What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings
For centuries scholars have puzzled over the problem of Old Testament chronology. One of the most difficult issues has been the synchronization of the reign of the Hebrew kings. The biblical records provide much information about these kings and how they relate to each other. But when all the information is put together it seems contradictory, as early as the third century B.C. attempts were made to correct these seeming errors in the biblical text. Solutions to these difficulties appeard even more remote as scholarship succeeded in determining the exact dates of events in acient Babylon and Assyria, and these dates seemed to be in hopeless conflict with the Bible. Dr. Edwin R. Thiele has addressed these issues and solved the problems related to the chronology of the Hebrew kings. By carefully studying the biblical data, he determined the dating methods of the early Hebrew scribes. By following the principles established by these scribes, Dr. Thiele has succeeded in producing a chronology that is consistent with the scriptural records and the records of other nations of the ancient world. From its first publication this book has been recognized as a classic in the field of biblical studies. In this revised third edition Dr. Thiele reexamines the records in light of recent scholarship, explores more fully the Hebrew dual dating system, and offers a careful rebuttal to Shenkel's thesis that the Septuagint provides a more accurate chronology than the Masoretic Text does. This new material and the revised material from previous editions make this a book of great value to all students of the Bible.
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 1994
6 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 6, 2022
Some of the historical information about Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon was way beyond my pay grade, as was some of the inter-scribal debates regarding differences in the Masoretic Text and the Greek Septuagint. However, the overall framework of Thiele's work was incredible helpful for me. Having preached on the kings of Israel and Judah, his chronological framework for dating was helpful, even if some of his justifications involved arguments that were incredible hard to follow.
May 31, 2024
A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE CHRONOLOGIES OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
Author Edwin Thiele wrote in the Preface to this 1983 book, “For more than two thousand years Hebrew chronology has been a serious problem for Old Testament scholars. Every effort to weave the chronological data of the kings of Israel and Judah into some fort of harmonious scheme seemed doomed to failure. The numbers for the one kingdom could not, it seemed, be made to agree with the numbers of the other. The data concerning the synchronisms appeared in hopeless contradiction with the data as to the lengths of reign. Dates established by the biblical numbers seemed to be constantly out of line with the dates of Israel’s neighbors. All through the ages, however, the unexplained mysteries of Hebrew chronology have strangely intrigued biblical scholars. Baffled and bewildered though they often were, they did not give up the attempt to solve the vexing problems of Old Testament chronology. The mysterious numbers of the kings must at length be made to reveal their secrets.” (Pg. 15)
He continues, “The only basis for a sound chronology of the period to be discussed is a completely unbiased use of the biblical statements in the light of all other knowledge we can bring to bear on this problem, notably the history and chronology of the ancient Near East… The aim was to produce a system, if possible, in which the reigns of the kings were arranged in harmony with the data on both the synchronisms and the lengths of reign… Thus the pattern to be set forth in this volume began with the reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam and was carried on to Hezekiah and Hoshea without knowledge as to the overall passage of time involved. The supreme test as to the correctness of this pattern was to come at the end by a comparison with the dates of contemporary events. Not until the preliminary pattern had been completed from Rehoboam to Hezekiah inclusive, and from Jeroboam to Hoshea, was an effort made to supply dates for the reigns of the kings.” (Pg. 16-17)
He adds, “the pattern of reigns set forth in the present book is not the product the certain arbitrary adjustments to secure a series of predetermined results. Rather, it resulted from a quest to ascertain whether or not the numbers now found in Kings could be brought together into some harmonious arrangement of reigns, and whether or not such an arrangement once produced was in harmony with the established dates of Near Eastern history.” (Pg. 18)
He outlines, “If the chronological materials recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures are basically sound, they will agree with whatever is sound in the annals of neighboring states. And if a pattern of Hebrew chronology can be established from biblical sources that will agree with the chronological pattern of neighboring states as built on the historical materials of those nations, and that will be in agreement with the required astronomical data, then we may be certain that we are on the track of that correct and absolute chronology that has long been the goal of students of ancient history… The present discussion will confine itself to a study of the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah.” (Pg. 34)
He acknowledges, “If errors on the part on the scribes may prove to be one possible source of our difficulties with Hebrew chronology, yet another source must be recognized in ourselves, for we today may simply no longer be in a position to determine the underlying factors whereby the available data will be found to agree. And does not this possibility constitute a challenge to further investigation on the assumption that the real difficulty may lie in our own present lack of information rather than in the insolubility of the problem itself?... Should we not endeavor to ascertain, if we can, just what lies back of these seemingly discordant figures and perhaps open up avenues of knowledge now closed to us?” (Pg. 41-42)
He summarizes, “The methods used by Israel and Judah in the reckoning of the reigns of their kings would thus be as follows: Israel at the time of the schism followed the nonaccession-year system and continued its use till the close of the ninth century B.C. when under Jehoash a shift was made to the accession-year system, which continued to be used to the close of Israel’s history… At the time of the schism, Israel and Judah were thus using different systems of chronological reckoning, Israel the nonaccession-year system and Judah the accession-year method; and from the middle of the ninth century to the close of their respective histories both nations used the same method… The best argument for the correctness of the above outline of chronological procedure among the Hebrews is that it works, giving us a chronological scheme … that has internal consistency and that harmonizes with the chronological pattern of neighboring states.” (Pg. 60)
He admits, “With Israel having come to its end, the task of carrying through the reconstruction of the chronology of Judah to its end must proceed without the aid of cross references to the years of the northern kings… In the period before us we shall be deprived of the invaluable assistance that these synchronisms are available with Babylonian kings will we have the certain evidence that we are again on solid ground.” (Pg. 173)
He acknowledges, “The absolutely perfect reconstruction of the past is by no means easy… If, however, these data had not been accurately recorded and preserved, those who brought into being our present Book of Kings would have been in no position to produce a volume of such marvelous accuracy as that book is today. So exact are these data that we can use them for the reconstruction of the original pattern of reigns of all the rulers of the divided monarchies.” (Pg. 204) He continues, “we must accept … of the fact that at some late date… certain synchronisms in 2 Kings 17 and 18 were introduced by some late hand twelve years out of harmony with the original pattern of reigns. When all this is understood, we see that it is possible to set forth an arrangement of reigns for the Hebrew kings in which there are both internal harmony and agreement with contemporary history.” (Pg. 205)
He concludes, “In the pages of this volume are found the links of a chain of chronological evidence extending from Rehoboam to Hezekiah in Judah and from jeroboam to Hoshea in Israel… This chain we believe to be complete, sound, and capable of withstanding any challenge that historical evidence may bring to it..” (Pg. 211)
This book will be “must reading” for those seriously studying such “detailed” chronological matters; it will not be of much interest to a more “general” reader, however.
Author Edwin Thiele wrote in the Preface to this 1983 book, “For more than two thousand years Hebrew chronology has been a serious problem for Old Testament scholars. Every effort to weave the chronological data of the kings of Israel and Judah into some fort of harmonious scheme seemed doomed to failure. The numbers for the one kingdom could not, it seemed, be made to agree with the numbers of the other. The data concerning the synchronisms appeared in hopeless contradiction with the data as to the lengths of reign. Dates established by the biblical numbers seemed to be constantly out of line with the dates of Israel’s neighbors. All through the ages, however, the unexplained mysteries of Hebrew chronology have strangely intrigued biblical scholars. Baffled and bewildered though they often were, they did not give up the attempt to solve the vexing problems of Old Testament chronology. The mysterious numbers of the kings must at length be made to reveal their secrets.” (Pg. 15)
He continues, “The only basis for a sound chronology of the period to be discussed is a completely unbiased use of the biblical statements in the light of all other knowledge we can bring to bear on this problem, notably the history and chronology of the ancient Near East… The aim was to produce a system, if possible, in which the reigns of the kings were arranged in harmony with the data on both the synchronisms and the lengths of reign… Thus the pattern to be set forth in this volume began with the reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam and was carried on to Hezekiah and Hoshea without knowledge as to the overall passage of time involved. The supreme test as to the correctness of this pattern was to come at the end by a comparison with the dates of contemporary events. Not until the preliminary pattern had been completed from Rehoboam to Hezekiah inclusive, and from Jeroboam to Hoshea, was an effort made to supply dates for the reigns of the kings.” (Pg. 16-17)
He adds, “the pattern of reigns set forth in the present book is not the product the certain arbitrary adjustments to secure a series of predetermined results. Rather, it resulted from a quest to ascertain whether or not the numbers now found in Kings could be brought together into some harmonious arrangement of reigns, and whether or not such an arrangement once produced was in harmony with the established dates of Near Eastern history.” (Pg. 18)
He outlines, “If the chronological materials recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures are basically sound, they will agree with whatever is sound in the annals of neighboring states. And if a pattern of Hebrew chronology can be established from biblical sources that will agree with the chronological pattern of neighboring states as built on the historical materials of those nations, and that will be in agreement with the required astronomical data, then we may be certain that we are on the track of that correct and absolute chronology that has long been the goal of students of ancient history… The present discussion will confine itself to a study of the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah.” (Pg. 34)
He acknowledges, “If errors on the part on the scribes may prove to be one possible source of our difficulties with Hebrew chronology, yet another source must be recognized in ourselves, for we today may simply no longer be in a position to determine the underlying factors whereby the available data will be found to agree. And does not this possibility constitute a challenge to further investigation on the assumption that the real difficulty may lie in our own present lack of information rather than in the insolubility of the problem itself?... Should we not endeavor to ascertain, if we can, just what lies back of these seemingly discordant figures and perhaps open up avenues of knowledge now closed to us?” (Pg. 41-42)
He summarizes, “The methods used by Israel and Judah in the reckoning of the reigns of their kings would thus be as follows: Israel at the time of the schism followed the nonaccession-year system and continued its use till the close of the ninth century B.C. when under Jehoash a shift was made to the accession-year system, which continued to be used to the close of Israel’s history… At the time of the schism, Israel and Judah were thus using different systems of chronological reckoning, Israel the nonaccession-year system and Judah the accession-year method; and from the middle of the ninth century to the close of their respective histories both nations used the same method… The best argument for the correctness of the above outline of chronological procedure among the Hebrews is that it works, giving us a chronological scheme … that has internal consistency and that harmonizes with the chronological pattern of neighboring states.” (Pg. 60)
He admits, “With Israel having come to its end, the task of carrying through the reconstruction of the chronology of Judah to its end must proceed without the aid of cross references to the years of the northern kings… In the period before us we shall be deprived of the invaluable assistance that these synchronisms are available with Babylonian kings will we have the certain evidence that we are again on solid ground.” (Pg. 173)
He acknowledges, “The absolutely perfect reconstruction of the past is by no means easy… If, however, these data had not been accurately recorded and preserved, those who brought into being our present Book of Kings would have been in no position to produce a volume of such marvelous accuracy as that book is today. So exact are these data that we can use them for the reconstruction of the original pattern of reigns of all the rulers of the divided monarchies.” (Pg. 204) He continues, “we must accept … of the fact that at some late date… certain synchronisms in 2 Kings 17 and 18 were introduced by some late hand twelve years out of harmony with the original pattern of reigns. When all this is understood, we see that it is possible to set forth an arrangement of reigns for the Hebrew kings in which there are both internal harmony and agreement with contemporary history.” (Pg. 205)
He concludes, “In the pages of this volume are found the links of a chain of chronological evidence extending from Rehoboam to Hezekiah in Judah and from jeroboam to Hoshea in Israel… This chain we believe to be complete, sound, and capable of withstanding any challenge that historical evidence may bring to it..” (Pg. 211)
This book will be “must reading” for those seriously studying such “detailed” chronological matters; it will not be of much interest to a more “general” reader, however.
October 29, 2023
Read the revised edition more than 20 years after reading the original. The book is very even handed in the sense of treating textual data as it is, without redactions to make the timeline of the Kings of Israel and Judah "fit" with what we think we otherwise know. Before Thiele scholars just assumed the numbers (regnal years, accession years, total years as king) were impenetrable or just flat wrong. For example, LXX translators and editors changed the dates to "fix" mistakes in the text (the MT in this instance).
It turns out that the formulas used by the compiler/editors of the Books of Kings and Chronicles were correct, and themselves give the correct timeline once applied properly. Thiele did identify what he characterizes as a timing error related to Hoshea and Hezekiah arising from improper use of one of his principles.
At the risk of being obscurantist, at some point in time it is possible that another scholar will rise up and elucidate and alternative view of these Kings, vindicating even a strict reading of the text without errors. Of course this is no more improbable than Thiele correctly understanding the MT as it set out the chronology of the Kings.
The book is ponderous reading and repetitive in form (unavoidable probably), hence a 4 star rating. The relatively high rating is due to the importance of the content.
It turns out that the formulas used by the compiler/editors of the Books of Kings and Chronicles were correct, and themselves give the correct timeline once applied properly. Thiele did identify what he characterizes as a timing error related to Hoshea and Hezekiah arising from improper use of one of his principles.
At the risk of being obscurantist, at some point in time it is possible that another scholar will rise up and elucidate and alternative view of these Kings, vindicating even a strict reading of the text without errors. Of course this is no more improbable than Thiele correctly understanding the MT as it set out the chronology of the Kings.
The book is ponderous reading and repetitive in form (unavoidable probably), hence a 4 star rating. The relatively high rating is due to the importance of the content.
January 21, 2020
What Thiele has done here is truly amazing. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the Kings and Chronicles and make sense of the number issues. However, a few problems:
- Repetitive in parts
- Very dry
- The "insurmountable Hezekiah problem" is very easily resolved by simply putting Hezekiah as a co-regent at 11, then saying his first year is simply his first year as co-regent. His father had to of had him when he was 10 or 11 himself, since he died in his 30's and Hezekiah became king at 25. Of course this isn't saying much, because kids are sexually active pretty young nowadays too. It's understandable that he would have made Hezekiah co-regent so young because of the issues with Assyria and various problems with Judah's neighbors.
-He overlooks theological purposes because all he can see is historical purposes
- The second to last chapter is mostly just speculation and assumption
- Repetitive in parts
- Very dry
- The "insurmountable Hezekiah problem" is very easily resolved by simply putting Hezekiah as a co-regent at 11, then saying his first year is simply his first year as co-regent. His father had to of had him when he was 10 or 11 himself, since he died in his 30's and Hezekiah became king at 25. Of course this isn't saying much, because kids are sexually active pretty young nowadays too. It's understandable that he would have made Hezekiah co-regent so young because of the issues with Assyria and various problems with Judah's neighbors.
-He overlooks theological purposes because all he can see is historical purposes
- The second to last chapter is mostly just speculation and assumption
August 30, 2022
more of a reference than a sit down and read straight through
February 5, 2017
This book provides excellent coverage of the timeline of kings for Israel and Judah.
If you revere Scripture, and like to dive in with dates and timelines, then this book is for you. If you are not driven to dive deep into dates and times and chronologies, then this will probably not hold your interest.
If you have ever personally attempted to lay out the timeline of the kings of Judah relative to those of Israel using The Bible as your source, then this book is an invaluable addition to your library.
In this work, Thiele provides research based solidly in Scripture, and augmented by ancient writings of surrounding nations, to unravel the apparent discrepancy between the two timelines. In short, the apparent differences are rooted in the way various nations reckoned the years when their kings began their reigns. Some nations count the first year within which the king reigns as the first year, while others count the second year as the first. One of the two nations followed a fairly consistent approach, and the other flip-flopped based on various factors.
Thiele's research is excellent. His writing style is clear, direct, and easy to follow. The nature of the content requires close attention from the reader, but Thiele does an admirable job of keeping the book moving steadily and clearly forward.
This is really a five star book, although it is really only for the serious Bible student or scholar.
If you revere Scripture, and like to dive in with dates and timelines, then this book is for you. If you are not driven to dive deep into dates and times and chronologies, then this will probably not hold your interest.
If you have ever personally attempted to lay out the timeline of the kings of Judah relative to those of Israel using The Bible as your source, then this book is an invaluable addition to your library.
In this work, Thiele provides research based solidly in Scripture, and augmented by ancient writings of surrounding nations, to unravel the apparent discrepancy between the two timelines. In short, the apparent differences are rooted in the way various nations reckoned the years when their kings began their reigns. Some nations count the first year within which the king reigns as the first year, while others count the second year as the first. One of the two nations followed a fairly consistent approach, and the other flip-flopped based on various factors.
Thiele's research is excellent. His writing style is clear, direct, and easy to follow. The nature of the content requires close attention from the reader, but Thiele does an admirable job of keeping the book moving steadily and clearly forward.
This is really a five star book, although it is really only for the serious Bible student or scholar.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews