Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 30:4 (Dec 1987)
Article: The Chronology Of 2 Kings 15—18
Author: Andrew E. Steinmann

JETS 30:4 (December 1987) p. 391

The Chronology Of 2 Kings 15—18

Andrew E. Steinmann*

For centuries the apparent contradictions in the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah remained a mystery to Bible readers and scholars alike. Edwin R. Thiele, however, has now essentially solved the problems of chronology in the books of 1 and 2 Kings.1 He showed that the chronological information of the books of Kings does not contain errors and that generations of scholars had been ignorant of the methods used in ancient times to record the lengths of the reigns of kings. By recognizing the unique methods used in Biblical times to record the history of the kings, Thiele showed that the book of Kings was an historically accurate record of the ancient monarchs’ reigns.

The chronology of the reign of Hezekiah remains particularly troublesome, however. When did Hezekiah reign? How accurate is the present MT of 2 Kings 17—18? Did the original author make a mistake in chronology? Or did a subsequent scribe mistakenly alter the text?

I. The Solution Of Thiele

Thiele’s comprehensive harmonization of the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah2 rests on three important facts.

1. One must recognize differences in the way the reigns of kings were reckoned. If a king began his reign in the middle of a calendar year, was he counted as reigning for the entire year (nonaccession-year dating) or was he counted as starting his reign at the beginning of the next year (accession-year dating)? Both methods were used in Judah, but only the nonaccession-year method was used in Israel. Not recognizing these different methods can cause a one- or two-year difference in reckoning the dates of a king’s reign.

2. One must recognize co-regencies. Occasionally a son would be made king along with his father to insure a smooth transition of power at the death of a king. This often results in dual dating, where the length of a king’s reign is given as his total years of reign, including the time he was a co-regent, but his year of accession to the throne is counted as the year he became sole ruler.

*Andrew Steinmann is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

JETS 30:4 (December 1987) p. 392

3. One can establish dates with the help of non-Biblical sources (e.g. Assyrian or Egyptian chronology).3

Using these three methods Thiele was able to harmonize all of the Biblical chronology of the divided monarchy with the exception of