Book: Biblical Chronology

Author’s Introductory Comment

The thesis motivating this writing can be stated quite succinctly as follows.  

The received Older Testament Scriptures, containing multiple chronological and genealogical texts, provide an entirely self-contained basis for constructing a continuous chronology of God’s sovereign working in history extending from creation to the cross of Christ.  

Attention to chronological detail as set forth in God’s inerrant and infallible revelatory gift to man is pivotal to unlocking a true understanding of a number of texts, even to an overturning of widely accepted misconceptions concerning narratives detailing times, events, and people in several instances.  To cite specific examples, consider the following. 

1. The lives of Jacob and Joseph:  There are quite widely accepted misconceptions pertaining to the age of Jacob when fleeing from Esau, the age of Jacob at the birth of Joseph, and the age of Joseph relative to his brothers, that are readily overturned when careful attention is given to chronological detail included in the narrative texts.  (See Ch. 2)
2. The 70 weeks (of years) of Daniel:  The initiating role of the Persian King Cyrus in launching the fulfillment of the prophecy, and the proper accounting of years pertaining to this prophecy, have been widely misinterpreted, leading to both an unwarranted break in the continuous chronology implicit to the whole OT as well as a glaring error that persists in the standard accounting of years BC in secular history.  (See Ch. 6)
3. The time of Esther:  The nominally-held date for the time of Esther, and the widely-presumed identity of the Ahasuerus to whom Esther was married, are quite inconsistent with careful chronological analysis.  (See Ch. 8)
4. The events surrounding the passion of Christ:  The widely-accepted dating of the Triumphal Entry, the dating of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ, and the placing of the Last Supper, all have internal conflict with careful textual analysis relating to chronological references.  Further, the view accepted for centuries by the church stands in direct conflict with two foundational signs that Jesus fulfilled with precision in His passion: the Passover sign and the sign of Jonah.  (See Ch. 10)

There are further instances highlighted in several other chapters in this writing where careful chronological analyses of pertinent Biblical texts indicate that corrections are required relative statements encountered in various commentaries and Study Bibles.  This fact serves to undergird two principal conclusions emerging from the research culminating in this book.  

• Chronological analysis ought to be viewed as central to faithful Bible exposition, not as peripheral information with minimal import to textual study.  
• Chronological information included in Biblical texts, having been placed there by omniscient sovereignty, consists of detail integral to the full scope of communication appearing in surrounding narrative.