Хронология от начала миробытия и до Рождества Христова по славянским Библиям и по русским рукописным хронографам, а также греческим и римским, – в которой изъясняется несогласие летописцев и показывается, что нет совершенного известия о том, в который год было Рождество Христово

I think that anyone who carefully examines this Chronology will be surprised at the great discrepancy between Bibles and chronographs in chronology, which (as there is reason to believe) occurred due to the errors of the most ancient translations of Bibles into various languages ​​and many writers of manuscripts that copied each other when the art of typography did not yet exist. May we remember here the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ to the holy apostles: “You do not understand the times and seasons that the Father has ordained in His power” (Acts 1:7). Let these words of the Lord be an admonition to us, so that we do not become curious about the times and look for benefits in books rather than the numbers of years. For those who want to know about the end of the world are told from the Lord: “No one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but only My Father” (Matthew 24:36). He seemed to say the following: let everyone fear the Last Judgment of God, and in what summer it will be, let him not try to find out. The same can be said regarding previous times: let everyone read the Divine history written in the Bible, and imitate the godly life of righteous men in order to be worthy of their share, and do not follow the wicked in order to avoid their destruction; As for the years set by the Heavenly Father in His power, do not particularly study them, lest you appear more like a curiosity than a reader of books. The Apostle says well: “About the years and the times, brethren, you do not need to write” (1 Thessalonians 5:1). Adam, after being expelled from paradise, gave birth to Seth (Gen. 5:3) in the year of his life: Bibl.–130, Chron.–230, Rom.–130. Seth gave birth to Enosh (Gen. 5:6) in the year of his life: B.–205, H.–205, R.–105. Summer from the world: B. – 335, H. – 435, R. – 235. Enosh gave birth to Cainan (Gen. 5:9) in the year: B.–190 (525), H.–190 (625), R.–90 (325) Cainan gave birth to Maleleel (Gen. 5, 12) in the year: B-170 (695), H.–170 (795), R.–70 (395). Maleleel gave birth to Jared (Gen. 5:15) in the year: B.-165 (860), H.-165 (960), R.-65 (460). Jared gave birth to Enoch (Gen. 5:18) in the year: B.–162 (1022), H.–162 (1122), R.–162 (622). Enoch gave birth to Methuselah (Gen. 5:21) in the year: B. – 165 (1187), H. – 165 (1287), R. – 65 (687). Methuselah gave birth to Lamech (Gen. 5:25) in the year: B.-187 (1374), H.-167 (1454), R.-187 (874). Lamech gave birth to Noah (Gen. 5, 28–29) in the year: B. –188 (1562), H. –188 (1642), R. –182 (1056) Noah gave birth to three sons: Shem, Ham and Ifet (Gen. 5:32) at the end of his life: B.-500 (2062), H.-500 (2142), R.-500 (1556). After the birth of three sons, Noah lived until the flood (Gen. 7:6) years: B.–100, H.–100, R.–100. From the first year of Adam to the flood of years: B. – 2162, X. – 2242, R. – 1656. The flood occurred in the 601st year of Noah’s life, and from the beginning of the world it occurred on the 27th day of April (Gen. 7:11) in the year: B.–2163, H.–2243, R.–1657. Noah stayed in the ark for a whole year, from April 27 until another April month and 27 days (Gen. 8:4). From the beginning of the world, from the month of March, he stayed for up to a year: B. – 2164, X. – 2244, R. – 1658. Noah left the ark in April, the 27th day, which he entered a year ago. Noah lived 350 years after the flood and died. In total he lived 950 years (Gen.9, 28–29). Shem gave birth to Arphaxad (Gen. 11, 10) after the flood in the year: B.–2 (2165), H.–2 (2245), R.–2 (1659). After this, he lived in childbearing for 335 years (the Romans write 500 years) and died. There is a word “about the court and about the serpent”, attributed to Saint Chrysostom and printed in the large Moscow Sobornik (“Zlatostruy”), in which on the 455th page on the back it is written that in those ancient (patriarchal) times children never died before their fathers, but fathers always died before. Having examined here from the Slavic Bibles the years of life of Noah and Shem after the flood, we find that it was not Noah who died before his son Shem, but Shem who died before his father Noah, for Noah lived after the flood for 350 years, and Shem, having given birth to Arphaxad in the second year after the flood, lived for 335 years. The most probable in this case seems to be the chronology of the Roman Bibles, which claim that Noah's son Shem lived 500 years after the flood. And Georgiy Kedrin, a Greek historiographer from Constantinople, writes that Shem lived 150 years after the death of Noah. Arphaxad gave birth to Cainan (Gen. 11,12) in the year of his life: B. – 135 (2300), H. – 135 (2380). This Cainan is not in the Roman Bibles, but it is written like this: Arphaxad gave birth to Salah, having lived for years: R. - 35. Cainan gave birth to Salah (Gen. 11, 12) in the year of his life: B.–130 (2430), H.–130 (2510). Salah gave birth to Eber (Gen. 11:14) in the year of his life: B.–130, H.–130 (2640), R.–30. Eber gave birth to Peleg (Gen. 11:16) in the year: B.–134 (2694), H.–134 (2774), R.–34. At this time, a division of languages ​​occurred. Peleg gave birth to Raghav (Gen. 11:18) in the year: B.–130 (2824), H.–130 (2904), R.–30. Raghav gave birth to Serukh (Gen. 11, 20) in the year: B.–132 (2956), H.–132 (3036), R.–32. Serukh gave birth to Nahor (Gen. 11:22) in the year: B.–130 (3086), H.–130 (3166), R.–30. Nahor gave birth to Terah (Gen. 11, 24) in the year: B.–79 (3165), H.–79 (3245), R.–29. Terah gave birth to Abraham (Gen. 11:26) in the year: B.–70 (3235), H.–70 (3315), R.–70. Georgiy Kedrin, a Tsaregrad Greek historiographer, writes that Abraham was born in the year 3312. Russian chronographs are like this: From Adam to Abraham 3324 years. Abraham received a promise from God and left his father’s house, from the land of Haran to the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1-4), in the year from his birth: B.-75 (3310), X.-75 (3390). He gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:5) in the year of his life: B.–100 (3335), H.–100 (3415), R.–100. Isaac gave birth to Jacob (Gen. 25, 26) in the year of his life: B.–60 (3395), H.–60 (3475), R.–60. Jacob gave birth to Levi (Gen. 29:34) in the year of his life: H. – 87 (3562). He entered Egypt (Gen. 47:9), having the years: B.-130 (3525), R.-130. Until now, the years from the beginning of the world according to the Slavic Bibles are clear and known. In the future, there is a lot of doubt, because there is no exact information in these Bibles about how many years the Israelites spent in Egypt. In the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 7 it is written that 400 years (Acts 7:6); in the letter to the Galatians in chapter 3 - 430 years (Gal. 3:17); the same 430 years are indicated in the Book of Exodus in the 12th chapter (Exodus 12:40). Russian and Greek chronographs calculate these years, starting not from Jacob’s entry into Egypt, but from God’s promise to Abraham, which was in the 75th year of his life, when God commanded him to come out of the land and remove himself from the family and house of his father (Gen. 12:1–4). Abraham went out with Sarah and all his possessions from the land of the Chaldeans and from Haran and came to the land of Canaan. From this time, they say, until the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt, those mentioned 430 years passed. Obviously, chronographs in this case are helped by the Book of Exodus, in the 12th chapter of which the following is said: “The Egyptians drove them out (the Israelites). The dwelling of the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, these and their fathers, was 430 years” (Ex. 12, 33, 40). When he remembers the land of Canaan, he seems to be talking about the journey of these people, which their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob made before Jacob entered Egypt with all his family. And the Apostle in the Epistle to the Galatians, in the third chapter, as it seems, does not count from the resettlement of Jacob into Egypt, but from God’s promise to Abraham, those 430 years before the adoption of the law; the law was given to Moses in the same year in which the Red Sea was passed through. Chronographs calculate these years as follows: From God's promise to Abraham until the birth of Isaac is 25 years. From the birth of Isaac to the birth of Jacob there are 60 years. Jacob entered Egypt when he was 130 years old. Combining all these years together, we get 215 years. Until 430 years, the same 215 years are still missing. The latter are taken from the genealogy of Levi, about which in the 6th chapter of the Book of Exodus the following is written: “Levi begat Kohath, Kohath begat Amram, Amram begat Moses” (Ex. 6:16, 18, 20). In which exact year one gave birth to the other, chronographs (H.) (but not the Bible) are arranged as follows: Levi gave birth to Kohath in the year 45 of his life (3607). Kohath begat Amram in the year 60 (3667). Amram gave birth to Moses in the year of his life 73 (3740). Moses began to bring plagues on Egypt in the year of his life 80 (3820). At the beginning of the next year he killed 81 Israelis (3821). If you count all these years together, you get 215 years. And the Greek chronographer George Kedrin says that the Israelites, from the time of Jacob's migration to Egypt, were in Egyptian slavery for 215 years. By adding to them the years that passed from God's promise to Abraham to Jacob's migration to Egypt, we get a full 430 years. Another calculation of the 215 years from Jacob's migration to Egypt until the Israelites left Egypt is as follows: Jacob, having moved to Egypt, lived 17 years and died. After the death of his father, Joseph lived 53 years and died. From the death of Joseph (according to the Greek chronographer George Kedrin) to the birth of Moses, 65 years passed. Moses, when he was 80 years old from birth, led his people out of Egypt. If you add all these years together, you get 215 years. After crossing the Red Sea Moses led (Deut. 34:7) the people in the desert for years and died: B. – 40, H. – 40 (3860), R. – 40. Joshua, from the tribe of Ephraim, after the death of Moses, immediately became the leader of the people and led them into the promised land. There is no exact information about how many years he led Israel, since it is not written about this in the Bibles. The Greek historian Georgy Kedrin, as well as some Russian chronographs, indicate the years: H.–27 (3887) e. Roman chronographs do not agree among themselves. Some indicate years: X.–7, R.–7. Some agree with us: R.–27. Everyone calculates the years according to their own understanding, although they are not indicated in the Roman Bibles. After the death of Joshua, the tribe of Judah led the wars, and the leader was (according to Kedrin) Caleb from the same tribe. In the Bibles, in the last chapter of the Book of Joshua and in the second chapter of the Book of Judges, it is written that after the death of Jesus, the people of Israel were ruled by elders. It must be assumed that among these elders the leader was Caleb, as the eldest in years, since after the death of Jesus he was the only one left alive among all the people who came out with Moses from Egypt and died during the forty-year wandering in the desert. How many years after the death of Joshua the people of Israel were ruled by the elders, this is not written in the indicated books, but it is only said that “they lived many days according to Jesus” (Judges 2:7). Nevertheless, chronographs are invented in their own way and years, but not all in the same way. The chronograph of the Monemvasian Metropolitan Cyrus (Greek lord) Dorotheus, translated from Greek into Slavic by Arsenius and Dionysius the Greeks, instead of the tribe of Judah, suggests a separate person who bore the name of Judah, and says that he was a judge of the people for 7 years. Chronograph Spassky Yaroslavsky writes the following: after Jesus, Judas was the first judge with the elders years: X.–18. Other Russian chronographers consider Judah to be the same Caleb and say that he was the first judge in Israel after Jesus and judged years: X.–23. A synopsis of the history of George Kedrin of Constantinople, printed in Greek in Paris in 1647, says that after Joshua the first leader of the people was Caleb years old: X.-30. The Roman chroniclers also disagree in calculating the years: some from the death of Joshua to Othniel, whom they call the first judge of Israel, count years: R.–10. Joseph, Jewish historian: R.–18. Karion Chronicle indicates: R.–23. In the Bible (Judges 2:8–14, 3:7–8), without specifying the years, the following is written: “Therefore all this generation was gathered unto its father, and another generation rose up, which did not know the Lord, and the children of Israel did evil before the Lord God; forgot Him and worshiped Baal and Ashu (Astarte) as idols. And the Lord was angry with Israel and delivered me into the hand of Husarsafem, king of Syria, and worked for him for years”: B.–8, H.–8, R.–8. Othniel was a judge of the people of Israel (Judges 3:9–11) years: B., R. –40. They were enslaved by the Moab king Eglom (Judges 3.14) years: B., H., R. – 18. Ehud was a judge of Israel (Judges 3:30) years: B., H., R. – 80. After Ehud, Semegar was a judge, but the Bibles do not indicate exactly how many years; It is believed that he was a judge for a short time, only a few months. Spassky Yaroslavl chronograph attributed the years to this Semegar: X.–7. After this they were in the power of the king of Canaan (Judges 4:2–3) years: B., H., R. – 20. Devora and Barak were judged (Judgment 5, 31) years: B., H., R. – 40. They submitted to Midian (Judges 6:1) years: B., H., R. – 7. Gideon judged (Judges 8, 28) years: B., H., R. – 40. Abimelech, son of Gideon (Judges 9:22): B., H., R. – 3. Fola judged (Judges 10.1–2): B., H., R.–23. Jairus the judge (Judges 10:3): B., H., R. – 22. They submitted to the Philistines (Judges 10:7–8) years: B., X, R.–18. Jephthah judged (Judges 12:7) years: B., H., R. – 6. This judge, through ambassadors, told the king of Ammon that for 300 years the Jews had been living in the land they had conquered (Judges 11:26). Heshbon was a judge (Jud. 12, 8–9) years old: B., H., R. – 7. Elon (Judges 12, 11): B., H., R. – 10. Abdon (Judges 12:13–14): B., H., R. – 8. They were enslaved by the Philistines for the second time (Judges 13:1) for years: B., H..R. – 40. Sampson was a judge (Court. 15, 20) years: B., H., R. – 20. After Sampson, Emegar was a judge, but how long he judged is not indicated in the Bibles. The Greek George Kedrin, after Sampson, places a certain Saman and says that this Saman ruled the people of Israel for years: X.–1. Aren't Saman and Yemegar the same person? The chronograph of Dorotheus of Monemvasia writes that after Yemegar Mich was also a judge, but does not indicate how many years he judged. Russian chronographs say that after Sampson there was no judge among the Israeli people for years: X. – 40. It is believed that the Israelites had peace with the barbarians, and everyone did as he pleased; but we think that this did not really happen, as we will see later. In the Book of Judges of Israel, after Sampson and Emegar, two stories are told: one in the 17th and 18th chapters about Micah and the graven idol; another story in chapters 19 and 20 about the Levite's wife, raped by fornicators and cut into pieces by her husband, which caused a war in Israel against the tribe of Benjamin. However, interpreters of Divine Scripture believe that both of these stories occurred after the death of Joshua and before Othniel began to judge in Israel. This assumption of the interpreters is based on the following. The idol carved from silver by Micah was made at a time when there was no final division of the land between the tribes of Israel, when the tribe of Dan asked for a plot among the other tribes, and when men were sent to consider the land in which the tribe of Dan could settle, which was a few years after the death of Joshua. And the idol that was made was the beginning of the idolatry of the Israelites. For this, the angry God delivered them into slavery to the Syrian king Husarsafem for eight years (Judges 3) and then delivered them through the judge Othniel. Another story about the wife of Levi and the war of Benjamin undoubtedly occurred soon after the death of Joshua, since it mentions the priest Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron; about this priest in the Book of Joshua in the 24th chapter it is written that after the death of Eleazar the priest, the son of Aaron, who died shortly after Joshua, Phinehas became a priest, taking the place of his father Eleazar (Joshua 24, 33–34). Could this priest live for so many years when even all the judges of Israel had died? No way. This is also explained by George Kedrin, who says that in the days of Sampson the priest Eli, the seventh bishop from Aaron, was elected chief of the priests; after him was Samuel the prophet. It is obvious that this story did not take place after Sampson, but shortly after the death of Joshua, in the days of the priest Phinehas, the third high priest from Aaron, the grandson of Aaron, and not in the days of Eli, who was the seventh high priest after Aaron. As for the fact that this story is placed at the end of the Book of Judges of Israel, there is nothing surprising in this, for in the Book of Daniel, which describes in detail the long life of this prophet, almost at the end is placed the story of Susanna, which took place in the days of St. Daniel’s adolescence. After the judges of Israel, the priest Eli, the seventh (according to the testimony of Kedrin) bishop after Aaron, elevated to this rank in the days of Sampson, immediately became the ruler of the people instead of the judge. After Sampson, the Israelites did not remain without a judge for 40 years, but they had Emegar, whom the Greek Kedrin calls Saman, and also had the priest Eli, who ruled them. If at the end of the Book of Judges it is written that “in your days there was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever he pleased before his eyes” (Judges 21:25), then this most of all corresponds to those two stories about the idol Micah and the Levite’s wife, which, as we have clearly shown, took place not after Sampson, but after the death of Joshua, when the people were ruled by the elders and when few of them listened, but everyone lived according to his own will, and when the people turned into corruption. In the days of Eli the priest, the holy prophet Samuel was born and raised. Eli ruled the people (1 Kings 4:18) for years: B. – 40, R. – 40. Russian chronographs indicate that he ruled the people for years: X. – 20. After this, they were enslaved for the second time by the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:2) years: B., H., R. – 20. Samuel the prophet, through his prayers, miraculously delivered the people of Israel from slavery to the Philistines and became a priest and judge of the people. How many years he ruled the people, being their judge, this is not written in the Bible, but it only says that he ruled until old age, and when he grew old, then he put his sons in his place. Then the people asked the king, and he anointed Saul with them. Russian chronographs indicate that Samuilovo's ownership lasted 30 years, and the Monemvasiy chronograph and Georgy Kedrin say 35 years. Kedrin arranges the years of Samuel's life as follows: in the days of the priest Eli, in the fourth year of his bishopric and judicial duties, the prophet Samuel was born; in the eighth year of his life, Samuel was given to the church of the Lord, in the 38th year he became a judge of the people; died in the seventieth year of his life; priested for 35 years. However, it seems that Samuel’s life was more than 70 years, for even after Saul was installed as king, he lived for a considerable time, which is clearly seen from the Bible, the First Book of Kings, in chapter 25 (1 Samuel 25). There is a chronograph in Latin called Alstedius, which writes about Saint Samuel that he was a judge of the people for 30 years alone, and together with King Saul for 10 years. Others begin calculating the years of Saul’s leadership not from the death of the priest Eli, but from the end of the rule of the Philistines, to whom the Israelites submitted for 20 years, and they say that even if after the death of the priest Eli Samuel was a priest of the Lord, he was not the leader of the people until these 20 years of slavery had passed. When the people freed themselves from slavery, then Samuel became their perfect leader and possessed them for 30 years and even more, until he grew old. This is clear from the words of Blessed Jerome, who says the following: “From the time when the priesthood of Elijah was rejected, and even to the possession of Samuel, twenty years of disasters and slavery passed.” Let us pay attention to his following words: “even before Samuilov’s possession, twenty years passed”; Obviously, not with the death of the priest Eli, but with the end of twenty years of slavery, Samuil’s reign began, and the life of the latter reached a deeper old age than the age of seventy, since he lived for a long time even after Saul’s installation as king. In the Acts of the Apostles in the 13th chapter it is written that after the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the promised land, “God gave them judges for four hundred and fifty years, like years even to Samuel the prophet, and from there they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul” (Acts 13, 20-21): X. – 450. But according to chronograph calculations, it will be more than five hundred years. George Kedrin writes the following: from the death of Joshua to the death of the prophet Samuel, years passed: X. - 610. But things will turn out differently with our Russian chronographs. Let anyone who wants to count it. How many years the first king Saul reigned is not mentioned in the Books of Kings, but there is an indication in the 13th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that he was king for 40 years (Acts 13:21). But interpreters of Divine Scripture and chronographs written in Latin connect these 40 years of Saul’s reign with the years of Samuel, who not only before King Saul, but also when Saul had already reigned, judged the Israelites all the days of his life. One of them, Salian, says the following: Samuel was the only judge of Israel for 23 years, and in the 24th year of his judicial duties he anointed Saul to the kingdom; He was a judge with Saul for 16 years and died. After his death, Saul was on the royal throne for 2 years, after which he died. Another chronograph, Juncius, calculates these years as follows: In the tenth year of Samuel's reign, David was born. In the 30th year of his reign, the Israelis asked for a king. Saul was the first king of Israel in the 31st year of Samuel's reign. Saul, after two years or in the 33rd year of Samuel's reign, was rejected by God for disobedience. David was secretly anointed king in the house of Jesse in the 34th year of Samuel's reign. David killed Goliath in the 35th year of Samuilov's reign. David reigned after the reign of Samuel for forty years, when the latter had already died. Bellarmine the Roman in his chronology writes the following: The Greek chronograph George Kedrin of the year of Saul's reign is as follows: Under Samuel, Saul reigned for 20 years. After Samuel 20 years. Consequently, his entire reign lasted 40 years. David reigned after Saul for years: B., H., R. – 40. Solomon assumed the kingdom after the death of David and in the fourth year of his reign began building the church of the Lord. The beginning of the creation of Solomon's Temple In the Third Book of Kings, chapter 6, it is written that Solomon began the construction of the church (1 Kings 6:1) in the year after the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt: B. - 440, R. - 480. Russian chronographs write that this happened in the year from Adam 4469. Other chronographs (Monemvasian) indicate the year from Adam 4470. According to their instructions, Solomon began to build the Temple of the Holy of Holies in the year 642 after the children of Israel left Egypt. (However, such a chronograph calendar after careful consideration turns out to be incorrect.) There is no doubt that Russian chronographs are very inconsistent with the Bible in their chronology. The disagreement between the Roman chronology and our biblical one in this case is brought into harmony by skillful researchers, recognizing both chronologies as satisfactory: one of them (that is, Russian and Greek) begins counting from the time the Israelites entered the Promised Land, which happened after their forty-year wandering with Moses in the desert; the other (that is, the Roman) counts the years from the time of their passage through the Red Sea, followed by a forty-year wandering in the desert until they reached the promised land. If these 40 years of desert wandering are added to the 440 years indicated in our Bibles, we get 480 years. But the most surprising thing is that in the Bibles themselves, in the Divine Scriptures, there is a disagreement in chronology. For in the Acts of the Apostles in the 13th chapter the following is written: “Paul stood up and waved his hand, saying: Men of Israel and you who fear God, hear! God chose these people, our fathers and people, when they came into the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought them out of it; and will lead them into the desert until they are 40 years old. And he brought down the tongue of the seven into the land of Canaan, and gave them their land as an inheritance. And until now, for four hundred and fifty years, he gave them judges even to Samuel the prophet, and from there they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, 40 years old” (Acts 13:16-21). Here the reader should pay attention to the fact that St. The Apostle Paul counts 450 years from the entry of the children of Israel into the Promised Land until the Prophet Samuel. Saul reigned for 40 years, David reigned for 40 years, Solomon in the fourth year of his reign began building the church of the Lord; How is it that in the 6th chapter of the Third Book of Kings it is written that Solomon began to build the church of the Lord in the 440th year after the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt? It seems that since ancient times a certain mistake was made here by those who wrote and rewrote, when the art of typography did not yet exist. It is necessary either to add the missing number of years in the 6th chapter of the Third Book of Kings, or to reduce the years in the Acts of the Apostles. Some of the Roman researchers (Agnius in the Chronicle and Cornelius a-Lapides, on Acts, ch. 13) argue and say that it is necessary to read 350 years in the Acts of the Apostles instead of 450 years. Here we will apply the following reasoning. First of all, it is necessary to know that the years of the judges of Israel are calculated differently according to the opinion of the chroniclers and differently according to the understanding of the interpreters of the Divine Scripture. The chroniclers count the years as written in the Bible, adding to them those years in which the Israelites were enslaved by foreigners, that is, the following: Before Othniel, they were enslaved by the Syrian king Husarsafem for about 8 years. After Othniel, they submitted to the Moabite king Eglom for 18 years. Before Barak, they were enslaved by the Canaanite king for 20 years. After Barak they fell under the yoke of Midian for 7 years. Before Jephthah, they were slaves to the Philistines for 18 years. Before Sampson, they were enslaved by the Philistines for the second time for 40 years. Combining all these years together, we get 111 years. (Excluded here are the 20 years during which the Israelites were enslaved by the Philistines after the priest Eli and in the days of Samuel.) The interpreters of the Divine Scripture classify these years as the years of the judges of Israel in the following way. After the elders of Israel, who ruled the people after the death of Joshua, there was Judge Othniel, the younger brother of Caleb, who judged the Israelites for 40 years (Judges 3:9-11). During these years, at the beginning of his judicial duties, the Israelites were in slavery to the Syrian king, which is clearly evident from the Holy Scripture, in which the following is written about Othniel: “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and judged Israel, and went out into the army against Husarsafem the King (Judges 3.10). Here it is necessary to take into account that he did not go to war before becoming a judge, but first he was a judge in Israel, and then after some time he went to war. Consequently, those 8 years in which the Israelites were in slavery to the king of Syria consisted partly in the last years of the elders who were before the judge Othniel, and partly in the initial years of the reign of the judge Othniel. The chronograph of Cyrus Dorotheus, Metropolitan of Monemvasia, also agrees with this, who says that the Israelites during the days of the leadership of Othniel were in slavery to the Syrian king and were delivered by Othniel. The same should be understood about all the other years between the judges, during which the Israelites were in the power of foreigners, since these years consist partly in the years of the ending judge, and partly in the time of the entering judge. This can also be observed in the narrative about the days of the reign of the prophetess Devora. In Chapter 4 of the Book of Judges it is written that Jabin, the king of Canaan, cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, and then Scripture immediately adds: “And Devorah the prophetess... judge Israel at that time” (Judges 4:4-5). Consequently, the king of Canaan cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years in the days of Judge Devorah, i.e. these twenty years consist of Devora's forty-year reign. In addition, about Sampson at the end of the 15th chapter it is written: “Judge Israel in the days of the Philistines for 20 years” (Judges 15:20). Consequently, Sampson's twenty-year reign was during the reign of the Philistines, with whom he fought. What we prove can be seen even more clearly from the same chapter, where the Israelites say to Sampson: “Thou hast not created this world, even as the Philistines rule over us?” (Judges 15:11). So, during the 20 years of Sampson’s reign, they were under the rule of the Philistines, for Sampson could not completely rid them of the Philistines, but only tame the Philistine power so that they would not especially cruelly oppress the people. Even after the death of Sampson, the Philistines dominated the Israelites for a considerable time, until after Sampson Emegar subdued them. Thus, according to the understanding of the interpreters, the number of years when the Israelites were in slavery will turn out to be less, for these years partly consist of the years of government of the judges. The years of the judges of Israel are as follows: Othniel judged for 40 years; Aod 80; Barak and Devorah are 40 years old; Gideon 40; Abimelech 3; Foul 23; Jairus 22; Jephthah 6; Yesevon 7; Elon 10; Avdon 8; Sampson is 20 years old and the priest Eli is 40 years old. Combining all these years together, we get 339 years. Here you need to add 7 years of the leadership of Joshua after Moses and 10 years of the government of the elders of Israel after Joshua (the exact number of years attributed to Joshua and the elders by reliable writers), and you get all the years before the prophet Samuel 356. And it would not be a big disaster if in the Acts of the Apostles we read 350 instead of 450, although in this case we get 6 extra years that are not mentioned by the Apostle. For the Apostle does not claim that a full 50 years have passed beyond 400 or 300 years, but prefaces this with the word “like”: “And until now like 450 years,” that is, either more or less; this is precisely what the word “yako” means. So, when instead of 450 you take 350 with six years, then add to these 356 years the 40 years of Samuel and Saul's dominion (including in the years of Samuel and those 20 years during which the Israelites, after the priest Eli, were in slavery to the Philistines), then add 40 years of the reign of David and three years of the reign of Solomon with the fourth year, in which he began to build the church of the Lord, and you will find it correct what is written in the 6th chapter of the Third Book of Kings, that in the four hundred and fortieth year after the children of Israel left Egypt (better understand from the entry into the promised land of the children of Israel who came out of Egypt) and in the fourth year of his reign, Solomon began to build the church of the Lord. If you add those 40 years in which the Israelites, after crossing the Red Sea, wandered with Moses in the desert, then you will get 480 years, as read in the Roman Bibles. This is how these years are counted according to the understanding of the interpreters of Divine Scripture. According to the opinion and calculation of chronographs, it turns out to be much more years before Samuel. For when the years of slavery are combined, when the Israelites submitted to their enemies at different times between the periods of the government of the judges, the result is 111 years; when they (chronographs) add these years to 339 years from the beginning of the reign of Othniel (for many consider him the first judge), then the number of all years is 450. So, from what has been discussed, it can be understood that both testimonies, that is, those written in the Acts of the Apostles (chap. 13) and in the Third Book of Kings (chap. 6), do not contain any error. For when the holy Apostle Paul says that the judges in Israel before the prophet Samuel ruled for 450 years, then you understand that they count all the years, as chroniclers generally do, counting especially the years of slavery, without including them in the years of the judges. When you read in the Book of Kings about 440 (or according to the Roman Bibles 480) years before the beginning of the Church of Solomon, then know that this calculation is the same as that proposed by interpreters, including all the years of slavery in the years of the reign of the judges. Solomon remained on the royal throne (1 Kings 11:42; 2 Chronicles 9:30) years: B., H., R. – 40. Rehoboam, son of Solomon (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 12:13) reigned years: B., H., R. –17. Abijah, son of Rehoboam (1 Kings 15:1–2; 2 Chronicles 13:1–2) years: B., H., R. – 3. Asa, the son of Abius (1 Kings 15:9–10; 2 Chronicles 16:3), reigned years: B., H., R. – 41. George Kedrin writes that Asa reigned for 40 years. Jehoshaphat, son of Asa (1 Kings 22, 42; 2 Chronicles 20, 31), years: B., H., R. – 25. The Monemvasian chronograph indicates 42 years. Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 8, 16–17; 2 Chronicles 21:5, 20), reigned years: B., H., R. –8. Let it be known that Joram was a king while his father was still alive. When his father went to war to help King Ahab of Israel, he named his son Joram king in Jerusalem. This was the custom in those ancient times: if any king intended to go to war, he first of all named the king whom he would like to have after him; This was done so that there would be a ready-made king on the throne if the one who went to war happened to die. By virtue of this custom, Joram was placed on the royal throne in the days of his father and reigned with his father for 4 years, and after his father’s death also for 4 years. And thus the time of his reign amounted to 8 years. (All sources indicate the same number of years) Ahaziah, son of Joram (2 Kings 8:26; 2 Chronicles 22:2), reigned for only 1 year. Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah (2 Kings 11:3; 2 Chronicles 22:12), 6 years old. Kedrin says that she reigned for 8 years. Joash, son of Ahaziah (2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chronicles 24:1), reigned for 40 years. About his torment, see 2 Chronicles 24, 24–25. Amaziah, son of Joash (2 Kings 14:1–2; 2Chronicles 25:1) years old – 29. Uzziah, or Azariah, son of Amaziah (2 Kings 15:1–2; 2 Chronicles 26:3), 52 years old. In his days, says Eusebius in the chronicle, there was the beginning of the Olympiads. Jotham, son of Uzziah (2 Kings 15:32–33; 2 Chronicles 27:1:8), reigned for 16 years. Georgy Kedrin says that during the days of his reign the Olympics began. Ahaz, son of Jotham (2 Kings 16:2; 2 Chronicles 28:1), age –16. During his reign, Rome was created. Hezekiah, son of Ahaz (2 Kings 18:1–2; 2 Chronicles 29:1), age 29. He reigned with his father for two years, and alone he was king for 27 years. This king Hezekiah burned the copper serpent and Solomon's medical book. The “three youths” taken into Babylonian captivity were his children; During the days of his reign, Tobiah was also there. Manasseh, son of Hezekiah (2 Kings 21:1; 2 Chronicles 33:1), reigned – 55. He was taken into Babylonian captivity and returned again. Ammon, son of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:19; 2 Chronicles 33:21), 2 years old. Others (Russian chronographs) indicate about 12 years. In his days lived Midas, king of Phrygia, with donkey ears (Kedrin). Josiah, son of Ammon (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Chronicles 34:1) – 31. Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah (2 Kings 23:31; 2 Chronicles 36:2), reigned for three months, which are counted in the years of Josiah. Eliakim, or Joachim, the second son of Josiah (2 Kings 23:36; 2 Chronicles 36:5), reigned for 11 years. In the days of this king of Judah, for the first time Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem and captured the holy prophet Daniel with three youths. Jehoiachin, also known as Joachim, the son of Eliakim (2 Kings 24:8; 2 Chronicles 36:9), reigned for 3 months and 10 days, and this time is counted as the last, eleventh year of the reign of Eliakim. With the death of Eliakim (also known as Joachim) and the taking of the captive Jehoiachin to Babylon, the calculation of 70 years of Babylonian captivity begins. When Eliakim was taken to Babylon with numerous captives, then the holy prophet Jeremiah wrote to those in Babylonian captivity, announcing to them that they would remain there for 70 years (Jer. 29:10). Russian chronographs, as we will find out later, begin calculating these 70 years not from the time of the captivity of Jehoiachin, but from the captivity of Zedekiah. Zedekiah, uncle of Jeconiah and son of Josiah, brother of Joahaz and Eliakim (2 Kings 24:18; 2 Chronicles 36:11), reigned for 11 years. And then he was taken captive to Babylon. The final withdrawal to Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem In the third year after the captivity and destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon was burned. Georgy Kedrin says that this church stood for 442 years. The Israelites stayed in Babylon for 70 years. These 70 years of captivity of the people of Israel and their stay in Babylon are not calculated equally. Russian chronographs begin their calculation with the capture of Zedekiah and the final destruction of Jerusalem. Roman chronographs begin with Jeconiah (formerly Zedekiah) leading to Babylon; from that time on, the holy prophet Jeremiah began to prophesy about 70 years of captivity (Jer. 29:10). After Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon with many of his most worthy people, Zedekiah became king in Jerusalem after him. From here the Romans begin to calculate the years of captivity, adhering to the testimony of the holy prophet Jeremiah. Zedekiah reigned for years: Russian - 11, Romans - 11. In the eleventh year of his reign, he was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Jerusalem suffered final destruction. From here Russian chronographs begin to calculate the years of captivity. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar reigned for years: Rus.-17, Rom. –26. In total, he reigned in Babylon for 43 years, and according to others - 44. Evilmerodach, his son, reigned for years: Rus.-5, Rom.-30. Belshazzar, son of Evilmerodach, years: Russian - 3, Romans - 3. Darius, in addition to the years in which he ruled in the Medes, reigned in Babylon for years: Russian - 17, Romans - 2. Cyrus, in addition to the years during which he previously ruled in Persia, reigned in Babylon for years: Russian - 30, Romans - 3. George Kedrin says that Cyrus reigned for 32 years. Here Russian and Roman chronographs finish calculating the years of the Jewish captivity. Russian chronographs say that in the 30th year of his reign, Cyrus sent Zerubbabel with many Jewish people to Jerusalem to build the church of the Lord; but this contradicts the Bibles, which say that in the first year of the reign of Cyrus (and not in the thirtieth) Zerubbabel was released, which is clearly seen from the first chapter of the First Book of Ezra (1 Ezra 1, 1-3). So Russian and Roman chronographs calculate 70 years of the Jewish captivity in Babylon according to the years of the Babylonian kings. In the Bibles, the years of these kings are not indicated: how many years Nebuchadnezzar reigned, how many Evilmerodach, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus, this is unknown, but what is known is that the Jews were in Babylonian captivity for 70 years, even before the first year of Cyrus’ reign. After Cyrus, his son Cambyses ascended the throne, who in the 4th chapter of the First Book of Ezra (1 Ezra 4:6) is called Asber (Assuir) and Artaxerxes (the first with this name). He forbade the building of the church of the Lord. How many years Cambyses reigned is not written in the Bible. Then Darius, another with the same name, the son of the Hystaspes, began to reign. In the second year of his reign, he commanded again to build the church of the Lord in Jerusalem. The church was completed in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, as it is written in the seventh chapter of the Second Book of Ezra (2 Ezra 7:5). It is written about the Holy Gospel (John 2:20) that this church took 46 years to build (not that it was built continuously for so many years, but that thanks to many obstacles its construction was delayed for so many years). This makes it possible to think that from the first year of the reign of Cyrus in Babylon, in which he gave the command to build the church, and until the sixth year of the reign of Darius, when the church was completed, 46 years passed. After this, how many years Darius Hystaspes reigned is not written in the Bible. When Artaxerxes (another with the same name) reigned in Babylon, in the twentieth year of his reign the royal cupbearer Nehemiah was released to Jerusalem to build the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-6). After this Artaxerxes, the Persian kings (they are also Babylonian) are no longer remembered in the Bibles, although there were many of them after the above-mentioned ones; their years are not indicated, even before the death of the great king Alexander the Great and before the beginning of the Hellenic (that is, Greek) kingdom. From the beginning of this kingdom, chronology is carried out in the Books of the Maccabees, as can be seen in the first chapter of the First Book of Maccabees, where the following is written about King Antiochus, called Epiphanes: “He reigned in the year 137 of the kingdom of Greece” (1 Maccabees 1:10), but this chronology is carried out only in the history of the Maccabean brothers. How many years passed before the Nativity of Christ from the end of that captivity, in which the Israeli people remained for 70 years in Babylon, is difficult, if not impossible, to determine from the Bible, since the number of known years of the reign of the Persian kings is not indicated and many kings who were after the second Artaxerxes and even before Alexander the Great were silent. But even after the death of the Maccabees, nothing is written in the Bibles about those rulers who existed before the Nativity of Christ. Many are indicated in chronographs, but not in Bibles. And what is written in them is not all probable, since chronographs do not agree in many things they describe, and especially in chronology. Is it possible to count the years from the Babylonian migration to Christ according to the weeks of Daniel, communicated by the angel? But they also cause a lot of bewilderment, since interpreters of Divine Scripture and chroniclers argue about the time from which these weeks begin and end. Some believe that they begin from the very day of the revelation of God, which was to the holy prophet Daniel through an angel. Others - from the first year of the autocracy of Cyrus, when this king commanded the building of the church of the Lord and sent the Jewish prince Zerubbabel to Jerusalem with many people. Others - from the second year of the reign of Darius Hystaspes, who for the second time ordered the construction of the church, which was prohibited by King Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. Some - from the sixth year of Dariev, in which the construction of the church was completed and it was consecrated. Others - from the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, who was after Darius, when Ezra was released to Jerusalem with many people of Israel. Others - from the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, when this king ordered the erection of the walls of Jerusalem and for this purpose released the cupbearer Nehemiah, since this is also written in the 9th chapter of the Book of Daniel: “From the exodus of the word, to build up Jerusalem, until Christ the elders...” (Dan. 9, 25). Finally, some - from the completion of the construction of the walls and the renovation of the city of Jerusalem, these weeks of Daniel begin; the renewal took place in the 22nd year of the reign of Artaxerxes. As for the weeks of Daniel themselves, there are 70 of them, and they contain 490 years. In the same way, regarding the end of these weeks, many do not agree with each other. Others believe that their end was at the birth of Christ; others - during the free suffering of Christ and His life-giving death; some - at the last destruction of Jerusalem, committed by Titus Vespasian, and at the final desolation of this city. In such perplexing things as in a labyrinth, is it really possible to find, in the light of the Bible, the correct and correct way of calculating chronology? But from the very beginning of the existence of the world until the Nativity of Christ, it is very difficult to calculate the years according to the Bibles due to the years not mentioned in many places, and also due to their disagreement in places, as was shown in this chronology. Nevertheless, we will offer here an understanding and calculation of these years of Russian and Roman chronographs. You might be interested in: