The length of each of the days of creation is about 7,000 years. Although that may seem like a bold statement, First we have to consider that the word "Day" has various meanings. Here are some scriptures that show various Biblical applications or uses for the word "Day"
(Genesis 1:5) And God began calling the light Day, but the darkness he called Night. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a first day.
(Genesis 2:4) This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
(Exodus 20:11) For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day. That is why Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and proceeded to make it sacred.
(Luke 17:26-30) Moreover, just as it occurred in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, men were marrying, women were being given in marriage, until that day when Noah entered into the ark, and the flood arrived and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it occurred in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. 29 But on the day that Lot came out of Sod′om it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.
(2 Peter 3:8) However, let this one fact not be escaping your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Jehovah God proceeded to rest on the 7th day; There is no indication that that "day" ever concluded. (Genesis 2:2, 3) And by the seventh day God came to the completion of his work that he had made, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. 3 And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making.
(Exodus 20:11) For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day. That is why Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and proceeded to make it sacred.
As can be determined from the scriptures on the Chronology of man since the day of his being created, The day of Gods rest continues and has passed the 6,000 year mark which ocurred in 1974, Adam being created in 4026BCE. (Hebrews 3:17, 18) Moreover, with whom did [God] become disgusted for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18 But to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest except to those who acted disobediently?
Also (Hebrews 4:3-11) For we who have exercised faith do enter into the rest, just as he has said: “So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest,’” although his works were finished from the founding of the world. 4 For in one place he has said of the seventh day as follows: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter into my rest.” 6 Since, therefore, it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom the good news was first declared did not enter in because of disobedience, 7 he again marks off a certain day by saying after so long a time in David’s [psalm] “Today”; just as it has been said above: “Today if YOU people listen to his own voice, do not harden YOUR hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had led them into a place of rest, [God] would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 So there remains a sabbath resting for the people of God. 10 For the man that has entered into [God’s] rest has also himself rested from his own works, just as God did from his own. 11 Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, for fear anyone should fall in the same pattern of disobedience.
The 1,000 year reign of Christ has not yet arrived and is still off in the future, (Revelation 20:1-6) "And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven with the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 And he hurled him into the abyss and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, that he might not mislead the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After these things he must be let loose for a little while. 4 And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had worshiped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years."
After Satan is destroyed, following the 1,000 years, God will see that "it is good" and that "there came to be an evening and a morning, (a 1st day - a 6th day) statement that he made following each of the previous days of creation.
Gen 1:4-5, 1st day
Gen 1:8, 2nd day
Gen 1:12-13 3rd day
Gen 1:18-19 4th day
Gen 1:23 5th day
Gen 1:31 6th day
Gen 2:2 begins with the announcement of the beginning of the 7th day. Vs. 3 says that he proceeded to bless the 7th day and to make it sacred but nowhere in the Bible does it say or even suggest that this 7th creative day had ended.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Chronology of man by comparing Science to the Bible
How old is man? & When was man created?
To understand how old man is, first we need to take a look at what referenced chronology is available. To begin with, we need to identify the point of creation. To do this, let’s first look at the Bible to get a scriptural view of when various things were created. The Bible clearly identifies what took place on each of the creative days. This discussion is not intended to discuss the reasons for the creation or why there are concerns about the outcome of the creation. This discussion is designed solely to establish the length of each creative day then specifically, when mankind was created. Here the Bible says:
• (Genesis 1:1-4) In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters. 3 And God proceeded to say: “Let light come to be.” Then there came to be light. 4 After that God saw that the light was good, and God brought about a division between the light and the darkness. 5 And God began calling the light Day, but the darkness he called Night. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a first day.
• (Genesis 1:6-8) And God went on to say: “Let an expanse come to be in between the waters and let a dividing occur between the waters and the waters.” 7 Then God proceeded to make the expanse and to make a division between the waters that should be beneath the expanse and the waters that should be above the expanse. And it came to be so. 8 And God began to call the expanse Heaven. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a second day.
• (Genesis 1:9-13) And God went on to say: “Let the waters under the heavens be brought together into one place and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so. 10 And God began calling the dry land Earth, but the bringing together of the waters he called Seas. Further, God saw that [it was] good. 11 And God went on to say: “Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of which is in it, upon the earth.” And it came to be so. 12 And the earth began to put forth grass, vegetation bearing seed according to its kind and trees yielding fruit, the seed of which is in it according to its kind. Then God saw that [it was] good. 13 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a third day.
• (Genesis 1:14-19) And God went on to say: “Let luminaries come to be in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night; and they must serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years. 15 And they must serve as luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth.” And it came to be so. 16 And God proceeded to make the two great luminaries, the greater luminary for dominating the day and the lesser luminary for dominating the night, and also the stars. 17 Thus God put them in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth, 18 and to dominate by day and by night and to make a division between the light and the darkness. Then God saw that [it was] good. 19 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a fourth day.
• (Genesis 1:20-23) And God went on to say: “Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God got to see that [it was] good. 22 With that God blessed them, saying: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the waters in the sea basins, and let the flying creatures become many in the earth.” 23 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a fifth day.
• (Genesis 1:24-31) And God went on to say: “Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.” And it came to be so. 25 And God proceeded to make the wild beast of the earth according to its kind and the domestic animal according to its kind and every moving animal of the ground according to its kind. And God got to see that [it was] good. 26 And God went on to say: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth.” 27 And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 Further, God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.” 29 And God went on to say: “Here I have given to YOU all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth and every tree on which there is the fruit of a tree bearing seed. To YOU let it serve as food. 30 And to every wild beast of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation for food.” And it came to be so. 31 After that God saw everything he had made and, look! [it was] very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day.
• (Genesis 2:1-3) Thus the heavens and the earth and all their army came to their completion. 2 And by the 7th day God came to the completion of his work that he had made, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. 3 And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making.
Biblical chronology indicates that a period of about 6,000 years (or around 1974) has passed since the creation of humans. A little further down, I will list what I have found to be a Biblical timeline that will aid us to understand how long a creative day is and how it parallels to a greater time period known as the Jubilee. In Leviticus chapter 25, regulations are found regarding the year-long Sabbath, or rest year, to be held every 7th year and the Jubilee every 50th year. In this 50th year, liberty must be proclaimed in all the land, and hereditary property that was sold or surrendered during the past 49 years must be restored. Laws protecting the rights of the poor and of slaves are given. In this section the number “seven” appears prominently—the seventh day, the seventh year, festivals of seven days, a period of seven weeks, and the Jubilee, to come after seven times seven years. If each Creative day were established at 7,000 years long, The Great Jubilee would land directly at 49,000 years after the Creative days began (7,000*7days). For a more complete discussion of the Jubilee, please see the Blog entitled Project-Jubilee.
Why, then, does one often read about far longer periods of time since acknowledged human types of fossils appeared? Before concluding that Bible chronology is in error, consider that mankinds methods of challenging Bible Chronology might be in error. One common method used for determining the age of an object is called RadioActive or Carbon Dating. Lately, these methods have come under sharp criticism by some scientists. A scientific journal reported on studies showing that “dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” It said: “Man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.”
Taken from the Reasoning Book, "Reasoning from the Scriptures" by The WatchTower Society, under the sub-heading "Dates" says, Dates mark the time at which events occur. The Bible expresses dates in relation to the lifetime of individuals, the period during which certain rulers were in office, or other notable events. It contains the only complete chronology reaching back to the time of Adam’s creation. Bible chronology also pinpointed in advance the time when certain important events in the fulfillment of God’s purpose would take place. The Gregorian calendar, which is now popular in much of the world, did not come into use until 1582. In secular sources there is disagreement on dates given for events in ancient history. However, certain key dates, such as 539 B.C.E. for the fall of Babylon, and hence 537 B.C.E. for the Jews’ return from captivity, are well established. (Ezra 1:1-3) Using such dates as starting points, it is possible to express in terms of current calendars the dates for ancient Biblical events.
Have scientists proved that humans have been on earth for millions of years, not merely some thousands of years as the Bible indicates? The dating methods used by scientists are built on assumptions that can be useful but that often lead to very contradictory results. So, dates given by them are constantly being revised.
A report in New Scientist of March 18, 1982, reads: “‘I am staggered to believe that as little as a year ago I made the statements that I made.’ So said Richard Leakey, before the elegant audience of a Royal Institution evening discourse last Friday. He had come to reveal that the conventional wisdom, which he had so recently espoused in his BBC television series The Making of Mankind, was ‘probably wrong in a number of crucial areas.’ In particular, he now sees man’s oldest ancestor as being considerably younger than the 15-20 million years he plumped for on television.”—P. 695.
From time to time, new methods of dating are developed. How reliable are these? Regarding one known as thermoluminescence, The New Encyclopædia Britannica (1976, Macropædia, Vol. 5, p. 509) says: “Hope rather than accomplishment mainly characterizes the status of thermoluminescence dating at the present time.” Also, Science (August 28, 1981, p. 1003) reports that a skeleton showing an age of 70,000 years by amino acid racemization gave only 8,300 or 9,000 years by radioactive dating.
Popular Science (November 1979, p. 81) reports that physicist Robert Gentry “believes that all of the dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” The article points out that his findings would lead to the conclusion that “man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.” It should be noted, however, that scientists believe that the age of the earth itself is much greater than the age of man. The Bible does not disagree with that.
Were the ages of people before the Flood, as stated in the Bible, measured according to the same kind of years that we use? If it was reasoned that the “years” must be equivalent to our months, then Enosh became a father when he was seven years of age, and Kenan was only five years old when he fathered a son. (Gen. 5:9, 12) That is, clearly, impossible. Detailed chronology provided in connection with the Flood indicates the length of months and years used at that time. Comparison of Genesis 7:11, 24 and 8:3, 4 shows that five months (from the 17th of the 2nd month to the 17th of the 7th month) was equal to 150 days, or five 30-day months. Specific reference is made to a “tenth month” and to further periods beyond that before coming to the next year. (Gen. 8:5, 6, 8, 10, 12-14) Evidently, their years were made up of twelve 30-day months. At a very early time, the strictly lunar calendar was adjusted periodically to the length of the solar year, as indicated by Israel’s holding seasonal festivals of ingathering on specified dates. In that way the festivals continued to fall in the appropriate seasons.—Lev. 23:39. Keep in mind that God made humans to live forever. It was Adam’s sin that led to death. (Gen. 2:17; 3:17-19; Rom. 5:12) Those who lived before the Flood were closer to perfection than we are today, so they lived much longer. But each one died within a thousand years.
Consider for example, the radiocarbon “clock.” This method of radiocarbon dating was developed over a period of two decades by scientists all over the world. It was widely acclaimed for accurate dating of artifacts from man’s ancient history. But then a conference of the world’s experts, including radio-chemists, archaeologists and geologists, was held in Uppsala, Sweden, to compare notes. The report of their conference showed that the fundamental assumptions on which the measurements were based had been found untrustworthy to a greater or lesser degree. For example, it found that the rate of radioactive carbon formation in the atmosphere has not been consistent in the past and that this method is not reliable in dating objects from about 2,000 B.C.E. or before.
Keep in mind that truly reliable evidence of man’s activity on earth is given, not in millions of years, but in thousands. For example, in The Fate of the Earth we read: “Only six or seven thousand years ago . . . civilization emerged, enabling us to build up a human world.” The Last Two Million Years states: “In the Old World, most of the critical steps in the farming revolution were taken between 10,000 and 5000 BC.” It also says: “Only for the last 5000 years has man left written records.” The fact that the fossil record shows modern man suddenly appearing on earth, and that reliable historical records are admittedly recent, harmonizes with the Bible’s chronology for human life on earth.
In this regard, note what Nobel prize winning nuclear physicist W. F. Libby, one of the pioneers in radiocarbon dating, stated in Science: “The research in the development of the dating technique consisted of two stages—dating of samples from the historical and the pre-historical epochs, respectively. Arnold [a co-worker] and I had our first shock when our advisers informed us that history extended back only for 5,000 years. . . . You read statements to the effect that such and such a society or archeological site is 20,000 years old. We learned rather abruptly that these numbers, these ancient ages, are not known accurately.”
When reviewing a book on evolution, English author Malcolm Muggeridge commented on the lack of evidence for evolution. He noted that wild speculations flourished nevertheless. Then he said: “The Genesis account seems, by comparison, sober enough and at least has the merit of being validly related to what we know about human beings and their behavior.” He said that the unfounded claims of millions of years for man’s evolution “and wild leaps from skull to skull, cannot but strike anyone not caught up in the [evolutionary] myth as pure fantasy.” Muggeridge concluded: “Posterity will surely be amazed, and I hope vastly amused, that such slipshod and unconvincing theorizing should have so easily captivated twentieth-century minds and been so widely and recklessly applied.”
Radioactive Dating Challenged
● How accurate are the billions-of-years-ago time scales that are offered with such authority in science textbooks to date life on earth? Perhaps they are not as solidly founded as the public has been led to believe. “Popular Science,” in its November 1979 issue, reports that physicist Robert Gentry of Columbia Union College in Maryland “believes that all of the dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” In fact, Gentry asserts that “presently accepted ages may be too high by a factor of thousands.”
Argument - How long is a creative day?
The physicist bases his conclusions on the evidence of radioactive decay in wood that has almost turned to coal. In deposits “supposedly at least tens of millions of years old,” he says, “the ratio between uranium-238 and lead-206 should be low.” But it is not. Of the implications of his research, he observes: “I realize it’s difficult to believe. It would invalidate the whole underlying principle of radioactive dating: that the rates of decay are forever unvarying—an untestable assumption.” The obvious import for the age of man was noted by “Popular Science”: “Man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.” This agrees with the chronology of the Bible, which puts the age of man at about 6,000 years.
In the Bible, the word “day” can refer to various periods of time. At Genesis 2:4, for example, the entire creative period of six “days” is spoken of as “the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.” Each day evidently involved a considerable length of time. Interestingly, while the Bible specifically mentions the end of each of the first six “days,” it makes no mention of the end of the seventh day. Why? That day is still in progress. Taken from Hebrews 4:1-6 it says, “4 Therefore, since a promise is left of entering into his rest, let us fear that sometime someone of YOU may seem to have fallen short of it. 2 For we have had the good news declared to us also, even as they also had; but the word which was heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who did hear. 3 For we who have exercised faith do enter into the rest, just as he has said: “So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest,’” although his works were finished from the founding of the world. For in one place he has said of the seventh day as follows: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter into my rest.”
Since, therefore, it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom the good news was first declared did not enter in because of disobedience . . .”
Here the time period called the 7th creative day is referred to as his “day of rest” when during 61c.e. the Hebrews bible writer Paul referred to this day as entering into His rest suggesting that mankind is still in his day of rest, that this day is approximately 6,000 years old as of 1974. The chronology breaks down this way.
There needs to be a starting point in any discussion of chronology. Secular chronologers generally agree that Babylon fell in October of 539BCE. This event is also recorded in the Bible at (Daniel 5:30, 31) which reads, "In that very night Bel·shaz′zar the Chal·de′an king was killed 31 and Da·ri′us the Mede himself received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old." The Nabunaid chronicle gives exact dates. In the month of Tashritu on the top of the 14th day or on October 10, 539BCE the Persian forces took Sippar; on the 16th day or October 12, "the army of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle." (Light from the Ancient Past - Princeton 1959 pp. 227-229)
There were 70 years from the Jews restoration to Judah in 537BCE back to the time of the complete desolation of the land following Jerusalems destruction in 607BCE. (Daniel 9:2) in the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, [namely,] seventy years.
390 years from Jerusalem's destruction in 607BCE back to the beginning of the rror of the house of Israel, at the time it broke away from Judah and set up its own government and calf worship. (Ezekiel 4:1-6) “And you, O son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it before you and engrave upon it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 And you must lay siege against it and build a siege wall against it and throw up a siege rampart against it and set encampments against it and put battering rams all around against it. 3 And as for you, take to yourself an iron griddle, and you must put it as an iron wall between you and the city, and you must fix your face against it, and it must get to be in a siege, and you must besiege it. It is a sign to the house of Israel. 4 “And as for you, lie upon your left side, and you must lay the error of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you will lie upon it you will carry their error. 5 And I myself must give to you the years of their error to the number of three hundred and ninety days, and you must carry the error of the house of Israel. 6 And you must complete them. “And you must lie upon your right side in the second case, and you must carry the error of the house of Judah forty days. A day for a year, a day for a year, is what I have given you.
37 years from the conclusion of Solomon's reign back to the beginning of the construction of Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1) And it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv, that is, the second month, after Sol′o·mon became king over Israel, that he proceeded to build the house to Jehovah. (1 Kings 11:42) And the days that Sol′o·mon had reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years.
479 years from the commencement of the work on the temple back to the exodus of Israelites from Egypt. (1 Kings 6:1) cited above, (note: 480th year not 480 years)
430 years from the exodus back to the time of Abrams entering the land of Canaan. (Exodus 12:40, 41) And the dwelling of the sons of Israel, who had dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came about at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it even came about on this very day that all the armies of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt. Verifying that time period is (Galatians 3:17) Further, I say this: As to the covenant previously validated by God, the Law that has come into being four hundred and thirty years later does not invalidate it, so as to abolish the promise.
427 years from Abrams entry into Canaan back to the flood. (Genesis 11:10 to Genesis 12:5) reads in part: (Genesis 11:10-32) "This is the history of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he became father to Ar·pach′shad two years after the deluge. 11 And after his fathering Ar·pach′shad Shem continued to live five hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 12 And Ar·pach′shad lived thirty-five years. Then he became father to She′lah. 13 And after his fathering She′lah Ar·pach′shad continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 14 And She′lah lived thirty years. Then he became father to E′ber. 15 And after his fathering E′ber She′lah continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 16 And E′ber lived on for thirty-four years. Then he became father to Pe′leg. 17 And after his fathering Pe′leg E′ber continued to live four hundred and thirty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 18 And Pe′leg lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Re′u. 19 And after his fathering Re′u Pe′leg continued to live two hundred and nine years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 20 And Re′u lived on for thirty-two years. Then he became father to Se′rug. 21 And after his fathering Se′rug Re′u continued to live two hundred and seven years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 22 And Se′rug lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Na′hor. 23 And after his fathering Na′hor Se′rug continued to live two hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 24 And Na′hor lived on for twenty-nine years. Then he became father to Te′rah. 25 And after his fathering Te′rah Na′hor continued to live a hundred and nineteen years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 26 And Te′rah lived on for seventy years, after which he became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran. 27 And this is the history of Te′rah. Te′rah became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran; and Ha′ran became father to Lot. 28 Later Ha′ran died while in company with Te′rah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chal·de′ans. 29 And A′bram and Na′hor proceeded to take wives for themselves. The name of A′bram’s wife was Sar′ai, while the name of Na′hor’s wife was Mil′cah, the daughter of Ha′ran, the father of Mil′cah and father of Is′cah. 30 But Sar′ai continued to be barren; she had no child. 31 After that Te′rah took A′bram his son and Lot, the son of Ha′ran, his grandson, and Sar′ai his daughter-in-law, the wife of A′bram his son, and they went with him out of Ur of the Chal·de′ans to go to the land of Ca′naan. In time they came to Ha′ran and took up dwelling there. 32 And the days of Te′rah came to be two hundred and five years. Then Te′rah died in Ha′ran." Then Gen 12:1-5 reads, "And Jehovah proceeded to say to A′bram: “Go your way out of your country and from your relatives and from the house of your father to the country that I shall show you; 2 and I shall make a great nation out of you and I shall bless you and I will make your name great; and prove yourself a blessing. 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and him that calls down evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you.” 4 At that A′bram went just as Jehovah had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And A′bram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Ha′ran. 5 So A′bram took Sar′ai his wife and Lot the son of his brother and all the goods that they had accumulated and the souls whom they had acquired in Ha′ran, and they got on their way out to go to the land of Ca′naan. Finally they came to the land of Ca′naan."
The 427 years of math works out this way:
From the beginning of the Flood to Arpachshad's birth 2 years
Then to the Birth of Shelah 35 years
To the birth of Eber 30 years
To the birth of Peleg 34 years
To the birth of Reu 30 years
To the birth of Serug 32 years
To the birth of Nahor 30 years
To the birth of Terah 29 years
To the death of Terah when Abraham was 75 years old 205 years.
This brings the total number of years to 427 years.
1,656 years from the flood of Noahs day back to Adam's creation. (Genesis 5:3-29) And Adam lived on for a hundred and thirty years. Then he became father to a son in his likeness, in his image, and called his name Seth. 4 And the days of Adam after his fathering Seth came to be eight hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 5 So all the days of Adam that he lived amounted to nine hundred and thirty years and he died. 6 And Seth lived on for a hundred and five years. Then he became father to E′nosh. 7 And after his fathering E′nosh Seth continued to live eight hundred and seven years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth amounted to nine hundred and twelve years and he died. 9 And E′nosh lived on for ninety years. Then he became father to Ke′nan. 10 And after his fathering Ke′nan E′nosh continued to live eight hundred and fifteen years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of E′nosh amounted to nine hundred and five years and he died. 12 And Ke′nan lived on for seventy years. Then he became father to Ma·hal′a·lel. 13 And after his fathering Ma·hal′a·lel Ke′nan continued to live eight hundred and forty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Ke′nan amounted to nine hundred and ten years and he died. 15 And Ma·hal′a·lel lived on for sixty-five years. Then he became father to Ja′red. 16 And after his fathering Ja′red Ma·hal′a·lel continued to live eight hundred and thirty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Ma·hal′a·lel amounted to eight hundred and ninety-five years and he died. 18 And Ja′red lived on for a hundred and sixty-two years. Then he became father to E′noch. 19 And after his fathering E′noch Ja′red continued to live eight hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Ja′red amounted to nine hundred and sixty-two years and he died. 21 And E′noch lived on for sixty-five years. Then he became father to Me·thu′se·lah. 22 And after his fathering Me·thu′se·lah E′noch went on walking with the [true] God three hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of E′noch amounted to three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And E′noch kept walking with the [true] God. Then he was no more, for God took him. 25 And Me·thu′se·lah lived on for a hundred and eighty-seven years. Then he became father to La′mech. 26 And after his fathering La′mech Me·thu′se·lah continued to live seven hundred and eighty-two years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Me·thu′se·lah amounted to nine hundred and sixty-nine years and he died. 28 And La′mech lived on for a hundred and eighty-two years. Then he became father to a son. 29 And he proceeded to call his name Noah, saying: “This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands resulting from the ground which Jehovah has cursed.” (Genesis 7:6) And Noah was six hundred years old when the deluge of waters occurred on the earth.
The 1656 years of math works out this way:
From Adam's creation to the birth of Seth 130 years
Then to the birth of Enosh 105 years
To the birth of Kenan 90 years
To the birth of Mahalalel 70 years
To the birth of Jared 65 years
To the birth of Enoch 162 years
To the birth of Methuselah 65 years
To the birth of Lamech 187 years
To the birth of Noah 182 years
To the Flood 600 years
To understand how old man is, first we need to take a look at what referenced chronology is available. To begin with, we need to identify the point of creation. To do this, let’s first look at the Bible to get a scriptural view of when various things were created. The Bible clearly identifies what took place on each of the creative days. This discussion is not intended to discuss the reasons for the creation or why there are concerns about the outcome of the creation. This discussion is designed solely to establish the length of each creative day then specifically, when mankind was created. Here the Bible says:
• (Genesis 1:1-4) In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters. 3 And God proceeded to say: “Let light come to be.” Then there came to be light. 4 After that God saw that the light was good, and God brought about a division between the light and the darkness. 5 And God began calling the light Day, but the darkness he called Night. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a first day.
• (Genesis 1:6-8) And God went on to say: “Let an expanse come to be in between the waters and let a dividing occur between the waters and the waters.” 7 Then God proceeded to make the expanse and to make a division between the waters that should be beneath the expanse and the waters that should be above the expanse. And it came to be so. 8 And God began to call the expanse Heaven. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a second day.
• (Genesis 1:9-13) And God went on to say: “Let the waters under the heavens be brought together into one place and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so. 10 And God began calling the dry land Earth, but the bringing together of the waters he called Seas. Further, God saw that [it was] good. 11 And God went on to say: “Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of which is in it, upon the earth.” And it came to be so. 12 And the earth began to put forth grass, vegetation bearing seed according to its kind and trees yielding fruit, the seed of which is in it according to its kind. Then God saw that [it was] good. 13 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a third day.
• (Genesis 1:14-19) And God went on to say: “Let luminaries come to be in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night; and they must serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years. 15 And they must serve as luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth.” And it came to be so. 16 And God proceeded to make the two great luminaries, the greater luminary for dominating the day and the lesser luminary for dominating the night, and also the stars. 17 Thus God put them in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth, 18 and to dominate by day and by night and to make a division between the light and the darkness. Then God saw that [it was] good. 19 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a fourth day.
• (Genesis 1:20-23) And God went on to say: “Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God got to see that [it was] good. 22 With that God blessed them, saying: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the waters in the sea basins, and let the flying creatures become many in the earth.” 23 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a fifth day.
• (Genesis 1:24-31) And God went on to say: “Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.” And it came to be so. 25 And God proceeded to make the wild beast of the earth according to its kind and the domestic animal according to its kind and every moving animal of the ground according to its kind. And God got to see that [it was] good. 26 And God went on to say: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth.” 27 And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 Further, God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.” 29 And God went on to say: “Here I have given to YOU all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth and every tree on which there is the fruit of a tree bearing seed. To YOU let it serve as food. 30 And to every wild beast of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation for food.” And it came to be so. 31 After that God saw everything he had made and, look! [it was] very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day.
• (Genesis 2:1-3) Thus the heavens and the earth and all their army came to their completion. 2 And by the 7th day God came to the completion of his work that he had made, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. 3 And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making.
Biblical chronology indicates that a period of about 6,000 years (or around 1974) has passed since the creation of humans. A little further down, I will list what I have found to be a Biblical timeline that will aid us to understand how long a creative day is and how it parallels to a greater time period known as the Jubilee. In Leviticus chapter 25, regulations are found regarding the year-long Sabbath, or rest year, to be held every 7th year and the Jubilee every 50th year. In this 50th year, liberty must be proclaimed in all the land, and hereditary property that was sold or surrendered during the past 49 years must be restored. Laws protecting the rights of the poor and of slaves are given. In this section the number “seven” appears prominently—the seventh day, the seventh year, festivals of seven days, a period of seven weeks, and the Jubilee, to come after seven times seven years. If each Creative day were established at 7,000 years long, The Great Jubilee would land directly at 49,000 years after the Creative days began (7,000*7days). For a more complete discussion of the Jubilee, please see the Blog entitled Project-Jubilee.
Why, then, does one often read about far longer periods of time since acknowledged human types of fossils appeared? Before concluding that Bible chronology is in error, consider that mankinds methods of challenging Bible Chronology might be in error. One common method used for determining the age of an object is called RadioActive or Carbon Dating. Lately, these methods have come under sharp criticism by some scientists. A scientific journal reported on studies showing that “dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” It said: “Man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.”
Taken from the Reasoning Book, "Reasoning from the Scriptures" by The WatchTower Society, under the sub-heading "Dates" says, Dates mark the time at which events occur. The Bible expresses dates in relation to the lifetime of individuals, the period during which certain rulers were in office, or other notable events. It contains the only complete chronology reaching back to the time of Adam’s creation. Bible chronology also pinpointed in advance the time when certain important events in the fulfillment of God’s purpose would take place. The Gregorian calendar, which is now popular in much of the world, did not come into use until 1582. In secular sources there is disagreement on dates given for events in ancient history. However, certain key dates, such as 539 B.C.E. for the fall of Babylon, and hence 537 B.C.E. for the Jews’ return from captivity, are well established. (Ezra 1:1-3) Using such dates as starting points, it is possible to express in terms of current calendars the dates for ancient Biblical events.
Have scientists proved that humans have been on earth for millions of years, not merely some thousands of years as the Bible indicates? The dating methods used by scientists are built on assumptions that can be useful but that often lead to very contradictory results. So, dates given by them are constantly being revised.
A report in New Scientist of March 18, 1982, reads: “‘I am staggered to believe that as little as a year ago I made the statements that I made.’ So said Richard Leakey, before the elegant audience of a Royal Institution evening discourse last Friday. He had come to reveal that the conventional wisdom, which he had so recently espoused in his BBC television series The Making of Mankind, was ‘probably wrong in a number of crucial areas.’ In particular, he now sees man’s oldest ancestor as being considerably younger than the 15-20 million years he plumped for on television.”—P. 695.
From time to time, new methods of dating are developed. How reliable are these? Regarding one known as thermoluminescence, The New Encyclopædia Britannica (1976, Macropædia, Vol. 5, p. 509) says: “Hope rather than accomplishment mainly characterizes the status of thermoluminescence dating at the present time.” Also, Science (August 28, 1981, p. 1003) reports that a skeleton showing an age of 70,000 years by amino acid racemization gave only 8,300 or 9,000 years by radioactive dating.
Popular Science (November 1979, p. 81) reports that physicist Robert Gentry “believes that all of the dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” The article points out that his findings would lead to the conclusion that “man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.” It should be noted, however, that scientists believe that the age of the earth itself is much greater than the age of man. The Bible does not disagree with that.
Were the ages of people before the Flood, as stated in the Bible, measured according to the same kind of years that we use? If it was reasoned that the “years” must be equivalent to our months, then Enosh became a father when he was seven years of age, and Kenan was only five years old when he fathered a son. (Gen. 5:9, 12) That is, clearly, impossible. Detailed chronology provided in connection with the Flood indicates the length of months and years used at that time. Comparison of Genesis 7:11, 24 and 8:3, 4 shows that five months (from the 17th of the 2nd month to the 17th of the 7th month) was equal to 150 days, or five 30-day months. Specific reference is made to a “tenth month” and to further periods beyond that before coming to the next year. (Gen. 8:5, 6, 8, 10, 12-14) Evidently, their years were made up of twelve 30-day months. At a very early time, the strictly lunar calendar was adjusted periodically to the length of the solar year, as indicated by Israel’s holding seasonal festivals of ingathering on specified dates. In that way the festivals continued to fall in the appropriate seasons.—Lev. 23:39. Keep in mind that God made humans to live forever. It was Adam’s sin that led to death. (Gen. 2:17; 3:17-19; Rom. 5:12) Those who lived before the Flood were closer to perfection than we are today, so they lived much longer. But each one died within a thousand years.
Consider for example, the radiocarbon “clock.” This method of radiocarbon dating was developed over a period of two decades by scientists all over the world. It was widely acclaimed for accurate dating of artifacts from man’s ancient history. But then a conference of the world’s experts, including radio-chemists, archaeologists and geologists, was held in Uppsala, Sweden, to compare notes. The report of their conference showed that the fundamental assumptions on which the measurements were based had been found untrustworthy to a greater or lesser degree. For example, it found that the rate of radioactive carbon formation in the atmosphere has not been consistent in the past and that this method is not reliable in dating objects from about 2,000 B.C.E. or before.
Keep in mind that truly reliable evidence of man’s activity on earth is given, not in millions of years, but in thousands. For example, in The Fate of the Earth we read: “Only six or seven thousand years ago . . . civilization emerged, enabling us to build up a human world.” The Last Two Million Years states: “In the Old World, most of the critical steps in the farming revolution were taken between 10,000 and 5000 BC.” It also says: “Only for the last 5000 years has man left written records.” The fact that the fossil record shows modern man suddenly appearing on earth, and that reliable historical records are admittedly recent, harmonizes with the Bible’s chronology for human life on earth.
In this regard, note what Nobel prize winning nuclear physicist W. F. Libby, one of the pioneers in radiocarbon dating, stated in Science: “The research in the development of the dating technique consisted of two stages—dating of samples from the historical and the pre-historical epochs, respectively. Arnold [a co-worker] and I had our first shock when our advisers informed us that history extended back only for 5,000 years. . . . You read statements to the effect that such and such a society or archeological site is 20,000 years old. We learned rather abruptly that these numbers, these ancient ages, are not known accurately.”
When reviewing a book on evolution, English author Malcolm Muggeridge commented on the lack of evidence for evolution. He noted that wild speculations flourished nevertheless. Then he said: “The Genesis account seems, by comparison, sober enough and at least has the merit of being validly related to what we know about human beings and their behavior.” He said that the unfounded claims of millions of years for man’s evolution “and wild leaps from skull to skull, cannot but strike anyone not caught up in the [evolutionary] myth as pure fantasy.” Muggeridge concluded: “Posterity will surely be amazed, and I hope vastly amused, that such slipshod and unconvincing theorizing should have so easily captivated twentieth-century minds and been so widely and recklessly applied.”
Radioactive Dating Challenged
● How accurate are the billions-of-years-ago time scales that are offered with such authority in science textbooks to date life on earth? Perhaps they are not as solidly founded as the public has been led to believe. “Popular Science,” in its November 1979 issue, reports that physicist Robert Gentry of Columbia Union College in Maryland “believes that all of the dates determined by radioactive decay may be off—not only by a few years, but by orders of magnitude.” In fact, Gentry asserts that “presently accepted ages may be too high by a factor of thousands.”
Argument - How long is a creative day?
The physicist bases his conclusions on the evidence of radioactive decay in wood that has almost turned to coal. In deposits “supposedly at least tens of millions of years old,” he says, “the ratio between uranium-238 and lead-206 should be low.” But it is not. Of the implications of his research, he observes: “I realize it’s difficult to believe. It would invalidate the whole underlying principle of radioactive dating: that the rates of decay are forever unvarying—an untestable assumption.” The obvious import for the age of man was noted by “Popular Science”: “Man, instead of having walked the earth for 3.6 million years, may have been around for only a few thousand.” This agrees with the chronology of the Bible, which puts the age of man at about 6,000 years.
In the Bible, the word “day” can refer to various periods of time. At Genesis 2:4, for example, the entire creative period of six “days” is spoken of as “the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.” Each day evidently involved a considerable length of time. Interestingly, while the Bible specifically mentions the end of each of the first six “days,” it makes no mention of the end of the seventh day. Why? That day is still in progress. Taken from Hebrews 4:1-6 it says, “4 Therefore, since a promise is left of entering into his rest, let us fear that sometime someone of YOU may seem to have fallen short of it. 2 For we have had the good news declared to us also, even as they also had; but the word which was heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who did hear. 3 For we who have exercised faith do enter into the rest, just as he has said: “So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest,’” although his works were finished from the founding of the world. For in one place he has said of the seventh day as follows: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter into my rest.”
Since, therefore, it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom the good news was first declared did not enter in because of disobedience . . .”
Here the time period called the 7th creative day is referred to as his “day of rest” when during 61c.e. the Hebrews bible writer Paul referred to this day as entering into His rest suggesting that mankind is still in his day of rest, that this day is approximately 6,000 years old as of 1974. The chronology breaks down this way.
There needs to be a starting point in any discussion of chronology. Secular chronologers generally agree that Babylon fell in October of 539BCE. This event is also recorded in the Bible at (Daniel 5:30, 31) which reads, "In that very night Bel·shaz′zar the Chal·de′an king was killed 31 and Da·ri′us the Mede himself received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old." The Nabunaid chronicle gives exact dates. In the month of Tashritu on the top of the 14th day or on October 10, 539BCE the Persian forces took Sippar; on the 16th day or October 12, "the army of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle." (Light from the Ancient Past - Princeton 1959 pp. 227-229)
There were 70 years from the Jews restoration to Judah in 537BCE back to the time of the complete desolation of the land following Jerusalems destruction in 607BCE. (Daniel 9:2) in the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, [namely,] seventy years.
390 years from Jerusalem's destruction in 607BCE back to the beginning of the rror of the house of Israel, at the time it broke away from Judah and set up its own government and calf worship. (Ezekiel 4:1-6) “And you, O son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it before you and engrave upon it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 And you must lay siege against it and build a siege wall against it and throw up a siege rampart against it and set encampments against it and put battering rams all around against it. 3 And as for you, take to yourself an iron griddle, and you must put it as an iron wall between you and the city, and you must fix your face against it, and it must get to be in a siege, and you must besiege it. It is a sign to the house of Israel. 4 “And as for you, lie upon your left side, and you must lay the error of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you will lie upon it you will carry their error. 5 And I myself must give to you the years of their error to the number of three hundred and ninety days, and you must carry the error of the house of Israel. 6 And you must complete them. “And you must lie upon your right side in the second case, and you must carry the error of the house of Judah forty days. A day for a year, a day for a year, is what I have given you.
37 years from the conclusion of Solomon's reign back to the beginning of the construction of Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1) And it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv, that is, the second month, after Sol′o·mon became king over Israel, that he proceeded to build the house to Jehovah. (1 Kings 11:42) And the days that Sol′o·mon had reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years.
479 years from the commencement of the work on the temple back to the exodus of Israelites from Egypt. (1 Kings 6:1) cited above, (note: 480th year not 480 years)
430 years from the exodus back to the time of Abrams entering the land of Canaan. (Exodus 12:40, 41) And the dwelling of the sons of Israel, who had dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came about at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it even came about on this very day that all the armies of Jehovah went out of the land of Egypt. Verifying that time period is (Galatians 3:17) Further, I say this: As to the covenant previously validated by God, the Law that has come into being four hundred and thirty years later does not invalidate it, so as to abolish the promise.
427 years from Abrams entry into Canaan back to the flood. (Genesis 11:10 to Genesis 12:5) reads in part: (Genesis 11:10-32) "This is the history of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he became father to Ar·pach′shad two years after the deluge. 11 And after his fathering Ar·pach′shad Shem continued to live five hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 12 And Ar·pach′shad lived thirty-five years. Then he became father to She′lah. 13 And after his fathering She′lah Ar·pach′shad continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 14 And She′lah lived thirty years. Then he became father to E′ber. 15 And after his fathering E′ber She′lah continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 16 And E′ber lived on for thirty-four years. Then he became father to Pe′leg. 17 And after his fathering Pe′leg E′ber continued to live four hundred and thirty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 18 And Pe′leg lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Re′u. 19 And after his fathering Re′u Pe′leg continued to live two hundred and nine years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 20 And Re′u lived on for thirty-two years. Then he became father to Se′rug. 21 And after his fathering Se′rug Re′u continued to live two hundred and seven years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 22 And Se′rug lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Na′hor. 23 And after his fathering Na′hor Se′rug continued to live two hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 24 And Na′hor lived on for twenty-nine years. Then he became father to Te′rah. 25 And after his fathering Te′rah Na′hor continued to live a hundred and nineteen years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 26 And Te′rah lived on for seventy years, after which he became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran. 27 And this is the history of Te′rah. Te′rah became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran; and Ha′ran became father to Lot. 28 Later Ha′ran died while in company with Te′rah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chal·de′ans. 29 And A′bram and Na′hor proceeded to take wives for themselves. The name of A′bram’s wife was Sar′ai, while the name of Na′hor’s wife was Mil′cah, the daughter of Ha′ran, the father of Mil′cah and father of Is′cah. 30 But Sar′ai continued to be barren; she had no child. 31 After that Te′rah took A′bram his son and Lot, the son of Ha′ran, his grandson, and Sar′ai his daughter-in-law, the wife of A′bram his son, and they went with him out of Ur of the Chal·de′ans to go to the land of Ca′naan. In time they came to Ha′ran and took up dwelling there. 32 And the days of Te′rah came to be two hundred and five years. Then Te′rah died in Ha′ran." Then Gen 12:1-5 reads, "And Jehovah proceeded to say to A′bram: “Go your way out of your country and from your relatives and from the house of your father to the country that I shall show you; 2 and I shall make a great nation out of you and I shall bless you and I will make your name great; and prove yourself a blessing. 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and him that calls down evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you.” 4 At that A′bram went just as Jehovah had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And A′bram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Ha′ran. 5 So A′bram took Sar′ai his wife and Lot the son of his brother and all the goods that they had accumulated and the souls whom they had acquired in Ha′ran, and they got on their way out to go to the land of Ca′naan. Finally they came to the land of Ca′naan."
The 427 years of math works out this way:
From the beginning of the Flood to Arpachshad's birth 2 years
Then to the Birth of Shelah 35 years
To the birth of Eber 30 years
To the birth of Peleg 34 years
To the birth of Reu 30 years
To the birth of Serug 32 years
To the birth of Nahor 30 years
To the birth of Terah 29 years
To the death of Terah when Abraham was 75 years old 205 years.
This brings the total number of years to 427 years.
1,656 years from the flood of Noahs day back to Adam's creation. (Genesis 5:3-29) And Adam lived on for a hundred and thirty years. Then he became father to a son in his likeness, in his image, and called his name Seth. 4 And the days of Adam after his fathering Seth came to be eight hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 5 So all the days of Adam that he lived amounted to nine hundred and thirty years and he died. 6 And Seth lived on for a hundred and five years. Then he became father to E′nosh. 7 And after his fathering E′nosh Seth continued to live eight hundred and seven years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth amounted to nine hundred and twelve years and he died. 9 And E′nosh lived on for ninety years. Then he became father to Ke′nan. 10 And after his fathering Ke′nan E′nosh continued to live eight hundred and fifteen years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of E′nosh amounted to nine hundred and five years and he died. 12 And Ke′nan lived on for seventy years. Then he became father to Ma·hal′a·lel. 13 And after his fathering Ma·hal′a·lel Ke′nan continued to live eight hundred and forty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Ke′nan amounted to nine hundred and ten years and he died. 15 And Ma·hal′a·lel lived on for sixty-five years. Then he became father to Ja′red. 16 And after his fathering Ja′red Ma·hal′a·lel continued to live eight hundred and thirty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Ma·hal′a·lel amounted to eight hundred and ninety-five years and he died. 18 And Ja′red lived on for a hundred and sixty-two years. Then he became father to E′noch. 19 And after his fathering E′noch Ja′red continued to live eight hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Ja′red amounted to nine hundred and sixty-two years and he died. 21 And E′noch lived on for sixty-five years. Then he became father to Me·thu′se·lah. 22 And after his fathering Me·thu′se·lah E′noch went on walking with the [true] God three hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of E′noch amounted to three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And E′noch kept walking with the [true] God. Then he was no more, for God took him. 25 And Me·thu′se·lah lived on for a hundred and eighty-seven years. Then he became father to La′mech. 26 And after his fathering La′mech Me·thu′se·lah continued to live seven hundred and eighty-two years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Me·thu′se·lah amounted to nine hundred and sixty-nine years and he died. 28 And La′mech lived on for a hundred and eighty-two years. Then he became father to a son. 29 And he proceeded to call his name Noah, saying: “This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands resulting from the ground which Jehovah has cursed.” (Genesis 7:6) And Noah was six hundred years old when the deluge of waters occurred on the earth.
The 1656 years of math works out this way:
From Adam's creation to the birth of Seth 130 years
Then to the birth of Enosh 105 years
To the birth of Kenan 90 years
To the birth of Mahalalel 70 years
To the birth of Jared 65 years
To the birth of Enoch 162 years
To the birth of Methuselah 65 years
To the birth of Lamech 187 years
To the birth of Noah 182 years
To the Flood 600 years
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