• People need sequences to comprehend and understand OT events. One of the ways we can defend it is to understand the chronology. Without a knowledge of chronology we have no comprehension of the flow of history as contained in the OT, and we would really have no understanding of what the prophets were talking about. Chronology is important because only through a solid grasp of chronology and sequences can we understand the flow and continuity of the Bible.

A Case in Point:

• "That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." With regard to chronology, by understanding when Isaiah lived and when these other events took place as well as what was happening in Judah, the prophetic impact of this statement. Isaiah 6:41 records for us when he began his prophetic office and it was in the year of Uzziah's death. Historically we know that Uzziah died in 739 B.C. so we would conclude that Isaiah began his ministry in 739. We cannot assume that he prophesied for more than eighty years so if we tack on eighty years to 739 B.C. we come up with 660 B.C. as the longest possible time year that Isaiah could have prophesied (tradition has it that he was martyred during the reign of Manasseh). Using this maximum assumption, we are able to add validity to his prophecies which occurred long after his death. This information alone attests to his legitimate call as a prophet of God. He saw a destroyed Jerusalem and a ruined temple, Cyrus who would reign and conquer as well as his command that the city be rebuilt, and the coming Messiah. The former two happened over 200 years after his death and he was able to predict these complex events right down to the very last detail. The skeptic can have no response to this because the prophecy was made and fulfilled long after his death -- not vice versa. If we did not know the dates of these events, then the prophetic meanings, such as that of Isaiah 44:28, are lost due to lack of evidence. The knowledge of chronology is of utmost importance.

• Through basic dating methods taken from the biblical record and through an understanding of ancient people and their civilizations, our understanding of the Patriarchs contributes to the understanding of their time periods. We are able to put together the information which is made available to us through archaeology, add it to the biblical record, and piece it all together in order to gain a greater understanding of their lives and the period of time in which they lived.

Write these dates in your Bible: I Kings 6:1

• "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD." It is 966 B.C. at this point. If this be true then we know that Solomon was crowned king in 970 B.C., David reigned in 1010 B.C. (because he was Solomon's predecessor and he reigned forty years), and that Saul was crowned king in 1050 B.C. (because we know that he reigned for forty years). This verse helps us with dates preceding it and in the years that followed as well. If we add 966 with the 480 years following the exodus from Egypt we come up with the year 1446 B.C. (the date of the exodus). With this in mind we look at Exodus 12:40, and by reading this we can see that the time the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. By adding 430 to 1446 we discover the time when the children of Israel began their sojourn in Egypt was 1876 B.C. If we move on and look at Genesis 47:9 we find that when Jacob stood before Pharaoh this began the sojourn in Egypt. Jacob was called by his son Joseph to Egypt. If Jacob was 130 years old at that time as the verse tells us, then we can add that to 1876 and come up with 2006 B.C. as the time when Jacob was born. If we move on to Genesis 25:26 we find that when Jacob and Esau were born, their father Isaac was sixty years old. That being the case, Isaac must have been born in the year 2066 B.C. If we move on to Genesis 21:5 we can see that when Isaac was born, Abraham was one hundred years old -- thus, Abraham was born in the year 2166 B.C. From this date we know through archaeology that the country of Ur, where Abram came out of, was a thriving place, a polytheistic place, and a cultured place. We have to conclude that Abram was a cultured individual in one of the largest civilizations in the twenty-second century B.C. In looking at Genesis 12:4, we see that he was seventy-five years of age when he departed Haran -- giving us the date at his departure 2091 B.C. If the patriarchal age began with the departure of Abram from Haran to the time the children of Israel entered Egypt, then we have a time span from 2091 B.C. to 1876 B.C.

• Judges 13:1 tells us the Philistines began to rule over Israel; this lasted 40 years. This is also the time that Samson was born (presumably). The date is 1095 B.C.
• Judges 16:31 tells us that Samson judged Irael for 20 years (we cannot assume that he judged while he was a child, so given that the Philistine oppression lasted 40 years (13:1) and Samson judged for twenty years we can assume that Samson was 40 YOA when he died with the Philistines. This is also the precise time that Samuel was gathering Israel in Mizpeh to fight the Philistines. The Israelites prevailed and the 40 year oppression came to an end. "And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel." (13) "So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel."
• Samuel was most likely born in 1100 B.C. and was taken to the tabernacle when he was 5 YOA (1095). Samson was born during this year, but neither of them were leading Israel at the time. Twenty years later (1075) the Ark was captured (Battle of Aphek) and Samson began his judgeship, and twenty years following that Samuel began his judgeship by leading Israel in the Battle of Mizpeh following Samson’s death. Judges 13:1 overlaps the first seven chapters of 1 Samuel. First Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel in 1100 B.C. and ends with the death of Saul in 1010 B.C.

• The demand for a king came immediately after the military activity in chapter 7 (Battle of Mizpeh) because it marked the end of Philistine occupation. We can assume a date of 1055 to 1050 for this battle because this is about the time the Israelites called for a king. With this bit of information in mind we can date Judges 13:1 at 1095 B.C. since it records the birth of Samson and the beginning of the forty year Philistine occupation which terminated with the battle of Mizpeh. Moving along to 1 Samuel 7:1 we read: "And the men of Kirjath-je'arim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-je'arim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD." This is valuable in that we can see the circumstances of how the ark came to be in Kirjath-jearim for twenty years. The Philistines took possession of the Ark in the battle of Aphek which is described in 1 Samuel 4 when they were victorious over the Israelites. The Bible states that the Ark was in Philistine hands for seven months (6:1) and that it was in Kirjath-jearim for twenty years. With this information we can date the Battle of Aphek at 1075 B.C., or twenty years before the Battle of Mizpeh. The Battle of Aphek would have taken place about midway through the Philistine oppression which takes us back to 1095 B.C. for its beginning. It can now be seen in first Samuel 1:1, that the birth of Samuel would have occurred about 1100 B.C. First Samuel 25:1 records Samuel's death and we have a fairly close date of 1012 B.C. for that chapter. Assuming that Samuel was born in 1100 B.C. and died in 1012 B.C., he would have lived eighty-eight years. That means that he was twenty-five years old at the Battle of Aphek when the Philistines took possession of the Ark (death of Eli and his sons), and between forty-five and fifty when he led the armies of Israel in the victory over the Philistines at Mizpeh, and fifty when he crowned Saul king. In conclusion, writing 1100 B.C. beside first Samuel 1:1, we see that the book spans ninety years of Israel's history. It begins with the birth of one of the greatest men Israel had ever known, and ends with the death of a man who had everything to gain, but died in infamy.

• "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD" (I Kings 6:1). It is 966 B.C. at this point. If this be true then we know that Solomon was crowned king in 970 B.C., David reigned in 1010 B.C. (because he was Solomon's predecessor and he reigned forty years), and that Saul was crowned king in 1050 B.C. (because we know that he reigned for forty years according to Acts 13:21). This verse helps us with dates preceding it and in the years that followed as well. Give or take two years.

• As the most important period in Israel's history, the monarchy began with the crowning of Saul in 1050 B.C. Saul reigned for forty years (maybe 42) and then David took over and reigned forty years. Also, 1 Kings 11:42 says that Solomon (David's son) reigned for forty years after that. The 120 years that these men reigned is called the united monarchy. Kingdom split in 931 B.C.

• David began to reign in Hebron in the year 1010 B.C. when he was thirty years old (2 Sam. 5:4-5), which means he was born in 1040 B.C. Therefore, chapters 16 and 17 (David’s anointing) are dated at approximately 1025-1024 B.C. Knowing this, we can say that David was around 15 or 16 years old when he was anointed king. He had to wait about 15 more years to be king. David was sixteen years of age at the slaying of Goliath.

• First Samuel 13:11-14 says, "But Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, therefore I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." And Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. "But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." The year is about 1048 B.C. and David was crowned king over Judah in 1010 B.C. at the age of thirty. This means that he was born in 1040 B.C. So, eight years before David was born Samuel was telling Saul that God had a man in mind to lead his kingdom (GOD IS SOVEREIGN).

• First Sam. 13:1 says that Saul was thirty in the NIV (elaborate because Jonathon was a leader).
• The close relationship between David and Jonathan was not a relationship that is widespread in today's society. Jonathan was most likely about twenty to twenty-two years old in 1048 B.C., which means that he was born in approximately 1069 B.C. and was twenty five to thirty years older than David. David was a teen-aged boy and Jonathan a middle aged man -- old enough to be his father when they became friends. They were very close friends despite the fact that Jonathan knew that David would be king in his place. Jonathan loved David as his own soul and he loved his father Saul as well. The relationship between Saul and David was that of jealousy of Saul' part. He saw the Spirit of God upon David and he knew that God was not with him anymore. He therefore made several attempts to kill David. This was happening in spite of the fact that Michal, Saul's daughter had been given to David in marriage. Saul would repent of his evil and then turn again on David to kill him. Jonathan was continually at David's side and warned David of the danger that awaited him. He also helped him to escape from the hand of his father all the while remained loyal to him (Saul).

• Jacob was 130 years old when he went into Egypt. Remembering that Jacob went to Egypt at the request of Joseph, his eleventh son, we need to look and see how old Joseph was when his father Jacob stood before Pharaoh. Genesis 41:46 says that Joseph was thirty years old when he first stood before Pharaoh and was given the number two position in the kingdom. In Genesis 45:6, we see that just prior to Joseph's sending for his father Jacob, he addressed his brothers and explained that the famine had been in the land for two years and that five years of famine still remained. Seven good years and two bad years had gone by at the time of this statement. Since those years began when he was thirty, he was at that time, thirty-nine years old. Since he was thirty-nine when Jacob was 130, then he was born when Jacob was ninety-one years old. We must now subtract fourteen years from Jacob's age since Joseph was the last child born just prior to Jacob's asking to be released from his bondage to Laban. It is now clear that Jacob was seventy-seven years old when he moved out of his house after having been given the blessing over Esau.
• Jacob came into Laban's home (his uncle) around the time he was seventy-seven years of age. Since he had to work for Laban for seven years before he could marry Rachel then that would make him eighty-four years old. In a span of seven years Jacob fathered eleven children by four different women. Two of those four women were his wives -- only one of which he truly loved. Jacob stayed in Laban's house for twenty years and acquired much wealth as well as a very large family.