WBC-01-Outline Of The Chronology Embodied In The Bible
Outline Of The Chronology Embodied In The Bible The chronology of the Bible is a subject of great importance as well as of deep interest; yet, because of the difficulties connected with it, the study thereof is neglected by nearly all Bible readers. Only the few who have a special aptitude for figures, and a special interest in Bible dates and epochs, give any attention to it. We are confident, however, that the difficulties to which we have alluded can be greatly diminished, and the subject made comparatively plain and easy. Indeed we have been prompted to the writing of these pages by the conviction that, if the chronology, which extends from the beginning to the end of the Old Testament Scriptures, and which forms a very striking feature thereof, could be set forth in such manner as to be readily understood by ordinary readers, it would be studied not only with profit but with enjoyment also by many who now imagine it to be beyond their capacity. Moreover, such an aid to an understanding of Bible chronology may be expected to stimulate the study of all parts of Scriptures. Our own interest in this subject was awakened by Dr. Martin Anstey’s great work, THE ROMANCE OF BIBLE CHRONOLOGY, published in 1913 by Marshall Bros., London. In that work, comprising two large volumes, every chronological statement contained in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is examined, and all the dated events are noted and tabulated. From the abundant data thus gathered, Dr. Anstey has formulated a complete chronological system, from the creation of Adam to Christ. This system is of unique character and unique value, in that it rests on the statements of the Word of God alone.
It is found that the Bible contains within itself, not merely a vast amount of chronological material, but also a complete chronological scheme, insomuch that it is not necessary to seek from other sources information concerning Bible events. And not only so, but lust where the (always imperfect and uncertain) secular chronologies lose themselves in the impenetrable mists of the past, the chronology of Scripture is most definite, complete, and perfect in its details. In this, as in other respects, the Bible presents a marked contrast to human histories and chronicles of the past.
Dr. Anstey’s work, while invaluable to those who wish to study the subject in all its details, is too bulky and costly to be available to the majority of the Lord’s people. The most valuable part, however, of the information it contains, can be set forth in comparatively small compass; and this we shall attempt to do herein.
One of the most valuable and commendable features of Dr. Anstey’s work is that, being based entirely upon the statements of Scripture, its results can be tested by all Bible-readers. Other chronological systems are derived, in part at least, from sources beyond the reach of ordinary readers, who, therefore, are unable to verify the various details thereof. This feature of Dr. Anstey’s work will be appreciated by those who wish to "prove all things" in order that they may "hold fast that which is good.
Chronological systems are obviously worse than useless unless they are correct; and, as matters now stand, the Bible is absolutely the only source from which materials for a complete chronology can be obtained, or from which reliable information can be had as to the dates of historical events prior to the Macedonian era (331 B. C.). If, therefore, we assume the history of the human race to have lasted about six thousand years it will be seen that for more than half (nearly two-thirds in fact) of that history there are no records whatever, from which a chronology could be constructed, apart from the Old Testament Scriptures.
Furthermore, upon examining the ancient remains (fragments of histories, tablets, inscriptions on monuments, etc.) we find that, the more ancient they are, the more vague, uncertain, and meagre is the chronological information they contain. Apparently it did not enter into the minds of any of the scribes and scholarly men of those early nations to preserve connected historical records, year by year (dating from some definite era), as has been the universal practice of the modern nations. But, in the Bible, even if we regard it simply as the annals of the Hebrew race, we have a remarkable exception to the practice of all the other nations of antiquity, in respect to the manner of keeping their national records, an exception so remarkable that it would be difficult or impossible to account for it apart from the doctrine of the Divine inspiration of the Hebrew Scriptures. We are speaking of the fact that, throughout the Sacred Writings, there is the most marked attention paid to the matter of dates, intervals of time, and epochs which begin with a definite era, and to such as are marked by the birth of selected individuals in a definite line, from father to son, those individuals being, from the days of Samuel, the successive kings of Judah. It is most clearly manifest that whoever planned and decreed the contents of the Bible attached a high value to chronology from the very beginning. The first chapter of Genesis is a complete chronology of six days, giving the order, day by day, of the main operations whereby the earth was prepared as a habitation for man, and including the creation of man, male and female. The Creation of Man supplies the first era; and from it the extended chronology of the Bible starts. The fifth chapter of Genesis is pure chronology, and not only so, but it is a perfect specimen of chronology in its definiteness and completeness from beginning to end. Every statement connects in the most exact way with the preceding; and furthermore, a simple arithmetical check is provided whereby the accuracy of the entire tabulation is insured. The Author of this remarkable chronological table had some reason (which we think can be discerned) for taking special precautions to exclude error in making copies from the original. This table begins with the first year of Adam, and extends to the five hundredth year of Noah. It covers the entire epoch from the creation of man to the flood, 1656 years. This complete genealogical and chronological table is truly a marvelous thing in itself, and the more so when contrasted with the historical fragments which have come down to us from the days of Moses, or even with those of a thousand years nearer to our own times. It is safe to say that, if Genesis 5 were not in the Bible, and if a tablet were exhumed, say in Assyria or Egypt, bearing the same concise statistical statements, it would be hailed as the most wonderful and valuable relic of antiquity. And not only so, but many who attach little or no importance to the statements as found in the Bible, would give full credence to the very same statements, if recorded by some unknown Egyptian or Babylonian sinner.
Again in Genesis 11 is a similar chronological table. This table takes the one hundredth year of Shem as its era (or starting point) and extends to the birth of Abram. In subsequent chapters of Genesis we find the chronology from Abraham to Joseph, which the succeeding books of Moses extend to the Exodus, and to the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. In the historical books (Joshua to 2 Chronicles) is found the chronology of the nation of Israel from its entrance into the land of Canaan to its captivity in Babylon.
Finally, from the later historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the prophecy of the ninth chapter of Daniel, we obtain the span of the years from the captivity to the manifestation of Jesus Christ to Israel (through the witness and baptism of John, whose coming was foretold in the last book of the Old Testament).
Thus the Old Testament Scriptures contain a complete count of the years from Adam to Christ; and this surely is not one of the least of the wonders of our wonderful Bible. Moreover, the Author of the Bible deemed that count of years so needful to His design as a whole that, although the Old Testament Comes to an end four hundred years before Christ, a prophecy was given ere it closed (that brought by Gabriel to Daniel) which contains the exact measure of time from the re-birth of the nation of Israel, by virtue of the decree of Cyrus the Great (Ezra 1:1-4), "unto the Messiah" (Daniel 9:25). This prophecy, therefore, reaches forth into the then distant future, to make perfect and complete the tale of the years from the first Adam who sinned and died, unto the last Adam Who died unto sin and rose again, even to the supreme event of all time, the crucifixion and resurrection of the Divine Redeemer (Dan. 9 26). But the entire course of the 4,000-year period compassed by Bible chronology does not lie in plain view upon the surface of the Sacred Text. At several points it disappears beneath the surface thereof, so that there are seemingly several breaks in the continuity of the chronological record; as for example, the Scripture does not state the age of Noah at the birth of Shem (Gen. 5 32), nor that of Terah at the birth of Abram (Genesis 11:26). But, in the case of each of these seeming breaks, the needed information is supplied by other Scriptures, though in some cases it has been found only after diligent search and careful deductions. It will be a matter of deep interest to trace out these half-concealed links between the several epochs of Bible history. Thus in respect to its chronological data, as in respect also to other categories of truth and doctrine, some things of value are not found upon the surface, but must be diligently sought in the sub-strata of the Divine Word.
We note then, at the beginning of our study, that the Bible is absolutely the only available source of information concerning the chronology of the human race prior to the seventh century B.C., when the first vague historical records of existing nations such as Greece, Rome, China, &c., begin. In other words, if we take it that the lifetime of mankind has been something less than six thousand years (and there is no evidence at all for a longer term of human existence) then we have the remarkable fact that for about three-fifths of the entire period there is no chronological information whatever except in the Bible; whereas, on the other hand, during that same period (wherein other records are, as regards chronology, a perfect blank) the chronology of the Bible is most definite and complete. From this we may learn, among other things, that we have no need to look outside the Bible itself for information as to Bible chronology, and also that, if we give credence to chronological information derived from other sources, we are most likely to be misled thereby.
Furthermore we find that, whereas human histories of the great nations of the world have no beginning at all, but emerge gradually from a perfect fog of myths, legends and fables (often absurd and grotesque), the Bible has, from its very first word, a definite historical character, in the greatest possible contrast with all other ancient writings.