By Roy B. Blizzard
Introduction
This is the second article in our series on the history of the Biblical text. We hope that it will address some of the difficult questions one finds therein, answer some of your questions and serve to assist you in your study.
Problems with Chronology
Many problems have arisen throughout the many passing centuries over the issue of dating. Many chronological tables have been constructed utilizing the dates found in the Biblical text for the beginning of creation, for the date of the flood and other events mentioned in the Biblical text. To the casual reader, it seems to be specific; so-in-so begat so-in-so, and so-in-so begat so-in-so and they lived for so many years and begat so-in-so and so forth. So, the assumption is made that one can add up all of these dates and arrive at an accurate date for a particular event. This is essentially what was done by Bishop Usher when, by taking the various dates, he concluded that the date of creation was 4004 BCE. However, Bishop Usher wasn’t the only one. There were at least 34 other chronologists that attempted to determine the date of creation and no two of them agree with one another. The fact is that "begat" in Hebrew does not mean the same as it does in English. It can mean that so-in-so was the father of so-in-so or it can mean that so-in-so was the ancestor of so-in-so. So, in Hebrew, one could say "A" begat "Z" and it would be correct.
Secondly, the ancients, not just the Hebrews, placed considerable importance on numbers. Numbers often carried a certain symbolism. It is a study known as Gematria in which certain numbers have a certain meaning: for example, one is the number of unity; two is the number of union; three is the number of deity; four is the number of the earth; six is the number of man; seven is the number of perfection; eight is the number of the order of new things; ten is the number of earthly completion, the sum of six plus four and so on.
Certain things and certain events will be presented in the Biblical text according to a certain numerical pattern. As an example, in Matthew chapter one, we have the genealogy of Jesus. Notice in verse 17 that the genealogy is constructed according to three divisions of 14 generations each, 14 being the number of the sum of 10 and 4, or earthly completion.
In verse 8 it says that Asa begat Jehoshaphat and Jehoshaphat begat Jehoram and Jehoram begat Uzziah. In 2 Chronicles 21, we read of the genealogy of these kings from the detailed record of theKings of Judah and we note something of great importance. In Chapter 21 of 2 Chronicles it is mentioned that Jehoshaphat died and his son Jehoram reigned in his stead.
In Chapter 22, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah succeeds to the throne and after his death, his mother Athaliah reined over Judah. Athaliah is killed in chapter 24 and she is succeeded by Joash. Joash, in turn, is succeeded by his son, Amaziah, in chapter 25 who is, in turn, succeeded by his son Uzziah. Four generations are omitted in this genealogical record as they are working within the framework of the number 14.
Numbers, genealogy and chronology in the Biblical text are often fictive, symbolic and/or metaphoric. Attempting to create an accurate geological table is further complicated by the fact that the Hebrew Messoratic, the Greek Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch and other textual variations give differing numbers for many Biblical events. For all of these reasons, the attempt to connect Biblical chronology with real, historical time has inevitably failed. It is really not until the time of Abraham and the Patriarchs that we begin to touch down on firm chronological ground.
