Biblical Timeline 2

[Genesis 12 - Deuteronomy 34 | 2000 - 1406 BC]

ABRAHAM TO ISAAC
2000	1900	Some scholars connect the migrations of the early patriarchs with the emergence of the Martu or Amorites (“Westerners”) onto world history. This loose conglomeration of scattered tribes spoke a West Semitic language (from which Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Arabic descend). They regularly irritated Third Dynasty of Ur, although at this early date they were not truly a civilization in their own right. The first appearance of the Amorites coincides with the Middle Bronze I period, which Rohl dates to ca. 1900 BC [EE 107-108].
1951	1891	Birth of Abram (Ge 11) in Ur of the Chaldeans.
1941	1873	Birth of Sarai
When Did Abram Enter Canaan? Most rabbinic sources calculate that Abram entered Canaan 430 years prior to the Exodus. This figure is also assumed by Paul in Galatians 3:27. The Book of Jubilees, however, asserts that Abram's entry into Canaan occurred 400 years prior to the Exodus--a time frame that seems also to have been familiar to Stephen and the Jews of Jerusalem (Ac 7:6). Assuming a date for the Exodus of 1446, these two possibilities form the benchmarks for two possible chronologies, a "Long" Chronology beginning in 1876 (following the rabbis) and a "Short" Chronology beginning in 1846 (following Jubilees). Both chronologies follow the unanimous testimony of all ancient sources that the sojourn in Egypt lasted 215 years or less.
1876	1846	Abram enters Canaan (Ge 12)
1875-1874	1845-1844	Abram and Sarai enter Egypt fleeing famine in Canaan (Ge 12) It is probably at this time that Sarai acquires Hagar as a slave. The pharaoh whom Abram deceived into thinking Sarai was his sister was possibly Nebkaure Khety IV, a ruler of the Tenth Dynasty [EE 111]. Rohl places this event in 1853, the thirteenth year of Khety IV, although it must be admitted that the chronology of the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties is plagued with question marks. It might just has easily been Khety's father with whom Abram had dealings. Khety is considered to have had to restore order in Egypt after a general time of violence and famine related to climatological shifts in his era. He is also the author of the Instruction of Merykare, which includes the following intriguing statement: A mean act was committed in my reign; the territory of Thinis was devastated. It indeed happened, but not through what I had done; I knew of it only after it was done. See, the consequences exceeded what I had done... A blow is repaid by the like of it, and all that is achieved is a hitting. Might this be an oblique reference to the plagues that befell Egypt because of his dealings with Sarai?
1874-1868	1844-1835	Abram moves "from place to place" in Canaan; Abram and Lot part company (Ge 13).
1867	1834	War of Four Kings against Five (Ge 14). Identifying the four foreign kings attempting to exert control over Canaan has long been a puzzle. In Rohl's "New Chronology," the principal figure is Amraphel king of Shinar, who is identified with Amar-Sin of Ur (r. 1834-1826 BC) [EE 116].  Mackey also locates Abram in the Ur III period, but some of his identifications are different. Chedorlaomer can be demonstrated to be a Hebraized Elamite name (originally "Kudur-Lagmur," "Kutir-Lagamar," or something similar). Relations between Elam and Sumer were quite close in the Ur III period. Elam, formerly an independent state, had been drawn into the Sumerian sphere of influence. Indeed, Chedorlaomer may not have been an Elamite at all, but a provincial governor appointed from Ur. His prominence in the coalition may have been because his jurisdiction as imperial tax collector extended to these far western lands. Mackey suggests Chedorlaomer may be identified with Gudea (Kudur?) of Lagash--a city-state ideally located to serve as a base from which to govern Elam. Arioch of Ellasar is Zariku or Zariqum, the governor of Asshur during the reign of Amar-Sin. "Ellasar" is derived from A-LA-SAR, an ideogram denoting the city of Asshur. Tidal "king of nations" may be equated with Tishadal of Urkish. Alternately, Tidal may be a shortened version of the Hittite name Tudkhalia, or a version of Tudiya, the name of the first king on the Assyrian King List. See also here for the implications for chronology and some additional notes on the identification of the various kings.
1866	1834	God renews his covenant with Abram (Ge 15)
1865	1830	Birth of Ishmael (Ge 16)
1852	1817	Covenant of circumcision; Abram's name is changed to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah (Ge 17). In this same year came the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 18-19). This was also the year in which Abraham attempted to deceive Abimelech (Ge 20).
1851	1816	Birth of Isaac (Ge 21). The rabbis consistently calculated that Isaac was born 30 years after Abram entered Canaan, even though a face value reading of Genesis would indicate 25 years. Only Josephus argued for this reading of the data.
1839-1836	1805-1801	The Binding of Isaac at age 12-15? (Ge 22)
1814	1789	Death of Sarah (Ge 23).
1810	1786	Isaac marries Rebekah and is "comforted in his mother's death" (Ge 24).

JACOB TO JOSEPH
1776	1775	Death of Abraham (Ge 25).
1791	1755	Birth of Jacob and Esau (Ge 25).
1725-1724	1754	Incident involving Isaac, Rebekah, and Abimelech (Ge 26).
1728	1739	Death of Ishmael (Ge 25). Ishmael's death is reported parenthetically after listing his sons. There is therefore no compelling reason to maintain the order of the biblical narration at this point.
1720		Jacob tricks Isaac and gets the blessing intended for Esau (Ge 27). Soon after, he flees to northern Mesopotamia where he begins working for Laban (Ge 28) around 1720.
1714		After seven years working for Laban, Jacob marries Leah and Rachel (Ge 29).
1700		Birth of Joseph. Shortly thereafter, Jacob and his family return to Canaan (Ge 30-31).
1700-1699		Jacob and Esau are reconciled (Ge 32-33).
1696		Rape of Dinah and her revenge by her (older) brothers (Ge 34). Jacob returns to Bethel, Benjamin is born but Rachel dies in childbirth (Ge 35). Jacob visits his father Isaac shortly before his death (Ge 35).
1683		Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt (Ge 37). Shortly thereafter, Judah leaves his brothers and soon gets married (Ge 38).
1682-1678		Judah's three sons (Er, Onan, and Shelah) are probably born in quick succession after his marriage. Er and Onan at least are likely very close in age, although Shelah may have been somewhat younger (Ge 38).
1672		Joseph is imprisoned (Ge 39-40).
Years of plenty and of famine. The annual flooding of the Nile was vital to Egyptian agriculture. For about sixty years, starting with the reign of Amenemhat III in the 12th Dynasty, the pharaohs monitored the level of the Nile's yearly inundation at the citadel of Semna in southern Nubia. The highest point the flood reached was marked on the rock face by a short hieroglyphic inscription giving the name and regnal year of the reigning pharaoh. From these data, we learn that a prolonged period of "good floods" began in the third year of Amenemhat III (1680 BC according to Rohl [PK 339]). Throughout his reign, there was a dramatic rise in Nile flood levels, eventually leading to floods so drastic as to be hurtful to Egyptian agriculture. These exceptionally high floods began in the 20th year of Amenemhat III and may be connected to the beginning of the seven years of famine described in Genesis. If this interpretation is correct, Egypt had already experienced several bountiful years prior to Joseph's prediction that this bounty would last a little while longer before it turned to disaster.
1670		Joseph becomes vizier of Egypt and marries Asenath (Ge 41). The seven years of famine begin, in the "New Chronology," with the 20th year of Amenemhat III [PK 335]. This corresponds to either 1663 [PK 335] or 1658 [EE 137]--a five year adjustment. On the whole, I prefer the earlier date, but ultimately five years in either direction would seem negligible.
1669-1667		Birth of Manasseh to Joseph (Ge 41).
1667-1665		Birth of Ephraim to Joseph (Ge 41).
1664-1663		Er marries Tamar but dies almost immediately thereafter. When Onan is unwilling to fulfill his levirate responsibilities, Tamar tricks Judah into fathering her a child (Ge 38). Presumably, Shelah, Judah's youngest son, is still a minor at this time.
1663-1662		Perez and Zerah are born to Tamar by Judah (Ge 38).
1662-1657		Jacob and his family migrate to Egypt (Ge 42-47). Most ancient sources calculate this event came 215 years before the Exodus. Pseudo-Philo says 210, while all other sources give even lower dates which seem increasingly unlikely.
1644	1657	Death of Jacob (Ge 48-49).
1589	1627	Death of Joseph (Ge 50). A much later date is possible, a death date of 1590 would correspond to a face-value reading of Joseph's age at death of 110 years.

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EGYPTIAN SOJOURN TO THE DEATH OF MOSES
1545-1543	Rise of a Pharaoh "who did not know Joseph" and the subsequent oppression of the Hebrews (Ex 1). In Rohl's New Chronology, this corresponds to the brief reign of Sekhemre-sewadjtawy Sobekhotep III, who first enslaved the various Asiatic peoples living in Egypt at the time. By the time of the 13th Dynasty there were many Asiatics living in Egypt, many of whom were bonded servants. It is likely that the formed the "mixed multitude" that left Egypt under Moses' leadership (Ex 12:38).
1527-1517	The birth of Moses (Ex 2). According to the Jewish historian Artapanus (3rd century BC, cited by Eusebius), Moses was discovered in the Nile river by Merris, the daughter of pharaoh Palmanothes, who later became the wife of a pharaoh named Khenephres. It was in Kenephres' household that Moses grew up. Rohl identifies Khenephres with Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV (r. 1532-1508 BC--although in fact "we have little idea how long Sobekhotep's reign lasted" [PK 256]. In PK, Rohl proposed a 20-year reign beginning in 1529; in EE he proposed a 25-year reign beginning in 1532. It is at least possible that the absolute dates fall around 1529-1505 BC, allowing a bit more leeway to accommodate a later date for Moses' birth and Sobekhotep still reigning in his early adulthood). In all of Egyptian history, this was the only pharaoh who adopted the accession name "Khaneferre."
Moses the Warrior? There is a Jewish tradition discussed by Artapanus and Josephus (Ant. 2:10) of a military campaign by Prince Moses against the Ethiopians. There is in fact a stela fragment in the British Museum making reference to an Egyptian campaign into Upper Nubia during the reign of Sobekhotep IV!
1492-1482	Moses flees Egypt after killing an Egyptian taskmaster (Ex 2).
The Pharaoh of the Exodus. Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the Hellenistic era, states that during the reign of Tutimaos "God smote us" Rohl identifies this Tutimaos as Djedneferre Dudimose, crowned in 1450 BC.
The Plagues of Egypt. In Rohl's revised chronology, the Admonitions of Ipuwer can be interpreted as a description of the plagues from an Egyptian point of view (another translation here). Most scholars agree it was written around the time of the Hyksos invasion. This places it at the dawn of the Second Intermediate Period of Egyptian history. Here and here are helpful tables comparing the contents of the Ipuwer papyrus and the Exodus account.
1446	The Exodus (Ex 12-16). The date of the exodus can be determined from a number of lines of evidence. (1) According to 1 Kings 6:1, the fourth year of Solomon's reign was also the 480th year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. In Thiele's chronology, Solomon year 4 was 961; in Albright's it was 958. These dates would yield a date for the exodus of ca. 1440-1437--although both scholars operate on the assumption that Solomon's reign was closer to thirty years in length instead of the stated biblical value of forty years (1 Ki 11:42). Even under the assumption that 40 is a round number, a date ten years earlier for the beginning of Solomon's reign--and thus for the exodus--is probably to be preferred. Rodger Young has argued that Solomon's fourth year can be determined to be 967, and thus the exodus occurred 479 years previously in 1446 BC. (2) According to Judges 11:26, in the time of Jephthah Israel had inhabited Heshbon, Aroer, and the towns along the Arnon River (that is, the Transjordan region conquered under Moses [Nu 20:21-22:1]) for 300 years. Since Jephthah is considered one of the later Judges, this would place the conquest under Joshua at the end of the 15th century and the exodus ca. 40 years before that or approximately 1450. (3) According to the Talmud ('Arakin 12a) it is stated that Ezekiel's vision reported in Ezekiel 40:1 took place on the tenth day of the seventh month at the start of a Jubilee year. This was fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar in 587, thus in the fall of 574. The same datum is also recorded in the earlier Seder 'Olam, which further states that this was the seventeenth Jubilee. Since it can be demonstrated that in ancient times the Jubilee cycle was forty-nine years long, it is a simple matter to count back 16 x 49 years to arrive at 1358 as the date of the first Jubilee. If this was the date of the first Jubilee, the conquest would have started 48 years sooner in 1406 (i.e., 1358 was the 49th year counting from the conquest). Although this calculation, if valid, would yield a date for the first year of the conquest of precisely 1406, the 40 years of wilderness wandering may still be a round number, suggesting a date for the exodus of ca. 1450-1445. Since there is no way of knowing if Israel's "forty years" are rounded up or rounded down, a 1446 date--exactly 40 years from Exodus to Conquest--is preferable for purposes of calculation.
The Shepherd-Kings. Several scholars, including Rohl, have speculated that the Amalekites who bedeviled the Israelites on their way out of Egypt (Ex 17) were in fact the mysterious Asiatic Hyksos who invaded Egypt and ruled there for several centuries. "Hyksos" was interpreted by Manetho as hikau-shosu, "rulers of shepherds," although an alternate derivation is from hikau-khausut, meaning "rulers of the hill country." Either designation would fit the nomadic Amalekites from the hill country of central Canaan. According to Manetho, after the reign of Dudimose Egypt was invaded from the east by people "of obscure race." These "Lesser Hyksos" founders of Egypt's 16th Dynasty settled at sites such as Avaris in the eastern Delta and drove the native Egyptian pharaohs back to their capital at Itj-Tawy (Memphis) in Upper Egypt. David J. Gibson makes the more general claim that the Hyksos are to be identified with the Edomites--of which the Amalekites were a subset--within the framework of conventional chronology. The Hyksos-Amalekite equation is also advocated at this site. It should also be noted that medieval Arab historians record a tradition that Manetho's Asiatic invaders were in fact Amalekites. According to El-Samhudi (d. AD 911), "the Amalekites reached Syria and Egypt and took possession of these lands, and the tyrants of Syria and the pharaohs of Egypt were of their origin." Psalm 78:49 may allude to this event in the aftermath of the Egyptian plagues and the Exodus: "[God] let loose on them [i.e., the Egyptians] his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels." This last phrase in Hebrew is  מלאכי רעים (mal'akhei ra'im), which would more literally be "angels or messengers of evil." Rohl suggests (PK: 288) that this may be a corruption of an original מלכי רעים (malakhei ro'im) or "Shepherd-Kings."
1446-1445	Israel journeys to Mount Sinai, where they camp for nearly a year (Ex 18-Nu 10). Shortly thereafter, Moses sends spies into the land of Canaan (Nu 13-14). Among these spies is Caleb, who is about 40 years old at the time (Jos 14:7).
The Kohanim. Ostrer and Hammer have done extensive genetic testing of modern Jews who by family tradition are Kohanim (priests). They have identified a genetic marker on the Y chromosome, the Cohen Modal Haplotype, which indicates that there is in fact a genetic basis for most of these claims (see also here, here, and here). According to the Bible, Israel's priests are all descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Ostrer and Hammer's research concludes that Kohanim alive in AD 2000 can trace their genetic lineage to a common ancestor 106 generations before the present. At this point, "Limited variation of these markers among Kohanim males is compatible with a 3300-year-old origin in a single male or group of related males, possibly from the family of Aaron." A date of ca. 1300 is commonly attached to this research, which may be influenced by the traditional Jewish dating of the Exodus to 1313. However, since the average male generation length is on the order of 33 years, a more reasonable date for the common ancestor of all Kohanim would be ca. 1498--a fair approximation for the date of Aaron's birth.
1445-1427	According to rabbinic sources, the Israelites camped at Kadesh Barnea for nineteen years.
1408	Israelites first settle in the regions east of the Jordan River (Nu 20:21-22:1).
1407	Death of Moses (Dt 34).

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