Bible Prophecy Numbers
1260 days, 1290 days, 1335 Days
Bible Chronology
Part 'B'
III) Flood Date
Bible Chronology and numeric patterns from Creation to the Flood--- to the Exodus
Chronology: A,' 'B,' and 'C.' (and numeric Patterns: D., E., F., G., H.)
The NT variants are, the (LXX) '130' years of Luke 3:36, the '60' years of Acts 7:4,
and the (LXX, SP) '215' years of Gal. 3:17, a total possible span of 405 years.[4]
THE 60-YEAR VARIANT:
Having looked at the 215-year variant in the section on 'Abraham,' we now look at the '60' and '130' that, along with the '215,' effects the dating of the flood and creation. The '60' variant is solely the result of a NT reference by Steven, recorded in the book of Acts:
"The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ' ...So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living." (Acts 7: 2-4)
Steven says that Abraham left Haran "after the death of his father." The OT does not tell us this directly, however. This adds an extra 60 years to the flood date because Genesis 11:26 says Abram was born when his father, Terah, was "70 years old" and that at "75 years," Abram left Haran and entered Canaan. This would make Terah 145 years old at the time of Abram’s entry into Canaan (70 + 75 = 145). However, since Genesis 11:32 says that Terah died at 205 years, it follows that Terah must have been 130 and not 70 years (according to NT) at the time of Abram’s birth (130 + 75 = 205), contradicting Genesis 11:26. Why this discrepancy?
Evidently, in those days it was customary for the chronologist to list all ones male children at the same point in the genealogical table as the first-born. The three sons born to Noah when compared with the three sons born to Terah aptly illustrate this. ---They are literarily and theologically in parallel:
"After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth." (Genesis 5:32)
"After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran." (Genesis 11:26)
"This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad." (Genesis 11:10)
Notice that Genesis 11:10 says that Shem’s son was born "2 years after the flood." Therefore, since Noah was exactly 600 years at the flood, and hence 602 years old at the birth of Arphaxad, it follows that Noah was 502 years old at Shem’s birth and not '500' as it says in Genesis 5:32. Consequently, we have the same phenomenon repeated here with Noah as we did with Terah who was 130 years old at Abram's birth and not '70' as the text says, Genesis 11:26.[5]
{For this reason there is the minor option of viewing Shem as 100 years at Arphaxad's birth rather than 102 (and Noah as 600, rather than 602), as significant in the numbers, similar to Terah as 130 (NT) rather than 70 at Abraham's birth.}
THE 130-YEAR VARIANT:
The LXX adds an extra name "Cainan," to the chronology between the flood and the birth of Abram thus effecting the date of the flood. If we include it, we must add another 130 years. Furthermore, the gospel of Luke uses this same LXX reading by listing 'Cainan' in his genealogy (Luke 3:36), consequently adding considerable weight to an otherwise weak reason for including this 130 years.
The three genealogical NT variants produce a possibility of 8 different dates for the flood and for the creation. Which of them do we use? There are three sensible ways of solving this problem.
1.) Accept all 8 dates as is.
2.) Follow the two lines of authorities ('MT;' or, 'MT' with 'LXX and NT') and take your choice (or use both).
3.) Use the maximum and minimum possible dates and produce two creation and flood dates.
Personally, I favor the third option because it takes into consideration both lines of authority while retaining simplicity, and because the total gap of 405 years proves self-evident in two ways: By the patterns it produces, and secondly,
as an interlocking meaningful Bible number in and of itself.[4] I rarely work with the other options.[3] However, to show that all three choices are valid (but with preference to the third), we will sample all three categories now ---for all '8' dates have the same simple pattern!
Next, the "Chronology of the Creation"
Elementary Patterns: Lamech And The Flood
Also see...
Blood-Moon Lunar Tetrads
and the Menorah of TimeThese unique Passover-Tabernacles tetrads first began around Noah's Flood. They also occurred on the exact day when Israel entered Egypt -- also Jacob's death (and his prophecy about our future), and then Saul, David, Solomon, Hanukkah, the discovery of America, Israel becomes a nation, 1967-Jerusalem war, and now!
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