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Biblical chronology dispute: Difference between revisions
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Clarified discussion of Ussher's interregna.
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(Clarified discussion of Ussher's interregna.) |
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From his date of 588 BC, Ussher worked backward, using the meticulous dates that appear throughout I and II Kings and II Chronicles, each of which gives a date of a king's accession with references to a year of reign of another king—except that kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] after the conquest of the [[Northern Kingdom]] are listed only with their ages and lengths of reign, and King [[Jehoiachin]] is referenced by how many years he had been a captive when Evil-Merodach acceded to his throne. Ussher’s calculations then placed the division of the kingdoms at 975 BC, and the beginning of Solomon's reign at 1015 BC. In order to arrive at these dates, Ussher had to make several assumptions about how to interpret the Biblical data, such as whether a given reign length or synchronism was measured from a coregency or from a sole reign. He postulated three coregencies for Judah. For Israel, he assumed three coregencies, one rival reign, and two interregna. For comparison, Thiele postulated six coregencies for Judah, and one coregency and two rival reigns for Israel. This is the area where the largest divergences are between the Thiele and Ussher camps, and the source of the 45 year difference in their dates of Solomon. | From his date of 588 BC, Ussher worked backward, using the meticulous dates that appear throughout I and II Kings and II Chronicles, each of which gives a date of a king's accession with references to a year of reign of another king—except that kings of the [[Southern Kingdom]] after the conquest of the [[Northern Kingdom]] are listed only with their ages and lengths of reign, and King [[Jehoiachin]] is referenced by how many years he had been a captive when Evil-Merodach acceded to his throne. Ussher’s calculations then placed the division of the kingdoms at 975 BC, and the beginning of Solomon's reign at 1015 BC. In order to arrive at these dates, Ussher had to make several assumptions about how to interpret the Biblical data, such as whether a given reign length or synchronism was measured from a coregency or from a sole reign. He postulated three coregencies for Judah. For Israel, he assumed three coregencies, one rival reign, and two interregna. For comparison, Thiele postulated six coregencies for Judah, and one coregency and two rival reigns for Israel. This is the area where the largest divergences are between the Thiele and Ussher camps, and the source of the 45 year difference in their dates of Solomon. | ||
In studying Ussher’s reasoning, it becomes clear that one of the major features contributing to the difference is the interregna, since both scholars used basically the same method in determining when the Biblical data called for a coregency. Ussher began an eleven-year interregnum at the death of Jeroboam II of Israel | In studying Ussher’s reasoning, it becomes clear that one of the major features contributing to the difference is the interregna, since both scholars used basically the same method in determining when the Biblical data called for a coregency. Ussher began an eleven-year interregnum at the death of Jeroboam II of Israel. Thiele's chronology, based on the same principles that Ussher used elsewhere in determining when there were coregencies, had no need of this interregnum. Ussher has another eight-year interregnum between Pekah and Hoshea, the last two kings of Israel. In 2 Kings 15:30, the Hebrew original says that Hoshea was actually reigning in the same year that he killed Pekah, so that Ussher's interregnum here contradicts 2 Kings 15:30. The Hebrew verb used cannot honestly be interpreted in any other way, and so this issue of the interregna has become problematic for Ussher’s chronology. As mentioned before, Thiele had no need of interregna; his interpretation of the Biblical texts is in harmony with the texts of 2 Kings 15:8 and 2 Kings 15:30. | ||
{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=6|verses=1}} states that Solomon broke ground on the Temple in the fourth year of his reign—and that this event took place in the ''four hundred eightieth year since the [[Exodus of Israel]].'' This places the Exodus at 1491 BC when using Ussher’s dates for Solomon. | {{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=6|verses=1}} states that Solomon broke ground on the Temple in the fourth year of his reign—and that this event took place in the ''four hundred eightieth year since the [[Exodus of Israel]].'' This places the Exodus at 1491 BC when using Ussher’s dates for Solomon. | ||
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# That a king identified as [[Ahab]] contributed a sizeable portion to a coalition force that fought against Shalmaneser III in a major battle at [[Qarqar]] in 853 BC. Again, Thiele’s chronology as derived from the Biblical historical books required that the tribute was in 853 instead of in 854, the date held by the majority of the Assyrian academy. In all three editions of his ''Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings'', Thiele published his revision of the Assyrian Eponym Canon that allowed the Assyriologists’ dates to match those derived from the Bible. This has been a great testimony to the reliability of the Bible’s chronological data ''when interpreted correctly''. | # That a king identified as [[Ahab]] contributed a sizeable portion to a coalition force that fought against Shalmaneser III in a major battle at [[Qarqar]] in 853 BC. Again, Thiele’s chronology as derived from the Biblical historical books required that the tribute was in 853 instead of in 854, the date held by the majority of the Assyrian academy. In all three editions of his ''Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings'', Thiele published his revision of the Assyrian Eponym Canon that allowed the Assyriologists’ dates to match those derived from the Bible. This has been a great testimony to the reliability of the Bible’s chronological data ''when interpreted correctly''. | ||
# That [[Sennacherib]] invaded the [[Southern Kingdom]], in the days of King [[Hezekiah]], in 701 BC. The date is well established from Assyrian records, and it is consistent with Thiele’s chronology. | # That [[Sennacherib]] invaded the [[Southern Kingdom]], in the days of King [[Hezekiah]], in 701 BC. The date is well established from Assyrian records, and it is consistent with Thiele’s chronology. | ||
#That Menahem of Israel gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III at some time between the Assyrian’s first year of reign, 745 BC, and the death of Menahem, which Thiele placed in 742/41 BC. Tiglath-Pileser’s original name was Pul (2 Kings 15:9), as has been established from Babylonian<ref> | #That Menahem of Israel gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III at some time between the Assyrian’s first year of reign, 745 BC, and the death of Menahem, which Thiele placed in 742/41 BC. Tiglath-Pileser’s original name was Pul (2 Kings 15:9), as has been established from Babylonian<ref>Thiele, ''Mysterious Numbers'', p. 141, n. 4.</ref> and Phoenician<ref>In the Phoenician Incirli Stela, Tiglath-Pileser’s name is written as פאל (Stephen A. Kaufman, “The Phoenician Inscription of the Incirli Trilingual: A Tentative Reconstruction and Translation,” MAARAV 14.2 [2007], pp. 7–26).</ref> records. The tribute was challenged by Floyd Nolen Jones, who wrote, “Thus, there is no Assyrian historical text which says or even infers that Tiglath-Pileser collected tribute from Menahem of Israel, although almost all scholarly sources proclaim that he so did.”<ref>Jones, ''Chronology of the OT'', p. 172a.</ref> This statement is false. The text of the Iran Stela, published in 1994, says explicitly that Tiglath-Pileser received tribute from Menahem of Samaria. Ussher’s dates for Menahem, 772 to 761 BC, would make it impossible for him to give tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, who reigned from 745 to 727 BC. This problem with Ussher’s dates has never been resolved by the “Ussher camp.” It arose in part because of Ussher’s interregnum that not only produced conflict with Assyrian dates, but, more importantly, with the Hebrew text of 2 Kings 15:30. This and Ussher’s other unwarranted interregnum have contributed to the 45-year divergence between Ussher’s dates and those of modern scholarship. | ||
All these dates presented serious problems for Ussher’s interpretation of the chronological data of I and II Kings and II Chronicles—as shown by Ussher calculating King Jehu as having acceded to the throne of Israel (and also killed King [[Ahaziah]] of Judah) in 884 BC.<ref>[[James Ussher|Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World|op. cit.]], pgh. 535</ref> | All these dates presented serious problems for Ussher’s interpretation of the chronological data of I and II Kings and II Chronicles—as shown by Ussher calculating King Jehu as having acceded to the throne of Israel (and also killed King [[Ahaziah]] of Judah) in 884 BC.<ref>[[James Ussher|Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World|op. cit.]], pgh. 535</ref> | ||
