kings of israel and judah index

KINGS of ISRAEL and JUDAH

The books of the Kings are structured in the form of a ‘combination lock’

which, going backward unlocks the door to ancient history, and forward, tracks

the messianic timetable. The books contain a repeating formula where the

accession of a king is synchronised with the reign of his contemporary in the

neighbouring kingdom (whether Judah or Israel) followed by the number of

years that he reigned. Thus, “In the (x)th year of king (A) of Israel, king (B) of

Judah began to reign and he reigned (y) years.”

At first sight it seems simple just do the math and the formula should

work? It might have been that easy if not for several little quirks in the Hebrew

calendar. For example, the kings of Judah started their reigns in the 7th month,

Tishri, instead of Abib. Understanding these small variations reveal a finely

tuned timeline running beneath the surface of scripture which I have called 'The

Atonement Clock.'

CHART INDEX

1 INTRODUCTORY NOTES

2 THE RISE of DAVID 1020 BC to 970 BC

3 SOLOMONS SPLENDID REIGN 970 BC to 930 BC

4 DIVISION of the KINGDOM 930 BC to 880 BC

5 HOUSE of OMRI 880 BC to 840 BC

6 JEHU and JOASH 840 BC to 800 BC

7 TIMES of UZZIAH 800 BC to 740 BC

8 THE FALL of SAMARIA 740 BC to 690 BC

9 MANASSEHS EVIL REIGN 690 BC to 640 BC

10 THE FALL of JERUSALEM 640 BC to 580 BC

AUTHORS PURPOSE

The following charts are a diagrammatic overview of the Hebrew Kings era. I have allocated a single A4 size page to timelines spanning about 50 years per page. At the top of each page is room for one detail diagram plus a limited amount of text. The timelines show each year, partial years, coregencies, Sabbaths and major events, together with biblical references. They will be useful to anyone who wants a very accurate, but visually simple, succession of timeframes covering Israel’s early historical time periods.

It is not my intent to provide extrabiblical sources or citations here, but my research information is available. (See references) And, although the text boxes are brief, a careful examination of the charts themselves will synchronise the reigns of kings with precision. It is my hope that these be downloaded, printed, and made use of by Bible teachers.

Copyright © 2014 E. C. Gedge (Revised 2018)

EXPLANATION of METHOD

In ascertaining a true chronology of the kings, I have generally followed the research of Dr. Edwin Thiele, 1 albeit with refinements by recent scholars. His important work, first developed by Valerius Coucke, 2 included the discovery that Judah’s regnal year began in Tishri, whereas Israel (Samaria) began its regnal year in Nisan. Moreover, Judah used an ‘accessional’ regnal system whereas Samaria’s was ‘nonaccessional’. In addition to these breakthroughs, Thiele proposed coregencies to solve apparent contradictions between the twin kingdom timelines.

Thiele established several ‘absolute dates’, confirmed by Assyrian and Hebrew records, from which we may plot a reliable chronology of the Kings forwards and backwards from those points. They include the last year of Ahab

(853 BC) and the first year of Jehu. (841 BC) Nebuchadnezzar’s sack of Jerusalem in 587 BC also provides an absolute date – a one year refinement made by Roger Young. 3 However, I have retained Thiele’s date for the division of the kingdom as 930 BC. My paper explaining this is found here. 4

My chronology of the important Hezekiah period differs significantly from the standard method. I do not find justification for a coregency with his father Ahaz, and I place the 14th year of Hezekiah in 712/11 BC. This is the subject of research done by Gerard Gertoux. 5 My treatment of this section is elaborated on in my published book, ‘The Atonement Clock.’ 6

REFERENCES

1 Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, Edwin Thiele, 1951

2 Chronologie biblique. In Supplément au dictionnaire de la Bible, Valerius Coucke, 1928

3 https://www.academia.edu/2158841/When_Did_Jerusalem_FallRoger Young, 2004

4 https://www.academia.edu/27691574/Exodus_Date_RefinementChristian Gedge

5 https://www.academia.edu/2926387/Dating_the_Sennacheribs_Campaign_to_Judah, Gerard Gertoux

6 https://www.academia.edu/12760428/The_Atonement_ClockChristian Gedge

https://www.academia.edu/2158841/When_Did_Jerusalem_Fall

https://www.academia.edu/27691574/Exodus_Date_Refinement

https://www.academia.edu/2926387/Dating_the_Sennacheribs_Campaign_to_Judah

https://www.academia.edu/12760428/The_Atonement_Clock

CHRONOLOGY of the KINGDOMCopyright © E. C. GEDGE

Vertical bars represent one year. Red dots indicate Sabbath year. Overlapping bars show dual rule.

The rise of David as king provides a clue to how the Tishri to Tishri year

came about. From Moses and the Exodus Abib was the calendar new year, but

from David the Judean kings counted their reigns from Tishri, (at that time

called 'Ethanim.')

It should be noted that Abib remained the first month, but the kings

'regnal' count of years was measured from the 7th month, in the same way as

our modern 'financial' or 'school' years are reckoned.

Apparently David was crowned in Ethanim (Tishri) and the house of

David simply continued counting from there. The evidence for this is a special

emphasis his chronology makes of an extra six months a forty year reign

described as seven and a half years in Hebron plus thirtythree years in

Jerusalem. Then, when we examine the last few months of his stay in Ziklag, it

shows the Philistine invasion taking place in the summer of 1008 BC. He

moved to Hebron shortly afterward and was anointed king shortly after that

again. These series of events seem to point to his coronation in the 7th month.

Then of course, there are the synchronisms between the two kingdoms in

the books of the Kings, which only click into place when the Judean kings are

counted from Tishri. More on the regnal year later:

The Rise of David



From Solomon's fourth year is calculated the date of the Exodus.

Moreover, it frames the time of the Judges, so that an order of the middle era

can be built inside of it. The year is key to early Hebrew history and is arguably

the most important chronological detail in the Bible. It's mention is repeated in

1 Kings as well as Chronicles.

"In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came

out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over

Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build

the house of the Lord." (1 Kings 6:1)

Our research locates Solomon's fourth year from Ethanim (Tishri) 965

BC, which means the month of Ziv would have been early 964 BC. But this

date is two years later than the commonly quoted 966 BC. Why the difference?

It is because commentaries treat his accession year as if it was his first year.

They do it again with Rehoboam's accession. However, the house of David

treated the first full year as 'number 1.' They had a system of dating where the

incomplete portion of months from a father's death to the end of the regnal year

became the sons 'accession' not his 'first year.' (See diagram opposite)

More on 'accessional' and 'nonaccessional' systems next:

Solomon's Splendid Reign



The distinction between 'accessional' and 'nonaccessional' dating is more

clearly noticed when the kingdom split after Solomon's death in 930 BC. In both

cases the partyear beginning and ending a kings reign are counted as two of his

years, even though they are less than twelve months.

However, the nonaccessional system calls the first portion of a kings reign his

'first' year, whereas the accessional method calls it his 'accession year' as explained

before, with his 'first' year coming after that.

Please examine the diagrams. Jeroboam's northern kingdom was nonaccessional

and counted from Abib to Abib, (later renamed Nisan.) So, his first year was from late 930 to

Abib 929 BC. Rehoboam's southern kingdom was accessional and counted from Ethanim,

(later renamed Tishri.) So, his accession year was from late 930 to Ethanim 929 BC.

Notice how some kings appear one year less than the stated length of reign

because of how they treated partyears. When we count from Rehoboam’s first year,

we reach his final year in 913 BC and it comes to sixteen. But did it not say he

reigned seventeen? Yes, but the seventeen year tally includes his accession year

which was at the beginning.

When these formulas are followed, the biblical records slot together like a

jigsaw puzzle.

Division of the Kingdom



Bible historians are fortunate to have absolute dates which 'anchor'

secular events to the biblical timeline. For example, Assyrian records mention

Ahab's presence at the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, and this also marks the year

Ahaziah took his father's throne. He probably was appointed coregent when

his father left for foreign wars then fullregent later in the same year. Similarly,

Jehu is named on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser confirming the date when

Jehu slew Joram, along with the king of Judah in 841 BC.

From these known dates historians have traced back to the dividing of

the kingdom when Solomon died a count usually quoted as 931 BC. However,

there seems to have been an oversight at the founding of Omri's dynasty. Omri

was said to have reigned twelve years so that seems to be ten plus two part

years? Wrong! His reign was four plus two partyears in Tirzah and four plus

two partyears in Samaria. (1 K.16:23) This is indeed twelve years by the

Hebrew system of counting, but when reckoned by our system, it is only

eleven. Please check it out.

This detail may seem pedantic but, when realised, it pins the division of

the kingdom at 930 BC, Solomon's important fourth year at 964 BC, and the

Exodus of Israel from Egypt at 1444 BC.

House of Omri



Several confusing exceptions to the accessional counting rule occur in Judah's

king records. The 23rd year of Joash only works using a nonaccessional count, his

accession counting as 'number 1' and his first full year as 'number 2.' It probably was a

hangover from Queen Athaliah's attempt to introduce changes, and rectified later in the

reign of Joash.

The second (apparent) exception is Joash's death which doesn't give his son an

accession year at all! Amaziah's accession year actually was his first year because it

began in the seventh month. We deduce this from a term, "at the turn of the year,"

describing when Aram invaded Judah. Joash was wounded, and then assassinated by

traitors at this time. (2 Chron. 24:2326)

Now, 'turn of the year' is assumed to refer to the new calendar year, so some date

this event, Nisan 796 BC. However, the 'turn' was really a seasonchange term used for

agricultural purposes. It happened in autumn coinciding with Judah's regnal month.

"Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the

Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year." (Exodus 34:22, Ex. 23:16)

So, Joash died a mere week or two into his final 'year' in the month of Tishri

797 BC and Amaziah became king in the same seventh month. Amaziah's first year

began straight away and the 'exception' is not really an exception at all!

Jehu and Joash



It is not possible to calculate king lists without sooner or later running into

occasions of dual rule. These overlaps arise from coregency arrangements

between father and son, or years apportioned to rivals during civil war.

The classic example is Uzziah whose unusually long tenure included most of

his father Amaziah's reign. It seems odd that Amaziah wanted a sixteen year old

youth at his side when he had barely begun his own reign. More likely it was that

he got captured in battle and locked in Samaria for much of his time. (2 K. 14:11

14) Although the length of Amaziah's imprisonment is not explicitly stated, Uzziah

would have been standing in for his father in absentia.

Dual counting of years when rivals were vying for leadership occurred in the

days of David, Omni, and Menahem. Menahem incurred the wrath of the wealthy

classes in Samaria by imposing a tax to 'buy off' Pul of Assyria who was threatening

to invade. The political situation in Israel at this stage revealed two factions one

which favoured appeasement and the other advocating resistance against Assyria.

Whether the northern kingdom actually split over the issue during this crisis

has been the subject of controversy. However, it does seem that Pekah emerged

during the reign of Menahem as leader of the 'resistance' lobby, so his reign is

measured from there.

Times of Uzziah



An important anchor date linking Assyrian records to the Bible is the fall

of Samaria. Shalmaneser V laid siege to Samaria (2 K. 18:9) and scholars have

assumed that he was the one who destroyed it too. Hence, older commentaries

date the event during this king's reign, somewhere inbetween 726 BC 721 BC.

Difficulties arise, however, because Sargon II claims in his annals that he

was the one who conquered Samaria, not Shalmaneser! Also, details of

Hezekiah's reign fail to match up, and some chronologies become quite

muddled during this period. It has now been realised that Shalmaneser died,

probably by assassination, at the onset of the campaign. Sargon took over and

completed the siege of Samaria in 720 BC, taking the credit for its conquest.

A related date, also misplaced, is the invasion of Judah during the third

campaign of Sennacherib. It has been placed in 701 BC by historians but this

contradicts information we have of Hezekiah whose fourteenth year equates to

711 BC.

However, research is now coming to light that shows Sennacherib was

coregent with his father Sargon. In that case, his campaign against Judah

would have been closer to the same time that Sargon conquered Ashdod. This

scenario accords well with the biblical data as shown on the timeline below.

The Fall of Samaria



Hezekiah died in 697 BC and Josiah was killed in battle in 609 BC. The intervening

monarchs appear to fit the gap, so most timelines place Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, from

696 to 642 BC, Amon from 642 to 640 BC, and Josiah from 640 to 609 BC.

This generally accepted chronology is convenient but it is not quite

consistent with what we know about inclusive dating. As we have seen up until

here, the partyear at a king's death is counted as a full year and the left over

'accession' is counted as another full year for his son. We ought to apply the same

rule to each of the above mentioned kings but, when we do; the gap widens and

doesn't fit as perfectly after all!

As an alternative, I would like to propose an interregnum between

Hezekiah's death and Manasseh's coronation in 695 BC. An interregnum is defined

as a period of discontinuity, or 'gap' of time between the reigns of one monarch and

the next. It is not particularly uncommon in history. So, let us say Manasseh was

10 or 11 years old when his father died, and Hezekiah had left instructions for his

son's royal responsibilities to be delayed until he had reached an appropriate level

of maturity.

We cannot prove this of course, but it is a reasonable theory. My proposal,

then, is that Manasseh's coronation was delayed until Tishri, 695 BC, sometime

after he had turned twelve years old.

Manasseh's Evil Reign



Perhaps the most fascinating evidence found in support of biblical

chronology is the existence of a continuous sequence of Sabbatical years.

Although they were often neglected, the intended years (observed or not) can be

traced in an unbroken timeline from Moses.

An explicit example of these is mentioned during the reign of Zedekiah

(Jer. 34:814), highlighting the 'slaverelease' regulations which were provided

for in Sabbath law. (Deut. 15:12) The actual year during his reign is not stated,

but it can be pinned to 591 BC by a simple count of 'fourteen' from an earlier

Sabbath, the date of which is identified as the "fourth year of Jehoiakim." (Jer. 36:1)

Jehoiakim's 4th year was 605 BC, and in that year Jeremiah instructed

his secretary to read his scroll on the "day of fasting." (Jer. 36:6) This fast was

strictly observed each year on the 10th day of Tishri, so the event may be dated

precisely. (Lev. 16:2931) Moreover, on this occasion, in addition to fasting, a

public reading was made in the hearing of all the people who had assembled

from the towns and cities of Israel. Public readings of this kind happened on the

same month of Tishri, but only on the 7th year. (Deut. 31:1012) Of such was

this occasion, and it explains why Jeremiah was so insistent on the reading

being made at that time. 605 BC must have been a Sabbatical year!

The Fall of Jerusalem

Thank you for using my Bible timelines of the Kings of Israel.

Following the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, there were no more

reigning kings, but the 'times' continued with inexorable

precision. Where were they leading?

Please read my book, 'The Atonement Clock.'

Sincerely,

Christian Gedge

Get 'The Atonement Clock'

Astonishing new research!

Precision dating Clear diagrams Cross reference system Totally scriptural

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