WHO WAS KING OF JUDAH WHEN SAMARIA FELL?
IV. Other rules of the Hebrew Historians
by miriam berg
may, 1994

IV. OTHER RULES OF THE HEBREW HISTORIANS

The third principle is that the years of the reign of a northern king (Israel) were counted from the beginning of the civil year, which began in the fall with the month of Tishri, and the years of the reign of a southern king (Judah) were counted from the beginning of the agricultural year, which began in the spring with the month of Nisan. This occasionally resulted in the number of years given for the reign of northern king being different from the difference between the regnal years of the southern kings. This can be seen in the following examples:

           1) Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, is said to have become king in the 2nd year of Asa, who is said to have become king in the 20th year of Jeroboam, so that the 2nd year of Asa would be the 21st year of Jeroboam. But Jeroboam is said to have reigned 22 years. Figure VIII shows how the 2nd year of Asa would overlap the 21st and 22nd years of Jeroboam if Nadab became king in the fall, which would have been called the 22nd year of Jeroboam, and also the 2nd year of Asa.
              JUDAH             |            ISRAEL
Y.D. = Year of David            |                      (Civil year)
(Agricultural year)             |------------------------------ 79
79 -----------------------------|  JEROBOAM (1st)
    REHOBOAM (1st)              |----(2nd)--------------------- 80
80 ----(2nd)--------------------|____(3rd)_____________________ 81   
81 ----(3rd)--------------------|____(4th)_____________________ 82
82 ----(4th)--------------------|____(5th)_____________________ 83    
83 ----(5th)--------------------|____(6th)_____________________ 84
84 ----(6th)--------------------|____(7th)_____________________ 85
85 ----(7th)--------------------|____(8th)_____________________ 86
86 ----(8th)--------------------|____(9th)_____________________ 87
87 ----(9th)--------------------|____(10th)____________________ 88
88 ----(10th)-------------------|____(11th)____________________ 89
89 ----(11th)-------------------|____(12th)____________________ 90
90 ----(12th)-------------------|____(13th)____________________ 91
91 ----(13th)-------------------|____(14th)____________________ 92
92 ----(14th)-------------------|____(15th)____________________ 93
93 ----(15th)-------------------|____(16th)____________________ 94
94 ----(16th)-------------------|____(17th)____________________ 95
95 ----(17th)-------------------|____(18th)____________________ 96
96  ABIJAM (18th of Jeroboam)   |____(19th)____________________ 97
97 -----(2nd of Abijam)---------|____(20th of Jeroboam)________ 98
98  ASA (3rd of Abijam)         |____(21st)____________________ 99
99 -----(2nd of Asa)------------|____(22nd of Jeroboam)________100           
100-----(3rd of Asa)------------|  NADAB (1st of Nadab)          | 
|                               |______________________________101
101-----(4th of Asa)------------|
                            FIGURE VIII
           2) Ahab, the son of Omri, is said to have become king in the 38th year of Asa, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, to have become king in the 4th year of Ahab. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab is said to have become king in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, which would have been the 20th year of Ahab if the 1st year of Jehoshaphat is the 4th year of Ahab. But Ahab is also said to have reigned 22 years. Figure IX also shows how the 38th year of Asa would have overlapped the 1st and 2nd years of Ahab, and the 17th year of Jehoshaphat overlapped the 20th and 21st years of Ahab. This leaves one year, however, and since Ahab died the year Ahaziah became king, Ahab's 22nd year must have actually been a year of co-regency during the 11th year of Omri. (Figure IX is shown on the next page.)

           3) Menahem is said to have become king in the 39th year of Azariah, and his son Pekahiah to have become king in the 50th year of Azariah, but the reign of Menahem is given as only 10 years. Figure X shows how the 1st year of Menahem would have overlapped the 39th and 40th years of Azariah, and the 10th year of Menahem would have overlapped the 49th and 50th years of Azariah, so that the 10 years of Menahem were the 40th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, and 49th of Azariah, and thus Menahem reigned a full 10 years. (Figure X is shown after Figure IX.)

The fourth principle, which only applies to the southern kingdom, was that only descendants of David were considered the legitimate rulers of Judah. Therefore, Athaliah was not counted as a separate ruler, and the 6 years in which she reigned are counted instead as rightfully part of the 40-year reign of Jehoash of Judah, even though he was only an infant in the 1st year of Athaliah's reign. I cannot imagine the priestly writers in the temple as considering her as anything but a usurper, since she was a foreigner and she was not a descendant of David, and worse, she was a daughter of Jezebel, the most active anti-Yahvist in biblical history. But this at once aligns the reigns following Jehu and Athaliah, which correlate perfectly from then on.

Using these four principles, it is possible to track our way easily through the reigns of the kings in the second book of the Kings. Chart II shows the chronology of the Kings according to their own principles. But let me continue this digression a little longer with a narrative summary of the Chronology of the Kings, according to the books of the Kings themselves.












               JUDAH                         ISRAEL    
Y.D.(Year of David)
(Agricultural year)                                    (Civil year)
                                |---------------------------- 123
123 ----------------------------|  ELAH (6 months)
      ASA (26th)                |---------------------------- 124
124 ----------------------------|  ZIMRI, OMRI, TIBNI
          (27th of Asa)         |---------------------------- 125
125 ----------------------------|____________________________ 126
126 ----------------------------|____________________________ 127
127 ----------------------------|____________________________ 128
128 ----------------------------|  OMRI (5th of Omri)
          (31st of Asa)         |____________________________ 129
129 ----------------------------|____________________________ 130
130 ----------------------------|____________________________ 131
131 ----------------------------|____________________________ 132
132 ----------------------------|____________________________ 133
133 ----------------------------|____________________________ 134
134 ----------------------------|____________________________ 135
135 ----------------------------|  AHAB (12th of Omri)
          (38th of Asa)         |____________________________ 136
136 ----------------------------|____________________________ 137
137 ----------------------------|____________________________ 138
138 ----------------------------|     (4th of Ahab)
      JEHOSHAPHAT               |____________________________ 139
139 ----------------------------|____________________________ 140
140 ----------------------------|____________________________ 141
141 ----------------------------|____________________________ 142
142 ----------------------------|____________________________ 143
143 ----------------------------|____________________________ 144
144 ----------------------------|____________________________  |
 |  ----------------------------|____________________________  |
 |  ----------------------------|____________________________ 149
149 ----------------------------|____________________________ 150
150 ----------------------------|____________________________ 151
151 ----------------------------|____________________________ 152
152 ----------------------------|____________________________ 153
153 ----------------------------|____________________________ 154
154 ----------------------------|    (21st of Ahab
      JEHORAM OF JUDAH          |     from co-regency)
        (17th of Jehoshaphat)   |____________________________ 155
155 ----------------------------|  AHAZIAH OF ISRAEL 
        (18th of Jehoshaphat,   |    (22nd of Ahab)
        2nd of Jehoram of Judah)|____________________________ 156
156 ----------------------------|  JEHORAM OF ISRAEL 
                                |    (2nd of Ahaziah of Israel)
                                |____________________________ 157
157 ----------------------------|    (2nd of Jehoram of Israel)
                                |____________________________ 158
158 ----------------------------|____________________________ 159
159 ----------------------------|    (4th of Jehoram of Israel)
      JEHORAM OF JUDAH          |---------------------------- 160
        (22nd ofJehoshaphat)    |
160 ----------------------------|    (5th of Jehoram of Israel)
                                |---------------------------- 161
                            FIGURE IX

              JUDAH                           ISRAEL
Y.D. (Year of David)
(Agricultural year)                                   (Civil year)
----------------------------| AZARIAH |---------------------------- 246 246 ----------------------------| (38th of Azariah) |---------------------------- 247 247 ----------------------------| ZACHARIAH | (41st of Jeroboam II) (39th) |---------------------------- 248 248 ----------------------------| MENAHEM (1st) (40th) |---------------------------- 249 249 ----(41st)------------------|____(2nd)___________________ 250 250 ----(42nd)------------------|____(3rd)___________________ 251 251 ----(43rd)------------------|____(4th)___________________ | | ----------------------------|____________________________ | | ----------------------------|____________________________ 256 256 ----(48th)------------------|____(9th)___________________ 257 257 ----(49th)------------------|____(10th)__________________ 258 258 ----------------------------| PEKAHIAH (1st) (50th) |---------------------------- 259 259 ----------------------------| (2nd of Pekahiah) (51st) |---------------------------- 260 260 ----------------------------| PEKAH (1st) JOTHAM (52nd of Azariah) |----(2nd)------------------- 261 261 ----(2nd)-------------------|____(3rd)___________________ 262 262 ----(3rd)-------------------|____(4th)___________________ 263 263 ----(4th)-------------------|____(5th)___________________ 264 264 ----(5th)-------------------|____(6th)___________________ 265 265 ----(6th)-------------------|____(7th)___________________ 266 266 ----(7th)-------------------|____(8th)___________________ 267 267 ----(8th)-------------------|____(9th)___________________ 268 268 --(AHAZ co-regent, | 9th of Jotham) |____(10th)__________________ 269 269 ----(10th)------------------|____(11th)__________________ 270 270 ----(11th)------------------|____(12th)__________________ 271 271 ----(12th)------------------|____(13th)__________________ 272 272 ----(13th)------------------|____(14th)__________________ 273 273 ----(14th)------------------|____(15th)__________________ 274 274 ----(15th)------------------|____(16th)__________________ 275 275 ----(16th)------------------| AHAZ king (16th of Jotham,|____(17th)__________________ 276 8th of co-regency) | 276 -----(9th, 17th of Jotham)--|____(18th)__________________ 277 277 ----(10th, 18th of Jotham)--|____(19th)__________________ 278 278 ----(11th, 19th of Jotham)--|____(20th)__________________ 279 279 ----------------------------| HOSHEA (1st) (12th, 20th of Jotham) |____________________________ 280 280 ----(13th)------------------|____(2nd of Hoshea)_________ 281 281 ----(14th)------------------|____(3rd of Hoshea)_________ 282 282 ----(15th)------------------| (4th of Hoshea) HEZEKIAH |____________________________ 283 283 ----------------------------| FIGURE X