Adam When?

    We have seen that when the phrase “called his name,” the Hebrew qara shem, is used in the Bible, it has reference to an immediate son. Thus, we know that Seth was the immediate son of Adam, Enosh was the immediate son of Seth, and Noah was the immediate son of Lamech. We have also determined that in two cases where this key phrase is not used in connection with close relatives, there is sufficient evidence in other parts of the Bible to assure us that they are related to each other on an immediate father-son basis. Thus, we know with certainty that Shem was an immediate son of Noah and that Abraham was an immediate son of Terah.

    Finally, we discovered that the other individuals named in the genealogical records of Genesis 5 and 11 are probably not related as immediate descendants. In fact, we have seen that the Bible offers some evidence that they were not closely related at all. Rather, we offered the suggestion that the year of birth of one individual coincided with the death year of the person named before him in the ancestral table. We proposed that each of these remaining characters are patriarchal leaders, each heading his own ancestral division.

The Key That Unlocks Genesis 5 and 11

    Though it may seem a bit removed from our discussion, it develops that an understanding of the Israelite’s genealogy during the time of their sojourn in Egypt provides the key that confirms our understanding of Genesis 5 and 11. When we study the genealogical descent of Levi, who entered Egypt as a son of Jacob, we find additional evidence that substantiates our patriarchal calendar. We will show that during the Egyptian sojourn a kind of calendar existed which was referenced to descendants of Levi, with each of his descendants being the reference patriarch during his entire lifetime.

    To develop this point, let us now examine the various Biblical references which relate to the descendants of Levi, who entered Egypt

with his brothers and his father Jacob, after Joseph had become prime minister. These references are as follows.

Genesis 46:11: And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Exodus 2:1-10: And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. Exodus 6:16-20: And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. Exodus 7:7: And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

Numbers 3:15-20: Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. And there were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei. And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers. Numbers 3:27-28: And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. Numbers 26:57-59: And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. I Chronicles 6:1-3: The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. I Chronicles 6:16-18: The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei. And the sons of Kohath were, Amram and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

    Some interesting observations with impinge on our study can be noted about these references to the descendants of Levi.

1. The phrase “called his name” (qara shem) is not used in these references except in Exodus 2:10 where the child of this passage is named Moses by the Egyptian princess. 2. It is very clear from the detail given in Exodus 2:1-10 as well as the use of the phrase qara shem that Moses was the son of the unnamed man and woman of Exodus 2:1. 3. With all of the other detail given in Exodus 2:1-10, it is significant that Amram and Jochebed are not named as the father and mother of Moses as Exodus 6:20 would appear to indicate. Why are the names Amram and Jochebed omitted from the detailed account of Exodus 2:1-10 if they were Moses’ father and mother? 4. There is no evidence of an immediate father-son relationship in any of these accounts except in the Exodus 2:1-10 account which relates Moses to an unnamed father and mother, 5. The life sponsor Levi and only two of his descendants are noted as are the ages of Moses and Aaron at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 6:16-20, Exodus 7:7). Does this appear rather strange? What purpose could God have in mind in giving us the ages of just these men? Is there a possibility that in these verses a time bridge was built across the period from Jacob’s descent into Egypt to the Exodus? 6. If Kohath is the father of Amram and Amram is the father of Moses, how can we account for the reference of Numbers 3:27-28 which indicates the number of male descendants of Kohath to be 8600 persons? Since the census of Numbers 3 was taken at Mount Sinai (Numbers 3:1), when Moses, the apparent grandson of Kohath, was about 82 years old, there could not possibly have been this many descendants in such a short period of time.

    We shall begin to answer these difficult questions by attempting to arrive at the age of Levi when he entered Egypt. This information is essential if we are to correlate the various time notices given in the Bible that refer to the Israelites’ sojourn in Egypt. In particular, if we can relate Levi’s age to the age of his father Jacob who was 130 years old when he entered Egypt (Genesis 47:9), we will have the correlation we are seeking.

    We do know that Levi’s younger brother Joseph was probably 39 when Jacob was 130 because Joseph was 30 when he was made ruler over Egypt (Genesis 41:46); and it was during the second year of the famine, or nine years later, that he revealed himself to his brothers (Genesis 45:6). Thus, we know that Jacob was 91 years of age when Joseph was born (130 - 39 = 91).

    Can we now discover how much younger Joseph was than Levi? The solution to this question depends upon whether Jacob spent 20 years or 40 years in Haran with his Uncle Laban. If he spent 20 years, the time sequence would work out something like this: Jacob worked seven years for Rachel (Genesis 29:20). Deceived into marriage with Laban’s older daughter, Leah, Jacob was forced to serve another seven years for Rachel, whom he apparently married at the beginning of this second seven years (Genesis 29:30). Since Jacob worked six years for the flocks he received from Laban (Genesis 31:41), and these six years followed the birth of Joseph (Genesis 30:24 ff), all of Jacob’s children, with the exception of Benjamin, must have been born during the period that he worked the second seven years which was for Rachel. With Levi being the third son and Joseph the last born during this period, Levi must have been at least four years older than Joseph.

    For a number of reasons this conclusion appears untenable. For instance, we know Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born, and if we assume Jacob spent only 20 years in Haran, he must have been about 84 or 85 when Reuben, his first son, was born, and he must have been 77 when he came to Haran. Although this could be possible, it seems a bit difficult to believe. Abraham, for example, at the age of 86 was so concerned about being childless at his advanced age that he fathered Ishmael by his Egyptian maid, Hagar, to be sure that somehow God’s promise would be carried out (Genesis 17:17). When Abram was 100 the Bible says he was old and advanced in years (Genesis 18:11). Because of the deep concern of the patriarchs concerning God’s promises, which were to be fulfilled in their descendants, it does not seem at all reasonable that Jacob would have waited until he was an old man of 84 before he married. It is also noteworthy that none of the records leading back to Shem mention a man being 84 at the birth of his firstborn. Abraham is the obvious exception.

    Furthermore, to conclude that so many children were born to Jacob during the second seven-year period while he was working to pay for Rachel is also difficult. Presumably during this period Leah

bore four children, none of whom were twins (Genesis 29:31-35); she then ceased bearing (Genesis 29:35), and because she ceased bearing she gave Zilpah, her maid, to Jacob to father two sons (Genesis 30:9- 13) and finally she bore two more sons and a daughter (Genesis 30:16- 21). To conclude that all of these events occurred during a seven year period seems quite impossible.

    Also, if Jacob’s time with Laban in Haran had been restricted to 20 years, the events related in Genesis 38 concerning Judah’s family would have been well nigh impossible. Chapter 38 records events that lead up to the birth of twin sons to Judah by his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Genesis 46:11 indicates these sons of Judah, Perez and Zerah, went into Egypt with Jacob. On the presumption of a 20-year Haran sojourn, Jacob could not have been less than 88 or 89 when Judah was born. Since Jacob was 130 when he entered Egypt, Judah could not have been older than 31 or 32 years when he entered Egypt. During this 31 or 32 years Judah would have had to grow from a baby to manhood, and additionally, all of the events of Genesis 38 would need to have taken place. These events are as follows:

Judah married a Caananite woman called the daughter of Shua. She gave him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er grew up and married Tamar. Er died without seed (it could have been soon after marriage). Onan was slain by God because he refused to marry Tamar upon Er’s death. Judah promised his youngest son, Shelah, to Tamar as a husband, but she had to wait until he grew up. Shelah grew up but was not given to Tamar. Tamar, rebuffed at Judah’s broken promise concerning Shelah, enticed Judah to commit adultery with her. Twin sons, Perez and Zerah, were born from this union. These sons, together with Shelah, entered Egypt with Judah.

    Quite obviously all of these events could not have taken place within a period of 32 years, that is, unless Judah and Er were as young as 12 to 14 when they were married, which is completely improbable and has no Scriptural validation. Only if we understand that Jacob sojourned in Haran longer than 20 years does this record make historical sense.

Jacob: Forty Years In Haran

    What alternative to a 20-year sojourn in Haran does the Bible offer? Genesis 29:18-30, clearly indicates that Jacob worked the first fourteen years as payment for Rachel and Leah. Genesis 30:25-32 indicates that following Joseph’s birth, Jacob made a contract with Laban to work in return for keeping as his own spotted and speckled sheep. Genesis 31:41 summarizes his work for Rachel and Leah and indicates that he worked for a period of six years for his flocks. Genesis 31:41:

Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

    Since Jacob left Haran immediately after he had obtained his flocks, the only time during his Haran sojourn which could have added to the twenty years named in Genesis 31:41 would be the time between his contract to obtain Rachel and Leah and his contract to obtain his flocks. In other words, he must have worked for wages of some kind for a period of time following the expiration of his second seven year agreement to obtain Rachel. During this wage-earning period his family continued to grow until Joseph was born. Then he wished to leave but was induced to stay in Haran in return for obtaining as his own all the oddly marked sheep.

    How long was this wage-earning period? The only clue the Bible offers is the notice of Genesis 31:38-39:

This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and they she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

    Since twenty years is also named here as a time span, some would conclude this is the identical period named in verse 41 of the same chapter. But this cannot be for, as we have seen, we must assume his total stay was more than 20 years. Moreover, that there were different 20-year periods is suggested by the language of verse 39 where the Bible indicates that Jacob had to pay for animals stolen or killed by beasts, and of verse 38 which implies he had to pay for any animals killed for his own food. These conditions may have been a part of his contract with Laban when he acquired Rachel and Leah, but the Bible gives no indication of this. These are not the kind of conditions that

one would expect as a part of a central for a man’s daughter. They would be too petty and would tend to demean the value of the daughters. On the other hand, they would be very logical clauses in a contract in which money is paid for services rendered. [The phrase “thou hast changed my wages ten times” in verse 41 clearly has reference to the last six years when Jacob received his flocks (see Genesis 31:7-8), and therefore, does not relate to any other time except this six-year period. These six years followed the twenty years recorded in Genesis 31:38-39].

    Therefore, we must conclude that the twenty years of Genesis 31:38 were in addition to the twenty years of Genesis 31:41, making a total of forty years in all. They followed the second seven year contract for Rachel and ended with the beginning of the new six-year contract for the speckled sheep.

    Returning to Levi, we remember that he could not have been less than four years Joseph’s senior, but with this added 20 year period he may have been as many as 24 years his senior.

    The Bible does appear to indicate that Joseph was probably closer to 24 years younger than Levi than to four years younger. According to Genesis 29:31-35, Leah bore four children without ceasing to bear. Thus Levi, the third child, could well have been born in the third year after Jacob’s marriage or the tenth year after Jacob arrived in Haran. If his birth was not in the third year, it probably was very close to it. Joseph, on the other hand, was born in the year just prior to the last six years (Genesis 30:25) or at most, a few years earlier than the last six years.

    The book of Maccabees is not inspired by God and is not a part of the Bible. But it does give some historical information. In the Book of Maccabees (7:27) it suggests a child was weaned at the age of three years. In II Chronicles 31:16, we read that the age of three was the minimum age for males to enter the house of the Lord for service. In I Samuel 1:22-24 we read that Hannah brought young Samuel to the house of the Lord immediately following his weaning. Thus, by relating these two passages, we receive the impression that weaning took place at the age of three, indicating the reliability of the Maccabees account on this point. Therefore, it is possible and indeed quite probable that Joseph was weaned at three years. Jacob was then ready to leave Haran. It was at this time that he began his last six years with Laban.

    In summary, we must conclude that the period between the births of Levi and Joseph could not have been more than 24 years. Moreover, it seems likely that this period could not have been less than a few years short of 24 years. A 21-year age differential between Levi and Joseph is most probable. This is the result of assuming that Levi was born in the tenth year after Jacob arrived in Haran, and that Joseph was born nine years before Jacob left Haran, at the age of 91. Since he lived in Haran for 40 years, he would have arrived there when he was 60 years old, 31 years before Joseph’s birth. This conclusion establishes the following sequence of events:

Jacob arrives in Haran at the age of	60
He works seven years for Rachel and is then married to Rachel and Leah. He is then	67
Reuben is born to Leah the following year when Jacob is	68
Simeon is born next to Leah when Jacob is	69
Levi is born next to Leah when Jacob is	70
Jacob finishes his second seven-year contract for Rachel when he is	74
He works for wages for 20 years. In the 17th year of this period Joseph is born. Jacob is	91
At the end of this 20 year period Joseph is weaned and Jacob wishes to leave Haran. He is	94
He works six years longer for his flocks and leaves Haran at age	100

    Interestingly, there is a bit of circumstantial evidence that gives further credence to the possibility of Jacob being 60 years of age when he arrived in Haran. The situation that precipitated Jacob’s leaving for Haran was the threat that his brother Esau would kill him for stealing the blessing (Genesis 27:41). The blessing was given at this time because undoubtedly father Isaac feared he would soon die.

Isaac’s own words indicate this in Genesis 27:2:

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.

    If Jacob was 60 years old at this time, Isaac was 120 because Jacob and Esau were born when Isaac was 60 years old (Genesis 25:26). Isaac lived to the ripe old age of 180 years (Genesis 35:28). Therefore, he was a long way from being near death when be wanted to give the blessing. What could have induced him to do this so many years before he actually died? Let us recall that God made a significant statement to Noah before the flood. He said in Genesis 6:3:

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

    Could it not have been that faithful Isaac, fully aware of this notice to Noah, decided in his 120th year that it was time to straighten out his affairs? Therefore, he immediately set into motion the events that ended with Jacob’s flight to Haran. This is at least a possibility and it fits into the chronological timetable.

    Returning to our timetable, we see that all of the Biblical conditions are met if we consider that Levi was 21 years older than Joseph. While the Bible does not give exact information that points to a 21-year age differential between Levi and Joseph, we know that it cannot be more than two or three years in error. The circumstantial evidence based on the weaning of a child at three years and the reasons for Jacob’s flight to Haran as outlined above, point to 21 years as a logical and Biblical answer.


The Perfect Tally

    One other piece of evidence points precisely to the 21-year age differential and also shows how time was reckoned during the Egyptian sojourn. In fact, it also gives us the Biblical evidence for understanding the language of Genesis 5 end 11.

    We previously saw that Joseph was 39 when Jacob and his family entered Egypt. Since Levi, as we have seen, must have been 21 years older than Joseph, he would have been 60 when Jacob’s family entered Egypt. Since Levi died at the age of 137 (Exodus 6:16), 77 years (137 - 60) of his life would have been spent in Egypt.

    Let us recall the premise which we established. In the absence of evidence that the Genesis genealogies specifically indicate an

immediate father-son relationship, we may assume the relationship to be one which interrelates individual patriarchs living their entire lifetime as the family head. Let us apply this principle to the family of Levi. In Exodus 6:16-20, we saw the genealogical sequence of Levi. His 137 years were followed by Kohath’s 133 years which in turn were followed by Amram’s 137 years; Amram was followed by Aaron. Since we know that Levi lived 77 years in Egypt (if our 21 year assumption is correct), and since the Bible indicates that Aaron was 83 years old at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7), all of the ingredients are available to establish the chronological sequence during the Egyptian sojourn. Remember that the death year of one patriarch coincides with the birth year of the next, thus, the result must look like this:

Levi’s time in Egypt (137-60)	77 years
Kohath’s period of patriarchal leadership	133 years
Amram’s period of patriarchal leadership	137 years
Aaron’s age at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7)	83 years
Total	430 years

    This sum tallies exactly with Israel’s sojourn in the land of Egypt, which we read was 430 years in Exodus 12:40-41:

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

    Thus, we see that our assumption is correct that in certain situations there existed a patriarchal calendar with one patriarch living his entire lifetime as the family head. God indicates to us that the generation or patriarchal period of Kohath followed the period of Levi and commenced in the year that ended Levi’s period. Similarly, Amram’s generation followed Kohath’s Aaron’s generation began at the death of Amram. In this way the Bible gives us a time bridge covering the Israelites sojourn in Egypt that is identical with the 430 years of Exodus 12:40.

    It could be argued that this genealogical proof is based upon the assumption that Levi was 21 years older than Joseph and, therefore, is not necessarily valid. Yet if we look at the alternatives, we can see the validity of this assumption. We saw that in any case Levi could not have been more than 24 years older than Joseph and probably not less than a few years short of 24 years older than Joseph. Thus, the period of Levi’s residence in Egypt could have been as much as three years more or less than the 77 years arrived at in this study. There would, therefore, have been a cumulative gap or overlapping in the genealogical timetable of Levi to Aaron of not more than possibly two or three years. Even though this is possible, it makes no apparent sense in any kind of patriarchal dynastic system or calendar system. If any kind of gap or overlapping occurred, one would expect a far greater number of years than these few, inasmuch as then the time spans would probably begin when each patriarch was old enough to assume leadership. In addition. the Biblical record of the births of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi in rapid succession to Leah, and which is followed by the statement that then she ceased to bear, agrees very well with the timetable of Levi being born during Jacob’s tenth year in Haran. Furthermore, the Maccabee’s account of a Jewish child being weaned at three years focuses the birth of Joseph nine years before Jacob left Haran. Since he lived in Haran a total of 40 years, 21 years would have elapsed between the births of Levi and Joseph. This figure agrees with the genealogical proof under discussion.

    While Exodus 6:16-19 refers to the generations of Levi by name, significantly Kohath and Amram are the only two patriarchs of all of those named whose ages have been written into the genealogical record. Obviously, the family of Levi, from Kohath to Amram and finally to Aaron, was the patriarchal family seceded during the 430- year bondage in Egypt to establish the calendar during this period. The method of doing this would have been similar to that done by their forefathers before Abraham.

    This, I believe, is the reason why the ages of Levi, Kohath, and Amram have been recorded, and one of the reasons why we are given so many details that relate to the ages of Joseph and Moses. It is why the parents of Moses are not named Amram and Jochebed in Exodus 2:1, when so many other details concerning the birth of Moses are given. Amram and Jochebed were not the immediate parents of Moses. Moses was of the patriarchal family of Amram. Amram must have died the year of Aaron’s birth.

    We can now see how the descendants of Kohath (Amramites, the family of Izharites, the family of Hebronites, and the family of Uzzielites), numbered 8600 men at the time of Mount Sinai (Numbers 3:27-28). Kohath had died 220 years before the Exodus, and 220 years are sufficient for his male descendants to number as many as 8600.

    It also throws a spotlight of revelation upon God’s prophecy to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16, where he tells Abram that his descendants would be oppressed 400 years in a land that was not theirs, and that they would return to their own land in the fourth generation. Levi was the first, Kohath the second, Amram the third, and Aaron the fourth in the prophetic sequence.

    Thus, God His wonderful wisdom has placed in our hands a key that unlocks the hitherto perplexing genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. The key is the chronological record of the Israelite’s sojourn in Egypt. By properly understanding the timetable of the Egyptian sojourn, we establish the evidence for understanding Genesis 5 and 11. God gave considerable information about the Egyptian sojourn so that this key could be found.


Genesis 5 and 11 Are A Calendar

    To return to the disputed genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11, we have already pointed out that in the cases of Adam and Seth, Enosh and Lamech, Noah and Shem, and finally Terah and Abraham, the Bible indicates conclusively the existence of immediate father-son relationships. But all of the other names recorded, we must assume, were the patriarchal heads of families and followed each other chronologically even as they did in the case of Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Aaron.

    When we reflect a bit further on the conclusions of our foregoing study, we discover that Genesis 5 and 11 are actually a kind of calendar. Think for a moment of our present calendar. We speak of an event that happened in the year 1950, for instance. What we mean is that this event occurred in the year of our Lord 1950 or that 1950 is the 1950th year after the birth of Christ. This is the generation or patriarchal period, if you will, of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 24:34, Jesus, the Lord of all history, uses the language of man’s earliest history when he describes the certainty of God’s plan until the end of the age. We read in Matthew 24:34:

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

    This was the same situation that existed in man’s early history. The time was divided into patriarchal periods or generations even as the New Testament period is the generation of Jesus Christ and as the Egyptian sojourn was so divided. For example, when Methuselah died, which brought his generation to an end, a man who was born in the year of Methuselah’s death was selected to be the next reigning patriarch or at least the next man for calendar reference. After Methuselah, this was Lamech. None of the conditions of his selection are given except that he had to be a descendant of Methuselah. Therefore, the Bible indicates that Methuselah was 187 years old when he begat Lamech; that is, when he was 187, the forefather of Lamech was born to Methuselah (Genesis 5:25). This notice establishes the certainty of Lamech’s blood descent from Methuselah by showing where his forefather tied into the life of Methuselah.

    The selection of the next patriarch had to include a birth date that coincided with Methuselah’s death date to ensure a rational history. Had he been born one or more years earlier, an overlap would have occurred which would have blurred history. If Lamech had been born one or more years later than Methuselah’s death, a gap would have occurred which would have confused history. Therefore, when a citizen of the world of that day spoke of an event occurring in the year Methuselah 950, only one year in history answered to this date. Again, if he spoke of the year Lamech 2, only one year answered to this date, and he knew precisely how many years transpired from Methuselah 950 to Lamech 2.

    At the beginning, men were comparatively scarce. Thus, it seems apparent that when Adam died, no one was born that year who was qualified to become the next reference patriarch. When Seth died 112 years later, the same situation prevailed. God alerts us to these facts by use of the phrase qara shem in connection with Seth and Enosh. But when Enosh, the grandson of Adam, died 98 years after Seth, a child who was a descendant of Enosh was born in the same year and was eventually named the next reference patriarch. This was Kenan, whose life span became the calendar reference for that period of history. The calendar was continued in this fashion until Methuselah died and Lamech was born.

    When Lamech was born, he was the one to whom the calendar was referenced. But his descendant who was born the year of Lamech’s

death and who should have become the next patriarch, died in the flood. This can be known for Lamech died five years before the flood and only Noah and his immediate family survived the flood. Noah who was an immediate son of Lamech, of necessity became a substitute calendar reference. Thus, the flood events are all dated by the life span of Noah (Genesis 7:6,11, Genesis 8:4-5, 13-14).

    When Noah died 350 years after the flood, the same situation prevailed that existed when Adam died. Few people lived upon the earth and no one met the conditions required to become the next reference patriarch. When Shem died 152 years after Noah, the child, Arpachshad, a descendant of Shem, was born in the same year, and he became the next patriarch. The calendar was then continued in this fashion until Terah was born.

    When Terah was born, he became the reference patriarch. During his life span, God brought into being the nation of Israel through Terah’s immediate son, Abram. Thus, the descendant of Terah, who was born the year of Terah’s death, was outside the Messianic line and outside of God’s chronological purposes. God effectively had narrowed men down to the family of Abram; the normal method of calendar keeping was set aside in the absence of qualified patriarchs.

    No descendant of Abraham was born the year he died. When Isaac, the immediate son of Abraham died, the same situation prevailed. This was repeated when Jacob, the immediate son of Isaac, died. But in the year that Levi, the immediate son of Jacob died, a descendant of Levi was born whose name was Kohath, and he apparently met the qualifications of a reference patriarch. Thus, he continued the calendar line as we have seen. Amram followed Kohath, and Aaron, Amram. Interestingly, it can be shown that in a real sense Aaron’s generation continued until Christ’s began almost 2000 years ago. We shall examine this in Appendix V. Thus, God has given in His Word a complete calendar from creation to Christ.


The Timetable of Man Revealed

    We are now ready to establish the chronology beginning with Adam. To establish this genealogical table, we must begin with a date that has been positively identified through non-Biblical sources, such as archaeological and astronomical evidence. Only in this way can we relate the Biblical record to our modern calendar. Because so much

work has been done in recent times, particularly in relation to the dating of the kings of Israel, this can be done rather readily. We are particularly indebted to the eminent scholar Edwin R. Thiele, who in his book, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings,¹ established the date of the death of Solomon and the division of the kingdom as 931 B.C.² Since Solomon reigned 40 years (I Kings 11:42), and began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign (I Kings 6:1), the building began in the year 967 B.C.

    Very significantly, God gives us the time bridge from the Exodus to the building of the temple. This is recorded in I Kings 6:1:

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

    In a later chapter we shall discover another Biblical time bridge that substantiates this time span. A time span of 480 years brings us to 1447 B.C. as the date of the Exodus. If we work from this date back to Adam, we arrive at a date for Adam of 11,013 B.C. The following table shows this chronology beginning with Adam, the first man in historical time.

	B.C.
Creation of Adam	11,0133
Birth of Seth. Adam was 130 when Seth was born (Genesis 5:6)	10,883
Birth of Enosh. Seth was 105 when Enosh was born (Genesis 5:6)	10,778
End of Enosh’s period 905 years after his birth (Genesis 5:11), which is the year Kenan was born and which began his period	9873
End of Kenan’s period 910 years after his birth (Genesis 5:14). This is the year Mahalel was born and the beginning of his period	8963

End of Mahalel’s period 895 years after his birth (Genesis 5:17). This is the year Jared was born and the beginning of his period	8068
End of Jared’s period 962 years after his birth (Genesis 5:20). This is the year Enosh was born and the beginning of his period	7106
End of Enoch’s period 365 years after his birth (Genesis 5:23). This is the year Methuselah was born and the beginning of his period	6741
End of Methuselah’s period 969 years after his birth (Genesis 5:27). This is the year Lamech was born and the beginning of his period	5772
Birth of Noah. Lamech was 182 when Noah was born (Genesis 5:28-29)	5590
The flood. Noah was 600 when the flood came (Genesis 7:6)	4990
Death of Shem 502 years after the flood (Genesis 11:10-11). This is the year Arpachshad was born and the beginning of his period	4488
End of Arparchshad’s period 438 years after his birth (Genesis 11:12-13). This is the year Shelah was born and the beginning of his period	4050
End of Shelah’s period 433 years after his birth (Genesis 11:14-15). This is the year Eber was born and the beginning of his period	3617
End of Eber’s period 464 years after his birth (Genesis 11:16-17). This is the year Peleg was born and the beginning of his period	3153
The Tower of Babel must have been built between these dates (Genesis 10:25)
End of Peleg’s period 239 years after his birth (Genesis 11:18-19). This is the year Reu was born and the beginning of his period	2914

End of Reu’s period 239 years after his birth (Genesis 11:20-21). This is the year Serug was born and the beginning of his period	2675
End of Serug’s period 230 years after his birth (Genesis 11:22-23). This is the year Nahor was born and the beginning of his period	2445
End of Nahor’s period 148 years after his birth (Genesis 11:24-25). This is the year Terah was born and the beginning of his period	2297
Birth of Abram to Terah. Terah was 130 years old at birth of Abram	2167
Circumcision of Abraham when he was 99 years of age	2068
Birth of Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old at the birth of Isaac (Genesis 21:5)	2067
Birth of Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old at birth of Jacob (Genesis 25:26)	2007
Jacob’s family arrived in Egypt when Jacob was 130 (Genesis 47:9)	1877
Exodus from Egypt 430 years later (Exodus 12:40)	1447
Entrance into Canaan 40 years later	1407
Solomon’s temple construction was begun 480 years after Exodus (I Kings 6:1)	967
Division of kingdom at death of Solomon 36 years later	931

kept track of time by referencing the passage of time to the life spans of certain key individuals. These individuals were selected on the basis of at least two qualifications:

1. Their birth year had to coincide with the death year of the previous reference patriarch. 2. They were to be in the same blood line of the previous reference patriarch.

    By analyzing all of the Biblical data concerning Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Aaron, we discovered that they met these two qualifications.

    We then applied our understanding of the ancient method of calendar keeping to the genealogical accounts found in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11. There the life span of each reference patriarch is given. Additionally, the age of each reference patriarch is given, at which point the next reference patriarch tied into his blood line. The formula that is used in each case is:

When A was ‘x’ years old he begat ‘B’ ‘A’ lived after he begat ‘B’ ‘y’ years and had other sons and daughters.

    The sum of (x + y) indicates the life spin of the reference patriarch ‘A.’ He was ‘x’ years old when the progenitor of the next reference patriarch ‘B’ was born to him. The giving of the value of ‘x’ assured that ‘B’ was indeed of the blood line of ‘A.’

    There were periods in history when the above rules for calendar keeping could not be strictly kept. Such was the situation at the beginning, when men first began to multiply on the earth. This was the situation at the flood of Noah’s day and the special time when God limited his people to the family of Abraham.

    God uses two methods to guide our thinking through these special periods in history. In the first place, he indicates that wherever the clue phrase qara shem is used, which indicates a parent named his child, we can be sure the child in question is the immediate son of the parent. Such was the case of Adam-Seth, Seth-Enosh, and Lamech- Noah. In the second plan, God at times gives other Biblical information to indicate an immediate father-son relationship. Such was the case with Noah-Shem, Terah-Abram, Abram-Isaac, Isaac- Jacob, Jacob-Levi, and the history of man following Aaron. By

applying these principles, we have been able to develop an accurate calendar of ancient man beginning with Adam at 11,013 B.C.

    Our God is indeed a wise and all-sufficient God. Often when He gives us truth, He gives us abundant evidence to support that truth. When Christ rose from the dead, He showed Himself by many proofs (Acts 1:3), so there was no possibility of misunderstanding this wonderful event. When He gave us the facts of His earthly sojourn, God gave us four Gospels so that these truths would be especially clear. So, too, God has given us additional evidence in His Word which appears to substantiate and validate the correctness of the chronology outlined in this chapter. We will consider this evidence in the next chapter.



NOTES:

    ¹Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, Eerdmans Publishing Co., revised ed., 1965, p. 52.

    See also Appendix I for more detailed discussion of this date.

    ²We are not limited to Thiele’s work. As we go on in our study and consider the history of Egypt and Israel, we will discover numerous identifications with this date. Thus, we know that this date is accurate.

    ³Adam was created about 13,000 years before our present time.