WHO WAS KING OF JUDAH WHEN SAMARIA FELL?
VII. The Compounding of the Errors
by miriam berg
1994


VII. THE COMPOUNDING OF THE ERRORS

Professor R.H.Pfeiffer, in his classic book Introduction to the Old Testament, declares that the "regnal periods are more accurate than the synchronisms", and that "neither chronology is wholly accurate" between the list of kings of Israel and those of Judah. He then goes on to show how inconsistent results are obtained by just adding up years to prove his point, but his data show that he is ignoring the first principle of the Hebrew historians. His figures for the kings between the division of the kingdoms and the accession of Jehu are shown in Table I, together with the comment from II Kings and the sequential year according to the book of II Kings:

T A B L E      I

    (King)
Rehoboam
Jeroboam
Abijam
Asa
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri
(Omri&Tibni)
Omri
Ahab
Jehoshaphat
Ahaziah of Israel
Jehoram of Israel
Jehoram of Judah
Ahaziah of Judah
(Judah)
17 yrs

3 yrs
41 yrs







25 yrs


8 yrs
1 yr
-------
95 yrs
(Israel)

22 yrs


2 yrs
24 yrs
1 yr
1 week

12 yrs
22 yrs

2 yrs
12 yrs


-------
98 yrs
  (Comment from II Kings)
(1st of Rehoboam,1st of
 Jeroboam, 40th of Solomon)
(18th of Jeroboam)
(20th of Jeroboam)
(22nd of Jeroboam, 2nd of Asa)
(2nd of Nadab, 3rd of Asa)
(24th of Baasha, 26th of Asa)
(2nd of Elah, 27th of Asa)
(1st of Zimri)
(31st of Asa)
(12th of Omri, 38th of Asa)
(4th of Ahab, 41st of Asa)
(17th of Jehoshaphat)
(18th of Jehoshaphat)
(5th of Jehoram of Israel)
(12th of Jehoram of Israel)


 (Sequential
     year)
     1st
     1st
     18th
     20th
     21st
     22nd
     45th
     46th
     46th
     50th
     57th
     60th
     76th
     77th
     81st
     88th
-------
     88 yrs

It is not clear how this proves that the regnal periods are more accurate than the synchronisms, nor does he state how he knows that the synchronisms were computed from the regnal periods. But adding up the reigns according to the first principle (column 5 of the Table I and Table II) gives the same result as adding up the synchronisms.

T A B L E      I I

    (King)
Jehu, Athaliah
Jehoash of Judah
Jehoahaz
Jehoash of Israel
Amaziah
Jeroboam II
Azariah
Zachariah
Shallum
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hoshea
Hezekiah
Fall of Samaria
(Judah)
6 yrs
40 yrs


29 yrs

52 yrs





16 yrs
16 yrs

6 yrs

-------
165 yrs
(Israel)
28 yrs

17 yrs
16 yrs

41 yrs

6 months
1 month
10 yrs
2 yrs
20 yrs


9 yrs


-------
143yr, 7mo
(Comment from II Kings)
(1st of Jehu)
(1st of Jehu)
(23rd of Jehoash of Judah)
(37th of Jehoash of Judah)
(2nd of Jehoash of Israel)
(15th of Amaziah)
(27th of Jeroboam II)
(38th of Azariah)
(39th of Azariah)
(39th of Azariah)
(50th of Azariah)
(52nd of Azariah)
(2nd of Pekah)
(17th of Pekah)
(12th of Ahaz)
(3rd of Hoshea)
(9th of Hoshea,
   6th of Hezekiah)

 (Sequential
     year)
     1st
     1st
     23rd
     37th
     38th
     50th
     67th
     77th
     78th
     78th
     88th
     89th
     95th
     105th
     113rd
     115th
     121st
-------
     121 yrs


T A B L E      I I I
                                       J U D A H                           I S R A E L
  (King)
Athaliah
Jehu
Jehoash
Jehoahaz
Jehoash
Amaziah
Jeroboam II
Azariah
Zachariah
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hoshea
Hezekiah


 (Reign)
6 yrs

34 yrs


26 yrs

28 yrs




15 yrs
7 yrs

5 yrs
-------
121 yrs
 (Co-regency)


6 yrs


3 yrs

24 yrs




1 yr
9 yrs

1 yr
-------
(44 yrs)
 (Reign)

28 yrs

11 yrs
13 yrs

28 yrs

1 yr
10 yrs
2 yrs
20 yrs


8 yrs

-------
121 yrs
 (Co-regency)



6 yrs
3 yrs

13 yrs







1 yr

-------
(23 yrs)
 (Total reign)
(7 years)
(28 years)
(40 years)
(17 years)
(16 years)
(29 years)
(41 years)
(52 years)
(1 year)
(10 years)
(2 years)
(20 years)
(16 years)
(16 years)
(9 years)
(29 years
   total)

For the period between Jehu and the fall of Samaria, which is known from Assyrian inscriptions to have been 121 years, from 842 BCE until 722 BCE, he gives the figures shown in Table II on the preceding page. Again it is not clear how this proves that the regnal periods are more accurate. But here again Pfeiffer shows no awareness of the second principle or of co-regencies. The correct way of adding up the reigns of these kings is shown in Table III on the preceding page: by separating the years of co-regency from the years of sole kingship, which must then total the number of elapsed years and the overlapping years separately.

Maspero in another footnote also stoutly maintains that "the synchronisms in the Hebrew narrative are wholly fictitious", "resting on no historical basis." But on what does he base these sweeping statements? Apparently on nothing more than the 13th verse of the 18th chapter of II Kings, that the year that Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem was the 14th year of Hezekiah, and since the siege was actually 20 years after the fall of Samaria, every other statement in the books of the Kings about Hezekiah must be wrong. But why not assume the opposite? Why should the statement about the 14th year of Hezekiah be more accurate than the statement about the 6th year of Hezekiah?

In order to make the dating of the kings of Israel and Judah fit this assumption that Hezekiah's reign began in the year 714 BCE, scholars are forced to adjust many other of the reigns of the kings as reported in the books of the Kings. Thus, W.F. Albright places the accession year of Jotham as 742 BCE, and Pekah as 737 BCE, which is 6 years AFTER the 1st year of Jotham, even though the second book of the Kings tells us that Jotham became king in the 2nd year AFTER Pekah. He also places the accession year of Hoshea as 732 BCE, which is the 6th year of Pekah if Pekah began to reign in 737 BCE, but II Kings 15 says that Pekah reigned for 20 years. He places the accession year of Ahaz in 735, which is the 8th year of Jotham all right, and it is 4 years before the accession of Hoshea all right, but it is the 3rd year of Pekah in his scheme, whereas the second book of the Kings tells us that Ahaz began to reign in the 17th year of Pekah, and it also tells us that Hoshea began to reign in the 12th year of Ahaz. So Albright, in order to keep the accession year of Hezekiah as 714 BCE, is forced to attribute five more errors to the author of the books of the Kings: that Jotham began to reign in the 2nd year of Pekah, that Pekah reigned for 20 years, that Ahaz became king in the 17th year of Pekah, that Hoshea became king in the 12th year of Ahaz, and that the 12th year of Ahaz was the same as the 20th year of Jotham. He further makes the accession year of Azariah to be 783 BCE, so that the year Pekah began to reign was the 46th year of Azariah, whereas the second book of the Kings says that it was the 52nd year, thus imputing another error to the Kings.

So then too Professor Albright, because he accepts the interpretation that Hezekiah became king in 714 BCE, is forced to assume that the writer of the books of the Kings made many other errors. These are the errors i have found which he imputes to the writer of the books of the Kings:
1) That Asa reigned 41 years (Albright says 30);
2) That Nadab began to reign in the 2nd year of Asa (Albright says 3rd);
3) That Baasha began to reign in the 3rd year of Asa (Albright says 4th);
4) That Elah began to reign in the 26th year of Asa (Albright says 27th);
5) That Zimri rose up in the 27th year of Asa (Albright says 28th);
6) That Ahab began to reign in the 12th year after Zimri (Albright says 8th);
7) That Jehoshaphat began to reign in the 4th year of Ahab (Albright says Jehoshaphat began to reign in the 5th year BEFORE Ahab);
8) That Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years (Albright says 20);
9) That Ahaziah son of Ahab began to reign in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat (Albright says 25th);
10) That Jehoram the brother of Ahaziah began to reign in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat (Albright says 25th);
11) That Jehoram of Israel began to reign in the 2nd year of Jehoram of Judah (Albright says 1st);
12) That Jehoram of Israel reigned for 12 years (Albright says 8);
13) That Ahaziah of Judah began to reign in the 12th year of Jehoram of Israel (Albright says 8th);
14) That the years of Athaliah should be counted as rightfully Jehoash's;
15) That Jehoash of Judah reigned 40 years (Albright says 38, not counting Athaliah's);
16) That Jehoahaz son of Jehu reigned 17 years (Albright says 16);
17) That Amaziah son of Jehoash of Judah reigned 29 years (Albright says 18);
18) That Azariah began to reign in the 27th year of Jeroboam II (Albright says 4th);
19) That Azariah reigned for 52 years (Albright says 47);
20) That Menahem reigned for 10 or 11 years (Albright says 8);
21) That Pekahiah began to reign in the 50th year of Azariah (Albright says 46th);
22) That Pekah began to reign in the 52nd year of Azariah (Albright says 47th);
23) That Pekah reigned 20 years (Albright says 7);
24) That Jotham began to reign in the 2nd year of Pekah (Albright says it was 5 years BEFORE Pekahiah, who was BEFORE Pekah);
25) That Ahaz became king in the 17th year of Pekah (Albright says 4th);
26) That Ahaz reigned 16 years (Albright says 20);
27) That Hoshea killed Pekah in the 12th year of Ahaz (Albright says 4th);
28) That Hoshea began to reign in the 20th year of Jotham (Albright says 10th);
29) That Hoshea reigned 9 years (Albright says 11);
30) That Hezekiah became king in the 3rd year of Hoshea (Albright says 8 years AFTER the fall of Samaria);
31) That Shalmaneser besieged Samaria in the 7th year of Hoshea (Albright says 9th);
32) That the siege of Samaria was in the 4th year of Hezekiah (Albright says 13th of Ahaz);
33) That Sargon captured Samaria in the 6th year of Hezekiah (Albright says 15th of Ahaz);
34) That the capture was in the 9th year of Hoshea (Albright says 11th);
35) That Manasseh reigned for 55 years (Albright says 45);
36) That Amon reigned for 2 years (Albright says 3).
Thus Albright has to assume that the 2nd book of the Kings was wrong about every single king in the list! How can he justify such a denunciation of an ancient writer?

Pfeiffer, too, is forced to attribute many other errors to the author of the books of the Kings, but he actually ignores the reference to the 14th year of Hezekiah and computes his accession year backward from the fall of Jerusalem. These are the errors which Pfeiffer attributes to the books of the Kings:
1) That the reigns include the accession year (Pfeiffer doesn't count them);
2) That Rehoboam reigned 17 years (Pfeiffer says 18);
3) That Abijam began to reign in the 18th year of Jeroboam (Pfeiffer says 19th);
5) That Asa reigned 41 years (Pfeiffer says 39);
6) That Omri became in the 31st year of Asa (Pfeiffer ignores the contention between Omri and Tibni);
7) That Jehoshaphat became king in the 4th of Ahab (Pfeiffer says the 1st);
8) That Ahab reigned 22 years (Pfeiffer says 23);
9) That Ahaziah of Israel became king in the 17th of Jehoshaphat (Pfeiffer says the 22nd);
10) That Jehoram of Israel became king in the 18th of Jehoshaphat (Pfeiffer says 23rd);
11) That Jehoram of Israel began to reign in the 2nd of Jehoram of Judah (Pfeiffer says 1 year BEFORE Jehoram of Judah);
12) That Jehoram of Israel reigned 12 years (Pfeiffer says 8);
13) That Jehoram of Judah became king in the 5th of Jehoram of Israel (Pfeiffer says 2nd);
14) That Ahaziah of Judah became king in the 12th of Jehoram of Israel (Pfeiffer says 8th);
15) That Jehoash's years include Athaliah's (Pfeiffer counts hers separately);
16) That Jehoahaz began to reign in the 23rd year of Jehoash of Judah (Pfeiffer says 22nd);
17) That Jehoash of Israel began to reign in the 37th year of Jehoash of Judah (Pfeiffer says 38th);
18) That Amaziah began to reign in the 40th of Jehoash of Judah (Pfeiffer says 41st);
19) That Amaziah began to reign in the 2nd of Jehoash of Israel (Pfeiffer says 4th);
20) That he reigned 29 years (Pfeiffer says 17 full years);
21) That Jeroboam II became king in the 15th of Amaziah (Pfeiffer says 14th);
22) That Azariah became king in the 27th year of Jeroboam II (Pfeiffer says 4th?!);
23) That Azariah reigned for two-and-fifty years (Pfeiffer says 41);
24) That Zachariah became king in the 38th year of Azariah (Pfeiffer says 37th);
25) That Menahem began to reign in the 39th year of Azariah (Pfeiffer says 37th);
26) That Menahem reigned for 10 years (Pfeiffer says 6);
27) That Pekahiah began to reign in the 50th of Azariah (Pfeiffer says 3rd of Jotham);
28) That Pekahiah began to reign in the 11th year of Menahem (Pfeiffer says 7th);
29) That Pekah began to reign in the 52nd year of Azariah (Pfeiffer says 4th of Jotham);
30) That Jotham began to reign in the 2nd year of Pekah (Pfeiffer says 5th of Menahem);
31) That Jotham reigned for 16 years (Pfeiffer says 4 full years);
32) That Pekah reigned for 20 years (Pfeiffer says 5 full years);
33) That Ahaz became king in the 17th year of Pekah (Pfeiffer says 2nd);
34) That Hoshea became king in the 20th year of Pekah (Pfeiffer says 6th);
35) That Hoshea became king in the 20th year of Jotham (Pfeiffer says 9th);
36) That Hoshea became king in the 12th year of Ahaz (Pfeiffer says 5th);
37) That he reigned 9 years (Pfeiffer says 10 full years);
38) That Shalmaneser besieged Samaria in the 7th year of Hoshea (Pfeiffer says 9th);
39) That Samaria fell in the 9th year of Hoshea (Pfeiffer says 11th);
40) That Hezekiah began to reign in the 3rd year of Hoshea (Pfeiffer says 2 years after the fall of Samaria, which would have been the 11th year of Hoshea).

Also Professor Thiele, while following the biblical chronology closely up to the reigns of Amaziah and Jeroboam, nevertheless attributes additional errors to the books of the kings because of accepting the accession year of Hezekiah as 715 BCE. The errors he imputes to the Kings are:
1) That David reigned 40 years (Thiele says 35);
2) That Solomon reigned 40 years (Thiele says 35);
3) Rehoboam reigned 17 years (Thiele says 18);
4) Abijam began to reign in the 18th year of Jeroboam (Thiele says 19th);
5) Asa began to reign in the 20th year of Jeroboam (Thiele says 21st);
6) Jehoshaphat became king in the 4th year of Ahab (Thiele says 5th);
7) Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years (Thiele says 23);
8) Ahaziah of Israel began to reign in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat (Thiele says 18th);
9) Jehoram of Israel began to reign in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat (Thiele says 19th);
10) That Jehoash's years included Athaliah's (Thiele counts them separately);
11) Jehoahaz began to reign in the 23rd year of Jehoash (Thiele says 22nd);
12) Amaziah became king in the 2nd year of Jehoash of Israel (Thiele says 3rd);
13) Jeroboam reigned 41 years (Thiele says 30);
14) Azariah became king in the 27th year of Jeroboam (Thiele says 16th);
15) Azariah reigned for 52 years (Thiele says 28);
16) Zachariah began to reign in the 38th year of Azariah (Thiele says 15th);
17) Shallum began to reign in the 39th year of Azariah (Thiele says 16th);
18) Menahem began to reign in the 39th year of Azariah (Thiele says 16th);
19) Pekahiah began to reign in the 50th year of Azariah (Thiele says 26th);
20) Pekah began to reign in the 52nd year of Azariah (Thiele says 28th);
21) Pekah reigned 20 years (Thiele says 9);
22) Jotham began to reign in the 2nd year of Pekah (Thiele says 1st);
23) Jotham reigned 16 years (Thiele says 6);
24) Ahaz became king in the 17th year of Pekah (Thiele says 6th);
25) Ahaz reigned for 16 years (Thiele says 20);
26) Hoshea became king in the 12th year of Ahaz (Thiele says 4th);
27) Hezekiah began to reign 6 years before the fall of Samaria (Thiele says 6 years AFTER the fall of Samaria);
28) Manasseh reigned 55 years (Thiele says 45).

Thus the adherents of the belief that Hezekiah began to reign in 714 BCE are forced to impute countless other errors to the books of the Kings. They are forced to change the number of years for certain kings, and to realign the correlative years in which they began to reign. All of this means assuming that these other statements given in the books of the Kings are errors. In Chart III I have shown all the errors imputed to the authors of the books of the Kings by the three scholars I have examined, alongside of the data given to us by the books of the Kings themselves. This chart shows that EVERY SINGLE STATEMENT in the books of the Kings is considered by one or the other of these scholars to be an error. And in no case do they agree on what the correction should be to the books of the Kings. But they can't ALL be wrong, can they? Did the Hebrew historians count so poorly that they couldn't record the correct length of the reign for ANY of their kings? Were they such poor observers that they couldn't record accurately who was king of the other kingdom when each of their own kings became king? No, it must be the modern scholars who are in error; and their Procrustean methods can be used to squeeze all the kings into the 9th through the 6th centuries BCE, but they will never agree with the authors of the canonical books, because they are not following the same principles which were used by the Hebrew historians themselves!
See Chart III

So, rather than to believe that the author of the books of the Kings made so many errors, it is far easier for us to believe that there is a mistake in the description of the year that Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem as being the "fourteenth" year of Hezekiah's reign. Why should we assume that the second book of the Kings is correct when it tells us that Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem in the 14th year of Hezekiah, rather than its being correct when it tells us that Hezekiah became king 6 years before the fall of Samaria? So now let us turn to the solution of this problem of Hezekiah's reign posed by the contradiction in the 18th chapter of II Kings.