In our series on biblical chronology, tracing from the early biblical monarchical period back through the time of the judges, the Exodus, the sojourn and patriarchal period, we’ve looked at the various debates as they surround internal biblical numbers and archaeological remains, filtering the collective evidence in order to ascertain the correct periods of time for events described in the Bible and in turn witnessed on the ground.įor this final article, however, the picture is somewhat different. Yet there is a significant amount of debate about these antediluvian- and patriarchal-period numbers, resulting in wildly different counts-to the tune of nearly 1,500 years. How much time elapsed from the first man, Adam, to the Flood, and then on into the age of the patriarchs? It’s a biblical question that seems fairly straightforward based on the chronogenealogies contained within Genesis 5 and 11: 1,656 years from Adam to the Flood, and 292 years from the Flood to Abraham (or 352 years there’s some ambiguity about the age of Terah when he begat Abraham).
