Biblical Chronology

Valeriy Sterkh

It is an attempt to reconstruct biblical dates and chronology. For this purpose, chronological calculations had to be made all over again to see how they match with each other. The results were very satisfactory. The calculations and explanations are presented in a simple way, so that anyone could verify them. In conclusion, the book addresses some of the issues related to reforming the Church calendar and suggests possible solutions.

Biblical Chronology

Valeriy Sterkh

Translator Evgeniy Terekhin

Translator Valeriy Sterkh

© Valeriy Sterkh, 2021

© Evgeniy Terekhin, translation, 2021

© Valeriy Sterkh, translation, 2021

ISBNВ 978-5-4493-3768-9

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Foreword

Throughout centuries, numerous attempts have been made to recreate biblical dates and chronology. Yet there is still no consensus in this regard – for various reasons. This book briefly discusses the problems of the Old Testament chronology and provides a more detailed timeline of the era of Jesus Christ. The main flaw of the various existing versions of the New Testament chronology is that they do not completely align with the Four Gospels and the historical evidence. To solve this problem, we had to re-create all the chronological calculations to see how well they correlate with each other. The results was highly satisfactory. The calculations and explanations presented here are simple, so anyone can verify them. In conclusion, the book addresses some of the issues related to reforming the Church calendar and suggests possible solutions.

Section 1. The basics ofВ chronology

Calendar systems

Chronology is always based on aВ certain calendar. And calendars are based on solar and lunar cycles. This simple truth we find inВ the very first pages ofВ the Bible:

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Gen 1:14—19).

There are three types ofВ calendar systems: solar, lunar and lunisolar. These systems have engendered many types ofВ calendars. Below we will consider only those that are necessary for recreating the biblical chronology.

The Julian calendar

In 46 BNE (Before New Era), the Roman calendar was reformed by Gaius Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BNE). This solar calendar was based on the average duration of the year equal to 365.25 days. Since the calendar year can only consist of a whole number of days, it was agreed that the standard year would consist of 365 days, and every fourth (leap year) would be 366 days. The calendar was introduced on January 1, 45 BNE – on a new moon. In the days of Octavian Augustus (63 BNE – 12 NE), the Julian calendar underwent slight modifications and since then was used in a fixed form in many countries, until it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar.

The duration of the months in the Julian calendar is as follows: 1. January – 31 days, 2. February – 28 days (leap year – 29 days), March – 31 days, 4. April – 30 days, 5. May – 31 days, 6. June – 30 days, 7. July – 31 days, 8. August – 31 days, 9. September – 30 days, 10. October – 31 days, 11. November – 30 days, 12. December – 31 days.

InВ the age ofВ Jesus Christ, the Julian calendar was inВ wide use. Later this calendar was adopted byВ the Christian Church. InВ light ofВ this, and also because ofВ its simplicity and convenience, we will primarily use the Julian calendar