LIBRARY of Seventh day Adventist THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY TAKOMA PARK WASH' N4GTON‘OC CLA55. 11111.111111111111111111•1111IIMMIMINVINININIIMI ew I THE ELEMENTS OF CHRONOLOGY; AND THE NUMBERS OF THE HEBREW TEXT VINDICATED. SACRED CHRONOLOGY ; WITH BY S. BLISS. LIBRARY S. D. A. THEOLOGICAL SEMINAR TAKOMA PARKt WASHING ION, 9, C. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY JOSHUA V. RIMES, AT THE GENERAL DEPOSITORY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN WORKS ON THE PROPHECIES, No. 8 Chardon Street. 1 8 5 0 . I C:73 ANALYSIS OF PREFACE. IF Chronology is " the soul of history," it is equally so of prophecy. Without it, the Scriptures would lose much of their harmony and beauty. It is carefully interwoven into the sacred text, and gives the order and dependence of the several parts on each other. The chronology of the Bible is as important in its place as any other subject of revelation. When disregarded, sad errors have been made in locating the historical and prophetical Scriptures. The elements of Chronology, and the numerous scriptu- ral synchronisms, have only been given in works too volu- minous, diffusive and expensive for ordinary use. To place before those not having access to the larger works, the simple evidences by which scriptural events are located, is the design of the following pages. An original feature of this analysis of Scripture Chronology is the presenting in full, and in chronological order, the words of inspira- tion, which have a bearing on the time of the events and predictions therein recorded. The reader will thus be en- abled to obtain a concise and clear, as well as a correct, understanding of the reasons which govern in the adoption of the several dates. The works of Prideaax, Hales, Usher, S'0036 IV PREFACE. Clark, Jackson, Blair, the Duke of Manchester, and others, have been freely consulted, in this compilation. To Dr. Hales in particular the author is much indebted for many valuable suggestions. Excepting the periods of the patri- archal age, and a few unimportant variations from his scheme, the chronology of Dr. Hales is conformed to, as the most satisfactory of any extant. In the chronology of the patriarchal age, Dr. Hales follows the numbers of the Septuagint ; for dissenting from which, the reasons are given in a chapter devoted to that subject. With the hope that these pages will aid the Bible stu- dent in harmonizing disputed dates and contemporary events, present all that is essential to a correct understand- ing of Sacred Chronology, and thus tend to throw light on the pages of inspiration, and give interest to its study, they are prayerfully submitted. BOSTON, April 23, 1850. CHRONOLOGY. CHRONOLOGY, from XCOP05, time, and loyos, dis- course, signifies " the computation of times." It is the science of establishing historical dates. " Without Chronology," says DR. HALES, " History would lose its most valuable char- acters of truth and consistency, and scarcely rise above the level of romance." And TATIAN, an ancient chronologer, has observed, that " with those to whom the computation of the times is unconnected, not even the facts of history can be verified." " Chronology and Geography are the eyes of history." The simple record of events, without dates or location, can give but little interest to the intellectual reader. The student of history must extend back his imagination to the periods of the world in which have respectively occurred the events of past ages, and feel famil- iar with the places of their occurrence, or he will be unable to realize their relative impor- tance, perceive their relation to each other, or understand the influence which those of each age have exerted over subsequent ages. The 1* 6 CHRONOLOGY. chronology of events is so necessary to the verity of history, — extending as it does through its every department, —that it is also called " the soul of history." To execute cor- rectly its functions in its two offices, it needs to be accurate. Otherwise, those who look through this " eye " down the long vista of past ages, will see through a glass darkly ; and this "soul" will lose its spiritual and life-giv- ing power. Time is measured by motion. The swing of a clock pendulum marks seconds. The revolutions of the earth mark days and years. The earliest measure of time is the DAY. Its duration is strikingly indicated by the marked contrast and succession of light and darkness. Being a natural division of time, it is very simple, and is convenient for the chronology of events within a limited period. The WEEK, another primeval measure, is not a natural measure of time, as some astron- omers and chronologers have supposed, indi- cated by the phases or quarters of the moon. It was originated by divine appointment at the creation — six days of labor and one of rest being wisely appointed for man's physical and spiritual well-being. The MONTH is a natural measure of time, derived from the revolution of the moon. The periodical changes in its appearance naturally suggested their duration, as an easy division of time. In the earlier computation by months, thirty days were reckoned to a month THE DAY, WEEK, ETC. 7 by the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and Grecians. Cleobulus, one of the seven sages, put forth a riddle representing the year as divided into twelve months, of thirty days and nights each : — " The father is one ; the sons twelve ; to each belong Thirty daughters; half of them white, the other black: And though immortal, yet they perish all." In the deluge, Noah counted five months equivalent to one hundred and fifty days. At a subsequent period it was found that the length of a lunation was about twenty-nine and one-half days ; and to avoid a fraction, they counted the months alternately, twenty- nine and thirty days. The YEAR is the most convenient division of time. Previous to the deluge, and for a long time after, it was reckoned at three hun- dred and sixty days. As the sun returns annually to the same point in the heavens, it could not fail to be noticed as a natural meas- urement of time. The Egyptians attributed its discovery to the Phoenician, Hermes, — a diligent observer of the rising and setting of the stars; but it was evidently in use before the deluge. In process of time, it was found that the primeval year of three hundred and sixty days was shorter than the tropical year: and five additional days were intercallated, to har- monize the observance of festivals with their appropriate seasons. It was subsequently found that the solar year exceeded three hun- S CHRONOLOGY. dred arid sixty-five days, by about six hours, or a quarter of a day. In the time of Julius Csar, owing to the irregularity with which the additional days had been intercallated, the vernal equinox, instead of falling on the 23d of March, was dated near the middle of May. To remedy this, Caesar formed a preparatory year of fifteen months, or four hundred and forty-five days, called " the year of confitsion." It began Oct. 3d, B. c. 46, so that the first reformed year following commenced Jan. 1st, B. c. 45. To compensate for the additional fraction of a day, he inserted a whole day every fourth year. More accurate astronomical observations at length demonstrated that the true solar year was three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes, and fifty-seven seconds — eleven minutes and three seconds less than the time reckoned, or one day in every one hun- dred and thirty years so that in A. D. 1582 the vernal equinox was found to be on the 11th of March, having fallen back ten days. To remedy this, Pope Gregory XIII. left out ten days in October, calling the 5th the 15th of that month — making another " year of con- fusion." To prevent a repetition of this error, Gregory decreed that three days should be omitted in every four centuries, or that that number of years, which would otherwise be Bissextile, should be reckoned as common years. This makes our year sufficiently exact CYCLES. 9 for all practical purposes. Perfect accuracy, however, would require that another day be omitted in each six thousand years and one day more at the end of one hundred and forty- four thousand. CYCLES. Another convenient mode of marking time is by Cycles — a recurring period of years. The oldest and most celebrated, is— THE CYCLE OF THE MOON. The lunar year of twelve moons being eleven days shorter than the solar year, to preserve a correspondence between them it was necessary once in about three years, to intercallate a month to fill up the deficiency. Meton, a celebrated astronomer, B. c. 430, discovered that an intercallation of seven inflations in nineteen lunar years, made them correspond very nearly to nineteen solar years, varying a day only once in three hundred and twelve years. His discovery was inscribed by the Greeks on a marble pillar, in letters of gold. Hence the current years of this cycle are called the " Golden Number." THE CYCLE OF THE SUN. If there were just fifty-two weeks in a year, each year would invariably commence on the same day of the week. As a common year consists of fifty-two weeks and one day, if all the years were thus constituted, when a given year commences on Sunday, the second year .I0 CHRONOLOGY. THE DOMINICAL LETTER. 11 would commence on Monday, the third on Tuesday, the seventh on Saturday, and the eighth on Sunday again bringing the com- mencement of the year on a given day of the week once in a cycle of seven years. As this order is interrupted once in four years -by the Bissextile, or "leap year," which has two days over even weeks, the year fol- lowing each Bissextile must commence two days later in the week than its preceding one ; while common years commence but one day later. Therefore, if the first year commence on Wednesday, as does the first year of the pres- ent cycle, which commenced in 1840, that being a Bissextile, the second year would com- mence on Friday, the fourth on Sunday, and the fifth on Monday, which, (1844,) being a Bissextile, the sixth would commence on Wednesday; and so on through a cycle of 4 times 7 = 28 years, in the following order : — S. M. T. W. T. F. 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 23 At the end of the cycle of twenty-eight years, there is a recurrence of years commenc- ing on days of the week in the same order. This order is, however, varied by every year, which, ending a century, is reckoned as a common year,* the current years of each cycle then commence one day in the week earlier than the corresponding years of the cycles of the preceding century. It is thus varied three days in each 400 years. This is sometimes called the cycle of the Dominical, or Sunday letter. On whatever day of the week the first day of any year falls, that day of the week is indicated by the letter A, the succeeding day by B, and so on to the first Sunday : and the letter that falls on that day is the Dominical, or Sunday letter, for the year, excepting in the Bissextile. In that year, as one day is added to the month of February, if G is the Dominical for the first two months, F would be for the last ten, and then E for the next year. But with common years, if G is the Dominical letter for the first, F would be for the second. The first seven letters of the alphabet are called the Dominical letters, and succeed each other — one in each common year, and two in each Bissextile — five times during the solar cycle of 28 years, when they again commence, and succeed each other in the following order : E D C 1 1 2 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 13 17 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 28 * In New Style, the last year of centuries which can be divided by 400 without a remainder are reckoned as Bissextile ; the last year of other centuries, as common years. t Except as this order is varied by the common year at the end of centuries. 5 10 16' 21 27 G F 14 20 25 B 3 9 15 21 26 A 4 9 12 CHRONOLOGY. THE DOMINICAL LETTER. 13 As each year begins later in the week than its preceding one, there are less days between its first day and its first Sabbath. Con- sequently, if its first day is represented by A, a letter nearer to A will fall on Sunday than in the preceding year. TO FIND THE DOMINICAL LETTER FOR ANY YEAR OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA, PREVIOUS TO THE CHANGE OF THE YEAR FROM OLD TO NEW STYLE, or from the Julian to the Gregorian year : Add to any given year one fourth of its num- ber, (omitting fractions,) and 5 to that sum; divide this result by 7 : if there is no remainder, A is the Dominical letter. If there is- a re- mainder, the letter below, which stands under the number corresponding with the remainder, is the letter sought. 0 6 5 4 3 2 1 ABCDEFG If in the division of the given year by four, to get its fourth part, there is no remainder, the year is a Bissextile or leap year,* and the letter thus found is only the Dominical letter for the last ten months of that year — the letter follow- ing, in the above line, being that for the first two. TO FIND THE DOMINICAL LETTER FOR ANY YEAR SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE GREGORIAN YEAR : add to any given year its fourth part, (excepting fractions,) and instead of adding 5, as before, add 2 to the sum, for any year in the 16th and 17th centuries, 1 for each year in the 18th, and nothing for the present cen- * Unless it be the last year of a century, when to be a Bissex- tile, see note on p. 11. tury. Then divide by 7, and find the letter by the remainder, as before. The first year of the Christian era com- menced with Monday—so that five days inter- vened between it and the first Sunday, and are required to be added, to make even weeks. As the addition during the leap years is balanced by the addition of one fourth of the current years, 5 should be added to each Julian year. When the Gregorian year was introduced, ten days were omitted for that number of years which had been reckoned as leap years which should have been considered common years. This being a week and three days, left but two days to be added till the 18th century, when, another fourth year being a common year, but one was to be added. The year 1800 being considered a common year, leaves none to add for the present century. The Gregorian year was adopted in Catholic countries in 1582, but was not adopted in Great Britain and her colonies till 1752. In Sweden it was adopted in 1753, and in Ger- many in 1777. Russia only retains the Old Style, which now differs twelve days from the New. The Dominical letter being found, the day of the week on which any given day of any year falls, is ascertained by a simple process. If there were four weeks in each month, the first days of each would commence on the same day of the week during the year. 2 EPACTS. 15 14 CHRONOLOGY. Varying from even weeks, the first day of each month will be on days of the week vary- ing from that on which January commences, at the following letters vary from each other : — A DD GBE G C F A D F Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec The order of these letters may be easily remembered by the following familiar couplet Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, " At Dover dwells George Brown, Esquire, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Good Caleb Fitch, And Doctor Friar." To find the day in the week on which any month begins, find the letter which corresponds to the given month, as in the above couplet If the letter thus found is the Dominical letter for the year, the month begins on Sunday. If it is a different letter, the day of its commence- ment varies from Sunday, as many days as the letter found varies from the Dominical letter for the year, in the following order : — A, B, C, D, E, F, G. The day of the week on which the month commences, being found, that on which any corresponding day of the month falls is found by subtracting one from the given day of the month, and dividing the difference by seven The remainder gives the number of days in the week, which the given day varies from Sunday. Thus, on what day of the week did the dark day occur —May 19th, 1780 ? 1780 ÷ 4 =445 Add 1780, it equals 2225. Add 1, it equals 2226. Divide by 7, it equals 318, with no remainder. Or it might thus be stated : (1780 ÷ 4+1780+ 1) ÷ 7= 318. Then A is the Dominical letter for the last ten months —it being a Bissextile. B is the letter which corresponds with May in the above couplet, which varies one from A, so that the 1st of May for that year falls on Monday. Then (19-1)-=7=2, with 4 remainder. Four days from Monday is Friday, on which was the Dark Day. THE CYCLE OF INDICTION. This was a cycle of fifteen years, used only by the Romans for appointing the times of certain public taxes, established by Constantine A. D. 312, in place of the heathen Olympiads. EPACTS. These are additional days, given to find the Moon's age. A Lunar year of twelve moons contains two hundred and fifty-four days— eleven days less than the solar year— a deficiency extending through each year of the Lunar Cycle. This would require eleven days to be added for the Epact of the first year, 22 for the second, 33— 30= 3 for the third, (because the moon's age cannot exceed 30 days,) 14 for the fourth, and so on through each year of the cycle the Epact of the last year of which will be 29 and 11, again, that of the first year of the next cycle, as before. 16 CHRONOLOGY. EPOCHS, ERAS, ETC. 17 AS the vulgar era commenced in the second year of the Cycle of the Moon, the yew( of the Cycle corresponding with any year of the era is found, by adding 1 to the given year, and dividing the sum by 19 — the remainder being the Golden Number for the year. If there is no remainder, 19 is the required number. THE EPACT FOR ANY YEAR PREVIOUS TO 1752 is FOUND by multiplying the Golden Number by 11. If the product is less than 30, it will be the Epact for the year. If it is greater, divide it by 30, and the remainder will be the Epact required. As 11 days were struck from the calendar in 1752, the Epact of any year, since then, is found by subtracting 11 from the Epact as before found, if it is greater than that number; and if it is less, by adding 30 —11 = 19. The num- ber thus resulting is the Epact for any given year. WITH THESE NUMBERS, THE MOON'S AGE, FOR ANY DAY IN ANY YEAR, IS FOUND by adding the Epact for the year, the number of the month from March inclusive, and the day of the month. If the sum is less than 30, it is the moon's age for that day; if it is greater, its remainder, when divided by 30, is its age. Thus, to find the moon's age on the 19th of May, 1780 — the Dark Day we find, first, the Golden Number : (1780+1) =19 = 93, with a remainder of 14 for the number sought. Then find the Epact : 14 X11 ÷ 30=5. with a remain- der of 4. Then 4 + 30 — 11 = 23, the Epact sought. Then 23 + 3+19 = 45. And 45+30 = 1, with a remainder of 15, for the age of the moon at that date. As this is the day of the full moon, and as an eclipse of the sun can only occur at the new moon, the darkness on that occasion could not be the result of an eclipse of that luminary. EPOCHS, ERAS, AND PERIODS. An EPOCH is any remarkable date from which time is reckoned. It signifies a stop. An ERA is any indefinite series of years com- mencing at a known epoch. It signifies time — the time from a stop. A PERIOD is a definite series of years. The date of independence is the Epoch from which the era of the independence is reckoned. The President is elected for a Period of four years. Epochs, eras, and periods, are to chronology what the cardinal points and prime meridians are to astronomy and geography. As on celes- tial or terrestrial maps or globes, the relative po- sition of stars or places cannot be given with- out some known point to reckon from, so in chronology given points are needed by which to arrange the relative distances of events. THE JULIAN PERIOD. As the cycles of the sun, moon, and indic- tion, are of different lengths, they will not har- monize with each other in their commencement and termination. If they commenced in a given 2* 18 CHRONOLOGY. year, as they terminate in different years, they would not again commence at the same time for many years. To adjust these cycles to each other, it was necessary to find a still larger cycle, at the beginning and termination of which they would harmonize with each other. This is found by multiplying the number of years in the cycle of the Sun by those in the other cycles. Thus 28 x 19 X 15=7980 years, a period of time, at the termination of which, these cycles would commence and succeed each other, in the order corresponding with those that length of time previous. This period is also called the great Pascal Cycle, and the. Vic- torian or Dyonysian period. It was invented by the chronologist Scaliger, and serves an im- portant purpose in the adjustment of dates in the different eras. Our VULGAR ERA, and that of the Creation, are the grand eras to which subordinate epochs, eras, and periods, are usually adjusted. So many different dates have been assigned for the epoch of the Creation, that the assignment of an event to any given year of the world, gives a very indefinite idea of its time, unless the system of chronology followed is also men- tioned. No less than one hundred and twenty different opinions are mentioned by Dr. Hales for the date of the Creation, all differing from each other, and the extremes varying from each other no less than 3268 years. Unfortunately for ancient chronology, there existed no established Era. Different lin tinnq ERA OF THE OLYMPIADS. 19 reckoned by different eras, the commencements of which were not always easily reconciled with each other. The Grecian Era, or the Olympiads, commencing July 19th, B. c. 776 ; the Roman Era, commencing with the building of Rome, B. c. 753 ; the Chaldean Era, or His- toric Era of Nabonassar, commencing with Feb.26th, B. c. 747— and our Vulgar Era, form the four cardinal eras of sacred and profane chronology. There are numerous other epochs from which events are dated ; but none of them are of the importance of these, to which chronologers have adjusted the dates of all im- portant events. From the epochs at which these eras commence, events are reckoned backwards and forwards in time, as distance is from a fixed poinit on the earth. Events are dated in reference to other events. If the reigns and successions of kings are given, with a starting point at which to date the commencement of any reign, the commencement of each subsequent reign is dated from this. If events are assigned to a certain year in a given reign, we are enabled, by the length and succession of the reign, to fix its relative position. It is, however, first necessary to adjust these eras to each other, so that when an event is dated in any year of one era, we may find its corresponding year in the other eras. The oldest of these is THE ERA OF THE OLYMPIADS. This era dates from July 19th, B. c. 776, from which time the Olympic games were celebrated 20 CHRONOLOGY. by the Grecians once in four years, without in- terruption. AN OLYMPIAD is a cycle of four years ; and the years are reckoned as the first, second, third, or fourth years of any given Olympiad. To FIND THE TIME FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT, OF A YEAR IN ANY OLYMPIAD, multiply the number of the Olympiad, —1, by 4, and to the product add the number in the Olympiad of the current year. The Olympic games consisted of various ath- letic sports, a record of which was kept at Elis, and the names of the victors inserted in it by the presidents of the games. These registers are pronounced accurate by ancient historians, and are complete, with the exception of the 211th Olympiad — " the only one," says Pau- sanias, " omitted in the register of the Eleans." This record is pronounced by Dr. Hales : " a register of the most public authenticity." — New Anal. Chro., vol. i., p. 224. The learned chronologer Varro considers the era of the Olympiads as the limit between the fabulous and historical ages. In this opinion Dr. Hales concurs. Its adjustment to the Christian Era. — This 'has been " fully ascertained by historical and astronomical evidence." — Hales, vol. i.,• p. 245. Says Dr. Hales :— " The learned Censorinus, in his excellent work, ' De die natali,' cap. 21, marks the year in which he wrote it, A.D. 238, in the consulate of Ulpius and Pontianus, by its reference to some of the most remarkable eras; and among ERA OF THE OLYMPIADS. 21 the rest, states that it was " the 1014th year from the first Olympiad, reckoned from the sum- mer days, on which the Olympic games were celebrated." But 1014—A. D. 238 =. B. c. 776. " Polybius relates, that in the third year of the 140th Olympiad, during spring, there hap- pened two memorable battles • the former be- tween the Romans and Carthaginians, at the lake Thrasymene, in Italy ; the latter between Antiochus and Ptolemy, at Raphia, in Cw10- Syria. And, also, that in the course of the same year, there was an eclipse of the moon, which terrified the Gallic auxiliaries whom At- talus was bringing over from Europe, in conse- quence of which they refused to proceed. — Liv. v., p. 422. The third year of the 140th Olympiad began July, B. c. 218, and ended July, B. c. 217 ; but in the former Julian year there was a great eclipse of the moon on Sept. 1st, an hour after midnight, in which the moon was nearly an hour and a half immersed in the earth's shadow, and which was, therefore, fully sufficient to terrify the ignorant and supersti- tious ; and the battle of Thrasymene was fought in the next Julian year, B. c. 217, in the consul- ate of Servilius Geminus and C. Flaminius II., but as it was in spring, it fell within the com- pass of the same Olympic year. But 139 Olym- piads and two years over make 558 years, which, added to B. c. 218, give B. c. 776 for the date of the first Olympiad. These demonstrative char- acters are furnished by Petavius (tom. ii., p. 56.") —New Anal. of Chro., vol. i., p. 245-6. 22 CHRONOLOGY. With this adjustment of the era, there is no difficulty in assigning the events of any given Olympiad to its corresponding year of the Vul- gar Era. THE ROMAN ERA. The adjustment of this era to the Grecian and Vulgar Eras, is equally demonstrable. Says Dr. Hales : — 1. Censorinus reckoned that the year A t 238, in which he wrote his work, was the 991st from the foundation of Rome, by the Varro nian computation. But 991—A. D. 238=B. c. 753. — See Petay., torn. ii., pp. 53,69. Cicero and Plutarch both relate that, on the day of the foundation of Rome, there was a total eclipse of the sun, which happened, ac cording to the latter, in the third year of the sixth Olympiad, B. c. 754-3. But by astron omical calculation, there was an eclipse of the sun visible at Rome, B. c. 753, July 5, aft. 4i, dig. 4, agreeing in every respect except the quantity. This also adjusts the Grecian and Roman eras together. — See Cicero, de div., lib. ii. ; Plutarch in Romulo. Livy records, in the consulate of Livius Salinator and Valerius Messaia, u. c. 566, a to- tal eclipse of the sun, which, by astronomical calculation, happened B. c. 188, July 17, morn. 8h. 38m. dig. 10i : but the sum of these years gives B. c. 754, complete, or B. c. 753, current. — Livy, lib. xxxviii. 36. Livy also records, that, in the consulate of Paulus iEmilius and Licini .11R Crassus, u. c. 586, Sulpitius Gallus, a military tribune, pre- dicted an eclipse of the moon, to happen on the ensuing night, from the second to the fourth hour, which accordingly happened the night before the famous battle of Pydna, in which Perseus, king of Macedon, was defeated; and this encouraged the Romans, and dispirited the Macedonians. And, by astronomical cal- culation, there was an eclipse of the moon, B. c. 168, June 21, which began, aft. 6h. 14m., and lasted four hours; 15 dig. The total im- mersion, or eclipse, began 7h. 32m., or in the second hour of the night, and lasted till the fourth hour, exactly agreeing with the predic- tion of Gallus, which identifies the eclipses, and shows considerable skill, on his part, at that early age. It also proves that Livy was incorrect, in assigning the night of the eclipse, pridie nonas Septembris.' The context, in the preceding chapter, shows that the season of the year was rather about the summer solstice. — Livy, lib. xliv. 37. But the sum of these years gives B. c. 754, complete, or B. c. 753, current, for the date of the foundation of Rome, accord- ing to the Varronian computation, which is in- fallibly established bymeans of these eclipses." — Hales, vol. i., pp. 249-50. THE ERA OF NABONASSAR. says Dr. Hales " The origin of this era is thus represented by Syncellus, from the accounts of Polyhistor and Berosus, the earliest writers extant on Chaldean history and antiquities. ERA OF NABONASSAR. 25 24 CHRONOLOGY. " Nabonassar [king of Babylon] having collected the acts of his predecessors, destroyed them, in order that the computation of the reigns of the Chaldean kings might be made from himself.' " It began, therefore, with the reign of Na- bonassar, Feb. 26, B. c.747. The form of year employed therein is the movable year of 365 days, consisting of 12 equal months of 30 days, and five supernumerary days ; which was the year in common use, as we have seen, among the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Armenians, Per- sians, and the principal Oriental nations, from the earliest times." — Ib., vol. i., p. 268. As the year of this era is a fraction of a day less than a solar year, it would fall back of the true year one day in every four years, so that in the course of 100 years its commencement would be 25 days earlier in the solar year than at the commencement of that period; and after 1461 years it would fall back through all the seasons, and anticipate the solar time by an entire year. To reduce these to common years, it is therefore necessary to take into con- sideration this difference in their commence- ment. Chronological tables give their adjust- ment. Says Dr. Hales : — " The commencement of the era of Nabo- nassar, B. c. 747, is critically defined, both from history and astronomy. " 1. Thucydides, b. 8, had preserved a cu- rious original document, in the third treaty of peace concluded between Tissaphernes and Peloponnesians, beginning with its date : In the 13th year of the reign of Darius, [II. No- thus,] &c.' This treaty, it appears from the history, was made in winter, in the 20th year of the Peloponnesian war, which began in the spring, B. c. 431; and consequently the 20th year, in winter, was the beginning of the Julian year, B. c. 410 ; which, added to the 13th year of Darius, or 337th of the era, gives its com- mencement, B. c. 747. Censorinus, in the valuable synchro- nisms mentioned before, states that the 986th Nabonassarean year began the 7th of the Cal- ends of July, or June 25th, in the year A. D. 238, in which he published his work. There- fore that Nabonassarean year did not end till June 25 of the next Julian year, A. D. 238 ; which, subtracted from 986, gives the com- mencement of the era. B. c. 747. According to Ptolemy, Hipparchus selected three ancient eclipses of the moon, out of those observed at Babylon, and brought from thence ; of which the first happened in the first year, and the two others in the second year of Mardok Empadus, the fifth king in succession from Nabonassar. This proves, decisively, that the era of Nabonassar was in established use before the time of Hip- parchus, though he did not give the collected years from the beginning of the era. These, probably, were not reckoned up in the original Chaldean Era, which only marked the suc- cession of kings, and the number of years which each reigned. The collected years :3 26 CHRONOLOGY. 27 THE CHRISTIAN ERA. might have been added afterwards by the Egyptian astronomers. " 4. Ptolemy himself mentions a lunar eclipse of 7 digits, in the 7th year of Ptolemy Philometor, and 574th year from Nabonassar, which happened on the 27th of the Egyptian month Phamenoth, and lasted from the eighth to the tenth hour. In that year, the 27th of Phamenoth was the first of May. And, by astronomical calculation, there was a lunar eclipse of the 7 dig. 26 min., on May 1, B. c 174, which lasted two hours fifty minutes and this year, B. c. 174, added to 573 years complete, gives B. c. 747, for the commence. ment of the Era." Hales, vol. i., pp. 269 —70. The historical catalogue of the reigns of the kings of the Nabonassarian Era, com- mencing with Nabonassar, is called Ptolemy's Canon, from Claudius Ptolemmus, a celebrated Alexandrian mathematician, who continued the Canon down to his own time, A. D. 137. This ancient Canon, — of which three an- cient MS. copies have been found, all of which entirely agree except in the spelling of some names, — gives the names, and the length of the reigns, of all the successive Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, Egyptian and Roman kings, from B. c. 747 to A. D. 137. " To the authenticity of these copies of the Canon," says Dr. Hales, " the strongest testi- mony is given by their exact agreement throughout with above twenty dates and com- putations of eclipses in Ptolemy's Almagest, recited by Jackson, as he himself acknowl- edges." — Vol. i., p. 450. " From its great use as an astronomical era, confirmed by unerring characters of eclipses, this Canon justly obtained the highest author- ity among historians also. It has most de- servedly been esteemed an invaluable treas- ure, omni auro pretiosior,' as Calvisius says, and of the greatest use in Chronology, with- out which, as Marsham observes, there could scarcely be any transition from sacred to profane history; and by means of it some important dates are supplied in sacred Chro- nology, that could not otherwise be ascertained. It fills up especially an important chasm, from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to the reign of Cyrus, without which the term of the seventy years of the Babylonish captivity, ending with the latter, could not be easily adjusted." —An. Chro., vol. i., p. 280. THE (Vulgar) CHRISTIAN ERA. Although this is the era in most common use, it is the most modern of the four Cardinal Eras. It was invented A. D. 532, by Diony- sius Exiguus, a Scythian by birth, and a Roman abbot, who flourished in the reign of Justinian. " The motive which led him to introduce it, and the time of its introduction, are thus explained by himself, in a letter to Petronius, a bishop : 'Because St. Cyril began the first year of his cycle [of 95 years] from THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 29 28 CHRONOLOGY. the 153d of Diocletian, and ended the last in the 247th, we, beginning from the next year, the 248th, of that same tyrant, rather than prince, were unwilling to connect with our cycles the memory of an impious [prince] and persecutor; but chose rather to antedate the times of the years, from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ : to the end that the commence- ment of our hope might be better known to us ; and that the cause of man's restoration, namely, our Redeemer's passion, might ap- pear with clearer evidence.' " The era of Diocletian, which was chiefly used at that time, began with his reign, A. D. 284; and, therefore, the new era of the incar- nation, A. D. 284 + 248 = A. D. 532. "How justly Dionysius abhorred Diode- tian's memory, may appear from Eusebius, who relates, that in the first year of his reign, when Diodorus, the bishop, was celebrating the Holy Communion, with many other Christians in a cave, they were all immured in the earth, and buried alive ! Hence, his era was otherwise called the Era of the Martyrs." — Hales' An. Chro., vol. i., pp. 188-9. From the best evidence Dionysius could obtain, he placed our Lord's nativity in the year 753 of the Roman Era. The Christian era not going then into use, Bede, who lived a century later, by a mistake of the meaning of Dionysius, in reviving it, made it commence Jan. 1, u. c. 754. The era, however, did not begin to be used much till A. D. 730 ; and did not come into general use till A. D. 1431, when Pope Eugenius ordered it to be used in the public registers. "Dionysius was led to date the year of the Nativity, u. c. 753, from the Evangelist Luke's account that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar;' and that Jesus, at his baptism, was beginning to be about thirty years of age.' Luke 3: 1-23. For Tiberius succeeded Augustus at his death, Aug. 19, u. C. 767; and, therefore, his fifteenth year was u. c. 782 ; from which, subtracting the assumed year of the nativity, u. c. 753, the remainder was twenty-nine years com- plete, or thirty years current. " But this date of the nativity is at variance with Matthew's account that Christ was born two years and under' before Herod's death ; which followed shortly after his massacre of the infants, at Bethelehem, of that descrip- tion. Matt. 2: 1-27. And Herod's death was also shortly after the lunar eclipse of March 13, u. c. 750, between that and the passover, which fell that year on the 12th of April ; as may be collected from Josephus, Ant. 17, cap. 6-8 ; Bell. Jud. 1, cap. 13, 4-8. "And that Herod's death is rightly assigned to the year u. c. 750, is confirmed from the duration of his reign : for Josephus states, that, ' by the interest of Anthony, Herod was appointed king by the Roman Senate, in the 3* 30 CHRONOLOGY. THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 31 184th Olympiad, when Caius Domitius Cal. vinus, the second time, and Caius Asiniut Pollio, were consuls,' u. c. 714. — Antiq., 14, 14, 5. And that he was established in the kingdom by the death of his rival, Antigonus, who had been set up by the Parthians; when Marcus Agrippa and Caninius Gallus werE consuls,' u. u. 717. — Antiq., 14, 16, 4. And he adds, that Herod reigned thirty-seven years from his first appointment by the Senate, and thirty-four years from the death of Antigonus. — Antiq., 17, 8, 1; and Bell. Jud. 1, 33, 8. Now, if we take these as current years, ac- cording to the usage of Josephus,* the death of Herod was u. c. 714 + 36 = u. c 717 + 33= u. c. 750, as before. Such a critical conformity of astronomical and historical evidence, both furnished by an author the most competent to procure genuine informa- tion, establishes both, and decides the ques- tion that Herod could not have died later than the year u. c. 750 ; though Lardner professed himself unable to determine' between that year, or u. c. 751. — See his Credibility,' vol. i., Append., p. 428, edit. 178S. " Christ's birth, therefore, could not have been earlier than u. C. 748, nor later than u. c. 749. And if we assume the latter year, as most conformable to the whole tenor of sacred history, with Chrysostom, Petavius, Prideaux, *" Thus Josephus, in one passage, states that Herod died on the fifth day after the execution of his son Antipater (Ant. 17, 8, 1) ; in another, five days after.' — Bell. Jud. 1, 33, 8." Playfair, &c., this would give Christ's age, at his baptism, about thirty-four years ; contrary to Luke's account. " In order, therefore, to reconcile the two Evangelists together, in this most important point, which forms the basis of the whole scheme of Gospel chronology, either the 15th of Tiberius must be antedated, or the age of Christ, at his baptism, enlarged ; or perhaps both : for the 15th of Tiberius, reckoned from the death of Augustus, Aug. 19, u. c. 767, is indisputably fixed, by means of the great lunar eclipse, soon after Sept. 27, u. c. 767, which contributed to quell the dangerous mutiny of the Pannonian Legions, on the death of Augustus, and to induce them to swear fidelity to Tiberius, recorded by Tacitus, (Annal. 1, 28 ; and Dio. Lib. 57, p. 604.) " But there were different computations of the reigns, both of Augustus and Tiberius, in circulation. Some writers computed the reign of Augustus from the year of Julius Caesar's death, u. c. 710 ; as Josephus, who reckons it fifty-seven years, six months, and two days. — Ant. 17, 2, 2 ; and Bell. Jud. 2, 9, I. Some from the year after, u. c. 711, the date of his first consulate, when he wanted but one day to complete his twentieth year ; and therefore reckoning his reign fifty-six years. — Vell. Paterc. 2, 65. Others, forty-six years, four months, and one day. — Clem. Alex. Strom. 1, p. 339. Others, from the year of the battle of Actium, u. c. 723, reckoning it forty-four 32 CHRONOLOGY. years. Others, from the Actiari Era, u. c. 724, commencing from the death of Anthony and Cleopatra ; as Ptolemy, in his Canon, who dates it forty-three years, and is followed by Clem. Alex. Strom., p. 339. " Some also reckoned the reign of Tiberius twenty-six years, six months, nineteen days. — Clem. Alex. Strom., 1, p. 339. Others, twenty-two years, five months, three days. — Jos., Ant. 18, 7, 10. And Ptolemy, in his Canon, twenty-two years ; which is adopted by Clemens Alexandrinus. And the cause of this difference we learn from the testimony of the Roman and Grecian historians, Velleius Paterculus, (the contemporary of Tiberius,) Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dia Cassius; who all agree that Tiberius was admitted by Augus- tus colleague of the empire,' or partner in the government, and in the administration of [the imperial] provinces,' [among which was Judea,] and in the command of the armies,' two or three years before his death ; either in u. c. 764, or more probably u. c. 765 ; and this partnership was confirmed by a decree of the Senate. But the 15th of Tiberius, reckoned from u. c. 765, would be u. c. 780 ; from which subtracting the year of Christ's nativity, u. c. 749, the remainder, thirty-one years, more or less, sufficiently agrees with the latitude of the expression, about thirty years of age.' " This solution agrees with the other his- torical characters of Luke 3 : 1, 2." —Hales, vol. i., pp. 189-192. THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 33 Although it is now settled by all astrono- mers, and as clearly demonstrated as any mathematical certainty, that the nativity of our Saviour occurred about four years before the date from which the Christian Era is reckoned, the Vulgar Era must continue to date from the incorrectly assumed Epoch of the Nativity ; for a departure from this, so as to reckon from the actual birth of Christ, would disarrange all our chronological tables. Chronologers have, therefore, adopted the easier method of continuing the era as it was commenced, and assigning the birth of Christ to its true date, between four and five years antecedent to the point from which the Vulgar Era is reckoned. The commencement of the four Cardinal Eras being fixed, and adjusted to each other, they need to be harmonized to the Julian Period. As the Julian Period does not commence at any known epoch, it must be adjusted to the Vulgar Era by the corresponding years of the cycles of which it is formed. Being constituted for the purpose of harmonizing the cycles of the Sun, Moon, and Indiction, it follows that its first year must commence at a point when each of those cycles would be in their first year. As they correspond thus only once in a period of 7980 years, we must determine from the years of those cycles in any given year, the year of the Julian Period which synchronizes with them. 34 CHRONOLOGY. THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 35 Simpson, in his Algebra, (edit. 4, p. 191,) gives the following ingenious solution of the problem, which he thus states : — " Supposing- e, f, and g, to denote given integers, [standing for the years of those cycles in any given year ; ] to find such a value of x as that the quantities (x — e) 28, (x — f) =19, and (x — g) ÷ 15, may be all integers." By making (x — e) ± 28 --= y, we have x 28 y +e, Substituting this value for x in the second expression, it becomes (28 y + e— f) ÷ 19, which, as well as y, is to be a whole number; but (2S y + e — f) 19, by making b = e— f, will be =y+ ( 9 y b) 19; and therefore 19 y, and 18 y + 2 b, being both divisible by 19, their difference, y — 2 b, must also be divisible by 19. Hence it follows that one value of y, is 2 b ; and that 2 b + 19 z (sup- posing z a whole number) will be a general value of y ; and consequently, x (= 28 y, + e) = 532 z + 56 b + e is a general value of x, answering the two first conditions. Substituting this for the value of x, in the remaining expression, (x — g) =15, it becomes (532 z + 56 b+e — g) ± 15 = 35 z + 3 b + (7 z + (3 ) ± 15 ; (supposing 3 =-- 11 b + e — g =12 e —11 f — g). Here 15 z, and 14 z +2 (3 being both divisible by 15, their differ- ence, z — 213 must also be divisible by 15 ; and therefore one value of z will be 2 t3; and the general value of z = 2 (3+ 15 w : from whence the general value of x 532 z + 56 b e) is given = 7980 w + 1064 13 + 56 b e which, by restoring the values of b and be- comes 7980 w + 12825 e— 11760 f —1064 g. To have all the terms affirmative, and their co-efficients the least possible, let w be taken — e+ 2f g ; whence these results, 4845 e +4200 f + 6916 g, for a new value of .v. Substitute for the letters e, f, and g, their true values, (which are the years of the cycles of the Sun, Moon, and Indiction, for any given year,) multiply them by their respective co- efficients, and divide the sum of their products by 7980; and the remainder will be the least value of x, and the year of the Julian Period which corresponds to the given years of those cycles. The foregoing gives the following Arith- metical Rule : — " To FIND THE YEAR OF THE JULIAN PERIOD CORRESPONDING TO CERTAIN GIVEN YEARS OF THE CYCLES OF THE SUN, MOON, AND INDICTION. " Multiply the given year of the cycle of the Sun by 4845 ; of the Moon, by 4200 ; and of Indiction, by 6916 ; and divide the sum of the products by 7980 ; the remainder will be the year of the Julian Period required." In the year 1 of the Vulgar Era, the cur- rent cycle of the Sun was 10; of the Moon, 2 ; and of Indiction, 4. Then, 10 X 4845 = 48450 2 x 4200 - - 8400 and 4 X 6916 =27664 which amounts to 84514 36 Divide this by 7980, and it is contained 10 times, with a remainder of 4714, for the year of the Julian Period, corresponding with A. D. 1. To prove this, divide 4714 by 28, 19, and 15, successively, and the quotients are 168, 248, and 314 the number of revolutions of each cycle from the beginning of the Julian Period to that time, with remainders 10, 2, and 4, the current years of those cycles. The years of those cycles for any given year may also be found by dividing the year of the Julian Period by 28, 19, 15 —the respective remainders being the corresponding years of those cycles. With the foregoing demonstration, the Ju- lian Period, and Vulgar Era thus harmonize : A. J. P. 4712. I A. J. P. 4713. I A. J. P. 4714. I A. J. r. 4715. B. C. 2. I B. C. 1 A. D. 1. A. D. 2. 2 years 1 year 0 1 year 2 years B. C. B. C. A. D. from A. D. from A. D. Thus the ordinal spans an arch of an en- tire year, while the numeral marks only the termination of each year from A. D., or the commencement of each year, a c. As 4713 years of the Julian Period preceded A. D. 1, the current year of the Julian Period may be found by adding that number to the current year of the'Vulgar Era. This adjusts the Julian Period to the Vulgar Era, and enables us to assign any event, dated in any year of either of the eras, to its cor- responding year in this period. THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 37 These periods and eras adjusted, to locate events with well established dates in their relative position to each other, WE MUST FIRST CHOOSE THE BEST SOURCES OF INFORMATION. The earliest records are unquestionably the Mosaic. Dr. Hales calls them " the only sure and certain pole-star, to guide our wandering steps through the mazes, the deserts, and the quicksands of ancient and primeval Chronol- ogy, in which so many adventurers have been lost or swallowed up, by following the ignis fatuus of their own imagina- tions, or the treacherous glare of hypothe- ses." Says Ellis : — " If we take the Bible along with us, it is a teacher that will direct us through the obscurity and maze of things, solve every difficulty, and lead up truth to the fountain-head." And Biefield remarks : " The purest and most fruitful source of ancient history is doubtless to be found in the Holy Bible." Other sources of information are found in the works of ancient classic writers and historians ; and in ancient chronological tables. Among these last are Ptolemy's Canon and the Parian Chronicle. The former has been already noticed as being of " the highest authority among historians." — Hales. The latter was found on one of the Arundel marbles — some celebrated relics of antiquity, purchased in Greece for the Earl of Arundel, in 1624 — consisting of Greek inscrip- tions engraved on marble. The Parian Chron- 4 CHRONOLOGY. 38 CHRONOLOGY. icle is pronounced by Dr. Hales to be " high authority." He says : " We are now warranted, upon the high authority of the Parian Chronicle, to consider the thirty reigns of the Athenian kings and archons, from Cecrops to Creon, the first annual archon, as one of the most authen- tic and correct documents to be found in the whole range of profane Chronology; while the Chronicle also verifies the broken list of annual archons, as far as it reaches downwards, by confirming, in near twenty instances, the dates assigned by other historians, both earlier and later." —Hales' An. Chro., vol. i., p. 241. ECLIPSES. In considering the elements of Chronology the importance of eclipses should not be over- looked. Says Dr. Hales : — " Eclipses are justly reckoned among the surest and most unerring characters of Chro- nology; for they can be calculated with great exactness, backwards as well as forwards; and there is such a variety of distinct circum- stances of the time when, and the place where, they were seen — of the duration, or begin- ning, middle, or end, of every eclipse, and of the quantity, or number of digits eclipsed — that there is no danger of confounding any two eclipses together, where the circumstances attending each are noticed with any tolerable degree of precision." — An. Chro., vol. i., p. 180. The precise date of the battle of Arbela, is ECLIPSES. 39 settled by an eclipse of the moon, Sept. 20th, B. c. 331, which Plutarch describes as occur- ring eleven days previously. The battle of Actium, the year of the destruction of Jerusa- lem, the battle of Pharsalia, and many other very important chronological dates, are thus definitely settled. Dr. Hales gives the following eclipses, which, happening in connection with historical events, are found by astronomical calculation to have occurred in the years assigned : — B. C. 753. S. April 21. Old calculation ; the day of the foundation of Rome. — Plutarch. 721. M. March 19. Aft. 10, 34 ; total ; first year of Mardok Empad, king of Babylon. — Ptolemy. 720. M. March 8. Aft. 11, 56 ; dig. 31 ; second of Mardok Empad. —Ptolemy. 715. S. May 26. Aft. 5, 12 ; dig. 9 1-5 ; death of Romu- lus. — 621. M. April 21. Morn. 6, 22 ; dig. 24 ; fifth of Na- bopolassar. — Ptolemy. 603. S. May 18. Morn. 9, 30 ; total ; eclipse of Thales, according to .Custard, Montucla, Kennedy, and Hales. 547. S. Oct. 22. Aft. 0, 35 ; total ; when Cyrus took La- rissa in Media. — Xenophon. Anab. 523. M. July 17. Morn. 0, 12 ; dig. 71 ; seventh of Cam- byses. — Ptolemy. 502. M. Nov. 19. Morn. 8, 21 ; dig. 2 ; twentieth of Darius Hystaspes. 491. M. April 25. Mora. 0, 12 ; dig. 1i; thirty-first of Darius Hystaspes. 481. S. April 19. Aft. 2, 27 ; dig. 7 ; when Xerxes left Susa to invade Greece. — Herodotus. 480. S. Oct. 2. Aft. 2 ; dig. 8 ; soon after the battle of Salamis. — Herodotus. 40 CHRONOLOGY. 478. S. Feb. 13. Aft. 2 ; dig. Ili ; year after the Per- sian war. 463. S. April 30. Aft. 3 ; dig. 11; Egyptians revolt from the Persians. 431. S. Aug. 3. Aft. 5, 53 ; total ; first year of the Peloponnesian war. - Thucydides. 424. S. March 22. Morn. 6, 34; dig. 9; eighth year of the war. - Thucydides. 415. M. Aug. 27. Aft. 10, 15 ; total ; nineteenth year of the war ; defeat of Nicias and the Athenians at Syracuse. - Thucydides. 406. M. April 15. Aft. 8, 50 ; total ; twenty-sixth year of the war. 404. S. Sept. 2. Morn. 9, 16 ; last year of the war. - Xenophon. 394. S. Aug. 14. Morn. 9, 17 ; dig. 11 ; Conon defeats the Lacedeemonians in a sea-fight at Cnidus. - Xenophon. 331. M. Sept. 20. Aft. 6, 35 ; total ; eleven days before the battle of Arbela. - Plutarch. 200. M. March 19. Morn. 2, 48 ; total. Sept. 11. Morn. 2, 15 ; total. Ptolemy. First year of the Macedonian war. 190. S. March 14. Morn. 6 ; dig. 11 ; first year of the Syrian war. 188. S. July 17. Morn. 8, 38; dig. 10; three days' supplication decreed at Rome. - Livy, 34, 36. 168. M. June 21. Aft. 8, 2 ; total ; night before the battle of Pydna, and end of the Macedonian war. - Livy. 63. M. Oct. 27. Aft. 6, 22 ; total ; Jerusalem taken by Pompey this year. 48. M. Jan. 18. Aft. 10 ; total ; battle of Pharsalia ; death of Pompey this year. 45. M. Nov. 7. Morn. 2 ; total ; first Julian year. 31. S. Aug. 20. Sunset ; great eclipse ; battle of Actium, Sept. 3. 4. M. March 13. Morn. 2, 45 ; dig. 6 ; before Herod the Great's death. - Josephus. ECLIPSES. 41 A. D. 14. M. Sept. 27. Morn. 5 ; total ; mutiny of the Pan- nonian legions, quelled thereby, after the death of Augustus. - Tacitus, Annal. 1. 29. S. Nov. 24. Morn. 9, 30 ; total ; death of John Baptist this year. 31. M. April 25. Aft. 9 ; dig. 4 ; month after the crucifixion. 33. S. Sept. 12. Morn. 10, 30 ; annular. 45. S. Aug. 1. Morn. 10 ; dig. 5 ; birth-day of the Emperor Claudius. 49. M. Dec. 31. Aft. 9, 30 ; total. 59. S. April 30. Aft. 1 ; central ; Nero murdered his mother, Agrippina, this year. 69. M. Oct. 18. Aft. 10 ; dig. 11 ; night of the battle of Cremona, between the armies of Vespasian and Vitellius. - Dio. lib. 65 ; Tacit. Hist. 3, 23. The year before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A. D. 70, hereby ascertained. - An. Chron. vol. i., pp. 181-183. Says Ferguson : " In Chronology, both solar and lunar eclipses serve to determine exactly the tune of any past event; for there are so many particulars observable in every eclipse, with respect to its quantity, the places where it is visible, (if of the sun,) and the time of the day or night, that it is impossible there can be two solar eclipses in the course of many ages which are alike in all circumstances." - As- Iron. Ex., p. 285. 4* SACRED CHRONOLOGY. THE Sacred Scriptures contain the most ancient Geographical, Historical, and Chrono- logical records extant. Were it not for the light there emitted, we should be almost en- tirely ignorant of the period and order of events, beyond about three thousand years in the past. " In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Gen. 1 : 1. On the sixth day, " God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him," and called his name Adam. v. 27. A. M. 1. " Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son, in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth." 5 : 3. A. M. 131. " Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enos." v. 6. A. M. 236. " Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cai- nan." v. 9. A. M. 326. " Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel." v. 12. A. M. 396. " Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared." v. 15. A. M. 461. " Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and begat Enoch." v. 18. A. M. 623. " Enoch lived sixty and five years, and be- gat Methuselah." v. 21. A. M. 688. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 43 " Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech." v. 25. A. M. 875. " The days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years. . . . And all the days that Adam lived were nine hun- dred and thirty years; and he died." vs. 4, 5. A. M. 931. " Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years. . . . And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not ; for God took him." vs. 22-24. A. M. 988. " Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hun- dred and seven years. . . . And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died." vs. 7, 8. A. M. 1043. " Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son. And he called his name Noah." vs. 28, 29. A. M. 1057. " Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years. . . . And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years ; and he died. vs. 10, 11. A. M. 1141. " Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years. . . . And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years ; and he died." vs. 13,14. A. M. 1236. " Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years. . . . And all the 44 CHRONOLOGY. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 4,4 days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years; and he died." vs. 16, 17. A. M. 1291. " Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years. . . And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died." vs. 19, 20. A. M. 1423. " And the LORD said, my spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh ; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." 6: 3. A. M. 1536. " Noah was five hundred years old ; and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth." ver. 32. A. M. 1557. This is the date only of the birth of Japheth, Shem being mentioned first, as Abraham after- wards was, because of his line the Saviour was to be born. We learn, from Gen. 11 : 10, that Shem was one hundred years old two years after the flood, so that he was born A. M. 1559 ; and from Gen. 9 : 22, 23, that Ham was the youngest of the three sons. "Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hun- dred ninety and five years. . . . And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years ; and he died." vs. 30, 31. A. M. 1652. " Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years. . . . And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died." vs. 26, 27. A. M. 1656. " Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. . . . In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. . . . And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." ,Gen. 7 : 6, 11, 12, 24. " And the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the end of the hundred and fifty days, the waters were abated. And the ark rested, in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually, until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. . . . And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried." 8 : 3-5. 13, 14. A. M. 1657. [The two following pages exhibit the rela- tive ages of the early patriarchs, with their con- temporary periods.] r 46 CONTEMPORARY PERIODS. 47 CHRONOLOGY. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 o0 0 0 0 Era of the Creation. A.M. ON . CT • CI i 'II • a F !...' ..• a. cc%2 P' E. to Lt a F D F... • i . : til "8 a- ri : , F a r:-.. 0& — V 5 : C . C D C A ' ' • i . A . 2- . '7 = ' • i i t3 . c D •• . . 1 „ , : a. :Cn:OT:B. i,',' The Deluge. P : : • 5 : • • 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 3 1500 1700 ' - - 2 2 a. C4 I • a. a C sl C •1 0 Noa h. Cad mus. Sh em. 7 ••• ••• 59 Ar pha Sa xad. lah. 97 ... 59 94 Eb er. ##27 92 24 Pel eg. 97 Isra el's Soj ourn . 58 Reu. 84 • ,: Cm ops. 14 88 • Seru g.. 27 . • •• •••• 20 Na •••••• hor. .. 50 1, • 50' 98 Japh et h. Te rah. Jeth ro. 79.# 84 •••. H ••• am. . Abr 9..•• am. 84 Bal •••• ak. ... Cai nan. Is aac. Baa lam, OOOOOO Cu ... 41. 9 Jac 89 oh. ......... Nim rod. 69 .• •••••• Le . 16 vi. • ••• Lot. •••• ..... Ko hath . •• •••• OOOOOO ... Job. ••• Ish mael . Amr am. 95# Es #.32 au. Mo ses. Har an. 69 ... 4Aa ..5 . 49 ••• •••• 31 OOOOO ......5 Na hor. Reu ben. Josh ua. ' a, ... OOOOO Sa 19 Beth rah. et. 46 nel. Ju .•• Jos 60 ••• ...... dab. .... eph. ••• 70 Benj .• ami OOOOO n. . ... • OOOOOO ... Ca leb. La ____ ban. .... •• •••• •••••■110.1 1500 1657 48 CHRONOLOGY. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 49 The Septuagint version of the Old Testa- ment gives a hundred years more than the Hebrew, for the age of each of the first seven antediluvian, and some of the first diluvian patriarchs, at the birth of their son, and a hun- dred years less, for the time each lived after that event. For a consideration of the merits of that chronology, see page 183. " Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood." Gen. 11: 10. A. M. 1659. " Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah." v. 12. A. M. 1694. " Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber." v. 14. A. M. 1724. The Hebrews were so called, from Eber, or Heber. "Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg." v. 16. A. M. 1758. Peleg was so named, because " in his days was the earth divided," (peleged.) Gen. 10: 25. " Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu." 11 : 18. A. M. 1788. " Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug." v. 20. A. M. 1820. " Serug lived thirty years, and begat Na- hor." v. 22. A. M. 1850. " According to Abulfaragi, a celebrated Ar- menian annalist, on the authority of Arudha, a Canaanitish historian, the trial of Job began in the twenty-fifth year of Nahor." — Hales, A. M. 1874. Others give him a later date — some placing him as late as the bondage of Israel in Egypt. " Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah." v. 24. A. M. 1879. ABULFARAGI says, " In the 140th year of Phaleg, [Peleg,] the earth was divided, by a second division, among the sons of Noah." — Hist. of the Dynasties, p. 11. The 140th year of Peleg was two hundred and forty years after the Deluge. A. M. 1897. Allowing that the human race multiplied on the earth after the flood in the ratio that the Israelites did in Egypt, their numbers would double once in fourteen years, or seventeen times in two hundred and forty years. If so, they would number at this time more than a million of souls, — a number sufficiently large to begin to scatter abroad over the face of the earth. The division of the nations " in the earth after the flood" was divinely appointed; for God " made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Acts 17 : 26. To this division some rebelled ; for we read : " And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar ; and they dwelt there. . . . And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name, lest we be scat- tered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Gen. 11:2, 4. The leader in this rebellion is supposed to 5 50 CHRONOLOGY. have been NIMROD, whose name signifies the rebellious. He was the Belus of the ancients, a great-grandson of Noah, being the youngest son of Cush, a son of Ham. " He began to be a mighty one in the earth. . . . And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel . . . in the land of Shinar." Gen. 10 : 8, 10. Because they stopped in their migration, God confounded their language, that they might not " understand one another's speech. . . . So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel . . . and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." Gen. 11 : 7-9. "Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." ver. 26. A. M. 1949. This was the age of Terah at the birth of his first son, who was evidently HARAN — Abram being mentioned before his elder broth- ers, as Moses always was before Aaron, Isaac before Ishmael, and Shem before Japheth, on account of his preeminence. " Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hun- dred and nine years." Gen. 11: 19. A. M. 1997. " Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hun- dred and nineteen years." v. 25. A. M. 1998. " Noah lived after the flood three hun- dred and fifty years. And all the days of SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 51 Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died." 9 : 28, 29. A. M. 2007. As Abram was seventy-five years old at the death of his father, who died at the age of two hundred and five, (Gen. 11: 32; 12: 4, and Acts 7: 4,) he must have been born sixty years subsequent to the birth of Haran. A. M. 2009. " Reu lived after he begat Serug two hun- dred and seven years." Gen. 11: 21. A. M. 2027. " Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years." ver. 23. A. M. 2050. "Haran begat Lot ; and Haran died before his father, Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, arid the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah." vs. 27-29. " Sarah" is supposed to be the same as " Iscah." Abram said to Abimelech, " She is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, [or grandfather,] but not the daughter of my mother." Gen...20: 12. Grandchildren "are frequently, in Scripture, called the children of their grandfathers." — Bishop Patrick's Com. In Gen. 14: 14, Lot . is called Abram's " brother." Also, see Gen. 13: 8. We may conclude that Abram was a younger son of his father, by a second wife. Sarah was only ten years younger than CHRONOLOGY. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 53 Abram, (Gen. 17: 17,) so that Haran must have been many years older. " The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kin- dred, and come into the land which I shall show thee." Acts 7 : 2, 3. " And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law ' his son Abram's wife • and they went forth with them from Ur Of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan ; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there" (Gen. 11: 31) "many days." Judith 5: 8. ABULFARAGI states that Abraham was sixty years old when he removed to Charran, and that he dwelt there fifteen years current. — Hales. " And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years ; and Terah died in Haran." Gen. 11: 32. A. M. 2084. "And from thence, when his father was dead, he [Abraham] removed him into this land wherein ye [the Jews] now dwell." Acts. 7 : 4. " Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran," with "Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, . . . to go into the land of Canaan." Gen. 12 : 4. 5. " Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreb. . . . And the LORD appeared unto Abram and said, UNTO THY SEED WILL I GIVE THIS LAND." VS. 6, 7. This brings us to THE PROMISE, Four hundred years before the giving of the law on Sinai. (Gal. 3: 17.) On account of a famine, Abraham removed to Egypt, made no long stay, returned to Bethel, and soon after Lot separated from him, and dwelt in Sodom. After this the Lord again promised Abraham that he would give all the land of Canaan " to him, for a posses- sion, and to his seed after him." Acts 7 : 5 ; Gen. 12: 14-18. Some date the four hun- dred and thirty years of Gal. 3: 17, from this promise; but it is evidently, with all subse- quent promises, a repetition of the promise made to Abraham soon after the death of his father. About eight years subsequent to Abram's migration to Canaan, according to the opinion of Dr. Hales, the cities of the plain of Jordan rebelled against Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, whom they had served twelve years. In the thirteenth year they rebelled, and in the fourteenth year that king came against them, defeated them, and with others took Lot pris- oner. Abram, on hearing of this, pursued after the conquerors, and defeated them with great slaughter. On his return, Melchisedek met Abram and blessed him. And Abram paid tithes to him of all he possessed. 5* CHRONOLOGY. 55 54 CHRONOLOGY. Who this Melchisedek was, has been a sub- ject of much dispute. The Jews affirm that he was Shem, who was then the oldest person living. Shem was Abram's ancestor, and as such, was Abram's king and priest, and worthy to receive tithes from him. Again, " God said unto Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years . . . and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; and thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again." Gen. 15 : 13-16. The years of the sojourn of the seed of Abra- ham must date from a time thirty years sub- sequent to the call. " These began," says Mr. Ainsworth, " when Ishmael, son of Hagar, mocked and persecuted Isaac, (Gen. 1 : 9 ; Gal. 4: 29,) which fell out thirty years after the promise." Clark's Com., vol. i., p. 106. " After Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan [Sarah took Hagar] and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife [A, 11/1. 2094,] . . . And Hagar bore Abram a son . . . Ishmael. And Abram was four- score and six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram." Gen. 16: 3, 15, 16. A. M. 2095 " Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah foul hundred and three years." Gen. 11: 13. Anc died, A. M. 2097 " And Abram was ninety years old anc J years old nine when he was circumcised. . . Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old." Gen. 17 : 24, 25. A. M. 2108. At this time the birth of Isaac was promised " at this set time in the next year." ver. 21. "Then Abram fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear " Gen. 17 : 17. After this, and before the birth of Isaac, Sodom was destroyed. Gen. 18 and 19. " Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him." Gen. 21: 5. A. M. 2109. " Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar . . . mocking." Gen. 21: 9. St. Jerome, and some others, hold that among the Jews, children were weaned at the age of five years. If so, this would be just four hundred years previous to the exode. For thus " persecuting" Isaac, (Gal. 4 : 29,) Ha- gar and her son were sent away, that he might not be heir with the son of the free- woman. " Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years." Gen. 11 : 15. And died, A. M. 2127. " Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days." Gen. 21: 34. " And it came to pass, after these things, that God did tempt 56 CHRONOLOGY. Abraham, and said unto him, Take now thy son Isaac into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt-offering, upon one of the moun- tains which I will tell thee of." Gen. 22 : 1, 2. JOSEPHUS, Ant. I., 13, 2, says that Isaac had now come to the age of twenty-five years. Bochart makes him twenty-eight, the word naar, translated lad, ver. 5, being used for one of that age. " And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old : these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kirjath- arba ; the same is Hebron, in the land of Canaan." Gen. 23: 1. Being ninety when Abram was a hundred, Abram was at the death of Sarah a hundred and thirty-seven years old. A. M. 2146. " Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife." Gen. 25 : 20. A. M. 2149. " Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years." Gen. 11 : 11, to A. M. 2159. " Isaac was threescore years old when Re- bekah bare Jacob and Esau." Gen. 25 : 26. A. M. 2169. "And these were the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived ; an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years." vs. 7, 8. A. M. 2184. "Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hun- dred and thirty-four years." Gen. 11 : 17. And died, A. M. 2192:- Fri.( SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 57 " Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith . . . and Bashemath." Gen. 26: 34. A. M. 2209. " And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: an hundred and thirty and seven years." Gen. 25: 17, to A. M. 2232. " And it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau, his eldest son, and said unto him, . . . Behold, I am old;I know not the day of my death . . . make me savory meat . . . that my soul may bless thee before I die." Gen. 27 : 1-4. The date of this is not given; but as Jacob, securing the blessing, on account of Esau fled to his uncle Laban; and as Joseph, born at the end of his fourteen years' service, was thirty years old, nine years before his father went to Egypt at the age of a hundred and thirty, it follows that Jacob was now 130— (9 +30+14) = 77; which added to 60, the age of Isaac when Jacob was born, would make Isaac at this time a hundred and thirty-seven, the age of Ishmael at his death, which accounts for his thinking he might soon die. A. M. 2246. " Jacob, having fled to Laban, loved Rachel, and said [to Laban] I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy younger daughter . . . And Jacob served seven years for Rachel." Gen. 29: 18, 20. Laban gives Leah, instead of Rachel, to Jacob : he fulfils her week, and receives 58 CHRONOLOGY. Rachel to wife, agreeing to serve after his mar- riage with them, seven years more. A. M. 2253. " And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go." Gen. 30 : 25, 26. A. M. 2260. Laban prevails on Jacob to remain with him for wages six years longer. At the end of this time Jacob said to Laban : " I have been twenty years in thy house : I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters and six years for thy cattle." Gen. 31: 41. A. M. 2266. " And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger [in Hebron, ver. 14] in the land of Canaan . . . Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren." Gen. 37 : 1, 2. A. M. 2277. Joseph, through envy, is sold by his breth- ren, and carried to Egypt. " And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died." Gen. 35: 28, 29. A. M. 2289. " And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt." Gen. 41: 46. A. M. 2290. This was " two full years " after the butler had been restored to the king's favor, (41 : 1,) previous to which Joseph had been some time in prison. This was also at the commence- ment of the seven years of plenty." SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 59 "And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt were ended ;" Gen. 41 : 53 ; and "for two years hath the famine been in the land." 45 : 6. A. M. 2299. At this time Jacob goes down into Egypt, two hundred and fifteen years after the call of Abraham, when he appeared before the king. " Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." Gen. 47: 9. "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was an hun- dred forty and seven yearc." ver. 28. He died, A. M. 2316. " Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old." Gen. 50 : 26. A. M. 2370. According to the prophecy, the children of Israel were to go up out from Egypt in the FOURTH GENERATION. Gen. 15 : 16. Moses, who led them out, was the fourth in descent from Ja- cob, being the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. Ex. 6: 16-20. Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah, (Gen. 35 : 23,) could not have been born prior to the third year of this marriage, or when Jacob was eighty-seven years old. " The years of the life of Levi were an hun- * Dr. Hales places the marriage of Jacob with both his wives at the commencement of his service with Laban; but the text seems to place it at the end of the first seven. (Gen. chap. 29.) He quotes from Abulfaragi, that Levi was born when Jacob was eighty-two years old. II 60 CHRONOLOGY. dred thirty and seven years." "The years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years. " And the years of the life of Amram were an hundred thirty and seven years." Ex. 6 : 16-20. ABULFARAGI states that Kohath was born when Levi was forty-seven; and Amram, when Kohath was seventy-five. If so, to terminate the 430 years from the death of Terah, at the going forth from Egypt, when Moses was eighty years old, he must have been born when his father Amram was sixty-one. A. M. 2434. " When Moses was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel ; and seeing one of them suf- fer wrong he defended him. . . . and smote the Egyptian," and fled to the land of Midian. " And when forty years were ex- pired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush." Acts 7 : 23, 24, 30. " Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh." Ex. 7: 7. " Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years; and it came to pass, at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the self-same day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." Ex. 12: 40, 41. • A. M. 2514. As the Exode was when Moses was eighty years old, it could be but 215 years from the SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 61 time Jacob removed thither. Says Josephus, (Ant. Jud., Lib. ii. c. 15, 52,) " They left Egypt in the month Xanthicus, on the fif- teenth day of the moon's age, four hundred and thirty years after the coming of our pro- genitor, Abraham, into the land of Canaan, and two hundred and fifteen years after the migra- tion of Jacob into Egypt. Moses was then eighty years old, and his brother Aaron three years older." Dr. Hales renders Ex. 12 : 40 : " Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, [and of their fathers,] which they sojourned in the land of Egypt, [and in the land of Canaan,] was four hundred and thirty years." " This period of 430 years," he says, " included the whole time from Abraham's migration to Canaan, during the sojourning of their fathers there, for two hundred and fifteen years ; and their own in Egypt for two hundred and fif- teen more. The foregoing insertions, therefore, in the Massorite text, [which Dr. Clark says are lost out of the Hebrew text,] warranted by the Samaritan, and by the Septuagint version, are absolutely necessary to adjust the chronol- ogy of this period." New Anal. Caro., vol. ii., p. 200. That the 430 years date from the call of Abraham, and not from the descent of Jacob into Egypt, is proved by the number of gener- ations which sojourned in Egypt, the age of each father at the birth of his son, the 400 years that the seed of Abraham were to be so- 6 62 CHRONOLOGY. journers, the texts of the Septuagint and Sa- maritan versions, the uniform tradition of the Jews, and also by Paul, when he says : — " The covenant that was confirmed of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." Gal. 3:17. " In the third month, when the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, the same day, came they into the wilderness of Sinai." Ex. 19: 1. On the fifth of this month, fifty days from the fourteenth of the first month, when they went out of Egypt, the law was given from Mount Sinai. As Paul says the law was four hundred and thirty years after the promise, (Gal. 3 : 17,) it is probable that the promise (Gen. 12 : 7) was given fifty days after the removal of Abram from Haran, on the death of his father, which was four hundred and thirty years before the Exode. " The Lord spake unto Moses in the wilder- ness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season." Num. 9 : 1, 2. " And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the seventh month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the urilrlornoCC of Sinai '2 10- 11, 12. A. M. 2515 -- • SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 63 "Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor, at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in Mount Hor." Num. 33: 38, 39. A. M. 2553. " It came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them." Deut. 1 : 3. Here Moses began the sayings recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. Referring to the sending of spies from Kadesh-barnea, in the second year after their leaving Egypt, he says : " And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years." Dent. 2 : 14. " Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died." Deut. 34: 7. " Now after the death of Moses, . . . the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now there- fore arise, go over this Jordan." Josh. 1: 12. " The children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness." 5: 6. "And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month." Josh. 4: 19. A. M. 2554. " Now Joshua was old and stricken in SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 65 CHRONOLOGY. 64 years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed ; . . . divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance." 13: 1, 6. This brings us to the first division of the land, six years after the passage of Jordan, as we learn by what Caleb said to Joshua, in requesting Hebron for an inheritance : " Forty years old was I when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea, to espy out the land. . . . And now, behold the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilder- ness ; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old." Josh. 14 : 7-10. This locates the first division of the land, in the 47th year from the Exode. A. M. 2560. FROM THE DIVISION OF THE LAND TO SAMUEL THE PROPHET. From this division of the land to the death of Joshua, and from then to the first captivity, the time is not given in the Old Testament. To this epoch, there is an uninterrupted succession of periods. The New Testament enables us to continue the chain of inspired Chronology, without any breach, from the Creation to the time of Samuel the Prophet : " And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land by lot. And after that,he gave unto them judges, about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the Prophet." Acts 13 : 19, 20. This period of 450 years, from the dividing of the land to Samuel, is thus filled up. "And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age." Josh. 23: 1. And " Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old." Josh. 24: 29. The time of the death of Joshua is not given in the Scriptures. Josephus states that it was twenty-five years after the passage of the river Jordan. If so, he must have been six years older than Caleb, eighty-five at the death of Moses, and forty-five at the Exode; soon after which it is said of him, " Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle." Ex. 33: 11. The time given by Josephus is, therefore, a probable period for his reign, which would place his death A. M. 2579. " Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that out- lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel." Josh. 24 : 31. " And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel 6* 66 CHRONOLOGY. did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim." Jud. 2 : 10, 11. This brings us to the commencement of their first captivity, to which time, from the death of Moses, the duration is not given in the Scrip- tures. As all who were over twenty years of age at the Exode died in the wilderness, save Caleb and Joshua, (Num. 14: 29,) there could be none, save them, who were more than sixty at the Eisode. Josephus makes eighteen years from the death of Joshua to this time ; but he omits the eight years of Abdon's judge- ship, (Jud. 12 : 13,) and gives a year to Sham- gar, (3: 31.) Rectifying these, eleven years are left for this interregnum, which will be thirty-six years from the death of Moses, as in Dr. Hales, — seventy-six from the Exode, and thirty from the first division of the land. " The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. . . . Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the king of Mesopotamia." Jud. 3: 7, 8. A. M. 2590. The children of Israel served Chushan-rish- athaim eight years " And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz." .1nd. 3 : 8, 9. A. M. 2598 "And the land had rest forty years. . . And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 67 of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel." vs. 11, 12. A. M. 2638. " So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera." vs. 14, 15. A. M. 2656. "So the land had rest eighty years. . . And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan." Jud. 3: 30, and 4: 1, 2. A. M. 2736. " Twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. . . . And Deborah, a proph- etess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. . . And Deborah said unto Barak, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. . . So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan." vs. 3-23. A. M. 2756. " The land had rest forty years. . . . . And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord : and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." Jud. 5: 31; 6 : 1. A. M. 2796. " The Lord looked upon Gideon, arid said, Go, in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites." 6: 14. " Thus was Midian subdued before the chil- dren of Israel." Jud. 8 : 28. A. M. 2803. LIBRARY S. D. A. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY TAKOMA PARK. WASHINGTON, 0. C. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 69 Jud. xi. 26. To the beginning of the captiv- ity, out of which they were just delivered, from the elders and anarchy, was three hun- dred and one years, according to this chron- ology. "So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them ; and the Lord delivered them into his hand. Jud. 11 : 32. " Jephthah judged Israel six years," 12: 7, to A. M. 2915. After him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel. . . . And he judged Israel seven years." Jud. 12 : 8, 9, to A. M. 2922. " After him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Is- rael; and he judged Israel ten years." v. 11. And died A. M. 2932. "After him Abdon . . . judged Israel, . . . and he judged Israel eight years." vs. 13, 14. A. M. 2940. " The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years." Jud. 13 : 1, to A. M. 2980. During this bondage of forty years, Samson "judged Israel in the days of the Philistines, twenty years." — 15 : 20. Samson did not deliver Israel from the Philistines. The prom- ise respecting him was : " He shall begin to deliver Israel," &c. —13 : 5. It was reserved to Samuel to complete their deliverance. Sam- son does not seem to have exercised the office of a civil magistrate, and could only have judged Israel by being their avenger, and an 68 CHRONOLOGY. " The country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. . . And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim." 8 : 28, 33. " And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Milo, and went and made Abimelech king." Jud. 9: 6. A. M. 2843. " When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, then God sent an evil spirit be- tween Abimelech and the men of Shechem.. . And he died." 9: 22, 24, 54. A. M. 2846. " After Abimelech there arose to defend Israel, Tola. . . . And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died." Jud. 10 : 1, 2. A. M. 2869. " After him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. . . And Jair died." vs. 3, 5. A. M. 2891. " The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. . . And he sold them into the hands of the Philistines. . . They vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years." vs. 6, 8, to A. M. 2909. Here the Lord raised up Jephthah, who, being demanded by the children of Ammon that he should restore the land to them that Israel took from them when they came out of Egypt, replied : " While Israel dwelt in Hesh- bon and her towns, and A roer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years, why therefore did ye not recover them within that time'?" 70 CHRONOLOGY. executor of Divine justice. Many writers sup- pose Samson and Eli were contemporary and that the administration of the civil and re- ligious laws were committed to Eli. The precise time and extent of Samson's adminis- tration is a subject of some perplexity. The marginal reading of Jud. 15 : 20 is : "He seems to have judged south-west Israel during twenty years of their servitude of the Philis- tines," — making it quite limited. Dr. Hales supposes it ended with their servitude; but no certain evidence of it exists. From the commencement of the book of Judges to the close of the 16th chapter, the history is continuous. With the 17th chapter commences a SECOND PART of the book of Judges, where are recorded transactions which could not have been related in their chrono- logical place without interrupting the narration of the simple succession of events. The time of the events here added is gath- ered with some certainty from the remark that, " In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." 17 : 6, and 21: 25. The word (melech) here rendered king, says Dr. Clark, " is sometimes taken for a supreme governor, judge, magistrate, or ruler, of any kind. . . and should be so understood here."— Corn. From this it is generally conceded that the time of Micah, whose acts are here recorded, was previous to the Judges, and during the anarchy which followed the death of the elders SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 71 who outlived Joshua. Consequently, the re- maining portion of the Judges is not a continu- ation of the history, which closes with the 16th chapter, during the Philistine ascendency. " The Book of Ruth" is also a kind of appendix to the Book of the Judges. It begins with a time " in the days when the Judges ruled," and " there was a famine in the land." Bishop Patrick is of the opinion that "these things came to pass in the days of Gideon, when the children of the East came and de- stroyed the increase of the earth, and left no sustenance for Israel nor for their cattle." Jud. 6 : 3, 4 : — the only famine noted during the Judges. Other writers locate the time differently. It is sufficient here, to show that it is not subsequent to the death of Samson. The Books of Samuel are a continuation of the Book of Judges but whether the first Book begins where the 16th chapter of Judges leaves the narrative, is not undisputed. The history of the Judges ends with a period of forty years of Philistine oppression. The first Book of Samuel begins with the history of Sam- uel, when Eli was Judge. In the 4th chapter we find Israel smitten by the Philistines, and the ark of God taken by them. The 7th chapter shows, that, twenty years after this, the Philis- tines are defeated, and no more trouble Israel. Mr. Brown, in his Ordo Smclorin," a work of much research, thinks that this last servi- tude, which continued twenty years after the death of Eli, is that referred to in the Book of 73 72 CHRONOLOGY. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 1 Judges, as continuing forty years. Dr. Hales considers it another servitude, commencing at the death of Eli, forty years after the close of the one in the Judges. There are arguments in favor of each view. When the sons of Eli did wickedly, we read that, "Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child," 2 : 18 ; and that " Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel," v. 22. " And the child Samuel minis- tered unto the Lord before Eli ;" and when " he was laid down to sleep" . . . the Lord called Samuel ; and he answered, " Here am I," (3: 1-4,) supposing Eli had called. At this time it was revealed to Samuel that an end was to be made of the house of Eli, " for the iniquity which he knoweth ; because his sons made themselves vile, and he re- strained them not." v. 13. " Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord." vs. 19, 20. Soon after this, " Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben- ezer, . . . and the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten. . . And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were slain. . . Now Eli was ninety and eight years old ; " and when he heard that the ark of God was taken, " he fell from off the seat backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died : for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years." 4: 1, 10, 11, 15, 18. " The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months," vi, 1; after which they returned it to Israel to Kirjath- jearim. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long, for it was twenty years." 7 : 2. " And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. And they gathered to- gether to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. . . And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel : but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them ; and they were smitten before Israel, . . . and they came no more into the coast of Israel. . . And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life." 7 : 5-15. The question to be decided here is, — What event, in the time of Samuel, marks the termi- nation of the 450 years of Acts 13 : 20, which extend to him, from the division of the land. To cover that period, we have the following items : 7 74 CHRONOLOGY. SACRED CHRONOLOGY. 75 if CC CC tt CC 4C From the distribution of the land, to From his death to the first servitude, mated at, . . ... the death of Joshua, esti- . . 19 years. 11 " The 1st. Servitude-- Mesopotamia, 8 40 Othniel, . ... 18 2d. Servitude — Moab, 80 Ehud and Shamgar, 20 3d. Servitude— Canaan, 40 Deborah and Barak, 7 4th. Servitude — Midian, 40 Gideon, 3 Abimelech, 23 Tola, 22 Jair, ... 18 5th. Servitude—Ammon, 6 Jephthah, 7 Ibzan, 10 Elan, 8 Abdon, . . . .. 6th. Servitude —Philistines, (including twenty years of Samson,) Making to the close of this servitude, . Required to complete the 450 years, If Dr. Hales terminates the four hundred and fifty years at the call of Samuel, (3d chap.) which he places in the thirty-first year of Eli's administration — making Eli succeed Samson, as Judge, at the close of the Philistine bond- age ; and to continue ten years after the call of Samuel, who, Josephus asserts, was twelve years old when the Lord spake to him.—Jose- phus, Ant. v. 10, 4. From the termination of the four hundred and fifty years, of Acts 13 : 20, Dr. Hales assigns, — To the death of Eli, 10 years. To the day of Mizpeh, 20 " To the election of Saul, 12 " To the election of David, 40 " [With the previous time—from the death of Terah—Dr. Hales agrees with the foregoing calculations. For the time previous to the call of Abraham, he adopts the Septuagint ver- sion, which is noticed in full, on pp. 183-226. As a much shorter chronology is given by Archbishop Usher, and Sir John Marsham, for the period of the Judges, their views are pre- sented in the Appendix.] Mr. Brown,* on the other hand, supposes that Eli was contemporary with Samson, and that the four hundred and fifty years ter- minate at the day of Mizpeh, when it is said, " Samuel judged the children of Israel." 1 Sam. 7 : 6. At whatever point in the history of Samuel they may terminate, they continue an unbroken chain of inspired chronology, to more than three thousand years from Crea- tion — according to the following items : Creation, Age of Adam at the birth of his son, " " Seth, ,,