Length of the sojourn in Canaan . . Length of the sojourn in Egypt . .
From the creation to Abraham's birth
1,946
2,247
3,332
Total
2,666
2,752
3,837
3- The Exodus to Solomon.
These last figures give the lapse of time from creation till the exodus. What the second and third columns mean is doubtful, but it has long been seen that the number 4,000, a " world-number," representing 100 generations of 40 years each, is represented in the Masoretic column by two-thirds of that number, 2,666. This leaves the remainder of 1,333 years to be accounted for.
But first it must be noted that in I Kings vi. 1 the number 40 appears in the number 480 (40 x 12), which last represents the period from the exodus to the building of the temple. The book of Judges does not easily work into this scheme, as the following tables show.
a. Major judges; times of peace.
Othniel, Judges iii. 11 40 years
Ehud, iii. 30 80
Deborah-Barak, v. 31 40
Gideon, viii. 28 40 "
(Jephthah, xii. 7 6 " )
Samson, xv. 20 20 "
Total 220 or 226
6. Times of oppression.
Under Mesopotamians, iii. 8 8 years
Moab, iii. 14 18 "
" Canaan, iv. 3 20 "
" Midian, vi. 1 7 "
" Ammon, x. 8 18 "
" Philistines, xiii. 1 40 "
c. Minor judges
Tola, Judges x. 2 23 years
Jair, x. 3 Jephthah (ut sup.)
Ibzan, xii. 9
Elon, xii. 11. . Abdon, xii. 14
Total 76 years
d. Before and after the judges.
Moses in the wilderness 40 years
Joshua x "
Eli, I Sam. iv. 18 (LXX. 20) 40 ;i
Samuel y "
Saul z "
David, I Kings ii. 11 40
Solomon till building of Temple .. . 4 "
Total Ill years
Total 124 (104) +x + y + z
The item concerning Elon is doubtful, since he is absent from the prehexaplaric Septuagint, in Eusebius, and perhaps also from Clement of Alexandria ; this would leave 66 years for the minor judges. But the omission in the Septuagint may be accidental. The placing of Jephthah is a matter of judgment; his period, of course, is to be counted but once. To get the period between the exodus and the building of the temple the totals of the four tables above must be added, deducting the repeated item: 226+ 111 + 70+124 = 531 (or 534, in case Abimelech with 3 years is counted in; Judges ix. 22). But this is far beyond the 480 years of I Kings vi. 1. To relieve this it has been noted that it is usual to reckon the years of a usurper's reign in with the rightful kings, and the years of oppression constitute a sort of usurpation; then the reckoning would give 531 — 111 = 420, and 60 years are left for x+y+z. But an objection to this is that in certain cases, those of Jephthah and Samson, the " usurpation " is longer than the reign. But this argument is deceptive, since in the case of Samson it is reasonable to suppose that the Philistine oppression is reckoned into the time of Eli. Similarly the reckoning with regard to Jephthah is doubtful (note the wording of Judges x. 8). At any rate, the foregoing shows that merely mechanical handling of the tables is not to be attempted. Another method of shortening the period seemingly indicated in the book of Judges is that of Noldeke, who regards the tables a and b as so interlocked as to show the idea of the historian of the period of the judges; that would leave no room for the table c, dealing with the minor judges. In that case they were not in the original book and not in the chronological scheme, and that scheme calls for 441 years. But even this seems to allow too much time for x+y+z. Then it is helped by the fact that the oppression of the Philistines' rule included the period of Eli's government, so that Samson's 20 years and Eli's make up the 40 of Judges xiii. 1, leaving 79 (a round 80) for x+y+z, allotting 40 to Joshua, and 20 each to Samuel and Saul. That makes the scheme from the exodus as follows:
Years
Moses 40
Joshua 40 (20?)
Othniel 40
Ehud 80
Deborah-Barak . . 40
Gideon 40
Years
Jephthah 6
Samson 20
Eli (Septuagint, 20) ... 40
Samuel 20
Saul 20
David 40
Time