Biblical framework
“This project was started as a means to organize and collate many diverse notes on time intervals in the Old Testament and put them in one place. They were scattered on various papers in file boxes, written on Bible margins, and held on small paper inserts inside of several Bibles. The plan was to add to this many parts that were retained in memory, especially emphasizing the time related material with “why” each piece fit or did not fit. This started small. Build a generic timeline to give an outline or structure to insert the time related data. Make the end material understandable to my children and grandchildren. Then write out separately the reasoning for various pieces.”
When the webpages about the tabernacle symbols and Biblical types and shadows were ready and posted my attention turned to pieces of paper and notes in various Bibles. These were about time related material from Abraham and onward to Solomon. The focus was to assemble the scattered notes into one place and be able to make them understandable for my growing family. They would be unable to decipher the incomplete material or brief comments written in the margin of various Bibles and on paper inserts and draw out the whole scenario of information.
Little by little this project for my own family grew beyond “just for us” and needed to be shared. Several people were invited to look at the earlier material and discuss with me various aspects. Their suggestions were fully considered. Then I thought I was done but God was not ready for me to be finished. He had much more to share. While puzzling through various pieces I often stopped and asked God, “How does this work?” and in asking would summarize what I knew and where some things made no sense or where incomplete material stifled me.
God gave me answers but I did not expect answers the way they came. Sometimes after mulling over the material and more searching of the Scriptures the answers came under His guidance through the Holy Spirit as promised to Jesus’ church. At various other times God simply woke me up to give me the key to resolving a time puzzle. On four separate nights spaced apart He spoke in my ear, always my right ear. God gave me one night a word to search for in the Scriptures and that became the needed key. Another night is was a phrase. One night He gave me part of a Scripture verse which, upon searching and finding the whole verse, contained the clue needed.
And one night quite unexpected He woke me up by saying, “Look at Job.” Now that person and book was definitely not in any special focus, nor did I have any clue why God said that to me until I laid awake awhile and thought about my present journey, previous answers in my ear, and rehearsed the various individuals and their lineages in my mind. Then, “Aha!” Only Job was given no lineage — the simplest reason was because his ancestral lineage was already given. I just had to go back and find it. Job’s father and grandfather was plainly given in Genesis chapter 46. Wow, that three word command opened up another journey into an unresolved territory. Up to that month no one had resolved the time placement for the book of Job in a very defensible manner, nor presented multiple reasons for its author, nor established its connection to one very influential life, nor demonstrated . . . (you will understand these best if you read the book for yourself).
Now those who know me will not doubt what I am saying here, but will be puzzled by it anyway. Jesus did teach his disciples to ask of God in Matthew 7:7. That was what I did. How He chose to answer was wholly His affair and sovereign choice, not mine. Let me explain this to you in a way that will make perfect sense.
Here is a scenario: You are a parent who has put their young child to bed, then got ready for bed and went to sleep. While you were deep in sleep, this little child got out of bed, quietly walked down the hallway to your bedroom, stopped and stood by your bedside, and then said in a troubled voice, “I don’t feel good.” Instantly you awoke, you knew the voice of your child, you understood and retained the words, and realized that they were important and needed to be acted upon.
Four sequential things are explained here in this very common scenario. The voice was heard, the author of the voice was immediately recognized, the message was understood and retained, and you were going to act upon it quickly. This was how God spoke to me and probably many others. He did exactly that with Samuel long ago.
My approach to solving these Biblical time puzzles came somewhat slowly. After engaging with the material, preparing an extensive multi-worksheet spreadsheet, trying to sensibly write out the material for others to comprehend, and struggling with the incomplete answers that others have presented I realized that something valuable was missing. Almost every prior solution used a short-cut approach and did not engage with the whole text. There was something fundamentally wrong with that methodology since various authors came to different conclusions based upon their chosen texts.
Various authors appeared to simply choose a few obvious texts and conclude that was all that was necessary. That method could hardly be farther from the real truth. You see, God inspired the whole message of Scripture which accurately recorded places, people, events, time durations, and even honestly reported their deceptive or false statements. That meant that whole verses, long phrases, little expressions, or even various solitary words were also His words and must be used, as long as it could be shown they were relevant and applicable to the topic at hand.
Thus every text or passage whether highly obvious or not readily apparent was to be engaged and treated with equal value. Picking favorite parts (i.e. a verse that gave a number of years) and neglecting the rest (i.e. those pieces that narrowed or confined the time boundaries or limited when to start or end measuring a length of time) was parallel to rejecting some of God’s word. Here is a quote from the book.
Biblical process
Because this time period was troublesome to resolve, a good solution to this long standing Biblical puzzle must incorporate and be consistent with many other biblical statements. The solution must explain more than the original problem of the sum of years, interconnect with other known or easily resolved pieces, and be consistent with the various pieces most have not included. To validate the solution to the puzzle of the period of Abraham to Solomon these details must be resolved.
The major premise carefully applied in this comprehensive solution to many time riddles from Abraham to Solomon is this: every large or small detail is true. That meant, since all of the words of Scripture were given under inspiration from God, they were all true, nothing had more or less “truth” than another. No text sentence, phrase, or word was either more or less honest than another. All of the pieces must fit together and each piece of information must remain fully true independent of any other piece or when integrated together with another piece of applicable information.
Each large or small detail or declared time length was equally valid with no more weight, importance, or value expressed or implied for one part than another part. Every detail whether naming a number of years for age or years from one event to another event was true. This has been the Achilles’ heel for many. They had chosen to use one part of the text and ignored other parts. That approach minimized the value of God’s word and manifested either ignorance, or folly, or sheer unbelief and produced unworkable results.
The solutions offered by many were not integrating all of the peripheral textual facts for the intervening events. Nor did they incorporate all of those little essential details about the people involved. Besides, the writing style and manner of presentation used in this period of Israel’s history was not familiar. For these and other reasons this extended time period from Abraham in Genesis through 1 Samuel up to Solomon needed another frame of reference, another starting point. Thinking about and approaching this material differently was necessary and very effective.
Biblical details
Here are some questions addressed and answered within the book's text.
Are we missing necessary interconnections between Abraham’s descendants and others or just not recognizing them? Did the Scriptures tell us of any intermarriage between descendants of Levi and Judah? Did the New Testament offer information to help resolve some of these Old Testament puzzles? What time placement was revealed in the book of Job? Who were those men who sat with Job? What year did the new oppressive pharaoh arise that enslaved the Israelites?
How could Jochebed be both Levi’s daughter and Moses’ mother? What might that mean in relationship to time? What about Rahab of Jericho, did she marry Salmon or not? When did Joshua die? How long did the elders outlive Joshua? Definitely puzzling elements included repeated statements.
Where did Eli (1 Samuel 1:3) fit as judge and why was he a judge at all? When did the forty years of Philistine affliction (Judges 13:1) begin and end? When and how long did Samuel serve as judge (1 Samuel 7:15)? How many years really occurred from the land division before Jephthah began to serve? When did Abdon, the last judge given in series, die?
What neglected events and/or Scripture texts can bring connections between what appeared to be disparate and unresolvable information? Can the marriage of a Levite to a Judahite make any helpful connections with time or individuals? Can the years from Abraham to Solomon be reconciled through application of unnoticed or under appreciated statements?
Some of those questions and others were answered by noting details and incorporating applicable unused and under appreciated Biblical texts.
While upon the cross shortly before he died Christ Jesus had referred the people observing his event back to a prior written text in Holy Scripture. Jesus had said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Christ Jesus simply repeated words that were written much earlier in Psalm 22. These words told all of the observers of His crucifixion to note carefully everything that he, Jesus, was experiencing because the entire scenario was already foretold by prophet David.
The person in the Old Testament that carried the same title, “son of God,” as that of the Messiah presented in the New Testament was Samuel. That was what his name meant. And when prophet Samuel referred back to various former texts in a manner similar to what Christ Jesus did then we should take serious note and study the passages carefully. To say it more crisply, when the Old Testament “son of God” referred back to a former written text in about the same manner that the New Testament “son of God” did we must take careful note of it. Then study it, and apply it well.
So, I did that! And it produced amazing results.
Biblical results
Early in the book of Genesis the scriptures were exceptionally clear that a father at a certain age had a son and lived for a certain number of years. The farther into chronological time the more obscure the information became. The writers of Holy Scripture formed significantly complex word story problems which were resolved when peripheral information from other scriptures was integrated and the whole Biblical text was believed to be trustworthy, truthful and therefore relevant. Often the related information was given chapters later, or in context with another event, or given by another form that needed to be calculated by addition or subtraction.
Not just some, but all items were carefully searched out and integrated to meet these criteria and be consistent with a wide range of scriptures that could have any bearing upon their placement. Jacob's age at arrival and duration in Haran was presented this way. The same was true for the birth time of Jacob’s 13 children. He had a daughter named Dinah.
Various genealogies were searched out and detailed to be sure not to miss any important data. For many individuals the number of generations from Adam & Eve were given. They were the first generation from the Creator. Abram was the 20th generation, Moses was the 26th generation, Meraioth (also known as Eli) was 33rd generation, David was the 34th generation, Samuel was the 42nd generation, Zerubabel (Zorobabel) was the 50th generation, and so on.
Terms that we in our era would not ordinarily connect to time were elucidated and became significant markers. These pieces helped solve the riddles of the time placement of numerous individuals and events. These included things like: 1) the age of Judah’s grand-children Hezron and Hamul at entry to Egypt, and 2) the year of their death, 3) the time duration of the twelve tribes of Israel in Egypt by eight methods, 4) who Job had descended from and 5) which time period the book of Job occurred (solved on April 25, 2019) including the year of his suffering, 6) the year that new pharaoh arrived who enslaved Israel (resolved by December 12, 2018), 7) the meaning and use of 1 Kings 6:1 in connection to the original Passover event, 8) the age of Joshua at mount Sinai, 9) that Salmon could not marry Rahab of Jericho and conceive Boaz through her, 10) the beginning and ending year of all of the judges (solved on June 15, 2017), 11) that Obed’s birth year occurred exactly midway from the start to end of all of the judges, 12) the birth and death years of the first and second “Eli”, et cetera. [You will learn that the first person named Eli was born about 11 years after Obed.]
The length of time that the twelve tribes of Israel were in Egypt, a time duration of 215 years, can be solved by different pathways (there are 5 firm and 3 softer methods explained, plus see Footnote [S] in the paperback or ebook). These methods included using the birth times of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses to Amram and Jochebed, the marriage of Aaron and Elisheba and the birth times for their four sons, and Apostle Paul’s words in Acts 13:16-22 along with other methods. Each of these eight methods established 215 years in Egypt and nothing else that is longer (whether 270, 400, or 430 year periods) can work without violating various scripture texts.
Many have struggled to resolve the data regarding the 400 years presented in Genesis 15:13-16 and the 479 years of 1 Kings 6:1. These two texts gave the elapsed time up to Solomon beginning the building of the temple. But starting from when? With Abraham, of course, not when he obeyed God and entered Canaan at age seventy-five, but when he declared the promised child Isaac as his heir at age 105. This was the initial promised seed or person through whom God would bring forth His savior for the world.
“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” (Genesis 17:19) [empahsis mine]
“But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” (Genesis 17:21) [empahsis mine]
“And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Genesis 21:12) [empahsis mine]
“Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham [which included Ishmael and the six sons of Keturah], are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Romans 9:7) [empahsis mine]
“Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Hebrews 11:18) [empahsis mine]
Biblical repetition
More questions came while researching the material for the book Rethinking Chronology from Abraham to Solomon by Applying Unused Texts. This included the puzzling statements about Joshua’s death and the elders outliving him. What were the connections between Samuel’s lineage and Eli’s lineage since both were Levites? How did Samson or any judge fit with Eli, or Saul or any other person named in 1 Samuel? Out of this process and numerous requests for God’s help to show how these fit together the answers to so many questions were obtained.
Various events with Saul and David were shown to align with Levi’s descendants through Kohath beyond Eli to Phinehas, Ahitub, Zadok, Ahimelech, Ahiah, Abiathar, Jonathan, Johanan, etc. Likewise for the Levites through Kohath beyond Elkanah to Samuel, Joel, and Heman. All of these named descendants of Levi intersected in various ways with Judah’s descendants through Jesse (namely David, Solomon, etc). Most of those individuals and/or events were recorded in very specific detailed circumstances that bound them to rigid time constraints.
Part of my introductory premise was the requirement that all relevant Scripture facts must be sought, assembled, and applied to get reliable results from which to draw any conclusions with a high confidence level in the results. We must not reject, exclude, discount, or gloss over other pertinent biblical texts – relevant statements that in some manner limit or alter the scenario being researched. Fulfilling these carefully framed and rigid requirements detailed in the introductory premise provided the necessary information to solve a lot of time puzzles from Abraham to Solomon. Twenty-five are listed in the book summary.
The fact that Jochebed was twice given as the direct daughter of Levi was detailed. Her age for the births of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses was limited by prior Biblical templates that God established with Abraham and Sarah. She was indeed both Levi’s late born daughter and an older age mother. More time connections surrounding Jochebed were made because of three parallel texts.
Biblical integrity
Rethinking Chronology from Abraham to Solomon by Applying Unused Texts supports those who believe God's words are really complete, established, true, and discernible and upholds those whose faith is in the living God helping man through His settled Word. The book material affirms belief in the simplicity of God's word, its clarity of meaning, and ease of understanding. This material exercised the precept of Apostle Paul, that God has called the foolish of this world to confound the wise, and simply invites every Christian or interested person to use “the mind of the Spirit” to examine, evaluate and decide.
For those of you who read the Scripture plainly, simply, and straight forward the text had an amazing amount to say about chronology, when things occurred, how much time elapsed, and how old individuals were at various events. As both Jesus and Nathanael said, “Come and see.” (John 1:39, 46)
Each reader is invited and encouraged to 1) read contemplatively, 2) engage in thinking through the texts used, 3) examine carefully all computations and various conclusions derived from them, 4) identify the parenthetical statements and consider their applications, 5) grasp the words or phrases that indicated time and became substitutions for time, 6) explore the reasons to correlate pieces, and then, 7) recognize how all of these parts converged. Numerous large and small parts were necessary to explore to discern their proper import and potential impact upon the whole.
What appeared to be disparate information taken from other Scriptures had a significant bearing upon how to interpret the textual information presented from the books of Genesis, Job, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel. [Given in chronological order.] The later Scripture author(s) assumed readers would have had a comprehensive knowledge of the Mosaic writings, especially any Levitical requirements. Plus they used key expressions to refer to other prior statements.
The two books of Judges and 1 Samuel covered some of the same time period from two different perspectives. The book of 1 Samuel went much farther in detail and gave necessary time related clues presented in plain sight and in unique ways. The book of Ruth provided time related clues through its introduction, inheritance puzzle, and conclusion. From both Old and New Testaments unnoticed, under appreciated, or unused material was brought forward and explained that yielded a very satisfactory solution to various riddles of time given in Genesis through 1 Samuel.
Directions are given to make your own time line with the proper placement of the more important individuals. It has nine tables, five indexes, footnotes, and endnotes. There are over 1,250 citations of Scripture (with many used multiple times) supporting everything presented. A name index presents the people detailed from Abraham to Solomon. One index of 135 individuals gives the birth, death and/or event year (as applicable), and another index presents a brief event time line of the more commonly known individuals or events.
Biblical directive
“ All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.” (Isa 18:3)
Because one Divine author is the source of Scripture and the underlying cause behind all of the records of lives, conversations, circumstances, events, and prophecy there is no portion of Scripture any more true or less true than any other portion. Behind Scripture is the absolute holiness of God to tell and promote truth, the profound love of God for us to guide and warn us with truth, and the incomprehensible power of God to sustain and complete every word of His inspiration. Therefor all words from God presented in Holy Scripture have the same value of honesty, integrity, and virtue in their benefit to humanity. Even the truthful reports of sins, deceptions, lies, and false prophecies are presented to correct us and direct us toward holiness. The concept that one portion or statement of scripture has more weight, force, or greater truth value than any other portion is a frivolous and false facade that we as sinners have promoted to devalue select statements and promote others, to our own self-serving ends.
It is amazing what the Scriptures reveal when they are searched for God’s perspective and when various applicable statements were equally integrated. That platform alone provided the best mechanism by which to resolve a broad array of time puzzles. These solutions were obtained by using a much different approach than others have employed. The process of rethinking various chronological pieces in the Old Testament Scriptures from Abraham to Solomon verified the years stated in Genesis 15:13-16 and 1 Kings 6:1. Remember here that God’s standard is two or three witnesses, not a solitary statement (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28).
Biblical examination
This examination spanned the period from Abraham to Solomon, presented numerous small details, and applied some unique Biblical tools. For any Scripture student the time line across this period is difficult to determine. The application of neglected and under appreciated text filled in more than 135 people, their life spans, and event years to bridge from Abraham to Solomon.
This book is written to make the material understandable and be very suitable for the curious, the layman, and the scholar. If you want this portion of the Scriptures to become alive, or give you a burst of enthusiasm for the unity of God's word, or just want clarity for this distant time period the book Rethinking Chronology from Abraham to Solomon by Applying Unused Texts will do that and much more for you.
You can look for this insightful book on Amazon.com and at other fine book sellers. Peek at it by using the look-inside feature. Printable supplemental material is provided online, see footnote [S].
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7359782-0-8 (with 260 pages) with a matching eBook ISBN: 978-1-7359782-3-9. Rethinking Chronology from Abraham to Solomon by Applying Unused Texts is available at these book sellers and elsewhere:
Paperback: Amazon
eBook: Amazon.
Extended versions
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7359782-4-6 (extended version with 269 pages) matching EPUB ebook ISBN: 978-1-7359782-1-5 (extended version). These are available at these book sellers and elsewhere:
In Canada: Chapters—Indigo
Blessings,
Brian Kuehmichel