Bible Chronology / Timeline from Adam to Zedekiah

July 22, 2010 / 3 Comments / in scriptural science / by MormonBox

Overview

I’ve spent a good 15 years trying to test a literal biblical timeline against contemporary ancient
king lists, timelines, archaeological evidence, geological evidence and other modern channeled
texts.

One of the things that’s really stuck out to me in studying Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian and
Akkadian histories is that these ancient people used cultural genealogies to legitimize their
authority in the same way that modern Western culture uses science to claim cultural superiority.
Each of them followed a similar template of claiming direct descent from the ancient heroes and
demigods–passing through the ancient cataclysms–straight to their established rulers and
religious priesthoods. For them it was a form of nationalism, ego and pride. To have the oldest,
most cohesive history of one’s culture was to be able to lay claim of superiority over other
cultures (for examples, see this article on ancient examples of history revisionism). In a tradition
carried out by many Jews and Christians alike today, to possess the “true” history (ie. scripture)
of the world was to be able to claim the mandate of heaven and approval of the gods or God
himself. Josephus’s “On the Antiquity of the Jews” is a prime example.

Despite being forced by overwhelming evidence to drop a literal interpretation of the bible, my
scholarly research has not altogether destroyed my faith in the Bible. In fact the more I study the
enduring scriptural texts of ancient and modern cultures, the more I’m convinced that much of
these books comes from a source of higher intelligence. But what I have come to believe through
reading a great deal of historical and channeled material is that the Bible is a text of mysticism as
much as it is a text of history. The numbers, dates, names and accounts for periods before Moses
seem to be trying to teach hidden concepts more than they seem to be trying to give a literal
history. That’s not to say their is not literal basis for some of the incredible historical events
mentioned in the text (such as the Fall, Flood, Peleg, Tower, etc). But it is to say that to interpret
them as most literalists do (such as biblical creationists) is to destroy their purpose and depth—
and especially their mystical significance.

For an in depth example, one only need read Swedenborg’s, mystic interpretation of the Bible in
his Arcana Cœlestia. As another example… take the narrative given in the channeled Oaspe text.
In this account it is inferred that the list of individuals from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to
Terah, may actually be archetypes pointing to cycles of time spanning tens of thousands of years
instead of a literal father-son genealogy spanning a mere few hundred years. Studying the king
lists in Egyptian, Sumerian and Babylonian culture also adds a good deal of insight. As well as
the creation accounts found Hindu scripture or texts like The Kolbrin.

For an excellent treatise on the patterns and ancient context of biblical dates see “Making Sense
of the Numbers of Genesis“.
For a well research literal timeline of the Bible, see the work of Daniel Gregg at Torahtimes.org

>

Gen Descendant Notes Total Begat Lived Prstd BIRTH DEATH Scrip
of Adam about Life Life son after Ordin- (Yr- (Yr-BC) refer
Span at… that ation BC) whic
… exact
ages/

1 Adam Dates 930 130 800 – 4000 3070 Mose

start at BC BC 6:10,
the Fall of – Gen
Adam 4, 5

2 Seth . 912 105 807 69 3870 2958 Mose

BC BC 6:13,
– Gen
7, 8

3 Enos . 905 90 815 134 3765 2860 Mose

BC BC 6:17,
Gen
10, 1

4 Cainan . 910 70 840 87 3675 2765 Mose

BC BC – Gen
13, 1

5 Mahalaleel . 895 65 830 496 3605 2710 Mose

BC BC – Gen
16, 1

6 Jared . 962 162 800 200 3540 2578 Mose

BC BC 6:21,
Gen
19, 2

7 Enoch Enoch N/A 65 N/A 25 3378 N/A Mose

translated BC 7:68
either Gen
when 365 22 D
or 430 yrs 107:4
old (in
1052 A.F.
Or 2948
BC)

8 Methuselah . 969 187 782 100 3313 2344 Mose

BC BC 6, 7 –
5:25,

9 Lamech . 777 182 595 32 3126 2349 Mose

BC BC 10, 1
Gen
30, 3
 10 Noah See Note 950 492 458 10 2944 1994 Mose
about BC BC – Gen
Bible 9:29
discrepacy

11 Shem . 610 110 500 – 2452 1852 Gen

BC BC 11, 1

Noah’s Flood: Occurred when Noah was 600, and Shem was 108. That’s 1548 years from fall
or 2344 BC. Noah died 350 years after it ended
(Gen 7:6,11 8:17 9:28).

12 Arphaxed . 438 35 403 – 2342 1914 Gen 11:12,

BC BC 13

13 Salah . 433 30 403 – 2307 1884 Gen 11:14,

BC BC 15

14 Eber . 464 34 430 N/A 2277 1823 Gen 11:16,

BC BC 17

15 Peleg In his days 239 30 209 N/A 2243 2014 Gen 11:18,
the earth BC BC 19
is divided

16 Reu . 239 32 207 N/A 2213 1984 Gen 11:20,

BC BC 21

17 Serug . 230 30 200 N/A 2181 1961 Gen 11:22,

BC BC 23

18 Nahor . 148 29 119 N/A 2151 2013 Gen 11:24,

BC BC 25

19 Terah See Note 205 70- +/-105 N/A 2122 1927 Gen 11:26,
about 130 BC BC 32, 12:1,4
Bible
discrepacy

20 Abraham . 175 100 75 ? 2022 1847 Gen

BC? BC? 21:5,25:7,8

21 Isaac . 180 60 60 ? 1922 1742 Gen 25:7

BC BC 36:28

22 Jacob . 147 68 79 ? 1862 1715 Gen 47:28

BC BC 9?

23 Levi . 137 64? 73? – 1794 1657 Exodus

BC BC 6:16

24 Kohath Very little 133 70? 63? – 1730 1597 Exodus

 info (Only BC? BC? 6:18
age at
death
given)

25 Amram Very little 137 63? 74? – 1660 1523 Exodus

info (Only BC? BC? 6:20
age at
death
given)

26 Moses Translated N/A 40- N/A 40- 1597 1477 Deut. 34:7,
at age 120 80 80 BC BC Exodus
7:7, Acts
7:23,30

The Exodus: See Note. Occurred when Moses was 80 years old. In 1517 BC, 430 years after
Abraham was 75 or 215 years passed from the time that Jacob entered Israel to the exodus (Acts
7:23,30 – Gal 3:17 – Gen 15:13,16).

Gen Descendant Notes Total Begat Age Total Beg DEATH Scr
of Adam about Life Life son Made Reign Reign (Yr_BC) ref
Span at… King (Yr_BC) giv
exa
ag
da

Joshua See Note 110 N/A 75 35 1477 1442 Jos

for BC BC?
explanation
for length
of riegn

27 Othneil 8 yr – N/A – 40 1442 1402 Jud

captivity to BC? BC? (al
Mesopt. 40 Jud
year
freedom

Ehud/Sham. 18 yr – N/A – 80 1402 1322 Jud

captivity to BC? BC? 3:3
Moab. 80 see
year 3:1
freedom

28 Deborah Rules w/ – N/A – 40 1322 1282 Jud

Barak. 20 yr BC? BC? 5:3
captivity to als
Canaan. Jud
4:2

Gideon 7 yr – – – 40 1282 1242 Jud

 captivity to BC? BC? 8:2
Midian. 40 als
year Jud
freedom

29 Abimelech Son of – N/A – 3 1242 1239 Jud

Gideon BC? BC? 9:2
(Judg 55
9:18,21)

Tola Son of – N/A – 23 1239 1216 Jud

Puah of BC? BC? 10
Issachar

Jair Of Gilead – N/A – 22 1216 1194 Jud

BC? BC? 10

30 Jephthah 18 year – N/A – 6 1194 1188 Jud

oppression BC? BC? 12
by als
Philistines Jud
10

Ibzan of – N/A – 7 1188 1181 Jud

Bethlehem BC? BC? 12
(1 chron )

Elon Of Zebulun – N/A – 10 1181 1171 Jud

BC? BC? 12

Abdon Son of – N/A – 8 1171 1163 Jud

Hillel, of BC? BC? 12
Pirathon

31 Samson 40 year – N/A – 20 1163 1143 Jud

oppression BC? BC? 15
by als
Philistines Jud
13

Eli 40 is not 98 N/A – 40 1143 1103 1S

civil reign BC? BC? 4:1
shouldn’t
be
counted?

32 Samuel Rules solely 105 N/A 59? 7 1103 1096 Jos

for a time BC? BC? (is
and jointly wh
with Saul an
Sa

Saul Born 1062 60 N/A 20 40 1102 1060 Act

BC? (40 yrs BC? BC?
includes
Samuel?)
 33 David Born 1032 70 – 33 40 1062 1022 2S
BC? BC? BC? 5,
29

34 Solomon Temple lain – ? – 40 1022 982 2C

in 1018 BC? BC? BC? 9:3
Kin
11

Foundation of Temple is Lain: Solomon lays temple foundation in 4rth year of his reign in
approximately 1018-1019 BC, and
480 years after the Exodus (1 Kings 6:1).

35 Rehoboam Fights 58 – 41 17 982 965 2 Chr.

against bro, BC BC 12:13, 1
Jeroboam Kings
all his life. 14:21

36 Abijam (a.k.a. – – – 3 965 962 2 Chr.

Abijah) BC BC 13:2, 1
Wicked like Kings
his father 15:2

37 Asa Rightous – – – 41 962 921 2 Chr.

BC BC 16:13, 1
Kings
15:10

38 Jehoshaphat Rightous 60 28 35 25 921 896 2 Chr.

BC BC 20:31, 1
Kings
22:42

39 Jehoram Wicked 40 18 32 8 896 888 2 Chr.

BC BC 21:5,20,
2 Kings
8:17

40 Ahaziah (x) Chronicles 23 22 22 1 888 887 2 Chr.

says he BC BC 22:2 , 2
started to Kings
reign at 42 8:26

Athalia Wicked wife – N/A – 6 887 881 2 Chr.

of Jehoram. BC BC 22:12, 2
Userps Kings
throne 11:3

41 Joash Son of 47 22 7 40 881 841 2 Chr.

Ahaziah, BC BC 24:1, 2
Kings
 saved by 12:1,
High Priest 11:21

42 Amaziah . 54 38 25 29 841 812 2 Chr.

BC BC 25:1, 2
Kings
14:2

43 Uzziah (a.k.a. 68 43 16 52 812 760 2 Chr.

Azariah) big BC BC 26:3, 2
earthquake Kings
during reign 15:2

44 Jotham . 41 21 25 16 760 744 2 Chr.

BC BC 27:1,8, 2
Kings
15:33

45 Ahaziah (a.k.a Ahaz) 36 – 20 16 744 728 2 Chr.

BC BC 28:1, 2
Kings
16:2

46 Hezekiah Sun goes 54 42 25 29 728 699 2 Chr.

back 15 BC BC 29:1, 2
degrees Kings
18:2

47 Manasseh . 67 45 12 55 699 644 2 Chr.

BC BC 33:1, 2
Kings
21:1

48 Amon (x) Murdered 24 16 22 2 644 642 2 Chr.

BC BC 33:21 2
Kings
21:19

49 Josiah . 39 14 8 31 642 611 2 Chr.

BC BC 34:1 2
Kings
22:1

50 Jehoiakim (a.ka. 36 15 25 11 611 600 2 Chr.

Eliakim) BC BC 36:5, 2
vassal to Kings
pharaoh 23:36

“ Zedekiah (a.k.a. 32 32 21 11 600 589 2 Chr.

Mattaniah) BC BC 36:11. 2
Johoiakim’s Kings
cousin 24:18

BOM Timeline: Babylonian Captivity. This puts us into the BOM and established written
history. (See 1 Nephi 10:4)
 correlation of all genealogical tables given in biblical/LDS scripture

BOLD FONT = Exact date is given in corresponding scripture references column.

REGULAR FONT = Date calculated using bold dates.

? = Uncertainty in date calculation

About General Date Accuracy

Dates accuracies range from high at the reign of Zedekiah (BOM), to +/- 10-20 yrs at Rehoboam,
to poorer during the reign of the judges. LDS revelation, given in D&C 77:6–7, 12 & D&C
88:108–110 emphasizes the mystical importance of the 7000 year cycle in the bible timeline (1
Ne. 13:40, Mormon 7:9. see also the Jaredite genealogy and the book of Moses as well, as seen
in my genealogical tables)

For Mormon’s, Book of Mormon verses in 1 Nephi 1:4 & 2:4 state that Nephi’s family left
Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah. 1 Nephi 10:4 & 19:8 assure that this was in
600-601 BC. Thus we use this as our starting point, and count back through the kings of Judah
until David. We can assume an error of a few years because dates for this period are only
accurate to the year, not the month. Dates from Adam to David are counted forward from Adam
with an arbitrary starting point of 4000 BC (D&C 76:11). At Solomon, where the two dating
schemes meet, we amazingly find only a 15 year error.

Pre-‘Flood’ Notes

Joseph Smith’s Moses 1:41 would suggest that some aspect of the dates given in that book and
Genesis were channeled much like modern texts like Oahspe or The Book of Mormon. This
antediluvian chronology is actually given in seven different books of both LDS and non-LDS
scripture (see genealogy chart). The channeled text “The Law of One”, suggests that life spans of
900 years were common during earth’s first precessional cycle after humans were brought to the
planet 75,000 years ago. Oahspe suggests that the sinking of Pan/Lemuria occured 50,000 years
ago. Of course, none of these channeled events can be verified scientifically.

Genesis 5 says that Noah had three sons but does not give specific years, only stating that he
was 500 when they had all been born. Moses 8 clears this up by giving exact years for each son’s
birth.

Patriarchal Era Notes

Nimrod is the great grandson of Noah (Noah-Ham-Cush-Nimrod) said to be born around the time
of Salah. He is credited with building the city of Babel (Genesis 10:10) and the tower
(Apocrypha). It’s climax and destruction (I.e. Brother of Jared leaving) seem strangely out of
place given the suggested populations for those who hold to a global flood. Apocryphal sources
state that Nimrod lived long enough to be a contemporary of Abraham.

All three of Terah’s children are mentioned as being born when Terah was 70 (Genesis 11:26)
Lectures on faith, gives another chronology on the patriarchs which is very similar but diverges as
follows: (under construction)
Jacob was about 68 calculated from….
Levi, Kohath, and Amram’s age when they had their patriarchal son is not given.
Moses and Aaron were brothers, both born of Amram; Aaron was three years older than Moses.

Exodus Notes

Jacob entered Egypt at age 130 (Gen 37:9 gives exact age)

The Septuagint copy of Exodus 14:40 says Israel was in captivity for exactly 215 years. This date
fits nicely with genealogies and would have spanned from the time Jacob/Israel and his sons
entered Egypt until the Exodus. Jacob died in the year 1715 BC at age 147, so he lived in Egypt
for 17 years before his death. This puts his entrance into Egypt in 1732 BC. We know the exodus
was in 1517 BC, so these date match since 1732 – 1517 = 215 years. However, Oahspe puts this
event thousands of years earlier.

Exodus 12:40 says “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 430
years”. The septuagint and Samaritan copies correct this wording to say “Now the sojourning of
the children of Israel, and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the
land of Egypt was 430 years”. (p156 skousen) Gen 15:13–16 substantiates that the septuagint
correction is the proper wording.

Gen 15:13–16 says that Abraham’s seed would be “sojourners in a strange land for four
generations” or “400 years”. This appears to be giving a rounded estimate. The 430 year version
given in Ex. 12:40 and the septuagint are likely the more exact dates.

The exodus occurred 430 years from the time of Abraham’s vision in Canaan. (Gen 16:3, 15–16
suggests that this vision was shortly before Abraham married Hagar, which was 10 years before
Abraham was 86) (430 year figure comes from Gal 3:17, Acts 7:6–7, & Gen 15:13, 16. This
amount of time matches well with genealogies and other dates given) The 430 years could have
also have started when Abraham had Ishmeal and left Canain, which would only change dates by
a few years.

Acts 7:23 tells that Moses was 40 when he smote the Egyptian and fled. Acts 7:30 tells that
Moses refuge in Midian for another full 40 years. Exodus 7:7 further supports this and says Moses
was 80 years old when he returned to liberate Israel. From this we know that Moses was ordained
to the priesthood by Jethro and bore both his two sons during this 40 year period between the
ages of 40 and 80.

Clarke’s Bible commentary 1:883 suggests that Joshua was 57 at the time of the Exodus. After 40
years in the wilderness, this would put the death of Moses, and the beginning of his reign at age
97. [reigning 13 years]

Judges Notes

Dates given for the period of the Judges seem to be the most questionable or unreliable of all
post Moses Bible periods. This is somewhat expected since it was a period of repeated captivity
and apostasy. Adding up the dates given equals about 536 years, but with all the apparent
rounded or estimated numbers it doesn’t seem very trustworthy. However, 1 kings 6:1 clears up
the problem, telling that the Solomon’s temple began to be built in the fourth year of Solomon’s
Reign and “480 years after the children of israel were come out of Egypt”. Which puts us at 1499
BC. But this still begs the question of whether this date points to the Exodus, or the entry into
Israel. Since the record states “come out of Egypt” instead of “Come into Canaan” we will
suppose it is referring to the exodus.
A second witness comes in Judges 11:26, where Jephthah says that Israel had been living in the
coasts of Israel for 300 years. Which fits appropriately with the 480 year number given in kings,
since Jephthah lived a bit more than half way through the period of the judges.

A third witness is given in Acts 13:20, which says God gave unto Israel “judges about the space
of 450 years until Samuel the prophet”. Samuel began to reign about 80 years before Solomon
began the temple, so this may conflict a bit with the 480 from Kings or it is likely that the periods
of “servitude” listed in the Book of Judges are actually also included in the rounded numbers
given. If not it seems quite a coincidence that the servitude periods add up to be very close to the
number needed to make the dates match 480. (8+18+20+7+18+40=111, And 585?-111=474)

Either way we have a good ballpark figure for the Exodus of about 1499 BC (1019+480) for the
Exodus. (many scholars use the date 1446 BC).

Kings Notes

The period of the Kings is the most recent found in the Old Testament, and given the intricate
detail involved is probably quite accurate. Many of the names and dates given in Kings and
Chronicles fall within secular recorded history and can be “scientifically” verified. However, it is
this same fact which has led to some confusion as archeologists and historians find slightly
conflicting dates. I believe the Bible is more accurate than these however, as historical dates often
used calendars and counting systems which I believe were less accurate than that of the
Hebrews. The Bible’s internal chronology for this period (calculated from the length of king’s
reigns) gives 429 (433-4) years from the fall of Judah to the building of Solomon’s Temple.

The book of Mormon tells us Lehi left Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Christ (1 Ne. 10:4),
which it also tells us was during the 1st year of the reign of Zedekiah (1 Ne 1:4). So to get the
date for the building of Solomon’s temple we add up reigns which total 433 years. And 433 minus
10 (Zedekiah lived about 10 years after Lehi left Jerusalem) minus 4 (Solomon started his temple
in the 4rth year of his reign) gives us 419 years. So all together that’s 600+419 or 1019 BC (give
or take a few years because kings reigns are not accurate to the month).

General Breakdown

The mystical significance of the biblical 7000 year cycle seems to be emphasized by the fact that
the bible also gives dates covering each major epoch of time.

-Adam to Abraham
Approximately 2,048 years passed from the Fall to God’s vision to Abraham. (Moses 6:10–25,
7:68, 8:1-12, Gen. 5:3–32, 11:10-32, Lectures on Faith: Lecture Second.)
-Abraham to Exodus
Approximately 430 years passed from around the time of Abraham’s vision until the Exodus.
(Exodus 12:40, Gen. 15:13–16)
-Exodus to Solomon
480 years passed from the Exodus to the building of the Temple of Solomon. (1 Kings 6:1)
-Solomon to Fall of Judah
Approximately 418 years passed from the building of the temple to the reign of Zedekiah and fall
of Judah to Babylon (Period well documented in books of Kings & Chronicles)
-Zedekiah to birth of Christ
600 years passed from the time Lehi left Jerusalem (the first year of Zedekiah’s reign) to the time
of Christ. (1 Nephi 1:4, 2:4)

2048+430+480+418+600= +/- 3976 Years from Adam to Christ

Related Pages
Biblical Chronology- Kings of Israel Line

Jaredite Chronology

Biblical Genealogy Tables