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How Did We Get our Calendar?

Many scholars date the birth of Jesus Christ at 4 BC. There are very good reasons that this is a good date for this event, however, you, like me, might be wondering something. Doesn't "BC" stand for "Before Christ"? Well, yes, it does. So how in the world could Jesus Christ be born 4 years before... Himself?

This is a good question. It is because of an error that an astronomer (Dionysius Exiguus, AD 470-544, Rome, Italy) made in calculating Jesus' birth. How did we get our calendar in the first place? I'll sum up as best I can:

• In 45 BC, Julius Caesar got Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, to correct the calendar because of the errors from years of intercalation. What is intercalation? It is when days are added to the calendar to keep the months and seasons synchronized. It is used to correct drift over time. Of course, Sosigenes didn't know it was 45 BC. Instead, he used 709 AUC. "AUC" stands for "ab urbe condita," meaning, "from the foundation of the city" [of Rome]. The leap year was instituted, and the Julian Calendar was born. The month Julius (our July) was named after Caesar himself. The month Augustus (our August) was named after Caesar Augustus.
• In AD 525, Pope John I commissioned Dionysius Exiguus to Christianize the Julian Calendar because he saw it as improper to account time by a calendar created by a nation that had persecuted Christians. He determined December 25th, 753 AUC to be the birth of Christ and declared 754 AUC to be "anno Domini 1," or "the year of our Lord 1"; thus AD 1.
• In AD 1582, Pope Gregory XIII made a decree for Christopher Clavius to make adjustments in the calendar because it was drifting off the seasons. This is because, technically, the Julian calendar had leap years, but that wasn't enough adjustment. Its years were exactly 365 days and 6 hours long (365.25). An actual solar year is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds long, so the Julian calendar was 11 minutes, 14 seconds too long. This doesn't sound like much, but it caused seasons to drift off with the months. His decree was that Thursday, October 4, 1582 (Julian) plus one day would be Friday, October 15, 1582 (Gregorian). So, 10 days were skipped! He made further adjustments to the leap year rule as well. He said if a year is a century year (i.e. AD 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, etc.) and if it is divisible by 400 with no remainder, it is to be a leap year, otherwise, it is not. Thus, AD 1600 was a leap year but AD 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. Likewise, in our own lifetime AD 2000 was a leap year because it is exactly divisible by 400.

Virtually everyone before and after Dionysius Exiguus has calculated the birth of Christ to not even be near December 25 time of the year, and also a few years earlier than 753 AUC (or 1 BC, there is no "zero year" on the calendar; i.e. 1 BC + 1 year = AD 1, not 0).

So, we now return to the question: How could Jesus Christ be born 4 years "Before Christ" (4 BC)? Just what error did Dionysius Exiguus make? That is the subject of a future article.

Basic Bible Chronology

INTRODUCTION

For many years I've had a great interest in Biblical chronology. I like to read the Bible every year in chronological order because that is how my brain works. I love knowing when stuff happened and in what order. In fact, if you have never read the Bible like this I highly recommend it. The Old Testament prophecies just come to life when you read them in their historical context of the Kings & Chronicles.

Having a keen interest in science and math, I am also extremely interested in how the Bible fits into historic and scientific theories. I've learned to trust scripture primarily because historic and scientific theories change every year, and what you thought you knew last year is no longer valid. What used to be purported as "fact" last year may be relegated to the trash heap this year. But God's Word never changes.

So, I set out to figure out when the first man Adam was created. I've always noticed the BC dates given in the margins of many Study Bibles, but no one ever reveals how they know these dates to be correct, nor how they are determined. I'm going to show you!

BIBLE & REGULAR HISTORY

There are 4 places in scripture where Biblical dates cross with popular historical dates:

Biblical/Historical Crossover Table:

1. The 1st year of King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) = 4th year of King Jehoiakim (Judah) = The Battle of Carchemish (Jeremiah 25:1; Jeremiah 46:2).
2. The 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) = 11th year of King Zedekiah (Judah) = Destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon (Jeremiah 32:1; Jeremiah 52:12-14).
3. The 1st year of King Evil-Merodoch (Babylon) = 37th year of King Jeconiah's (Judah) (Jehoiachin's) captivity in Babylon (2Kings 25:27; Jeremiah 52:31).
4. The 15th year of Tiberius Caesar = 30th year of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:1, Luke 3:23).

Now, think of it. If we can establish how far Adam is from one of the above dates using the Bible, and then figure out when on our calendar one of the above dates happens, then we would be able to date on our calendar when Adam was created. This was an exciting idea to me! So I tried to do just that.

A SUMMARY OF BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY

First, we need to see if we can use just the Bible to reach one of the key crossover points listed above. A summarized Biblical chronology is listed here using AC (my own term, meaning After Creation):

• 0 AC: Creation (Genesis 1:1)
• 1656 AC: The Flood (derived by adding up the genealogical data of Genesis 5:1-32; Genesis 7:6 and Genesis 11:10).
  
  DETAILS:
  - Seth born when Adam was 130: 0 + 130 = 130 AC
  - Enosh born when Seth was 105: 130 + 105 = 235 AC
  - Cainan born when Enosh was 90: 235 + 90 = 325 AC
  - Mahalalel born when Cainan was 70: 325 + 70 = 395 AC
  - Jared born when Mahalalel was 65: 395 + 65 = 460 AC
  - Enoch born when Jared was 162: 460 + 162 = 622 AC
  - Methuselah born when Enoch was 65: 624 + 65 = 687 AC
  - Lamech born when Methuselah was 187: 689 + 187 = 874 AC
  - Noah born when Lamech was 182: 876 + 182 = 1056 AC
  - Flood happens when Noah was 600: 1056 + 600 = 1656 AC
• 2083 AC: Abraham enters Canaan at age 75 (derived by adding the genealogical data of Genesis 11:10-32 and Genesis 12:4).
  
  DETAILS:
  - Arphaxad born 2 years after the Flood: 1656 + 2 = 1658 AC
  - Salah born when Arphaxad was 35: 1658 + 35 = 1693 AC
  - Eber born when Salah was 30: 1693 + 30 = 1723 AC
  - Peleg born when Eber was 34: 1723 + 34 = 1757 AC
  - Reu born when Peleg was 30: 1757 + 30 = 1787 AC
  - Serug born when Reu was 32: 1787 + 32 = 1819 AC
  - Nahor born when Serug was 30: 1819 + 30 = 1849 AC
  - Terah born when Nahor was 29: 1849 + 29 = 1878 AC
  - Abram (at 75) left Haran when his father Terah died (at age 205): 1878 + 205 = 2083 AC
• 2513 AC: The Exodus (2083 + 430 years; Genesis 12:10; Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17).
• 2992 AC: Solomon's Temple started (2513 + 479 years; 1Kings 6:1; notice the ordinal number "480th," thus we only add 479 to get to the 480th year).
• 3029 AC: End of Solomon's reign of 40 years; Kingdom of Israel splits in two (2992 - 3 years + 40 years; 1Kings 6:1; notice it is "the fourth year of Solomon's reign" thus the minus 3 to get to the 1st year; 1Kings 11:42 says, "Solomon reigned... forty years" thus the plus 40).
• 3418 AC: Fall of Judah (destruction of the Temple & Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; 3029 + 389 years; Ezekiel 4:4-6, we only add 389 and not 390 so we can reach the year of the Fall of Israel and not the year after, thus the +389).

Notice that at 3418 years after Creation is the same as #2 in our crossover table above (the destruction of Jerusalem in the 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon).

CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY'S KING LIST

The Almagest
by Claudius Ptolemy

Concerning a fixed date on the secular calendar, much astronomical data is available from ancient Babylonian records and other sources. Astronomical events were very important to most ancient peoples because they worshiped the heavenly bodies. So they meticulously recorded things like lunar and solar eclipses and planetary motion through the stars.

I discovered that ancient kings' reigns are determined mainly by a single man, an astronomer by the name of Claudius Ptolemy. He lived around AD 90-168 and published a work called the Almagest. In the back of this publication is a list of kings and their lengths of reigns (no dates). He gives no details or references for why he assigns these numbers to these kings (which is really bad), but just a bare list; a king name and a length of years of his reign. Even though his list is just a list, archaeologists and historians have learned to depend on it because it seems to keep coming up as very accurate though, not indisputable. This list is the primary source for ancient kings and the length of their reigns for all published dates of ancient history in textbooks and Study Bibles! Ptolemy's King List shows kings from the first Babylonian king to the last Roman Caesar before Ptolemy died. The whole list doesn't concern us at this moment, but merely a portion of it near when Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon as the Bible mentions:

• Nabopolassar: 21 years
• Nebuchadnezzar: 43 years
• Evil-Marduk: 2 years
• Neriglissar: 4 years
• Nabonidus: 17 years [last Babylonian king]
• Cyrus: 9 years [king of Media/Persia]
• Cambyses: 8 years

ADAD-GUPPI STELE LUNAR ECLIPSE

Adad-Guppi Stele

Next, I discovered there were stelae found in Haran, some of which are the tomb inscriptions of a woman named Adad-Guppi who is stated as being the mother of Nabonidus – the last king of Babylon (in agreement with Ptolemy as shown above). In one of the stelae, it is stated a lunar eclipse occurred in the 5th year of Nabopolassar (king of Babylon). Claudius Ptolemy knew about this eclipse and calculated it to an absolute date of April 22, -620 (Julian calendar).

Immediately, if I trust this stele, I can perform a calculation. The Julian calendar date given as -620 is actually 621 BC on a regular calendar. This is because there is no 0 year on our calendar. For instance, the next year after 1 BC is AD 1, not 0.

So, trusting Adad-Guppi's data, and Ptolemy's calculation:

• 5th year of Nabopolassar = 621 BC
• If Nabopolassar reigned 21 years, then he had 16 years to go before the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar.
• Thus 621 BC + 16 =  605 BC
• According to the Bible, the destruction of Jerusalem happened in the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar.
• Thus 605 BC + 19 = 586 BC
• According to the Bible, the destruction of Jerusalem happened 3418 years after the creation of Adam.
• Thus 586 BC - 3418 = 4004 BC

And just like that, we have Creation dated to 4004 BC. But there's more confirmation.


VAT4956 & ABSOLUTE ASTRONOMICAL DATES

Being the suspicious character that I am, I wanted to find out how Ptolemy calculated that this particular lunar eclipse happened on April 22, -620 (Julian date). So I did my own investigation of the stele and its data. I won't go into the details, but it is remarkable. I used my own astronomy programs (RedShift & Dance of the Planets) and calculators to do the same. I was convinced Ptolemy wasn't just whistling Dixie.

Another important tablet was found. It is called VAT4956 (you can Google it). The astronomical data on it is of such meticulous detail that there is only one year (in millions) that such astronomical data could be true. That year is 568 BC. And on that tablet it mentions:

• Nebuchadnezzar by name and says specifically it is his 37th year
• 9 measurements of moonrise & moonset
• 5 conjunctions of the moon & specific stars
• 1 conjunction of Mercury & specific star
• 2 conjunctions of Venus & specific star
• 3 conjunctions of Mars & specific star
• 1 conjunction of Jupiter & specific star
• 1 conjunction of Saturn & specific star

Thus, if this tablet is to be trusted, then:

• 568 BC = 37th Year of Nebuchadnezzar
• The destruction of Jerusalem happened in the 19th of Nebuchadnezzar.
• 37 - 19 = 18 years before the date on this tablet.
• 568 BC - 18 years = 586 BC
• Again, according to the Bible, the destruction of Jerusalem happened 3418 years after the creation of Adam.
• Thus 586 BC - 3418 = 4004 BC.

This tablet agrees with the Adad-Guppi data and Ptolemy as well.


A CONFIRMATION OF PTOLEMY'S KING LIST

To further verify, another cuneiform tablet was found (called by 3 different names: Strm Kambys 400, LBAT 1477 or BM 33066). The astronomical data on it is of such meticulous detail that there is only one year (in millions) that such astronomical data could be true: 523 BC. The interpretation I studied of this tablet mentions:

• It is the 7th year of a certain "king" (name not mentioned)
• 2 lunar eclipses
• Conjunction of Mercury & Venus
• Conjunction of Saturn & Venus
• Conjunction of Mars & Jupiter
• Conjunction of Saturn & Jupiter
• Conjunction of Venus & Jupiter
• Conjunction of moon & Mercury
• Conjunction of moon & Jupiter
• Positions of Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn to stars or constellations

Thus, if this tablet is to be trusted, let's see if this 7th year of a king fits with a 7th year of a king on Ptolemy's King List.

• 523 BC = 7th Year of "king"
• Assume 568 BC = 37th Year of Nebuchadnezzar as shown in VAT4956
• Ptolemy said Nebuchadnezzar reigned 43 years.
• 43 - 37 = 6 more years to reign.
• 588 BC + 6 = 562 BC would be the accession year of Evil-Marduk.
• Ptolemy said Evil-Marduk reigned 2 years.
• 562 BC + 2 = 560 BC would be the accession year of Neriglissar.
• Ptolemy said Neriglissar reigned 4 years.
• 560 BC + 4 = 556 BC would be the accession year of Nabonidus.
• Ptolemy said Nabonidus reigned 17 years.
• 556 BC + 17 = 539 BC would be the accession year of Cyrus.
• Ptolemy said Cyrus reigned 9 years.
• 539 BC + 9 = 530 BC would be the accession year of Cambyses.
• At this point 530 BC is 530 BC - 523 BC = 7 years into the reign of Cambyses.

Thus, the "king" in whose 7th year is 523 BC is, according to Ptolemy's King List, Cambyses. Now you can see why one of the names of this tablet is "Kambys" (i.e. Cambyses).

CONCLUSION

Let's plug BC dates in for each of the Bible Chronology dates we first derived above.

• 0 AC: Creation = 4004 BC
• 1656 AC: The Flood = 2348 BC
• 2083 AC: Abraham enters Canaan at age 75 = 1921 BC
• 2513 AC: The Exodus = 1491 BC
• 2992 AC: Solomon's Temple started = 1012 BC
• 3029 AC: Kingdom splits in two = 975 BC
• 3418 AC: Destruction of the Temple & Jerusalem by Babylon = 586 BC

Thus, a straightforward reading of the Bible puts the creation of Adam in Genesis 1 at 4004 BC and will not allow for billions of years. God is the Eyewitness, and He told us the truth. There is no need to try to harmonize the beliefs of evolution and the popular Big Bang Theory of the origin of the Universe. These so-called scientific theories have their own serious problems without even worrying about their conflict with Scripture. So let's read God's own story of how He created all things and mankind and accept them. Life just gets easier that way, IMHO.