Noah's Flood: Bible Patriarchs: Bible Stories: Bible Dates: Bible Calendars: Bishop Ussher: Age of the World: Ancient Myths:Once you go beyond the divided kingdom period mathematical calculations become less certain by virtue of the general lack of synchronous references. For the Period from King Solomon to Abraham however, there are corroborating references which tend to provide chronological support. Once one begins to discuss the Flood and events beyond however, we enter into the unknown, primarily because we are entering a period where history, religion and Science come into conflict.If the reference to the 292 years from Noah's flood to Abraham are ordinary solar years, then the flood occurred in approximately 2206 BCE. In addition to the complete lack of archaeological evidence by which to determine the date of Abraham's birth or the founding of Jerusalem and a lack of solid evidence for a worldwide flood, very few people seriously consider Biblical chronology in relation to the creation event or date to be factual.
I received a letter from someone eager to know the exact date of creation, based upon the King's Calendar computer generated mathematical artificial calendar.
The King's Calendar is the first scientifically successful attempt to synchronise the chronological data provided in the Bible for the Divided Kingdom Period. (What is the King's Calendar?)
The claim that it is both scientific and successful is legitimate, since it's calculations are not based primarily in archaeology, history, guesswork or opinion. See:
Instead, the King's Calendar takes the chronological data provided in the Bible, and demonstrates that what is referred to as synchronous data for the Divided Kingdom Period, is actually mathematically synchronous when each year provided in the Bible is given a set mathematical value. Furthermore, the historical results of that synchronism generally matches the current picture of history as determined by archaeologists and historians. The King's Calendar can therefore be said to be successful.
Once you go beyond the divided kingdom period however, the mathematical calculations become less certain by virtue of the general lack of synchronous references. For the Period from King Solomon to Abraham however, there are corroborating references which tend to support the accuracy of the King's Calendar.
Once one begins to discuss the Flood and events beyond however, we enter into the unknown, primarily because we are entering a period where history, religion and Science come into conflict. Nevertheless, I will attempt to answer the Inquiry.
Dear Sir:
I have, currently, three questions for you.
1. Have you ever calculated back to the date of Creation using just your model and the Scripture? Most research I have seen puts the Flood 1656 years after Creation. I would hate to just add 1656 years to your date for the flood if the ages involved in that figure were not based on solar years.
2. Have you looked into the idea that the confusion of the languages at the Tower of Babel might not be the division of the land associated with Peleg? See Dr. Walt Brown's website and the online article "Of Peleg ad Pangaea" by Rick Lanser. I would like to put those dates in if you had them.
3. Have you ever looked at the Hebrew Feast Days calendar for any "appointed times" coinsiding with your calculated dates? Especially for important events, like the Exodus?
Thank you kindly for considering the ramblings of a Mom who is trying to get it right!
Candace L. of Lowell, MA
Answering the Questions in Reverse Order
Question No 3.
Have you ever looked at the Hebrew Feast Days calendar for any "appointed times" coinciding with your calculated dates? Especially for important events, like the Exodus?
The short answer to this question is that there is nothing by which to check. Jewish history is based on what is recorded in The Talmud, the Prophets, Josephus, Seder Olam Rabbah, Maimonides and other writings.
Additionally, different language versions provide slightly different details, especially with regard to chronological data. [Compare the Old Testament, Josephus and the Dead Sea Scrolls for chronological data in relation to the Jewish pre-noahic patriarchs, and this becomes clear. See
There is a specific reference in Seder Olam which apparently makes a definitive statement in relation to Jubilee years, see (Topic 7. Seder Olam:850 year / 17 Jubilee Period) but the reference lacks true difinition, evidence or corroboration. By this I mean that you can't actually find direct references in Scripture by which to judge the accuracy of the Seder Olam reference.
With specific reference to the Exodus, one must remember that most current academics do not believe that there was a Mosaic Exodus, or if there was one, it is either confused with the Hyksos Expulsion, or later sporadic emigrations. Not even the century in which the Exodus is alleged to have occurred (15th Century BCE) is accepted by modern Academics.
The Biblical chronological basis for the event is principally found in 1 King 6:1, which in the Masoretic text differs to the Septuagint Text. See:
The King's Calendar which synchronises the Chronological data provided in Scripture for the Divided Kingdom, demonstrates both that the data is reliable, and that it appears in an artificial form. Then using Biblical and extrabiblical data, it demonstrates the date for the Exodus.
It is important to note that the chronologies offered by Josephus are used as corroborating evidence for the Biblical Data. Normally his data would not be considered to be "corroborating evidence", because (in addition to claims that it is incomprehensible) it could be assumed that such data is copied from the Biblical Records. However, Josephus' writings offer data not provided in the Bible, and therefore acts as a secondary source of data that can be seen not to rely on the primary source we use today. It can therefore said to be corroborating evidence. [Chapter 20 of the King's Calendar.]
Using multiple chronological datum from varieties of sources / authors, the chronology of Israel can be traced back with reasonable assurance until the time of Abraham.
Question No 2
Have you looked into the idea that the confusion of the languages at the Tower of Babel might not be the division of the land associated with Peleg? See Dr. Walt Brown's website and the online article "Of Peleg ad Pangaea" by Rick Lanser. I would like to put those dates in if you had them.
I know nothing of Dr. Brown's work or of the specific topic to which you refer. So I can make no comment, except as made in reference to the first question.
From Creation to Noah's Flood
Question No 1.
Have you ever calculated back to the date of Creation using just your model and the Scripture? Most research I have seen puts the Flood 1656 years after Creation. I would hate to just add 1656 years to your date for the flood if the ages involved in that figure were not based on solar years.
Noah's Flood
The earliest computer generated chronological projection calculated within the King's Calendar, is the Flood. This was done in Appendix Seventeen: From the Flood to Moses: The 292 years from the Flood to Abraham. See Also:
Line 1440 is the 292nd year from the Flood and corresponds to 1915 BCE as the 70th year of Terah and the year that Abraham was born.
Line 1731 is year One (1) of those 292 years and corresponds to the year 2184 BCE as either the year of the flood or the year following the flood. (it depends on your interpretation of chronological reference)
If the reference to the 292 years from Noah's flood to Abraham are ordinary solar years, then the flood occurred in approximately 2206 BCE (Appendix 17 Currently has a 'typo' and says 2005 BCE.)
Abraham's first year starts December 25th 1915, so 1914 BCE is effectively his first year. 1914 BCE + 292 = 2006 BCE, but 2006 BCE would be Year One of the 292 years.
Depending on how one interprets the data, 2007 may be the year of the flood.
These calculations are based upon chronological data provided in both Scripture and Josephus.
The Process of Calculating Abraham's Birth Year Using the Artificial Calendar:
Solomon's Fourth (4th) year is 970 BCE and is the 480th year after entrance into Canaan. 1 Kings 6:1
We add 479 years to 970 BCE (Solomon's 4th year) [one year is duplicated - the 4th and 480th]
And another Forty (40) years to the actual Exodus
We allow 215 years for the Sojourn. [As per Josephus Antiquities Book 2 Ch.15:2 [318] Whiston, 1993, p.75]
And add 130 years (less one) for Jacob's age upon entering Canaan ( Gen 47:28 ) [one year is duplicated]
To this we add 60 years for Isaac's age at Jacob's birth (Gen 25:26)
And 100 years for Abraham's age at Isaac's birth.
From all of this we arrive at December 1915 BCE. for the year of Abraham's birth. (Chapter 14 King's Calendar)
But there are several things that must be stated at this point.
There is no archaeological evidence to support Biblical chronology,let alone the King's Calendar reconstruction.
The King's Calendar reconstruction uses artificial years of 336 days. This means that the 1731 years back to the flood from a 586 BCE Babylonian captivity, are not 1731 solar years, but approx 1597 Solar years.
That in the Biblical Data for the Divided Kingdom there is a 13.5 artificial year overlap of data which disappears in the King's Calendar synchronism. (13.5 artificial years plus the 1597 above becomes 1609 years maybe 1610 years.)
That Academics dispute both the event called Exodus, and the century in which it is placed. They move it from the 15th century to the 13th century.
There is no archaeological evidence for Abraham or the Patriarchs
There is no archaeological evidence for the founding of Jerusalem
There is no archaeological evidence for the Flood. See offsite articles:
There is no academic acceptance for the ages of the pre-noahic patriarchs
Creation to Noah's Flood
Adam to Noah's Flood.
As already stated, there are no King's Calendar charts from Adam to Noah, however general dates can be calculated.
If we tabulate the ages from Adam to Noah's flood, (See:From Adam to Joseph : Seder Olam Rabbah), we merely have to add a total of 1656 years to the date for Noah's flood, to calculate when Adam was created.
As already indicated, there are problems with doing this. In addition to the complete lack of archaeological evidence by which to determine the date of Abraham's birth or the founding of Jerusalem and a lack of solid evidence for a worldwide flood, very few people seriously consider Biblical chronology in relation to the creation event or date to be factual.
Additionally, if one were to apply the Biblical data, one would normally do so from within a regular solar year perspective. Whether or not one accepts the King's Calendar date for the Flood Event, there is absolutely nothing by which to determine if the ages of the Patriarchs prior to Noah's flood, are provided from a Solar Year or Artificial year perspective, or even a spiritual perspective.
When the King's Calendar examined all available data for Abraham, there was sufficient extra Biblical Data by which to determine that the chronological conclusions were correct, but in relation to the period from the Flood to Adam, there is absolutely no other available data. Therefore, if we use the King's Calendar model for calculating the date for Adam's Creation, we would do it using a very simple mathematical method that approximates the date.
By "approximates" is meant that sometimes, two artificial years fall within the same solar year. For Example: Terah's Last year is separate to Abraham's First year within the King's Calendar Construct, but they both fall in the same year. Terah in January, Abraham in December. Therefore the final result might be misleading by one year. See:Assumptions and Limitations of the King's Calendar.
The math in Artificial Years
Multiply the 1656 years which constitute the ages of Patriarchs from Adam to Noah's Flood, by 336 days (per artificial years) to arrive at 556,416 days, which is then divided by the 364 days (believed by the Essenes to comprise one solar year) to approximate 1,528.6 Solar years.
The Result.
2184 BCE - June (Year 1 of the 292 artificial years from Flood to Abraham)
+ 1528.6 Solar year equivalent of 1656 artificial years.
=
3712 BCE
Note: That .6 of a year can push this date to 3713.
If on the other hand Noah's flood occurred 292 solar years prior to Abraham, then the result is:
2206 Noah's Flood
+ 1528.6 Solar year equivalent of 1656 artificial years.
=
3734 BCE - 1st Year of Creation.
The Math in Solar Years
If all the ages of the Pre-Noahic Flood Patriarchs were recorded in true solar years, then the following results:
From 2184 BCE
+
1656 Solar Years
=
3840 BCE Date of Creation
- OR -
From 2206 BCE
+
1656 Solar years
=
3862 BCE 1st year of Adam
The Conclusions Reached Here are as per the King's Calendar reconstruction of Biblical Chronology, backdated from the calculation for the Birth of Abraham. Therefore, they do not match the predictions of James Ussher.
An Interesting Question & Seder Olam's Misssing Years
The Date which Ussher provides for the Date of Creation is 4004 BCE. The 3840 BCE date which the King's Calendar provides based on the presumption that the 292 years from Abraham to the flood are artificial years, results in a difference of 164 years.
By this is meant that the King's Calendar artificial chronology falls 164 solar years short of Ussher's chronology. However, within this King's Calendar reconstruction, 13.5 artificial (12 Solar) overlapping years were absorbed in synchronisms. This means that the 3840 BCE figure would otherwise have been 3852 BCE, which is at variance with Ussher's figures by 152 years.
While it is stated here that there is a 152 year variance, it may be more than that, because of limitations in providing these calculations. For example, whether one should use Year One of the flood in 2184 BCE or the year before, 2185 BCE., and the matter of dealing in whole years not in parts of years; and then there is as previously mentioned, the matter of 2 artificial years commencing within the same solar year.
I raise this matter because if one notes this variance with Ussher's figures, then one cannot help but remember that the Seder Olam Rabbah's calculations for the Persian Empire differ from recorded history by the same number of years.
I mention this fact because within it one can find at least one explanation for the failure of the Seder Olam Rabbah to synchronise with known history. SeeFrom Adam to Joseph : Seder Olam Rabbah
BUT - To Answer Candace's question
Wherever you turn in the Academic world, you will find no absolute agreement between scholars, and certainly no acceptance of the Biblical Record.
The Biblical Chronological Record has never been understood, not even for the divided kingdom period for which synchronous records are provided.
Although lacking Archaeological evidence to support it, the King's Calendar chronological reconstruction from Solomon to the time of Abraham, is nevertheless reasonably supported by Biblical and Extra Biblical data.
From Creation to Abraham, the chronological data is less than reliable except within a religious conviction.
There is no data available to the King's Calendar by which to determine if the date of Noah's Flood, transpiring as it does 292 years before Abraham, should be calculated in Artificial or Solar Years.
Given that the redactors took the time and trouble to alter the solar chronological records into an artificial equivalent, from the Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE back to Abraham in 1915 BCE, a period of 1300 years, there is no reason to suppose that they did not continue transcribing the data back to the flood, and perhaps to Adam, if indeed, the purpose of this transcription was to lengthen the History of Israel. One cannot however be sure.
If, as is supposed by the King's Calendar, that the artificial calendar was created to extend Israel's history, then at face value that artificial calendar would have been mistaken for solar years, giving the impression that Creation occurred in 3987 BCE
How it would have looked in Solar Years
586 BCE Babylonian Exile
+
393 years to the reign of Rehoboam (Southern Kingdom Chronology) 36 years to Solomon's 4th year building of the Temple 480 years to the Entrance into Canaan (King's Calendar version) 40 years to the Exodus (Academics include this with the above) 215 years to the Sojourn (As per Josephus) 129 years to Jacob's birth (130 - 1) (as per Scriptures) 60 years to Isaac's birth (Q. Should we remove One Year?) 100 years to Abraham's birth (Q. Do these ages overlap?)
= 1453 years (586 BCE + 1453 = 2039 BCE)
+ 292 years to Noah's Flood = (2039 BCE + 292 = 2331 BCE)
+ 1656 years to Adam's Creation = (2331 BCE + 1656 = 3987 BCE)
Adam's 1st year would appear to be 3987 BCE.
There is a 17 year Variance with Ussher.
By connecting Greek events to Roman history, Ussher tied the date of Nebuchanezzar’s death (562 B.C.) to the modern Julian calendar. Once the date of 562 B.C. was calculated, there remained only the simple matter of adding 562 years to the 3,442 years represented by the generations of the Old Testament up to that time: 4004. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/ussher.html
Astronomer Johannes Kepler concluded that 3992 B.C. was the probable date.
The Final Answer from the King's Calendar Perspective.
If all dates back to Noah's Flood are artificial years, and continue to be artificial back to Adam, then the Creation date is 3712 BCE (+/-)
If all dates back to Noah's Flood are artificial years, and from Adam to Noah are True Solar years, then the Date for Creation is 3840 BCE. (+/-)
In the Final Analysis, we just don't know!
I know this doesn't answer the question,
But I hope it helps understand the difficulties.
If you have something that you would like to discuss
Just drop me a line at rpbendedek@hotmail.com
Some of the people with whom I am currently discussing issues include writers at:
The Jewish people currently use a calendar that they feel is based on the date of the Creation of the world in 3761 B.C., some 5753 years ago.
Several dates posed as the date of the Exodus include 1290 B.C. held by the Reformed Jews and 1280 B.C. held commonly by the Orthodox Jews.
As more ancient artifacts and manuscripts are rediscovered, dates of important events have been modified and their accuracy improved. Most archaeologists now place the date of the Exodus around 1446 B.C., during the reign of Amenophis II (1450 - 1426 B.C.), a pharaoh of Egypt. This would place the Jewish calendar off by around 166 years or so.
The question as to exactly when Noah’s Flood occurred has seen a variety of different answers from scholars through the years. The only possible way such a date could be obtained is if the documented evidence which exists provides enough clues to pinpoint the event. Now, while there are many documents and folk histories concerning Noah’s Flood, the most detailed description occurs in the Biblical text. Does the Bible contain sufficient chronological data to enable us to put a time on Noah’s Flood? I believe it does and I believe it does this so clearly that no doubt should remain either about the timing or the nature of this judgment by God upon this earth.
The art of the Biblical chronologist or Date-finder is a mystery to most, so let me explain how such a date can be found. Firstly, I will take a brief look at the assumptions or starting points which I will use.
I must assume or believe to be true that the information about dates does exist in the Bible (otherwise I would not start to look).
I must assume that such information is reliable and the writers did not set out to deceive. (This assumption must be made about any historical document before it is examined.) Therefore if I find apparent contradictory evidence in the text, I will first assume that a problem exists in my understanding rather than the text.
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix Five to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
General formula for Biblical Data conversion:
The formula for constructing the artificial calendar was:
'X' times 364 equals 'Y' days
'Y' days divided by 336 equals 'Z' artificial years.
Values are:
'X' = any given number of 'real/solar' years
364 = perceived days in the sectarian calendar
'Y' = number of days calculated
336 = number of days in an artificial year
'Z' = artificial years = 1.083'X' and represents the original number of the converted years plus 8%.
To reverse the process by hand:
'Z' years times 336 equals 'Y' divided by 364 equals the Number of 'X' years converted.
To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5:Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE:
The Principle of Linear Causality
The King's Calendar is a very simple approach to Biblical Chronology. It substitutes a value of 336 days for every year listed in Scripture. As far as the Divided Kingdom is concerned, when you use this 336 day year value, the synchronisms actually work. To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5: Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE
Because it is a mathematical system, the King's Calendar must abide by certain mathematical rules, the most important of which, is that if you change any date for any day, month, or year every other day, month, or year is effected and must also change. It's like a 'domino effect'. Chronological references cannot be 'forced' to fit, and nor can they simply be ignored or 'compressed' as is the usual case with historians and archaeologists.
If any King's Calendar chronological determination disagrees with anything in the history books, it must argue the case as to why the history books are wrong, or why the evidence for an assertion is untrustworthy. If the King's Calendar successfully defends its' position, then the history books cannot be treated as definitive, and if the King's Calendar is 'proven' wrong, then every other chronological reference it provides is also wrong.
Because of this, the King's Calendar Chronological Reconstruction of Israel's history is unique, in that its' methodology can be scientifically (mathematically) tested and demonstrated to be either true or false. Its' chronological predictions are able to be 'proved' or 'disproved'.
Copyright 2013 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been dramatically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.He has been teaching in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is working in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.
Part 1. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 2. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 3. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology Part 4. The Law, Rules of Evidence & Archaeology
