Introduction

The King’s Calendar is a systematic, mathematical approach for computing all of the dates and durations recorded in the Bible, and reconciling their seeming discrepancies. While scholars attribute the discrepancies in scripture to generally valid theories, this project puts a mathematical model to those theories, and assembles a scriptural timeline from it.

When reconciling Biblical dates with historical, consider that certain events within scripture are also recorded in extra-biblical sources. The building of Solomon's Temple is but one example. When compared to the Biblical timeline, these historical checkpoints seem to contradict. But why?

The King’s Calendar author believes that Biblical dates were re-cast from 364-day solar-based years to 336-day lunar-based years. In the dispersion, people lost track that a change had happened, leading to a re-interpretation of some corrected passages, and unfortunate "corrections" to others. This is aggravated by dates that were converted in the Hebrew translation but not the Septuagint, and others that were never converted at all. Without this knowledge, any attempt to line up the dates in scripture results in contradictions, both internally and against verified historical (extra-biblical) sources.

Converting Dates to Solar Years

Most of the dates appear to have been in 365.25-day years originally, but were translated to 336-day lunar years as if they were 364-day (i.e., 52-week) solar years. Therefore translating them back to proper solar years requires dividing them by a factor of about 1.083 (364/336). Close comparison of the Biblical timelines of the Septuagint to other translations reveals that some dates were never translated to lunar years; they are still in solar years. Other dates show up "corrected back" to 365.25-day solar years, but using the wrong correction factor. Finally, some passages suffered from a "clarification" when later scribes tried to make the passage "clearer". Even with all this, there is enough consistency in the majority of dates that most remaining ones can be identified and explained. The discrepancies nearly go away.

For example, consider the date of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt in relation to the building of Solomon's Temple. Scripture records them as being 480 years apart. However, the accepted Biblical dates for these events do not line up with secular history. If we assume that they are supposed to line up, but that the 480 years are in fact lunar years, then a conversion to solar years causes both events to line up with known historical checkpoints within an acceptable error (1 to 2 years). There are a few remaining discrepancies in regards to the 480 years, but these tend to be "the exception that proves the rule," being more consistent with innaccurate recording than anything else.

Dating the Exodus from Solomon's Temple

According to secular sources, Solomon's temple was destroyed in 586 BC (some sources say 587 BC). According to scripture, the temple had stood for 429 years, and was commissioned in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, 480 years after the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt. The problem, as described by the author of the King's Calendar, is that when you read scripture, there are a string of events over this time whose recorded durations add up to many more than the 429+480 years recorded in scripture. Furthermore, the kingships of the split kingdom (Jerusalem and Judah) do not line up. In other words, the scriptures in their current form appear internally inconsistent.

Consider that over the 480-year span between the Exodus and the commissioning of Solomon's temple, scripture records the time periods of every judge of Israel. Continuing on through the kingships of Saul, David, and Solomon (up to his fourth year, when the temple was commissioned), those years add up to more than 490 years, not 480. It seems that some of the dates were converted to lunar years, while some were converted only in the Septuagint, other were "corrected", and finally others were left alone. It takes a bit of detective work to determine how everything lines up, but it it can be done.

Taking the most consistent of the recorded dates, and starting with the secular recording of the Temple's destruction in 586 BC, the King's Calendar computes a date of 970 BC for the commencement of the building of Solomon's temple. This is done by projecting forward Jerusalem's kingly line from when the temple was historically destroyed, lining it up with Judah, then following Judah's line in reverse, to the temple's commencement. By assuming lunar-years, inconsistencies are resolved and the histories can be lined up. More importantly, the temple's commencement can be computed as 970 BC.

To compute the Exodus, note that it was the entrance into Canaan that occurred 480 years before the commencement of the temple... but it wasn't exactly 480 years; it was 479. Why? Because the temple was commenced "in" the 4th year of Solomon's reign, not after it... that 4th year is the 480th and we do not need to count it twice. Converting 479 to Solar years equals 442 lunar years back beyond 970 BC, and gives a date of 1412 BC (970+479/1.083=970+442=1412) as the year when the Israelites entered Canaan. As for the Exodus, we add 40/1.083=37 years to 1412, and arrive at 1449 BC.

What About the Isaelites' 40 Years in the Desert?

According to 1 Kings 6:1, "In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD." (NIV) Many scholars believe that the 480 years includes the 40 in the desert, while other believe it is separate. The reason for the disagreement is that the Septuagint says 440 years. The conclusion until now has been that because 440+40 is 480, then the 40 years in the desert must be the discrepancy!

The King's Calendar theory is that the original duration recorded was 440 solar years from Israel's entry to Canann, until the temple was commissioned in the 1st year of Solmon's reign. It was then converted to 480 years and an adjustment made to 1 Kings 6:1 that ends the duration when the temple building was commenced, which was Solomon's 4th year. Later, someone assumed that the 480 years meant to include the 40 years in the desert, and so changed the verse accordingly.

Conclusion

The King's Calendar approach provides a historically viable starting point for computing back to the year of the flood, which can help one establish the age of the earth. Often, biblical scholars use the Biblical dates without reconciling them with historical events, hence computing dates that do not reconcile with known geological events or recorded history. The King's Calendar provides an approach for interpreting the discrepancies. It provides a starting point for computing a flood year that reconciles quite well with history and science... surprisingly well in fact. If one assumes that the biblical timelines and geologic history align because they are true, then it suggests accepting the entirety of the science and the history. This not only confirms Noah's Flood, but it confirms the scriptures (the Word of God), the history (which stretches back far beyond the flood), and the science (whose dating techniques are frequently attacked).