Biblical chronology

Biblical chronology
Michelangelo · Public domain · source
Name	Biblical chronology
Region	Ancient Near East, Levant
Period	Bronze Age, Iron Age, Persian period, Hellenistic period, Roman period
Subjects	Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, Old Testament, New Testament, historiography

Biblical chronology is the study of the dating, sequencing, and synchronization of events, reigns, and periods recorded in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, and the Christian Old Testament and New Testament corpora. Scholars attempt to reconcile internal regnal lists, genealogies, festival cycles, prophetic oracles, and narrative sequences with external evidence from Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and archaeological stratigraphy. This field intersects with Assyriology, Egyptology, classical studies, biblical studies, and radiometric dating.

Overview and Scope

Biblical chronology addresses timelines for figures and events such as Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the sojourn in Egypt, the Exodus, the Conquest of Canaan, the Judges of Israel, the united monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon, the divided kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah, the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian exile, the return under Cyrus the Great, the Second Temple period with events tied to Ezra, Nehemiah, and the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. It further covers Persian imperial administration under Darius I, Xerxes I, and Artaxerxes I, Hellenistic rulers including Alexander the Great, the Seleucid dynasty such as Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Hasmonean dynasty like Mattathias, and Roman figures including Herod the Great and Pontius Pilate.

Chronological Frameworks in the Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible contains internal systems: regnal years in 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and 2 Chronicles; genealogies in Genesis and 1 Chronicles; and liturgical calendars in Leviticus and Numbers. Biblical frameworks include the Masoretic Text tradition represented by medieval scribes, the Septuagint translation tradition, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus, each producing different regnal totals for monarchs such as Rehoboam and Jehoshaphat. Chronologies derive from narrative books like Joshua and poetic works such as Psalms, and are summarized in historiographical texts like Ezra–Nehemiah and Chronicles.

Methods of Dating and Synchronisms

Dating methods include regnal synchronisms (e.g., kings of Israel versus kings of Judah), jubilees and sabbatical counts referenced in Leviticus and prophetic books, and synchronisms to foreign rulers such as Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Tiglath-Pileser III, Nebuchadnezzar II, and Kandalanu. Scholars use literary-critical methods applied to sources like the Deuteronomistic history and the Priestly source as well as annalistic inscriptions such as the Assyrian Eponym Canon, the Babylonian King List, and the Egyptian Palermo Stone. Other methods include prosopography linking officials named in biblical texts to inscriptions from Lachish, Megiddo, Hazor, Jerusalem (ancient), and Samaria.

Ancient Near Eastern Correlations

Correlations connect biblical events to archaeological strata and external chronologies established by Sargon of Akkad successors, Shoshenq I (often linked to the biblical Shishak account), and to treaties and correspondence such as the Amarna letters. Synchronisms employ dated eclipse records, astronomical omens from Babylonian astronomical diaries, and archeo-architectural phases at sites like Hazor, Gezer, Tel Dan, and Palestine (region). Important cross-checks involve the Nabonidus Chronicle, the Cylinder of Cyrus, and Persian administrative records referencing satraps and governors like Tattenai.

Chronological Disputes and Interpretive Approaches

Debates include the historicity and dating of the Exodus (proposed 15th-century or 13th-century BCE models), the extent and dating of the united monarchy under David and Solomon, and the chronological implications of the House of Omri and Jeroboam II. Minimalist versus maximalist schools, represented by scholars connected to institutions such as Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, dispute archaeological correlation and literary reliability. Methodological approaches include source criticism, redaction criticism, and archaeological context from excavations led by figures like William F. Albright, Nahman Avigad, Yigael Yadin, and Kathleen Kenyon.

Chronology in Christian and Jewish Traditions

Jewish chronology traditions include the Seder Olam Rabbah and medieval chronographers such as Josephus and Rabbi Saadia Gaon; Christian traditions include chronologies by Eusebius of Caesarea, Augustine of Hippo, and The Venerable Bede. Medieval and early modern chronologies were compiled by scholars like Ibn Ezra, Maimonides, Chronicon Paschale, James Ussher, and Richard Simon. Liturgical calendars in Rabbinic Judaism and feasts in Christianity (e.g., Passover, Christmas, Easter) have influenced the dating of events and the reckoning of regnal and priestly cycles.

Modern Scholarship and Radiometric/Archaeological Evidence

Contemporary work integrates radiocarbon dating (14C) of samples from contexts at Tel Rehov, Megiddo, Tell el-Dab'a (Avaris), and Lachish with dendrochronology anchored by datasets from Gordion and Jerusalem (ancient). Ceramic typology, stratigraphic sequences, and inscriptions such as the Tel Dan Stele, the Mesha Stele, and the Siloam Inscription provide nonbiblical anchors. Interdisciplinary projects involve specialists from British Museum, Israel Antiquities Authority, Oriental Institute (Chicago), and universities like Oxford University, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Yale University. Ongoing debates draw on evidence from radiocarbon calibration curves, Bayesian modeling employed in projects by the Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, and continuing excavations at sites like Qumran, Jericho, Beersheba, and Caesarea Maritima.

Category:Biblical studies