Old Testament Dates

Often in reading one of the Old Testament books, one will run across the mention of a specific date, such as in Jeremiah 39.2: “In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.” The information below translates such dates into those we more easily recognize.

First, it provides a set of calendar year dates for the kings of Judah and Israel, based upon the work of Thiele and Galil as filtered through Cogan, and Kitchen. As far as I am aware, this scheme is the only one with these precise dates, but they are better fitting to the history of the period than are the dates in Cogan (which don’t take account of the co-regnal data, apparently) and those of Kitchen (which, despite his typically formidable reputation for chronological studies, still appear to be consistently one year either too early or late throughout, in the dates for the later kings of Judah, especially). Further input comes from the old but still useful work of Parker and Dubberstein, and an article of Nadav Na’aman, of particular use in determining the proper dates to associate with the reign of Hezekiah, based on some Assyrian psources.

Several things are important to keep in mind in using this information, especially the chart of reigns below. Firstly, the years given correspond to calendar years. Secondly, these years begin with Nisan in the case of Judah, and Tishri in the case of Israel. This makes best sense out of the synchronisms given between the two kingdoms. Also note that all the details of synchronisms, accession years, etc, are not explicitly marked here. Of the several ways to present the data, this seemed the most informative and efficient. For instance, Ahaz of Judah participated in a lengthy co-regency with Jotham, as indicated by the synchronisms describing Hoshea of Israel’s accession (2 Kgs 15.30; 17.1). The dates and length of reign given here are intended to indicate those official lengths as given precisely in those notices in the 1-2 Kings regnal notifications. The underlining of the names of certain kings of Israel indicates the end of a dynasty with that ruler. Many of the dates below the chart rely upon these dates.

Reigns of the Kings of Judah and Israel

Dates Found in the Prophetical and Historical Books

Short notes are included where necessary. Note that the dates given reflect the setting of the various books and passages, not necessarily the dates of their composition (as in the case of Jonah, most notably). Likewise, note that precise dates below are (as in Parker and Dubberstein) according to the Julian Calendar, not the Gregorian:

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cogan, Michael. 1 Kings. Anchor Bible 10. New York: Doubleday, 2001.
________. “Chronology: Old Testament” in Anchor Bible Dictionary. ed. David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Galil, Gershon. The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Leiden: Brill, 1996.
Kitchen, K. A. On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2003.
Na’aman, Nadav. “Hezekiah and the Kings of Assyria.” pp 98-117 in Ancient Israel
and Its Neighbors: Interaction and Counteraction. Collected Essays Volume 1. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2005.
Richard A. Parker and Waldo H. Dubberstein. Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.-A.D. 75. Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University Press, 1956.
Thiele, Edwin. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986.