3a: Discussing Kings of Judah

(with ChatGPT as Soundingboard)

This study will lead into “3b.”
3b: +50 Years of the Kings of Judah and Berossus Babylonian Chronology

3c. Discussing the Sign of the Reverse Shadow of King Hezekiah as it Relates to Berossus List and the “185000” Slain

Biblical Chronology Chart (MT)

Chronological Order of Events

Seven days of Creation as years: 4121-4114 BC

Adam: 4114 BC (birth)

Seth: 3984 BC (birth)

Enosh: 3879 BC (birth)

Kenan: 3789 BC (birth)

Mahalalel: 3719 BC (birth)

Jared: 3654 BC (birth)

Enoch: 3492 BC (birth)

Methuselah: 3427 BC (birth)

Lamech: 3240 BC (birth)

Adam: 3184 BC (death)

Enoch: 3127 BC (death)

Seth: 3072 BC (death)

Noah: 3058 BC (birth)

Enosh: 2974 BC (death)

Kenan: 2879 BC (death)

Mahalalel: 2824 BC (death)

Jared: 2692 BC (death)

Shem: 2556 BC (birth)

Lamech: 2463 BC (death)

Methuselah: 2458 BC (death)

Flood: 2458-2457 BC

Arphaxad: 2456 BC (birth)

Salah: 2421 BC (birth)

Eber: 2391 BC (birth)

Peleg: 2357 BC (birth)

Reu: 2327 BC (birth)

Serug: 2295 BC (birth)

Nahor: 2265 BC (birth)

Terah: 2236 BC (birth)

Abraham: 2166 BC (birth)

Sarah: 2156 BC (birth)

Peleg: 2118 BC (death)

Nahor: 2117 BC (death)

Call of Abram: 2091 BC

Reu: 2088 BC (death)

Covenant of Pieces: 2081 BC

Ishmael: 2080 BC (birth)

Covenant of Circumcision and Sodom’s Destruction: 2067 BC

Isaac: 2066 BC (birth)

Terah: 2031 BC (death)

Sarah: 2029 BC (death)

Wedding of Isaac: 2026 BC

Arphaxad: 2018 BC (death)

Jacob: 2006 BC (birth)

Abraham: 1991 BC (death)

Salah: 1988 BC (death)

Esau marries: 1966 BC

Shem: 1956 BC (death)

Ishmael: 1943 BC (death)

Jacob flees Esau to Haran: 1929 BC

Jacob works for wives 7+7 yrs: 1929-1922-1915 BC

Eber: 1927 BC (death)

Levi: 1919 BC (birth)

Judah: 1918 BC (birth)

Joseph: 1915 BC (birth)

Jacob returns from Haran: 1909 BC

Benjamin, birth likely: 1906 BC

Joseph sold as slave: 1898 BC

Isaac: 1886 BC (death)

7 years of plenty & 7 of famine: 1885-1878-1871 BC

Enter Egypt “430 years”: 1876-1446 BC

Jacob: 1859 BC (death)

Joseph: 1805 BC (death)

Judah: 1789? BC (death, tradition says lived 129 years)

Levi: 1782 BC (death)

Aaron: 1529 BC (birth, summer of 1530 exact)

Moses: 1526 BC (birth, winter of 1526 exact)

Moses flees to Midian: 1486 BC

Joshua: likely 1476 BC (birth)

Exodus: 1446 BC

Tabernacle: 1445 BC

Aaron: 1407 BC (death, summer)

Moses: 1406 BC (death, winter)

Conquest: 1406-1400 BC

First Sabbath year of rest: 1399 BC

Joshua: likely 1366 BC (death)

Reigns of Saul: 1050-1010 BC

Reign of David: 1010-970 BC

Reign of Solomon: 970-930 BC

Solomon’s Temple: 966-959 BC

Fall of Samaria (Northern Kingdom): 722 BC (or 721)

Siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib: 701 BC

First deportation to Babylon (incl. Daniel): 605 BC

Second deportation to Babylon (incl. Ezekiel): 597 BC

Fall of Jerusalem & Temple destruction: 586 BC (or 587)

Fall of Babylon: Sept. 539 BC

Decree of Cyrus allowing Jews to return: 538 BC (or 537)

*(+50yrs = 488/486 BC-Anchor date of Berossus’ Kings List when integrated into Biblical chronology)

Rebuilding of the Temple: 520-516 BC (or 520-515)

Purim (time of Esther): 473 BC

Ezra’s return to Jerusalem: 458 BC (or 457)

Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem’s walls: 445 BC (or 444)

Hanukkah (“Abomination of desolation”): 168-165 BC (or 167-164)

Herod’s temple construction begins: 20 BC

Conceptions & births of John the Baptist & Jesus: 6-4 BC

Jesus’ 3.5-yr ministry ending on Passover: AD 26-30 (or 29-33)

Fall of Jerusalem to Romans: AD 66-70

Bar Kochba revolt and final dispersion: AD 132-135

Israel a nation again: AD 1948

Jerusalem comes under Israel’s control: AD 1967

Kings of Judah Chronology: Actual and Idealistic

UserThe  attachement the below table are the same.
The chart can be complicated.
What do you think it is about?
-------------------------------------
Actual Vs. Schematic Chronology
 of Kings of Judah & Key Dates
#	Kings	Reign/
 Exile Yrs	NIV/
 Thiele	A) 1st Temple
 to 2nd ↓	B) 2nd Temple to 1st  ↑	Age when King	A)
 Birth Dates	B)
 Birth Dates
—	Creation (MT)
 (MT & -215 of
 SP/NT/LXX)	N/A	4114
 (3899)	4114 BC
 (3899)	Same	—	—	—
—	Flood (MT)
 (MT & -215 of
 SP/NT/LXX)	2	2458
 -2456
 (2243/1)	Same	Same	—	—	—
—	Abram
 & Call (MT)
 (-215 of
 SP/NT/LXX)	75	2166
 -2091
 (1951
 -1876)	Same	Same	—	—	—
—	Enter
 Egypt (MT)
 (-215 of
 SP/NT/LXX)	430

 (215)	1876

 (1661)	Same	Same	—	—	—
—	Exodus
 to Conquest	40	1446
 -1406	1446 as Anchor Point	Same!
 +50 diff. ends.	—	—	—
1.	Saul	40	1050/1	1051/0	1101/0	30	1081/0	1131/0
2.	David	40 or
 40.5	1010/1	1011/0	1061/0	30	1041/0	1091/0
3.	Solomon	40	970/1	970/1	1020/1	?	?	?
—	1st Temple
 & Palace	(7+13)
 20	967/6
 -947/6	966/7
 - 946/7	1016/7
 - 996/7	—	—	—
4.	Rehoboam	17	930	930/1	980/1	41	971/2	1021/2
—	Temple gold
 plundered	Rehob. “5th yr”	926	925/6	975/6	—	—	—
5.	Abijah	3	913	913/4	963/4	?	?	?
6.	Asa	41	910	910/1	960/1	?	?	?
7.	Jehoshaphat	25	870	869/870	919/920	35	904/5	954/5
8.	Jehoram	8	848	844/5	894/5	32	876/7	926/7
9.	Ahaziah	1	841	836/7	886/7	22	858/9	908/9
10.	Athaliah	7	841	835/6	885/6	?	?	?
11.	Jehoash (Joash)	40	835	828/9	878/9	7	835/6	885/6
12.	Amaziah	29	796	788/9	838/9	25	813/4	863/4
13.	Uzziah (Azariah)	52	792	759/760	809/810	16	775/6	825/6
14.	Jotham	16	750/740	707/8	757/8	25	732/3	782/3
15.	Ahaz	16	732	691/2	741/2	20	711/2	761/2
16.	Hezekiah	29	715	675/6	725/6	25	700/1	750/1
—	Fall of Samaria	“Hez. 6th yr”	3-yr siege
 725-2	669/670	719/720	—	—	—
17.	Manasseh	55	697	646/7	696/7	12	658/9	708/9
18.	Amon	2	642	591/2	641/2	22	613/4	663/4
19.	Josiah	31	640	589/590	639/640	8	597/8	647/8
10.	Jehoahaz	3 mths	609	559/8	609/8	23	581/2	631/2
21.	Jehoiakim	11	609	558/9	608/9	25	583/4	633/4
—	Babylon Exile
 (Daniel’s Exile)
 (Dan 1:1;
 Jer 25:1)	Jehoia-kim’s
 “3rd” “4th yr”	605	556/5	606/5	—	—	—
22.	Jehoiachin (Jeconiah)	3 mths,
 10 dys	598	547/8	597/8	18	565/6	615/6
23.	(Ezek.’s Exile)
 Zedekiah	11	597	547	597	21	568	618
—	Zedekiah (Jer.’s Exile)	2.5-yr
 siege	589
 -586	539
 -536	589
 -586	—	—	—
—	Fall of Babylon, Return &
 2nd Temple
 Foundation	“70 yrs”
  
 Dan 9	539
 -536	489
 -486	539
 -536	—	—	—
—	2nd Temple Built-3.5 yrs
 Zech. Hag.	“70 yrs”
 Zech 1:12	520
 -516	470
 -466	520
 -516	—	—	—
#	Kings	Reign/
 Exile Yrs	NIV/
 Thiele	A) 1st Temple
 to 2nd ↓	B) 2nd Temple to 1st  ↑	Age when King	A)
 Birth Dates	B)
 Birth Dates
Table contrasts actual and schematic dates, anchored to 1st or 2nd Temple. 
Discrepancy is 49.5 years & ten days or 50 years with David’s '40.5'—both exact jubilees.

ChatGPTThe table you provided, "Actual Vs. Schematic Chronology of Kings of Judah & Key Dates," presents a detailed comparison between the actual historical dates and a schematic or interpreted chronology of the reigns of the Kings of Judah, including key biblical dates and events.

Here are the key components and structure of the table:

1. **Key Events and Anchors**:
- Creation, Flood, Abram's Call, Entry into Egypt, Exodus to Conquest
- These events provide a foundation or anchor points for the chronology.

2. **Kings and Reigns**:
- Lists the Kings of Judah from Saul to Zedekiah.
- Includes details such as the length of their reign, the dates of their reign according to the New International Version (NIV) and Thiele's chronology.
- Birthdates are also provided in two systems (A and B), corresponding to the periods from the 1st Temple to the 2nd and from the 2nd Temple to the 1st.

3. **Chronological Systems**:
- **NIV/Thiele**: Represents the chronology according to the New International Version and Edwin R. Thiele, who proposed a widely accepted chronology of the Hebrew kings.
- **A) 1st Temple to 2nd**: The period from the construction of the First Temple to the construction of the Second Temple.
- **B) 2nd Temple to 1st**: The reverse chronological system from the Second Temple to the First.

4. **Special Events**:
- Significant events such as the plundering of the temple gold, the fall of Samaria, and the Babylonian Exile are highlighted.
- The fall of Babylon, the return from exile, and the foundation and construction of the Second Temple are also noted.

5. **Discrepancies**:
- The table notes a discrepancy of 49.5 years and ten days, or 50 years, related to David's reign, which is indicated as an exact jubilee period.

### Purpose of the Table

The table aims to reconcile and compare the biblical chronology with historical and archeological data, presenting both the actual (historical) dates and a schematic (interpreted) chronology. This allows for a comprehensive understanding of the timeline of the Kings of Judah and key biblical events, offering insights into the differences and similarities between various chronological interpretations.

### Potential Chart Ideas

Given the complexity of the table, several types of charts could be created to visualize the data effectively:

1. **Timeline Chart**:
- A timeline of the reigns of the Kings of Judah, indicating the actual vs. schematic dates.
- Key events like the construction and destruction of temples, the exile periods, and significant biblical events can be marked on the timeline.

2. **Bar Chart**:
- A bar chart showing the length of each king's reign, with color coding for actual and schematic dates.

3. **Comparison Chart**:
- A comparison chart showing the differences in the birth dates and reign periods between the two chronological systems (A and B).

4. **Jubilee Analysis**:
- A specific focus on the discrepancy of 50 years, visualizing how the jubilee periods align with the reigns and key events.

These visualizations can help clarify the relationships between the historical and biblical records, providing a clearer picture of the chronological discrepancies and agreements.

UserAlmost correct, and the slight misunderstanding is likely due to a lack of information.
The schematic part of the chart is the schematic of the Biblical author and not my own. It simply takes the exact number of years that each king reigned literally instead of allowing for overlaps and other truncations that Theile and others seek to figure out. So if a king is said to reing such and such, then that is the number the schematic will use, no matter even if it strays slowly from what appears to be the actual dates of events tied to astromomy or extra-biblical texts

ChatGPTThank you for the clarification. Understanding that the schematic part of the chart reflects the literal interpretation of the biblical author's timeline without adjustments for overlaps or truncations, here's an updated explanation and potential visualization:

### Updated Explanation

The table "Actual Vs. Schematic Chronology of Kings of Judah & Key Dates" compares two chronological approaches to the reigns of the Kings of Judah and significant biblical events:

1. **Key Events and Anchors**:
- Important biblical events such as Creation, the Flood, Abram's Call, Entry into Egypt, and the Exodus are used as anchor points.
- These events help establish a foundational timeline.

2. **Kings and Reigns**:
- Lists the Kings of Judah, starting from Saul and ending with Zedekiah.
- Includes the length of each king's reign, their reign years according to the New International Version (NIV) and Edwin R. Thiele's chronology, which incorporates historical and astronomical data to provide adjusted dates.
- Also provides birthdates in two systems: one tied to the 1st Temple period to the 2nd, and the other from the 2nd Temple period to the 1st.

3. **Chronological Systems**:
- **NIV/Thiele**: Reflects the chronology considering overlaps, co-regencies, and historical adjustments.
- **Schematic (Biblical Author's Chronology)**: Takes the literal number of years each king reigned as stated in the Bible, without adjustments for overlaps or truncations.

4. **Special Events**:
- Highlights significant events such as the plundering of temple gold, the fall of Samaria, the Babylonian Exile, and the construction of the temples.
- Notes key periods such as the fall of Babylon and the foundation of the Second Temple.

5. **Discrepancies**:
- Notes a discrepancy of 49.5 years and ten days or 50 years, which aligns with the biblical jubilee period. This discrepancy arises from the differences between the literal biblical chronology and the adjusted historical dates.

### Potential Chart Ideas

Given the complexity and the need to illustrate both literal and adjusted chronologies, here are some visualization ideas:

1. **Dual Timeline Chart**:
- A dual timeline showing both the literal (schematic) and adjusted (NIV/Thiele) reigns of the Kings of Judah.
- This would highlight how the schematic dates slowly diverge from the adjusted dates over time.

2. **Bar Chart with Dual Bars**:
- A bar chart where each king's reign is represented by two bars: one for the literal reign length and another for the adjusted reign length.
- This would make it easy to compare the differences in reign lengths.

3. **Event Overlay Chart**:
- A timeline with key events marked, showing how these events align differently in the literal vs. adjusted chronologies.
- This would illustrate how specific events, like the fall of Samaria or the Babylonian Exile, are placed differently in each chronology.

4. **Jubilee Discrepancy Chart**:
- A focused chart on the 50-year discrepancy, showing how the literal and adjusted timelines align or diverge at specific points, especially around jubilee years.

I will now create a dual timeline chart to visualize the literal (schematic) and adjusted (NIV/Thiele) reigns of the Kings of Judah. Let's proceed with that.

ChatGPTHere is a dual timeline chart that visualizes the literal (schematic) and adjusted (NIV/Thiele) reigns of the Kings of Judah. The blue lines represent the literal reigns according to the biblical text, and the green lines represent the adjusted reigns as per historical and astronomical data. Each king's name is labeled at the end of their respective lines.

This chart effectively highlights how the literal dates diverge from the adjusted dates over time, providing a clear visual comparison of the two chronologies. If you have more specific kings or events you would like to include, please let me know, and I can update the chart accordingly.

UserA better way to display this in graph form between the dates where the 50-year gap slowly grows, which is between 586 BC and 1446/1496 BC.
Ignore the last three columns.
We do not even need Theile since the variation of it is virtually the same.
All we need is these two columns, along with the events/"Kings" that each date represents:
A) 1st Temple
 to 2nd ↓
B) 2nd Temple to 1st  ↑.
Then we plot the "Kings" on the x-axis and the dates on the y-axis. 
This means that there will be two lines, with one ascending higher then the other eventually by the said 50 years.

ChatGPTHere is the updated timeline chart showing the chronology of the Kings of Judah and key events between 586 BC and 1446/1496 BC. The chart compares the dates from the "First Temple to Second Temple" (A) and the "Second Temple to First Temple" (B) columns.

- **Blue Line**: Represents the dates from the First Temple to the Second Temple (A).
- **Green Line**: Represents the dates from the Second Temple to the First Temple (B).

The kings and events are plotted on the x-axis, while the dates (BC) are on the y-axis. The two lines illustrate how the dates gradually diverge, resulting in the 50-year discrepancy.

This visualization effectively highlights the growing gap between the two chronological interpretations. If you need further adjustments or additional details, please let me know!

UserYour take on what I meant is better than my suggestion. I said to take it to the Exodus, but what you did in this case is better, that is, First to Second Temple.
So, good job!
Although it is great the way it is now, can we tweak it to improve it some way?

ChatGPTThank you for the feedback! I'm glad the current visualization aligns well with your needs. Here are a few suggestions to improve the chart further:

1. **Add Data Labels**: Including data labels for each point can help identify specific dates and kings/events more clearly.

2. **Highlight Key Events**: Use markers or annotations to highlight significant events like the fall of Jerusalem or the reign of particularly notable kings.

3. **Improve Axis Labels and Titles**: Make the x-axis labels more readable by increasing font size or rotating them more if necessary.

4. **Color Coding for Specific Eras**: Differentiate eras (e.g., United Monarchy, Divided Kingdom) with different colors or shaded backgrounds.

5. **Add Gridlines**: Enhance readability by adding horizontal gridlines for better date alignment comparison.

6. **Legend Positioning**: Adjust the legend's position to avoid overlapping with the data.

Let's implement these improvements.

ChatGPTHere is the enhanced timeline chart with the following improvements:

1. **Data Labels**: Each point now has a label indicating the specific date.
2. **Highlighted Key Events**: The "Fall of Jerusalem" is highlighted with red markers and annotations.
3. **Improved Axis Labels**: The x-axis labels are rotated and font size is increased for better readability.
4. **Gridlines**: Horizontal gridlines are added to improve alignment comparison.
5. **Legend Positioning**: The legend is positioned at the upper left to avoid overlapping with the data.

These enhancements should make the chart more informative and easier to read. If you have any further tweaks or additional requests, please let me know!

UserThis is better.
However, I made an error earlier. To correct it all we have to do is change the title and Legend.
The Green line shows the"Verbatim Chronology" (let's call it), and the lower blue line shows the "Actual Dates" (that are largely based upon the work of Thiele).

ChatGPTHere is the updated timeline chart with the corrected title and legend:

- **Blue Line**: Represents the "Actual Dates" (largely based on the work of Thiele).
- **Green Line**: Represents the "Verbatim Chronology" (literal interpretation of the biblical author's timeline).

This should now accurately reflect the distinction between the actual dates and the verbatim chronology. If there are any further adjustments or additional elements you'd like to add, please let me know!

This study will lead into “3b.”
3b: +50 Years of the Kings of Judah and Berossus Babylonian Chronology

3c. Discussing the Sign of the Reverse Shadow of King Hezekiah as it Relates to Berossus List and the “185000” Slain

Archive

Biblical Chronology Chart (MT)

Kings of Judah Chronology: Actual and Idealistic