2. The Times of the Old Testament

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The Times of the Old Testament

A.M. and B.C. dates

Some writers use A.M. (after Creation) dates rather than B.C. (before Christ) dates. The latter are preferable as they can be accurately calculated back to the time of Abraham. A.M. dates are not accurate because of the uncertainty in the length of the period from Adam to Abraham.

Key dates

Two key dates in Old Testament chronology are 853 B.C. and 841 B.C.. From Assyrian data, it can be shown that 853 B.C. witnessed the battle of Qarqar and the death of Ahab, and that 841 B.C. saw Jehu as king of Israel in place of Joram. Using these key dates, scriptural data gives 931/30 B.C. as the year the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah split. All other earlier dates can be calculated purely from scripture although archaeological information can often be used to confirm the calculations.

The date of the Flood

Chapter 3 establishes 1946 B.C. as the year of Abram's birth. Prior to this point in time, dates become approximate due to apparent problems in the ancient manuscripts.

The genealogy given in Genesis 11 is the only information we have of the time span from the Flood to Abram. Yet it is fraught with problems. According to the Masoretic text of Genesis 11 (followed by almost all modern Bibles), there were 222 years between the Flood and the birth of Terah (see Gen 11:10-24). However, another ancient manuscript, the Samaritan Pentateuch, gives 872 years! This is because the age of a father at the birth of his first-born is usually recorded to be 100 years later in the Samaritan Pentateuch than in the Masoretic text. The Greek Septuagint is similar to the Samaritan Pentateuch but adds the generation of Cainan making the total time 1002 years. Luke's record of Jesus' genealogy seems to support the Septuagint by including Cainan (Lk 3:36). However, it is possible that other generations are also omitted.

Abram probably left Haran soon after the death of his father (Acts 7:4). Using this information and comparing Genesis 11:32 and 12:4, it seems that Terah was 130 years old at the birth of Abram. This can be added to the time between the Flood and Terah to give the time from the Flood to Abram. Thus, using the Masoretic text we would date the Flood to 2298 B.C.. The Samaritan Pentateuch gives 2948 B.C. and the Septuagint 3078 B.C..

Genesis 11:26 indicates Terah was 70 years old at the birth of his first born giving 60 years between Abram and his oldest brother. Circumstantial evidence for this interpretation is the generation gap between Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 24:24). Since Nahor married the daughter of Haran (Gen 11:29), it is likely Haran was the eldest of the three brothers.

The date of Creation

The time from the Creation to the Flood is even more uncertain. Our information for this period is based on the genealogy of Genesis 5 and 7:6. Here there is even more variability in the numbers given in the ancient manuscripts, although the number of generations is consistent. The Masoretic text totals 1656 years from the Creation of Adam to the Flood. Again, the Septuagint usually adds 100 years to the age of a father at the birth of his first-born, giving a considerably longer period of 2242 years. The Samaritan Pentateuch gives 1307 years.

Thus, the Masoretic text indicates a date of 3954 B.C. for Creation, while the Septuagint indicates 5320 B.C. and the Samaritan Pentateuch 4255 B.C..

In the accompanying charts, the Masoretic figures have been used, but the data prior to Abram should not be taken with great confidence. They probably represent the minimum time span possible since some generations may have been omitted. Archaeological studies tentatively date the first indications of civilisation between 9,000 and 7,000 B.C..