The following table is a quick reference for readers of the JCIM. The notation may be confusing at first, so it will be preceded by an brief explanation.
Because the kings of Judah began their years on the first day of Nisan (roughly the middle of March) and the kings of North Israel began theirs on the first day of Marheshvan (8 months later; roughly the middle of November), a given event, such as the beginning or end of a reign, may begin either between Nisan and Marheshvan, or between Marheshvan and the following Nisan.
This is the source of many of the apparent problems with the chronology of the kings, and at the same time, it is a fact which enables us to pinpoint dates of the Israelite kings with unusual accuracy.
In the following table, a date given as 1/653 refers to the span of time from Nisan 653 until Marheshvan 653. A date of 8/653 refers to the period from Marheshvan 653 until Nisan 654. Dates LM, you will remember, count forward from the Exodus, and begin with the first day of Nisan.
In some cases, it was possible to further pinpoint the dates. For example, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II of North Israel began his reign in 8/706 and reigned for 6 months. This means that the earliest his reign could have been was from Marheshvan (the 8th month 706 to Iyyar (the 2nd month) 707, and the latest it could have been was from Adar (the 12th and last month) 706 to Av (the 5th month) 707. I have indicated this by giving the end of his reign as 2/707, rather than 1/707, since we can exclude the month of Nisan for his death.
Other deviations from either 1/ or 8/ occur for other reasons. Babylonian inscriptions tell us that Jehoiachin was taken captive in the month of Adar, the 12 month, so I have used that value in the table.
Coregencies and other irregularities are explained in the full text of the JCIM.
| Kings of Judah | Kings of North Israel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehoboam | 1/516 | 8/533 | Jeroboam I | 8/516 | 1/538 | |
| Abijah | 8/533 | 1/536 | Nadab | 1/538 | 1/539 | |
| Asa | 1/536 | 1/577 | Baasha | 1/539 | 1/562 | |
| Jehoshaphat/a | 1/577 | 1/594 | Elah | 1/562 | 1/563 | |
| Jehoshaphat & Jehoram/a | 1/594 | 1/595 | Zimri | 1/563 | ||
| Jehoshaphat/b | 1/595 | 8/599 | Omri & Tibni | 1/563 | 1/564 | |
| Jehoshaphat & Jehoram/b | 8/599 | 1/602 | Omri in Tirzah | 1/564 | 8/567 | |
| Jehoram | 1/602 | 8/606 | Omri in Samaria | 8/567 | 1/574 | |
| Ahaziahu | 8/606 | 1/607 | Ahab | 1/574 | 8/594 | |
| Athaliah | 1/607 | 1/613 | Ahaziah | 8/594 | 8/595 | |
| Jehoash | 1/613 | 7/652 | Joram | 8/595 | 8/606* | |
| Jehoash & Amaziah | 7/652 | 1/653 | Jehu pre-Samaria | 8/606* | 8/607 | |
| Amaziah | 1/653 | 1/669 | Jehu in Samaria | 8/607 | 1/636 | |
| Amaziah & Uzziah/a | 1/669 | 8/680 | Joahaz | 1/636 | 8/650 | |
| Amaziah & Uzziah/b | 8/680 | 1/681 | Joahaz & Joash | 8/650 | 8/652 | |
| Uzziah | 1/681 | 8/720 | Joash | 8/652 | 1/655 | |
| Jotham | 8/720 | 8/736 | Joash & Jeroboam II | 1/655 | 1/666 | |
| Ahaz | 8/736 | 1/752 | Jeroboam II | 1/666 | 8/706 | |
| Hezekiah | 1/752 | 1/781 | Zechariah | 8/706 | 2/707 | |
| Menasseh | 1/781 | 1/836 | Shallum | 2/707 | 3/707 | |
| Amon | 1/836 | 1/838 | Menahem pre-Samaria | 3/707 | 8/707 | |
| Josiah | 1/838 | 1/869 | Menahem in Samaria | 8/707 | 1/718 | |
| Jehoahaz | 1/869 | 4/869 | Pekahiah | 1/718 | 1/719 | |
| Jehoiakim | 4/869 | 9/879 | Pekahiah & Pekah | 1/719 | 1/720 | |
| Jehoiachin | 9/879 | 12/879 | Pekah | 1/720 | 1/740 | |
| Zedekiah | 12/879 | 5/890 | Hoshea pre-Samaria | 1/740 | 8/748 | |
| Hoshea in Samaria | 8/748 | 1/758 | ||||
| *possibly 1/607 | ||||||
Go to the same table, but with BCE dates
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© 1997 by Lisa Liel - lisa@starways.net
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