Program / Course 17: Defending Scripture / Lesson 6.3
What you will learn
- Explain how historians fix dates in the ancient Near East and anchor biblical events to them.
- State the main dates scholars accept for the divided monarchy, the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests and the return from exile.
- Compare the early date, the late date and the skeptical views of the exodus, with the arguments for each.
- Explain the debate over the census of Quirinius in Luke 2 as an example of a New Testament dating problem.
The big idea
Dates in the Bible can be set against the records of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt and Persia. From about 850 before Christ onward the anchors are strong, and scholars agree on most dates for the kings and the exile. Earlier events are much harder to date, and the exodus is the most debated. Some scholars favor an early date of about 1446, others a date in the thirteenth century, and others doubt that the exodus occurred in the form told. A student should know the evidence for each position and the cost of each.
Key terms
- Absolute chronology
- Dating in terms of calendar years before or after Christ, fixed by astronomical events and cross-references.
- Relative chronology
- Dating in terms of order, such as which event or layer came before another.
- Eponym list
- An Assyrian list of annual officials, with a record of events, including an eclipse in 763 before Christ, used to fix dates.
- Co-regency
- A period when two kings ruled together, which scholars use to reconcile reign lengths in Kings.
- Early date and late date
- Two views of the exodus date: about 1446 before Christ (from 1 Kings 6:1) or in the thirteenth century under Rameses II.
- Census of Quirinius
- An enrollment mentioned in Luke 2:1-2. Its date is disputed because other sources place Quirinius’s governorship of Syria in the year 6 or 7 of the common era.
- Anno Domini
- The system of counting years from the birth of Christ, devised by Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century. It is probably off by a few years.
Background
Dating the ancient world depends on lists of kings, records of years, and rare astronomical events that can be calculated. The Assyrian eponym lists record an eclipse of the sun in the year 763 before Christ, which gives a firm anchor for Assyrian dates. From such anchors, scholars date events backward and forward. The records of Assyria and Babylon mention kings of Israel and Judah, allowing cross-checks with the books of Kings.
Before about 1000 before Christ the evidence is thinner. Egyptian chronology has its own uncertainties, and the Bible gives few explicit dates for early events. The numbers in the text are sometimes symbolic, as the lesson on genealogies will show. The result is that scholars agree on the later centuries and disagree about the earlier, and the disagreement tends to follow differing views of how to read the text.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The kings of Israel and Judah
The Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III records a battle at Qarqar in 853 before Christ in which Ahab of Israel supplied a large force of chariots. Samaria fell to the Assyrians in about 722 or 721, and Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem in 701. The Babylonians took Jerusalem in 597, and destroyed it in 587 or 586, depending on the method of reckoning. The date of 586 is the one most commonly used. Cyrus of Persia took Babylon in 539 and permitted exiles to return (Ezra 1), as the Cyrus Cylinder in general terms indicates.
The books of Kings give the length of each reign and the year of the neighbor’s reign in which it began. These numbers do not always add up. Edwin Thiele, a mid-twentieth century scholar, proposed that the authors used different methods of counting and that there were co-regencies, which produced a coherent scheme. His work remains influential, though scholars debate details. Here is a case in which the biblical numbers, handled with care, agree closely with the outside records.
Step 2: The exodus and its dates
First Kings 6:1 says that Solomon began the temple in the 480th year after Israel left Egypt. Counting back from about 966 before Christ gives about 1446, which supports the early date. Proponents also cite Judges 11:26, which gives 300 years from the conquest to Jephthah. The late date relies on Exodus 1:11, which says the Israelites built the store cities of Pithom and Raamses, and on the fact that the city of Pi-Ramesses was built under Rameses II in the thirteenth century. Supporters of the late date also note that the Merneptah Stele, about 1208, already mentions Israel in Canaan, and that many Canaanite cities show destruction layers in the thirteenth century.
Each side has difficulties. The early date does not match the evidence of destruction at the sites in the period and has to read the biblical figure of 480 literally. The late date has to treat 480 years as symbolic, for example as twelve generations of forty years, and to find a way to read Judges. A third group of scholars, many of them in the secular academy, doubt that a large-scale exodus occurred and suggest that the exodus story preserves the memory of smaller groups leaving Egypt, or that it is largely a later narrative. Egyptian records do not mention the Israelites in Egypt, and this absence is weighed differently by different scholars.
Step 3: The exile and return
The exile has strong support from outside records. The Babylonian Chronicle describes the capture of Jerusalem in 597, and administrative tablets from Babylon list Judean exiles receiving rations, including King Jehoiachin. Archaeology shows a major destruction in Judah in 586 and a sharp decline in population. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the books of Kings give accounts that agree on the main course of events.
The return is more complex. Ezra and Nehemiah describe returns under Cyrus and later under Artaxerxes. The dates of Ezra and Nehemiah have long been debated, because the Artaxerxes involved could be the first or second king of that name. Scholars also discuss how many returned and how the community was rebuilt. These are matters of detail within a well-attested outline.
Step 4: A New Testament case: Quirinius
Luke 2:1-2 says that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, and that this was the first enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Josephus says that Quirinius conducted a census of Judea in the year 6 or 7 of the common era, which is after Herod’s death, since Herod died about 4 before Christ, and Matthew places the birth in Herod’s reign. Critics say that Luke made an error. Defenders propose that the Greek can mean before Quirinius was governor, that Quirinius had an earlier role in Syria, or that there was an earlier enrollment.
Scholars of several persuasions regard none of these suggestions as certain. Some argue that Luke meant the well-known enrollment of the year 6 and misdated it. Others hold that the evidence is incomplete. The case is a good example of how the same method applies: state the claim, check the grammar, consider the sources and report what remains unresolved.
- Why are anchors like the eclipse of 763 so important for dating?
- What are the main strengths and weaknesses of the early and late dates for the exodus?
- How should a student weigh the silence of Egyptian sources about the Israelites?
- Does it matter for faith when the exodus took place? Why or why not?
- How do you evaluate the proposals for resolving the Quirinius problem?
- What attitude should a reader take toward dating questions that cannot be settled?
Examples
Ahab at Qarqar
An Assyrian king boasts of defeating a coalition in 853 and lists Ahab of Israel as providing two thousand chariots. The Bible does not mention this battle. The record confirms that Ahab was a real and powerful king, and it provides a date. The figure of two thousand chariots is thought by some to be exaggerated.
Jehoiachin’s rations
Babylonian tablets from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar list oil and barley for Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and his sons. Second Kings 25:27-30 speaks of Jehoiachin being released from prison and kept at the king’s table. The two accounts agree that he was in Babylon and was provided for.
The year of Jesus’ birth
The calendar based on the birth of Christ was devised in the sixth century by Dionysius Exiguus. Because Herod the Great is said by Josephus to have died in what we call 4 before Christ, most scholars place the birth of Jesus between about 6 and 4 before Christ. The calendar is therefore thought to be off by a few years.
Different perspectives
Catholic
Catholic scholars accept a range of views on the exodus date, and the church does not define it. Catholic study has often favored the late date, and has read the numbers of the text with attention to literary conventions, as Dei Verbum encourages. The church holds that the exodus is an event of salvation history and that its religious meaning does not rest on a particular year.
Orthodox
Orthodox tradition uses the Septuagint chronology, which differs from the Hebrew in the numbers of the patriarchs. Orthodox liturgy reads the exodus as a type of baptism and of Pascha, and does not hinge on a precise date.
Protestant (conservative)
Many conservatives defend the early date from 1 Kings 6:1 and argue that archaeology is inconclusive. Others among them accept the late date, so there is no single conservative view. All affirm that the exodus was a real event.
Protestant (moderate and critical)
Many Protestant scholars accept a late date, or hold that the exodus involved a small group whose experience became the national memory. They stress the theological meaning of the exodus and the role of memory in Israel’s faith.
Jewish and secular
Jewish tradition counts years from creation and treats the exodus as a foundational event commemorated at Passover. Many secular scholars doubt the exodus as told, while some Jewish scholars accept that a core event lies behind it. The question remains open.
Why it matters
Chronology tests how a reader handles evidence from two kinds of sources. For the later period, the Bible and the outside records agree remarkably well, which supports confidence in the historical books. For earlier events, the evidence is weaker and the debate is lively. A student who understands the difference can avoid both sweeping claims that the Bible has been proved and sweeping claims that it has been disproved.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: The Bible’s dates have been shown to be wrong.
Correction: For the monarchy and exile, the Bible agrees closely with outside records. For earlier periods, there is debate about how to read and date the text, not a settled demonstration of error.
Misunderstanding: Everyone who defends the Bible uses the early date for the exodus.
Correction: Conservative scholars are divided. Some hold the late date, and many treat the matter as open.
Misunderstanding: The silence of Egyptian records proves there was no exodus.
Correction: Egyptian records rarely record defeats, and a small enslaved group would leave little trace. The silence is weighed differently by different scholars, and many consider it weak evidence in either direction.
Misunderstanding: The census in Luke has been proved to be an error.
Correction: Many scholars think there is a real difficulty. Others think the Greek or an earlier role of Quirinius resolves it. It remains disputed.
Knowledge check
Name two events whose dates are firmly fixed by outside records.
Examples are the battle of Qarqar in 853 before Christ, recorded by Shalmaneser III, the fall of Samaria in about 722, Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701, the capture of Jerusalem in 597 and its destruction in 586, and Cyrus’s capture of Babylon in 539. Any two with a note on the source is a good answer.
What is the argument for the early date of the exodus?
First Kings 6:1 says that Solomon began the temple in the 480th year after the exodus, which, counted back from about 966 before Christ, gives about 1446. Judges 11:26 gives a figure of 300 years from the conquest to Jephthah. Supporters read these figures literally and argue that archaeology is inconclusive. Critics say it does not fit the evidence from Egypt and Canaan.
What is the argument for the late date?
Exodus 1:11 mentions the store city of Raamses, and Pi-Ramesses was built under Rameses II in the thirteenth century. The Merneptah Stele of about 1208 mentions Israel in Canaan, and many cities show thirteenth century destruction. Supporters read the 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1 as symbolic. Critics say this departs from the literal text.
Why is the census of Quirinius a difficulty?
Luke places the census when Quirinius was governor of Syria and in the time of Herod. Josephus dates Quirinius’s census to the year 6 or 7 of the common era, after Herod’s death. Proposals include reading the Greek as before Quirinius, an earlier role for him, or an earlier enrollment. None is certain, and some think Luke made a mistake.
Think it through
- What difference would it make to your faith if the exodus involved a smaller group than the Bible describes?
- How do you decide when to trust a symbolic reading of a number and when to distrust it?
- What would you say to someone who claims that a single dating problem undermines the whole account?
Independent assignment
A timeline with confidence levels
In your own notebook, make a timeline of at least ten events from the monarchy to the return from exile, using this lesson. Mark each as firmly dated by outside records, probably dated or disputed. Then write 250 to 350 words comparing the early and late dates of the exodus, naming one strong point and one weak point for each. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.
Further study
- Jewish Publication Society, The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS translation) Read 2 Kings 17 and 24 to 25 for the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosophy of History Read for the problems of reconstructing the past from sources.
- Augustine of Hippo, The City of God Read selectively for Augustine’s remarks on the antiquity of Moses and the chronology.
- F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Read selectively for the discussion of dating in the New Testament.
- 1 Kings 6:1 The 480 years from the exodus to the temple.
- Exodus 1:11 The store cities Pithom and Raamses.
- Luke 2:2 The enrollment when Quirinius was governor.