Biblical Timeline 3

THE CONQUEST TO THE RISE OF SAUL
1406	First year of the conquest of the region west of the Jordan River, commencing with the battle of Jericho. In Rohl’s chronology, the conquest took place in the last phase of the Middle Bronze Age (MB II-B, dated ca. 1440-1353 BC in NC). “At this time all the cities conquered by Joshua and the Israelites were indeed destroyed according to the archeological record” [EE 215]. At this point in the archeological strata, Jericho was laid waste and lay abandoned for forty-five years.
1400	The division of the land among the twelve tribes following a seven-year war of conquest. Caleb was 85 years old at the time and states that it was 45 years since he was sent as a spy into the promised land (Jos 14:15).
1379-1362	According to the Seder 'Olam Rabbah, Joshua led Israel for 28 years before his death, which by this tradition would be in 1379. The Seder 'Olam further states that there were then 17 years in which there was no judge over Israel. This corresponds to the situation described in Judges 2:7: "The people worshiped the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel." Josephus, however, gives these spans as 25 years for Joshua's leadership and 18 for the elders who outlived him, which would shift the judges chronology below upwards by two years.
The Chronology of the Judges. The chronology of this era of biblical history is fraught with confusions. I have tentatively proceeded on the following assumptions: The 80 years of peace associated with the judgeship of Ehud prevailed only among the southern tribes (Ehud was a Benjaminite who liberated his people from the Moabites). I assume that the oppression under the Canaanite king Jabin of Hazor (a northern city) was limited to the northern tribes, and began during Ehud's judgeship. Timespans of 20, 40, or 80 years may very well be round numbers, but I have opted to record them literally since there is no way of knowing when the actual figure was rounded up and when it was rounded down. Most of the following dates may be off by five years or more for this reason alone. Following the common custom in the ancient world, years are counted inclusively: the last year of an oppression is taken as the first year of a judgeship, and the last year of one judge is the same as the first year of the next one. The Ammonite and Philistine oppressions began at about the same time. The book of Judges introduces both in the same formulaic language in chapter 10, but then proceeds to discuss them in turn. I have assumed that Saul reigned for twelve years and used this figure to work out the chronology of the end of the judges period.
1362-1355	Eight years of oppression under Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim (Jg 3:8). According to C. F. Kraft, "Cushan of Double Wickedness" is most likely to to be associated with a Midianite tribe near Edom (cf. Hab 3:7). Since he was defeated by Othniel of the southern tribe of Judah, some suppose that he was an Edomite chieftain and that "Aram" (ארם) is actually a corruption of "Edom" (אדם)--a scribal confusion of dalet with resh. Another possibility is that he is in fact from northern Mesopotamia (Aram-naharim means "Syria of the two rivers"): either a Mitanni, a Hittite, or a Syrian (IDB I:751).
1355-1316	Forty-year judgeship of Othniel (Jg 3:11).
The Taking of Laish. The description of the tribe of Dan migrating north and capturing the city of Laish (Jg 17) is placed toward the end of the book of Judges, but it is not placed in any chronological context. Some scholars suggest that other evidence, such as the comments toward the end of Joshua and the beginning of Judges, suggest that Dan's failure to seize the coastal plain area was recognized quickly, "so the movement to Laish may well have taken place earlier in the Judges period, perhaps before Deborah. The massacre of the Benjaminites may also date to this early period.
1316-1299	Eighteen years of oppression under Eglon king of Moab (Jg 3:14).
1299-1220	Eighty-year judgeship of Ehud. It is possible, of course, that Ehud did not live to see all eighty of the years of peace his judgeship brought in (Jg 3:30).
ca. 1289	Shamgar battles the Philistines (Jg 3:31). Shamgar's era is not stated in Judges and presumably it was a limited campaign if not a single isolated battle. It most likely took place in the early years of Ehud's judgeship--some time between 1299 and 1279? Apart from some anomalous references in the Pentateuch, this the first mention of Philistines, a new Indo-European-speaking force in the region. In the New Chronology, their appearance comes in the middle of the Egyptian Hyksos period, and in fact they are to be identified with the "Greater Hyksos" of the 15th Dynasty. Although there was a second wave of "Sea Peoples" from the Aegean and Anatolia during the reign of Ramesses III (mid-9th century NC), this original incursion began toward the end of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1350 NC) [EE 236-237]. (Locating the earliest users of bichrome ware with this general period is also viable in Goldberg's revised chronology.) Shamgar’s Philistines were the bearers of the finely decorated “bichrome ware” pottery that began to appear in the Levant in MB II-B, particularly on the coastal plain and at Tell ed-Daba (ancient Avaris) in Egypt [EE 237]. Analysis has indicated that the clay used in the earliest bichrome ware came from Cyprus, thus confirming a Mediterranean connection. The Table of Nations (Ge 10:13-14) in fact states that the Philistines have their origins in the land of Caphtor (=Cyprus). Thus, the Philistines who fought against Shamgar were from Cyprus, the southern coast of Anatolia, and the other islands of the Aegean, as has been argued by John J. Bimson (“The Philistines: Their Origins and Chronology Reassessed” Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum IV [1990] 58-76). They came from the north, landing near Ugarit before moving south towards Egypt. The largest tribal group was known as the Pelasts (Greek Pelastoi, a word that later morphed to Pelasgoi). Here is a summary of the biblical and archeological data and their chronological implications. The Pelasts allied themselves with the Hurrians (called "Horites" in the Bible) [EE 239]. Together the two allies from the north virtually took over the territories which the Israelites (who were still contained within the hill country) had failed to occupy. They massacred the indigenous ethnic populations known in the biblical text as the Avvim and even came to rule over the Aamu/Amalekites of the Egyptian delta. These elite Indo-European rulers founded both the ‘Greater Hyksos’ Dynasty at Avaris and the kingdom of Mitanni beyond the Euphrates river. The latter would be a powerful political and military force in the region during the Late Bronze I period when they at first became the principal enemy and then subsequently (during LB II-A) the main political ally of the Egyptian 18th-Dynasty pharaohs. [EE 239]
1278-1259	Twenty years of oppression of the northern and central tribes by Jabin king of Hazor (Jg 4:3). The Bible states that Deborah was serving as judge during this period: "At that time Deborah, a prophetess, was judging Israel" (Jg 4:4). According to Rohl, Jabin was the ruler of the rebuilt city (Upper City Stratum XV; Lower City Stratum 2) previously destroyed by Joshua. By this time, it had once again become a center of Canaanite power in the region, though not on the same scale as before. Rohl dates the beginning of Jabin's oppression to 1268 BC [EE 240], although I do not believe my earlier dating causes significant problems. Jabin’s force included 900 chariots--a fairly new innovation perfected by the Hurrian marianu horse-breeding warriors from the north. Sisera was himself a marianu. [EE 240]. Israel had nothing that could match this state-of-the-art military technology.
1259-1220	Forty years of peace during the judgeship of Deborah (Jg 5:31). Rohl's chronology makes Deborah a contemporary of Egypt's 15th (Hyksos) Dynasty. In Goldberg's chronology, 1259 would correspond to the date of the Battle of Megiddo at the beginning of the reign of Thutmose III. According to Abbot, There are appealing features about the [chronological] schemes which place Deborah and Barak beside the early 18th dynasty. We know that Thutmose III campaigned into Canaan and fought a consortium of Canaanite rulers near Megiddo. Does the wider battle portrayed in [Judges] 5:19 capture a memory of this, when Israelites took advantage of an Egyptian campaign to secure their own liberation as well? This connection, while attractive, is not strictly required by the biblical evidence.
1220-1214	The year 1220 marks the end, respectively, of the 80 years of peace won by Ehud (in the south) and the 40 years of Deborah (in the north). At this point begin seven years of oppression of the southern territories of Simeon and Judah by the Midianites (Jg 6:1), who were aided by the Amalekites. By this time, the Amalekites had been deposed as the rulers of Egypt by the Indo-European "Greater Hyksos."
1214-1175	Forty-year judgeship of Gideon (Jg 8:28).
1192	In Rohl's chronology, the cataclysmic destruction of the island of Thera in the Mediterranean in this year disrupts the Hyksos mercantile empire and sufficiently weakens their hold on lower Egypt that the indigenous 18th Dynasty is able to expel them from the land [EE 245-247]. Eventually, the remnant Hyksos/Pelast peoples who had resettled on the coastal plain and the Jezreel valley made peace with Egypt out of political necessity, thus granting the 18th Dynasty hegemony over these regions while the central hill country remained independent [EE 251] for the next two centuries. From here on, it must be understood that the Egyptians were the real, unnamed power behind Israel’s various oppressions.
1175-1173	Three-year reign of Abimelech follows the death of Gideon. This represented a failed attempt to establish an Israelite kingdom (Jg 9). When the Shechemites attempted to throw off this brutal dictator, Abimelech extracted his revenge by burning the city to the ground. The huge MB II-B to LB I temple of Baal-Berith in Shechem was destroyed at this point. The rest of the city was also burned to the ground and part of the defensive wall toppled. The absence of bichrome ware in the ruins suggests that there was no Philistine influence over the city [EE 253]. Goldberg's chronology would align the era of Abimelech with the Amarna period in Egypt. Pharaoh Akhenaten's solar cult was apparently inspired in part by a solar eclipse observed at Ugarit and described in the Ugaritic tablet KTU 1.78. This event is conventionally dated to 13 May 1375, although a similar astronomical event has been calculated for 12 February 1175. Although Rohl's chronology would identify Saul as the elusive Canaanite king called Labayu in the Amarna Letters, in this model Labayu may be indentified with Abimelech--a king with many parallels to the later career of Saul. Abbot provides a summary of the issues.
1173-1151	Twenty-three-year judgeship of Tola (Jg 10:2).
1151-1130	Twenty-two-year judgeship of Jair (Jg 10:3). The end of Jair's judgeship is also likely the era depicted in the book of Ruth (Ru 1-4). Assuming that David, the youngest son of Jesse, was born fairly late in Jesse's life and allowing for 30-35 years between generations otherwise, the following dates are quite plausible: 1162 - Boaz born 1156 - Ruth born 1141 - Ruth marries Mahlon in Moab 1132 - Mahlon dies; Naomi and Ruth migrate to Bethlehem 1131 - Boaz and Ruth's courtship and marriage 1130 - Obed born 1097 - Jesse born This places the events in the book of Ruth at the end of a long era of peace.
1130	This year marks the beginning of forty years of oppression by the Philistines west of the Jordan (10:8) and eighteen years of oppression by the Ammonites east of the Jordan (13:1). Rohl proposes the following explanation for the Philistine oppression: the Philistine lords (seranim) had grown prosperous from their role as middlemen for Canaanite goods flowing to Egypt and Egyptian goods heading north into Mesopotamia and Anatolia. They had a good thing going, and with Pharaoh’s blessing, the kings of the five Philistine key cities took it upon themselves to act as international policemen to keep the unruly tribes of the central highlands under control [EE 257].
1113-1108	Six-year judgeship of Jephthah (Jg 12:7). Jephthah's reference to 300 years of Israelite settlement in the Transjordan region (Jg 12:26) conforms very closely to a date ca. 1113 BC.
1108-1102	Seven-year judgeship of Izban (Jg 12:9).
1102-1093	Ten-year judgeship of Elon (Jg 12:11).
1093-1086	Eight-year judgeship of Abdon (Jg 12:14).
1110-1091	Twenty-year judgeship of Samson (16:31). Samson's suicidal destruction of the temple of Dagon would have decimated the Philistine ruling class and brought an end to their forty-year oppression. The Seder 'Olam Rabbah does not equate the end of the 40-year Philistine oppression with Samuel's victory at Mizpah (1 Sa 7); it assumes that the full 40 years of Eli's judgeship only began with the death of Samson, which places Mizpah at least 40 years after Samson--and 60 years is a more reasonable figure.
1091-1052	Forty-year judgeship of Eli (1 Sa 4:18) begins in the same year that Samson died. Eli died at age 98, making his birth year 1150. Samuel must have been born early in the course of Eli's judgeship (ca. 1080 or earlier?), since he was an old man when he anointed Saul.
1052	At the end of Eli's judgeship, the Philistines make a second bid to dominate Israel. The ark of the covenant was captured and spent seven months in Philistine hands, it probably being returned in early 1051. Samuel assumes judgeship at the death of Eli, and his judgeship is described in 1 Samuel 7:15. Rohl associates the difficulties the Philistines suffered related to their possession of the ark to the bubonic plague (“Asiatic Plague”) that was spreading through the northern empires at about this time. According to Arielle Kozloff, there is a strong possibility of plague during the reign of Amenhotep III. In fact, the peaceful nature of his reign (1048-1012 NC) may have been due to the fact that Egypt and its neighbors simply could not raise armies to fight one another due to the population being decimated by plague. Rohl dates these events to 1024 based on his (I believe erroneous) contention that Saul reigned a mere two years, thus forcing downward the dates of all the later judges. These dates for Amenhotep III assume a lengthy co-regency with his son Akhenaton, although others dispute that such a co-regency existed. If there was such a co-regency, it may not have lasted the dozen years that Rohl proposes. Therefore, it is possible that even a date as early as 1052 could be brought within the earliest part of Amenhotep's reign. At any rate, it cannot be proven that there even was plague during the reign of Amenhotep III, but there are good arguments and circumstantial evidence for it. In particular, he ordered the offering of 730 votive figurines to Sekhet, the goddess of plagues--perhaps in an attempt to divert the calamities that had already struck Egypt's northern neighbors? Certainly, the Philistines' trading connections would have made them early victims of any widespread contagion afflicting the area. The "Sea Peoples," of which the Philistines were a part, are attested in Canaan as early as the Amarna period. During the reign of Ramesses II (1075-1009 in Goldberg's chronology), certain groups of "Sea Peoples"--the Shardana, Danuna, and Lukka--served in Canaan as mercenaries of Egypt. We may thus hypothesize that Egypt was the power behind the troubles Israel had with the Philistines in the decades leading up to the reigns of Saul and David. This Egyptian-Philistine connection is also present in Rohl's chronology, although with slightly different details.
1032	Twenty years after the return of the ark (1 Sa 7:2), Samuel rallies Israel and wins a major victory at the battle of Mizpah (1 Sa 7). Some interpret these 20 years as the sum total of years the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim before David transferred it to Jerusalem around 1004, but the most natural reading of the verse is that "Israel lamented for the LORD" for twenty years until Samuel rallied the nation.

THE RISE AND FALL OF KING SAUL
1023	The Seder 'Olam records a 10-year judgeship of Samuel after his victory at Mizpah, plus one additional year in tandem with Saul. (This is the totality of Samuel's sole judgeship in the Seder 'Olam; by my interpretation he had previously judged Israel for 20 years following the defeat at Aphek, and no doubt for several years as Eli's assistant.) At some point Samuel "retires" (at about age 60?), appointing his sons Joel and Ahijah to judge in his stead. They soon prove to be corrupt, however (1 Sa 8). Israel demands a king, and Samuel anoints Saul (1 Sa 8-10).
1022	Some time after his anointing, Saul is elected king at Mizpah (1 Sa 10:17-27a).
How Long Did Saul Reign? The Masoretic Text of 1 Samuel 13:1 is corrupt, recording only a partial number ("...and two years") for the length of Saul's reign. The LXX omits this verse entirely! Most scholars suggest a 12- or 22-year reign length. See this page by Richard Abbot for a discussion of the various alternatives. According to 2 Samuel 2:10, Saul's son Ishbaal was 40 years old when Saul died. Jonathan, Saul's firstborn son, would have been perhaps a couple years older. If Jonathan was born when Saul was about 17-18, Saul's birth year would have been around 1069. If Ishbaal's "forty years" is taken as an approximation, the birth years of all three men could be lowered perhaps two or three years.
The Nature of Saul's Early Reign. It is possible that Saul spent the earliest years of his reign in obscurity. First, he was anointed not as melech (king) but as nagid (prince or war chief, 1 Sa 10:1). This may suggest that he was looked upon not as anything substantially different from the judges who came before him. Second, there are clear indications that Samuel remained an authoritative figure. By enlisting Saul in a company of prophets (1 Sa 10:9-13), Samuel effectively established himself as Saul's superior. Third, when messengers came to Gibeah with news of the Ammonite Nahash's oppression of Gadites and Reubenites, they gave their report "in the hearing of the people" (1 Sa 11:4)--Saul only heard the news when he came in from plowing the fields (10:5)! It may be that Saul began as an ineffectual leader who only came into his own when his services as a military commander came to be needed because of the Ammonites. But how long was it between Saul's anointing and his defeat of Nahash? A number of months? A number of years? In Rohl's chronology, Saul's reign coincides with that of Akhenaton in Egypt (1023-1007, EE 274). This places Saul in the midst of the Amarna period, in which Egypt suffered under weak leaders. It was an ideal time for the Israelites to finally throw off the yoke of the Philistines and assert their independence. If it were possible to assume a span of several years between Saul's anointing and the "renewal" of the kingship at Gilgal (1 Sa 11:14), it would allow for a reign longer than two years--which would seem to be impossible to square with the very busy narrative of Saul's exploits--and bring Saul's open rebellion against the Philistines by (re-)taking Michmash and Gibeah into the period of Akhenaton's rule from his new city, Akhetaton, which begins about his eighth regnal year (ca. 1016 in Rohl's chronology).
1019	In the summer, Nahash king of Ammon began to oppress Gadites and Reubenites. "About a month later" (1 Sa 11:1) he besieged Jabesh-gilead. Saul mustered a fighting force and defeated the Ammonites. The people then "renew the kingship" at Gilgal. If this is a cultic similar to those of other ancient Near Eastern peoples, it might be dated to the fall of the year. Samuel makes a farewell speech (1 Sa 11-12).
1016	Saul and his army capture two Philistine garrisons--at Gibeah and Michmash (1 Sa 13-14). Perhaps this occurred in the spring of the following year, at the customary time for mustering troops for battle. Saul's son Jonathan is noted as a key warrior in Saul's army. He was in his 30's at the time, several years older than David. There is a large amount of royal correspondence from this period that mentions a ruler in the central hill country named Labayu. Rohl contends that this figure is in fact Saul. (Sha'ul means "asked for," and can be understood as an accession name or nickname of the king, his real name being Labayu, "lion [of Yahweh].") What do we know of this Labayu? The Amarna letter designated EA 252, possibly addressed to Amenhotep III, is Labayu's own justification for his actions in wresting two cities (in this interpretation, Gibeah and Michmash) from Philistine control: It was in war that the town was seized. After I had sworn my oath to keep the peace--and when I swore the governor swore with me--the town, along with my god, was seized. And now I am slandered before the king, my lord! Moreover, if an ant is struck, does it not fight back and bite the hand of the man that struck it? How could I hold back this day when two of my towns had been seized? … I will keep imprisoned the men who seized the town [and] my god. They are the despoilers of my father, and so I will keep them (as hostages). This first campaign season of Saul's reign was very busy: “When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side--against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them” (1 Sa 14:47).
1015	In Saul's second campaign season he battles the Amalekites. By refusing to destroy the booty in this "holy war" against Israel's long-time enemy, he incurs God's displeasure and is rejected as king (1 Sa 15). Samuel anoints David as king of Israel (1 Sa 16). Like "Saul," "David" is likely an accession name or nickname (perhaps from an original form Dadu, "beloved [of Yahweh]"). By one theory, his given name is preserved in 2 Samuel 21:19 as Elhanan. It is probably in this year's campaign season that David defeats Goliath of Gath (1 Sa 17). The other alternative is that the David and Goliath incident is mis-placed from an earlier phase of Saul's reign and a prior--necessarily brief and historically inconsequential--time of conflict with the Philistines. Saul's mental deterioration begins, interpreted by the biblical writers as a judgment from God. David is enlisted to comfort Saul through his music. He is described as “a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the LORD is with him” (16:18). In other words, he is portrayed as already an adult. Since he was 30 when he began to reign in 1011 (2 Sa 5:4), he would have been born ca. 1041 and thus was about 25 years old at this time. It is also in this year that David and Jonathan become friends and, after David marries Saul's daughter Michal, brothers-in-law (1 Sa 18). This only serves to heighten the rivalry between Saul and David: “But when Saul realized that the LORD was with David, and that Saul’s daughter Michal loved him, Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy from that time forward” (1 Sa 18:29).
1014	"Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines" (1 Sa 19:8). Saul attempts to kill David, who eventually is forced to flee. Jonathan helps David, which kindles Saul's anger against his son. David flees first to Achish, king of Gath (1 Sa 21). "Achish" (or "Akish") may be interpreted as a shortened form of Akishimige, a Hurrian name meaning "the sun god has given." Or, it may have been a mixed Hurrian-Canaanite name like Aki-Shamash, with the same meaning. The corresponding Indo-European form is Shuwardata, which is the name of the king of Gath in the Amarna Letters. David then flees to the cave of Adullam, where he begins to collect around himself a ragtag band of mercenaries: "Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred" (1 Sa 22:2). In Rohl's chronology, these men are the Habiru (Akkadian) or Apiru (Egyptian) who harried Egypt's northern trade empire in the Amarna period. Rohl writes, From the Amarna Letters we can see that the Habiru groups are comprised of stateless persons who are outside the normal protection of city-state law. The adult males tend to be fighting men who hire themselves out to the local rulers as mercenaries. In the earliest letters a number of the city rulers have platoons of Habiru troops which they use to guard their petty kingdoms and sometimes settle feuds over disputed territory [PK 200].
1013	For several months, David and his Habiru are constantly on the run from Saul (1 Sa 22-24). Samuel apparently dies in this year, possibly in the fall or early winter (1 Sa 25). At any rate, Samuel was dead by the time David entered the service of king Achish. David marries Abigail and Ahinoam (1 Sa 25:42-43).
1012	In the winter, David and his Habiru enter the service of Achish and settle in Ziklag for sixteen months (1 Sa 27:7). Jonathan's loyalty to David inspires Saul to lament, "No one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today" (1 Sa 22:8). Amarna letter EA 254 reveals the embarrassment Labayu faced when he discovered that his son was consorting with renegade Habiru mercenaries--a fitting description of David and his band: Moreover, the king wrote concerning my son. I did not know that my son was consorting with the Habiru. I herewith hand him over to Addaya. This letter is apparently dated to Akhenaton's twelfth regnal year, which is 1012 in Rohl's chronology. Presumably, at this time Jonathan was sent to Addaya, the Egyptian commissioner headquartered in Gaza, to receive a reprimand.
1011	The Philistines, apparently having put up with Saul and his military incursions too long, plan to launch a coordinated attack on his forces in the spring or summer (1 Sa 28-29). David avenges the destruction of Ziklag (1 Sa 30). Saul and his sons die in the battle of Gilboa (1 Sa 31). Letter EA 245 relates how Labayu was killed in battle before he could be taken alive. A later letter (EA 250) states that "the sons of Labayu" (by this interpretation, David and his brother-in-law Ishbaal) want revenge against the people of Gina (modern Jenin) for killing Labayu. David's lament on the death of Saul may mention "treacherous fields" שדי תרומת, sedey tarumit [2 Sa 1:21], the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain). One interpretation is that the people of Gina--just across the valley from Mount Gilboa--were allied with Saul, but betrayed him by permitting the Philistine access to the mountain top, thus permitting a flanking maneuver. Shuwardata (king Achish of Gath) soon reported to Pharaoh Akhenaton: Let the king, my lord, be informed that the Habiru (singular) who was raised up against the lands; the god of the king, my lord, delivered him to me, and I have smitten him [EA 366].

Biblical Timeline 3

[Joshua - 1 Samuel | 1406 - 1011 BC]