The First& Second anointment of Solomon Solomon was twice

DAVID&SOLOMON Final dating.docx

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KING DAVID&KING SOLOMON – Dating their Reign

How Solomon succeeded David as king of Juda&Israel

The First& Second anointment of Solomon Solomon was twice anointed to succeed David as King of Israel:

“Then Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, descended, with Benaiah, the son of Jehoi-

ada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites. And they placed Solomon on the mule of king David,

and they led him to Gihon. And Zadok, the priest, took the horn of oil from the tabernacle,

and he anointed Solomon. And they sounded the trumpet. And all the people said, As king

Solomon lives. And the entire multitude ascended after him. And the people were playing on

pipes, and rejoicing with great joy. And the earth resounded before the noise of them.”

(1 Kings 1:38-40 cpdv)

This first anointment was done in a hurry (read entire chapter). David was sick, being nursed

in bed. With great difficulty he was raised from his bed, to answer the challenge posed to him.

Not so the 2nd time, this time the assembly was well prepared; all the leaders were present:

David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers

of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hun-

dreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the

palace officials, the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. (1Chronicles 28:1 ESV)

David, no longer sick, was dynamically present and clearly in charge:

Then David instructed the entire assembly: Bless the Lord our God. And the entire assembly

blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers. And they bowed themselves, and they adored God,

and next they reverenced the king. And they immolated victims to the Lord. And they offered

holocausts on the following day: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, one thousand lambs,

with their libations and with every ritual, very abundantly, for all of Israel. And they ate and

drank before the Lord on that day, with great rejoicing. And they anointed Solomon, the son

of David, a second time. And they anointed him to the Lord as the ruler, and Zadok as the high

priest. And Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord as king, in place of his father David, and

it pleased everyone. And all of Israel obeyed him. Moreover, all the leaders, and the powerful,

and all the sons of king David pledged with their hand, and they became subject to king Solo-

mon. Then the Lord magnified Solomon over all of Israel. And he gave to him a glorious reign,

of a kind such as no one has had before him, as king of Israel. (1 Chronicles 29:20-25 cpdv)

Solomon, as the text declares, was anointed a 2nd time to be the successor of David, the king.

How much time passed between the 2 anointings?

Quit some time, as can be seen from these texts:

And when the king had risen up and was standing, he said: Listen to me, my brothers and my

people. I thought that I would build a house, in which the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the

footstool of our God, might rest. And so I prepared everything for its building. But God said to

me:


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“You shall not build a house to my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.

Now the Lord God of Israel chose me, out of the entire house of my father, so that I would be

king over Israel forever. For from Judah he chose leaders; then from the house of Judah he

chose the house of my father; and from the sons of my father, it pleased him to choose me as

king over all of Israel. Then too, among my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he

chose Solomon my son, so that he would sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, over

Israel. And he said to me: Solomon your son shall build my house and my courts. For I have

chosen him to be to me as a son, and I will be to him as a father. And I will make firm his

kingdom, even unto eternity, if he will persevere in doing my precepts and judgments, as also

today.”

Now therefore, before the entire assembly of Israel, in the hearing of our God, keep and seek

all the commandments of the Lord our God, so that you may possess the good land, and may

bequeath it to your sons after you, even forever. And as for you, my son Solomon, know the God

of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all

hearts, and understands the thoughts of all minds. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you

abandon him, he will cast you aside for eternity. Now therefore, since the Lord has chosen you,

so that you would build the house of the Sanctuary, be strengthened and accomplish it. Then

David gave to his son Solomon a description of the portico, and the temple, and the storerooms,

and the upper floor, and the innermost rooms, and the house of propitiation, and indeed also

of all the courts that he had planned, and the outer rooms on all sides, for the treasuries of the

house of the Lord, and for the treasuries of the holy things, and for the divisions of the priests

and the Levites: concerning all the works of the house of the Lord and all the items in the

ministry of the temple of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 28:1-13 cpdv)

David also said to his son Solomon: Act manfully, and be strengthened, and carry it out.

You should not be afraid, and you should not be dismayed. For the Lord my God will be with

you, and he will not send you away, nor will he abandon you, until you have perfected the entire

work of the ministry of the house of the Lord. Behold, the divisions of the priests and the Levites,

for every ministry of the house of the Lord, are standing before you. And they have been pre-

pared, and so they know, both the leaders and the people, how to carry out all your precepts.

(1 Chronicles 28:20-21 cpdv)

All of this was before the 2nd anointing. Solomon was still young:

‘And king David spoke to the entire assembly: My son Solomon, the one God has chosen, is still

a tender boy. And yet the work is great, for a habitation is being prepared, not for man, but for

God.’ (1 Chronicles 29:1 cpdv)

So all together one might say: after his first anointment, Solomon and his father David, ruled

together as in a coregency, for, let’s say some months to some years. Even a 4- or 5-year period

is possible. But, to give not 1 year for this ‘coregency’ seems rather short!

The preparations might have started (long) before Solomon was first anointed as successor.

David might have received the revelation on Solomon and his future task of building the Temple

of YHWH even before Solomon was first anointed as king. In fact, it says:

“Bathsheba bowed herself, and she reverenced the king. And the king said to her, What do you

wish? And responding, she said: My lord, you swore to your handmaid, by the Lord your God:

your son Solomon will reign after me, and he himself shall sit upon my throne.”

(1 Kings 1:16-17)


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“And king David responded, saying, Summon to me Bathsheba. And when she had entered

before the king, and she had stood before him, the king swore and said: As the Lord lives, who

has rescued my soul from all distress, just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying:

Your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he himself shall sit upon my throne in my place, so

shall I do this day.” (1 Kings 1:28-30)

Now, of course, it is quite unlikely that after the great gathering that followed, presided over by

their honorable king David, in function and in power for so long now, Adonai, David’s other

son, would try to ‘steal’ the kingship:

‘Then too, among my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he chose Solomon my son, so

that he would sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, over Israel. And he said to me:

Solomon your son shall build my house and my courts. For I have chosen him to be to me as a

son, and I will be to him as a father. And I will make firm his kingdom, even unto eternity, if he

will persevere in doing my precepts and judgments, as also today.’(1 Chron.28:5-7)

In fact, this text makes it clear, that at the time of the 2nd anointing it was known by all leaders

of Israel, Solomon was chosen by God –with full consent of his father David–, to lead Israel

after David stepped down.

From this I conclude: the first anointment –and the events connected to it (1 Kings, ch.1)– had

already passed. Therefore, in our chronology, 1 Chronicles 28:1–21 must have happened be-

tween 1 Kings 1:1–53 and 1 Chronicles 29:1–25, with the 2nd anointment in 29:22, which was

on the second day of this great gathering (v.21 ‘on the following day’).

What does this mean?

It means we need to calculate a certain portion of time to a ‘kind of’ coregency of David with

Solomon; and this portion of time needs to be long enough to accommodate the preparations

for the building of the Temple under David’s leadership; and this is therefore different from the

3 years of preparations mentioned in 1 Kings 5, for that clearly was accomplished under the

direct leadership of Solomon, suggesting: after his 2nd anointment!

In fact, the statement by his father David: My son Solomon, the one God has chosen, is still a

tender boy. And yet the work is great, for a habitation is being prepared, not for man, but for

God, suggests the time of Solomon’s first to second anointment was rather substantial; for he

certainly doesn’t act as ‘still a tender boy’ after he is sole king, following his 2nd anointment!

(Read: 1 Kings chapters 2:1 until 6:1+37,38)

This means, conclusively, David&Solomon reigned some years as in a coregency, before David

died. It also suggests his father died not so long after his second anointment. The time from the

1st to 2nd anointment seems (much) longer than the time from the 2nd anointment until David’s

death. I suggest, David died in the 1st or 2nd year after Solomon started to reign as sole king,

following the 2nd anointment, and the time from the 1st to 2nd anointment took several years.

Since we are not certain about the length of this coregency, I shall take the connection to the

Sabbath years during this age as indicators.

See spreadsheet: ‘Sabbath&Jubilee Years Israel 1629BC-70AD v7.xlsx’, ©marcelvanraaij2019.

Following my study into the Sabbath&Jubilee years of Israel, from the Year of the Exodus to

the Year of Destruction 2nd Temple, there is a consistent line of SY’s passing through the age

of David&Solomon. Although I’ve tried other Lines as well, it seems more and more obvious,


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there was a consistent, historical line of Sabbath&Jubilee years all the way from the entry into

Canaan under Joshua, to the year the Temple fell forty years after the death of Jesus Christ:

Exodus: Autumn Year 1629–1628, with count start for New Year from 1 Abib 1628.

Entry: 1) Moses takes Heshbon (Num.21:19–35, Deut.2:1–37), Basan (Deut.3:1–14), Gilead

(Deut.3:15–17), in his last year:

Moses’ final year:

1st =T1629–28, N1628–27

39th=T1591–90, N1590–89 (Moses’ last full year as leader)

40th=T1590–89, N1589–88 > Joshua takes over;

Joshua’s accession&first year:

acc=T1590–89,

1st = N1589–88 (Joshua’s first full year as judge).

Entry continues East of the Jordan, with Joshua circumcising all males, celebrating

the First Passover across the Jordan, and taking his first city: Jericho (all in a few weeks):

a) if Moses died in the first half of the Autumn year T1590–89:

Joshua’s Passover=14/15 Abib 1589

b) if Moses died in the first half of the Spring year N1589–88, being the 2nd half of a):

Joshua’s Passover=14/15 Abib 1588.

These are the 2 most likely options for this first Passover in the Promised Land.

From here start the Sabbath cycles:

YEAR 1/Sabbath Cycle 1: 7th month: Ethanim 1590 to 6th month 1589

or

YEAR 1/Sabbath Cycle 1: 7th month: Ethanim 1589 to 6th month 1588.

These are the 2 most likely options for the START YEAR of all Sabbath Cycles.

There is 1 more option: the count started West of the Jordan, from Moses’ last year: if the

conquest of Heshbon is calculated and happened still in Moses’ 39th year count, we can add:

YEAR 1/Sabbath Cycle 1: 7th month: Ethanim 1591 to 6th month 1590,

although this seems less likely.

So, we have 3 possible START YEARS for the count of Sabbath&Jubilee years:

a) T1591–T1590, with Moses’ Last Passover=Aviv 1590

b) T1590–T1589, with Joshua’s First Passover=Aviv 1589

c) T1589–T1588, with Joshua’s First Passover=Aviv 1588.

These SY’s add up to the coregency David/Solomon as follows:

1. Last SY during David’s reign, possibly: SY976 / SY975 or SY974

2. First SY during Solomon’s sole reign, possibly: SY969 / SY968 or SY967.

The interesting bit is, from 934–33 as accession year of Rehoboam&Jeroboam,

Solomon’s 40th, the 1st year of Solomon –sole reign– would be (Aviv) 973–72,

which is in the Autumn Year (Ethanim) 974–73.

This says: Solomon started in a SY (LXX chron.).

In comparison, from 931–30 as accession year of Rehoboam&Jeroboam,


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Solomon’s 40th, the 1st year of Solomon –sole reign– would be (Aviv) 970–69,

with the 4th year in Solomon’s (sole) reign = (Aviv) 967–966, which is in the

Autumn Year (Ethanim) 968–67.

This says: not Solomon, but the Temple Project started in a SY (MT chron.).

These are both serious options!

Although it must be said, the seven years of building Solomon’s Temple strongly suggests a

connection to two SY’s: at the start and at the end of the building project. Since the project

started in Solomon’s 4th year, month 2, and it was finished in his 11th year, month 8, the project

was done in 7 years+6 months. The 8th month strongly suggests the connection to a Tishri

year=SY: Ethanim/Tishri 961 > 960, the 7th year since 968–67. The 8th month: Oct./Nov. 961,

so at the start of the SY the Temple would have been finished. The festivities started with the

Great Day of Reconciliation&the Feast of Tabernacles in month 7, as Chronicles states:

After this, he gathered together those greater by birth of Israel, and all the leaders of the tribes,

and the heads of the families, from the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem, so that they might bring the

ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. And so, all the men of

Israel went to the king, on the solemn day of the seventh month. (2 Chronicles 5:2-3)

The building project thus has started from 968, 2nd month (April/May) and was completed in

961, 8th month (October/November), or, to be more precise:

START TEMPLE PROJECT: 5 May/2 June 968 (‘Ziv’=‘Iyyar’)

FINISH TEMPLE PROJECT: 13 October/10 November 961 (‘Bul’=’Mareshvan’).

& & &

With this we have established a beginning for Solomon’s reign:

Abib 971–970 = 1st year. This is equal to the Autumn year 972-971 (contains Abib 971).

Now David could have transferred power in the year before, if the non-accession method is

used, as was the custom in Juda for certain from year 1 of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Thus,

David transfers power to Solomon in the year 972–971, at Solomon’s 2nd anointment, which

could have occurred at the Passover 14-21 Abib 971, at the latest.

It is custom later to count the reign of a Judean king from year 1 of any coregency, maybe as

well from the coregency of David&Solomon: the years of Solomon’s reign are –based upon the

reflections above– counted from his first year as coheir to David’s throne.

David steps back after transferring power a second time at the great gathering of 1 Chronicles

29:1-25, for the count of Solomon’s first years of reign are clearly under his control (1 Kings

2:1–6:1). From this we must conclude:

the coregency ended in either Abib 971–970 or Abib 970–969[MT], or in 974-973[LXX].

But, when did it start? An obvious answer could be: during the last Sabbath year of David’s

sole reign. This is Ethanim (Autumn) 975–974.

1st anointment Solomon: E975-4, with Solomon starting in coregency from 975 or 974 at the

Feast of Tabernacles, or, since the king’s years are counted from Abib, at the Passover in 974.

or:


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1st anointment Solomon: E972-1, with Solomon starting in coregency from 972 or 971 at the

Feast of Tabernacles, or, since the king’s years are counted from Abib, at the Passover in 971.

2nd anointment: Solomon starting in sole reign from Ethanim 971 or 970BC, at the Feast of

Tabernacles, or, since the king’s years are always from Abib, at the Passover in 970BC.


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cont.12/03/13

David’s final years – Solomon’s early years as King

With a SY Ethanim 975–974, the coregency might have started at the end of the SY, when, on

the Feast of Tabernacles, all the people were gathered in Jerusalem to listen to the reading of

the Thora (although the Temple was not yet built!).

The time from Ethanim 974 until Abib 973 was the accession period for Solomon, and one

would expect the count of his reign –in this case– to have started from Abib 973, being the first

month in the Jewish Spring Year, ‘the New Year for Kings’1.

This chronology for Solomon’s reign agrees with the Septuagint Chronology: from Abib 973

to Abib 933 are the 40 years of Solomon’s reign; the year 934–933 the 40th year, at the same

accession year for his son Rehoboam, whose count starts with Abib 933–932=year 1.

All this fits very well. In this count the coregency David&Solomon is included in the count of

Solomon’s reign: this was the principle for counting the years of the kings of Juda.2

But, there are 2 arguments against this chronology:

a. the years described in Kings 1:1 till 6:1, 37-38, suggest Solomon’s first years are counted

from his 2nd anointment, after which he reigned alone, not in coregency, anymore.

b. the project of Temple building was 7,5 years; this strongly suggests the Temple was build

within 1 Sabbath cycle of 7 years; but the next SY was Ethanim 968–7 (+/–1yr). And since

the project started in his 4th year of reign in the 2nd month, this suggests Solomon started his

reign in 971 or 970, not 973BC. For, the king’s year was reckoned from Nisan, not Tishri:

Temple start: Ziv=Iyyar 968 (April/May) in Sabbath year September/October 968 to 967.

From the king’s year Abib 968-7 (=4th) we count back to Abib 971-0 (+3=1st).

If the 2nd anointment occurred at Passover 971, the coregency will have lasted 2,5 years:

Ethanim 974–Abib 971. And another 3 years till the start of the Temple building project.

How does Solomon’s reign connect to the 7 Temple years?

With a most likely building project from SY to SY, we have the following scheme:

1. Start: Ziv 967=2nd month within the SY968–967;

2. End: Bul 960=8th month following the end of SY961–960.

or

3. Start: Ziv 968=2nd month before the SY968–967;

4. End: Bul 961=8th month starting the SY961–960.

It is not clear how precisely the project started or ended: both options are a possibility.

The inauguration year would, of course, be a very good reason to combine it with a SY=3&4.

Also, we know from 8:1-14 the Inauguration Year started with the Feast of Tabernacles.

This strongly suggests the connection to a SY. But the start of the project strongly suggests a

Spring year was used for counting the Temple project?

Conclusion: it started with a king’s year and it had ended with a sabbath year.

1 See 2 See my ‘Kings Chronology…


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Preparations

It had been well prepared. For 3 years he did the ground work and supplies were delivered to

him from the King of Tyre, Hiram II. The 4th year, Abib reckoning, the building project itself

was started. It ended at the opening or closing festivities of the SY with all people present, at

the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.

Is it right the work of the builders would have continued during a SY? Unlikely. Therefore, it

seems the final year of the building project had finished before the SY started, with maybe

minor adjustments in the months Ethanim/Bul 961BC. With Ethanim the SY had started.

Therefore, I tend to take options 3&4 as most serious.

This would make Solomon’s 11th year: Abib 961–960 and his 1st year: Abib 971–970.

This happens to be Hiram’s 12th year from Ethanim 982–981/Abib 981–980 (Josephus3), or

Hiram’s 11th year from Ethanim 981–980/Abib 980–979 (Josephus again4).

The latter convinces me the most (see ‘Hiram’s chronology.doc’).

& & &

Another solution to this problem can be found in adopting the MT Chronology, or even better,

to adapt the LXX Kings Chronology by taking Abias 6 years with a coreign of 3 years, fitting

the kings chronology of both old text versions of the Bible into the same frame:

Asa: 911–870nac =20th year from 930nac

or: 910–869nac =21st year from 930nac

or: 907–866nac =24th year from 930nac.

The problem with this approach, is to connect the true links provided for in the LXX text to the

3 years shorter chronology of the MT; while the MT has some different connections:

24th = 20th . Was Rehoboam in coreign for 3 years, 933–930? No, 24th is from Jeroboam.

A fixed point might one day be found in the military campaign of Sheshonq I: he entered Juda

in the 5th year of Rehoboam; this means either this year, or the year before, he had started his

campaign, for we know from the Egyptian records that he went way up into Israel as well.

If we would find the precise year of Sheshonq’s reign, in which he went abroad to fight in

Philistia & Israel, we would have a firm anchor to Rehoboam’s reign. Our chronology shows:

a. 929–8=5th year of Rehoboam (lxx), or

b. 926–5=5th year of Rehoboam (MT), +/– 1 year.

Let’s finish this part of our investigation by summarizing fixed biblical anchors of the period:

Abias became king of Juda in Jeroboam’s 18th year in both MT and LXX: 913 or 916 [nac].

Asa became king of Juda in Jeroboam’s 20th year in MT, 24th year in LXX: 911 or 914 [nac].

Jeroboam reigned 22 years in Israel (MT), but the verse is lost in the LXX: 931–909 [MT] or

in LXX: 934–912 [22 years] or 934–909 [25 years?]. The interesting option is:

Jeroboam: 934–912. For, this is would need correction: 931–909 (=MT).

This we’ll now explore:

3 Contra Apion, 18. 4 …


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LXX with Abias 6 years, with 3 years coreign

Rehoboam 930–913, 17 years Jeroboam 931acc–909, 22 years/acc

Abias 913–911, 18th year, 3y

coreign: 910–908, another 3y, makes: 6y

Asa: 911–870, 20th year, 41y

here is 1 inconsistency: on Judean side the 3rd = 1st in co Abias/Asa.

We might correct this, by assuming Jeroboam’s 1st = Rehoboam’s 1st :

Rehoboam 930nac–913, 17 years Jeroboam 930acc–909i, 22 years/acc

Abias 913nac–910, 18th year, 3y

coreign: 910nac–907 another 3y, makes: 6y

Asa: 911acc–870acc/869nac, 20th year, 41y

Complicated, but just possible.

But, on Israel’s side the connections should also fit:

Rehoboam 930nac–913, 17 years Jeroboam 930acc–909i, 22 years/acc

Abias 913nac–910, 18th year, 3y

coreign: 910nac–907 another 3y, makes: 6y

Asa: 911acc–870acc/869nac, 20th year Nadab, 2nd year Asa: 910 perfect

Basa, 3rd year Asa: 909, ok.

It all depends on the use of acc or nac, both still possible at this early age.

It seems possible to use a coreign for Abias with his son Asa of 3 years.

This would bring the LXX chron. in line with the MT for this phase, and fix the Temple project

to the Sabbath cycle T968/7–T961/0.

OTHER OPTION

But there is another discovery, that makes the original lxx dating still appealing:

There was another Sabbath cycle at the beginning of David’s reign:

he reigned 7,5 years (again!) at Hebron, before taking on Jerusalem.

This also strongly suggests a SY at the start and at the end of this period.

Was David crowned King of Juda in Hebron in the SY T1010–1009?

Or in Jerusalem in the SY T1003–1002?

THE USE OF 7,5 YEARS INSTEAD OF 7,0 YEARS IN BOTH THE REIGN OF DAVID AT

HEBRON, AND THE BUILDING PROJECT OF THE TEMPLE BY SOLOMON, SUPPORT

THE USE OF A TISHRI SY, WITH A NISAN START OF THE KINGS REIGNS.

It simply adds up: from a Nisan 1010 to Tishri 1010= 0,5 years; from Tishri 1010 to Tishri 1003

are 7,0 years, with 1010–1009 a SY. The next SY starts with T1003. Or, 1 year later:

David was crowned king in Hebron during a SY: at Abib 1009, SY: Ethanim 1010–1009.

He then takes office in Jerusalem at: Ethanim 1002, a great celebration at the Feast of Taber-

nacles, which closes the Sabbatical Year Ethanim 1003–1002.


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The latter seems to me most logical.

Returning to our earlier discussion now, we must fit these SY’s into our chronology for David

and Solomon.

1st : N1009–T1002 = 7,5 at Hebron,

8th : T1002–T0969 = 33 at Jerusalem.

40th = Abib 971–Abib 970;

41st = Abib 970–Ethanim 969.

Solomon’s 1st : Abib 970–Abib 969.

Solomon’s 4th : Abib 967–Abib 966.

Indeed, the Temple building project started within the SY Ethanim 968–967, at the 2d month

of Ziv=Iyyar=April/May 967, falling within Solomon’s 4th year of reign.

The 1st anointment falls between Ethanim 975 (start SY) and Abib 970 (based upon 2nd).

The ‘unfit’ connections of the early Judean kings with Jeroboam I might stem from a different

calendar use: Nisan in Juda, Tishri in Israel: +0,5-year difference (probably counts for any

missing link!).

Check later.

MR.

–––

We’ll try to connect these overlapping years to:

a. known years of Hiram, king of Tyre

b. resulting sabbath years

c. Temple building era

d. other known external kings, esp. the Egyptian pharaohs.

Notes

Hiram linked 3x

Deut.2:14 38 yrs Kadesh>entry.


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The 7,5 years

There are 2 possible links to sabbath cycles in David’s early chronology and in Solomon’s early

chronology:

1. David reigned over Juda for 7,5 years in Hebron.

2. Solomon’s building of the Temple took 7,5 years.

Since a sabbath cycle takes 7 years, these numbers add up to a sabbath cycle, in which the count

starts from a Sabbath Year and ends in the next SY.

The 7th year is a sabbath year; the extra 0,5 years can only be part of the previous sabbath year

or vice versa.

With the starting point of a king’s reign calculated from the start of a king’s year, Abib/Nisan,

which is month 1 of the year in the Jewish Calendar from Moses, and with a sabbath year

starting from Ethanim/Tishri, month 7, the additional 0,5 years is easily accounted for. It may

be either the extra time during a sabbath year from Tishri to Nisan, or vice versa. What is it?

There is a strong indicator in

There it says, the Inauguration of the First Temple at Jerusalem was done from month 7 on-

wards. This is confirmed by …. where it is stated the entire Temple building project was closed

in month 8 or ‘Bul’ (finishing touch?). From this we can deduct:

The Temple project started near Aviv=1 (month 2: Ziv) and was completed near Ethanim=7

(month 8: Bul). Thus the 7,5 years run from Abib/year 1 till Ethanim/year 8.

With an Ethanim–ending, this means either:

a. Inauguration of the Temple started at the beginning of a SY, or

b. Inauguration of the Temple started at the end of a SY, both at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Temple building project Solomon:

Iyyar[=Ziv] 967, during SY T968–967, until Mareshvan[=Bul] 960, during SY2 T961–960.

The Inauguration celebrations took place before the ‘finishing touch’ of the builders, during the

Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month.

The 7,5 years started at Abib in the 1st SY, and were completed at Ethanim in the 2nd SY.

If we produce the same scheme for David’s 7,5 years at Hebron, we get:

Start: Aviv/Nisan 1009, during SY T1010–T1009.

Full: Ethanim/Tishri 1002, end of SY T1003–1002, at the closing Feast of Tabernacles.

The only complication, caused by this chronology, is, David’s reign ends here with:

1009, Aviv=king’s year > –/–40 years = 1069, Aviv.

But, the connection to N970–969 as year 1 Solomon, with a year 1 for the Temple project of

Ziv/Iyyar 967, is strong.


06-01-20, 14:25 12 of 17

Conclusion

So, instead of NAC, for year 1 of Solomon, we need to adapt here the presupposed use of the

alternative system of ACC. From year 1 of Jeroboam of Israel, this same system remains in use

for the Kingdom of Israel at Tirzah –later Samaria–, but in Juda the NAC system remains in

use from Rehoboam until the fall of Jerusalem in 587.

This seems to me the best solution posed by the numbers of years of the biblical texts.

For, a 7.5-year period, combined with the historical sabbath years cycle, can hardly be taken

differently: it thus includes 1 whole sabbath year & 1 half sabbath year, making up the 7.5.

It either starts from Tishri to Tishri [=1], with a Tishri–Nisan [=0.5] at the end of this cycle,

or,

it starts from Nisan to Tishri[=0.5], with a Tishri–Tishri [=1] at the end of the cycle.

Giving:

A. 1SY+½SY

T1010–T1009 > T1003–N1002 = 7,5y.

B. ½SY+1SY

N1009–T1009 > T1003–T1002 = 7,5y.

Due to the above clarified 7.5 years period of Solomon’s Temple Project, we may assume the

same system has been used by David, while king at Hebron: starting it’s count from the start of

a new King’s Year –Abib/Nisan– and ending at the end of the next SY. During the SY David

seems to have taken control over Jerusalem, possibly due to the extra supply of manpower

during a Sabbath Year.5

This makes sense.

The alternative would mean the count of the king’s first year from Ethanim 1010–T1009, which

is contra the start of a king’s year (always Abib/Nisan). So, a change would need to be supposed

by 1002 from a Tishri count to a Nisan count?

Possible, but it is contra the count of Solomon’s project. Not consistent.

Also, to arrive at 33+7,5=40,5 years in NAC, we need to start at N1010, half a year before the

start of the SY1010/9; this too seems improbable.

With the material at our disposal, I therefore conclude option B to be by far most likely.

©marcelvanraaij/netherlands/18032013.

5 Despite later efforts by Jewish Rabbi’s to regulate ‘no fighting during a SY is allowed’ and –it seems– having

been a Jewish custom by the time Herod took Jerusalem (Josephus), many sieges&battles have taken place all

through Jewish history. See: ‘Sabbath&Jubilee Years in Israel 1628BC–70AD’.


06-01-20, 14:25 13 of 17

Integrating David’s with Solomon’s reign

Another remark:

From the 2nd SY of David and Solomon’s first can only be 35 years: T1003/2 > T1068/7.

In fact, the 2nd SY was David’s 8th year of reign, his 40th = year 32 = T970/969.

But Solomon’s 1st year can only be Abib 970/969, with SY968.

So, David’s last & Solomon’s first year are the same year.

This means: accession method.

The Accession method was used by the northern kingdom of Israel all through its existence,

until it was defeated by the Assyrian kings in early 721BC and part of its people deported.

The Non–accession method was used by the southern kingdom of Juda all through its history,

until the time of Jesus Christ, first century AD. The Judean kingdom, often in foreign hands,

ended with its defeat by the Romans in 66–70AD (etc.).

In the Accession year method, the accession year of the new king is counted in his reign, and,

the last year of the former king, although being one and the same year, is still counted as part

of his reign. So, effectively, in the accession method the year of transferal of the kingship is

counted twice: e.g. although Nadab became king of Israel in the 2nd year of Asa, king of Juda.

His successor Baasha became king in Asa’s 3rd year, but still Nadab is given 2 years of reign.

The reason is: his year of death is counted to his reign, although his successor ascends the throne

in this same year.

Baasha’s year of accession is counted to his own reign as well and that’s why this method is

named the Accession method. In the Non–accession method, the last year is counted to the old

king’s reign, and not to his successor. Only the first full year of governance is counted as year

1 of the new king’s reign.

&

From David we have 40½ years to spare: 7,5 in 1st sabbath cycle, 33 more until Solomon;

but 33 35, which leads us to a 5x7 sabbath cycles:

T1010–1009=1st half year in Hebron=SY1

T1003–1002=2nd SY, year 8 (in fact: 7,5)

T1002–T969=33 more years, with next SY: T968/7.

Indeed, T1002–T968=34 years, precisely the number required between these 2 SY’s (SY968=

35th year). So, they shared 1 year (with or without a coregency in the years before 970).

Conclusion:

From David’s 1st year in reign, until the Temple was built, 7 sabbath cycles passed:

1st SC=T1010–T1003

2nd – 6th SC’s=T1003–T968

7th SC-=T968–T961,

7 sabbath cycles in total.


06-01-20, 14:25 14 of 17

This brings us to this conclusion:

From year 1 of David’s reign until the year the Temple was completed,

was precisely 7 Sabbath Years=49 years.

The Inauguration Year of the Temple was year 50 since David started as king of Juda;

this is a Davidic Jubilee Year(!).

+ + +

Could this be a ‘true’ historical Jubilee Year?

In my present Jubilee Cycles line since the Exodus, the closest Jubilee is: T953–952.

This is 7 years after ‘King David’s Jubilee’ of T960–959.

So, if we could predate the origins of the actual JC’s with 1 SC, we would arrive through 960.

But the date of 1590 cannot be predated, for that would bring us back in the desert journey of

Moses (year 32). So, can we postpone year 1?

This would be 1597>–49>1548, 50: 1547.

There is no reason to adapt this year as starting point of the Jubilee cycles.

©marcelvanraaij/netherlands/18032013.

cont.19/03/14

SOLOMON’S START

Having readdressed the start of the Temple building project yesterday, we need to readdress the

precise start of Solomon’s reign:

➢ the start of the Temple project fits best with a 2nd month start in 968 (967),

see “Hebrew King’s Chronology – MTLXX=971-931coDavid&Solomon&SY” + p.5-6 above.

➢ the 4th year of Solomon’s reign therefore is to be counted from Abib 971 (4th=Abib 968),

for here we need to take the following into consideration:

a. the 2nd month Ziv (1 Kings 6:4) (=Iyar, Mareshvan);

b. the 1st month of Solomon’s 4th year is to be counted from spring, not autumn (a ‘king’s

year)

c. the 1st month of Solomon’s 1st year is to be counted from Abib (=Nisan) 971BC.

➢ the 1st year of Solomon falls out in the Autumn year Ethanim (=Tishri) 972-971BC;

but Solomon’s 1st year as sole regent must be either 973-72 (LXX) or 970-69 (MT).

Since the Temple project only covers a true historical sabbath year cycle if the 4th of Solomon

is linked to either 968-67 or 967-66, we must assume the 930-chronology to be the basis of the

chronology of 1+2 Kings.

This means: Solomon’s reign is counted from: (a) 971-70 or (b) 970-69.


06-01-20, 14:25 15 of 17

As we have shown in another document6, the strongest link is to 2nd/968–8th/961BC, for this

connects quite perfectly to the Temple Levite Order as established by King David.

In fact, the line of priestly orders –as I have shown– connects all the way from 1 Tishri 968 to

the week in 70AD, when the Temple Order was stopped, due to Roman intervention (July 70).

But, a start of the Priestly Order about a year before the Temple was finished seems less likely

than the start of the Priestly Order just about a month before the Temple decorations were fin-

ished: this means Solomon’s Temple project was finished in the 8th month during 968BC.

This brings the start of Solomon’s reign 1 year earlier than I previously understood (see excel

file “Hebrew King’s Chronology”, spreadsheet ‘971-931coDavid&Solomon&SY’ for detail.

Connection to king of Tyre – Hiram

According to Josephus, there were deliveries by king Hiram of Tyre to king Solomon of Jeru-

salem, as he found himself in the in his age still existing Archives of the Kings of Tyre:

a. in the 11th year of reign of king Hiram; and

b. in the 12th year of reign of king Hiram (Josephus mentions these 2 numbers).

But the deliveries, according to 1 Kings 5, started before the Temple foundation was laid: from

the 1st to 4th year of Solomon; the start of the building project with laying the foundation, is

specifically connected to Solomon’s 4th year.

With this, we expect the deliveries from Tyre to have started in the 1st to 3rd year of Solomon.

This proves to be true: king Hiram of Tyre started reigning in 981BC or 980BC, with his

a) 11th year = 971 or 970BC;

b) 12th year = 970 or 969BC.

We do not know for certain whether the kings of Tyre in the age of David&Solomon have been

counting their years from Spring –as in Juda– or from Autumn; nor do we know if they regis-

tered in their archives in accession or non-accession years. This gives these options:

Hiram I Shlomo II Shlomo III Shlomo IV Shlomo V Shlomo

1 1st year: E981-E980 E981-E980 A980-A979 A980-A979 E980-E979

2 11th year: E971-E970 =2nd E971-E970 =1st A970-A969 =2nd A970-A969 =1st E970-E969 =2nd

3 12th year: E970-E969 =3rd E970-E969 =2nd A969-A968 =3rd A969-A968 =2nd E969-E968 =3rd

Solomon I Hiram II Hiram III Hiram IV Hiram V Hiram

4 1st year: E972-E971= E971-E970= E971-E970=

A971-A970 A970-A969 =11th A971-A970 A970-A969 =11th A970-A969

5 2nd year: E971-E970= E970-E969= E970-E969=

A970-A969 =11th A969-A968 =12th A970-A969 =11th A969-A968 =12th A969-A968 =11h

6 3rd year: E970-E969= E969-E968= E969-E968=

A969-A968 =12th A968-A97 A969-A968 =12th A968-A967 A968-A967 =12th

7 4th year: E969-E968= E968-E967= E968-E967=

A968-A967 A967-A966 A968-A967 A967-A966 A967-A966

I conclude: with either a 981 or 980 start of Hiram, Solomon’s start from Abib 971 fits best.

The deliveries starting in Solomon’s first or second year, perfectly fit w. Temple chronology.

The 971 Abib start of Solomon’s coregency with his father, gives a Ziv-968 start for Temple.

Marcel van Raaij, 19 March 2014.

6 “Fall Jerusalem in 587BC and the priestly order”, page 10.


06-01-20, 14:25 16 of 17

cont.20/03/14

Start of Solomon’s reign

With the conclusion above, the count of Solomon’s reign is slightly different:

in the calculation of the 4th year as start of the Temple construction, the count from 971 means the

coreign with David (last year) is included; but the 40 years is still counted from 970. Is this correct?

The simple solution would be to count the 40 years of Solomon from 971 to 931, instead of to 930BC.

But there is a fine connection to the start of either Rehoboam’s & Jeroboam’s reign...

So, this raises the question into the last year of Solomon’s reign once again.

The most likely solution is that the 40 years are counted from his first sole year: 970-969BC. This gives: 40th year is 931-930BC.

The alternative is to see if the split was possibly 1 year earlier. That is unlikely.

Possibly, at the start of Solomon’s reign, his reign was counted from 971, later the last year of David was reckoned exclusively to king David and Solomon’s count was retaken from 970?

This is a possibility, with so many years between his start of reign and his death 40 years after.

Also, reigns of the kings of Israel and Juda were counted differently from 931BC onwards:

a. in Juda from the first of Nisan of the first full year of reign = non-accession method;

b. in Israel from the day of accession = first year of reign = accession method.

Also, since Solomon was the last king of united Israel&Juda, his reign was counted from his first day

of accession in co-regency with his father, David, as king of Israel…

while in Juda, it may have been (re-)counted from the first day of Nisan, in his first sole year: gives 1 Nisan 970.

Here: Nisan=Abib, Tishri=Ethanim.

Conclusion:

King Solomon started his reign:

I. in coregency with his father David from at least 1 Abib 971BC, from whence the original dating of

the Temple (4th – 11th year) is counted, and the continuous method of reckoning the reigns of its kings

in Israel; this could also have been: from 1 Ethanim 972 or 971BC;

II. in sole reign from 1 Abib 970BC, on which the Judean reckoning is based continuously until the fall

of Jerusalem in 587BC and ever since.

The 1 Abib 930BC start date of king Rehoboam, first king of Juda after the split with Israel, is derived

from II; the 1 Ethanim 931BC start date of king Jeroboam, first king of Israel after the split with Juda,

is possibly derived from I.

Or it is simply explained by the proven different counting system for:

A) Juda: the non–accession method (first full year is year 1) B) Israel: the accession method (accession year is year 1).

So far this addition.

Marcel van Raaij, 20 March 2014, Start of Spring this year.


06-01-20, 14:25 17 of 17

Some Conclusions MR/23.04.19/AM06.15h

David’s, Solomon’s reigns and how they connect to historical Sabbath Years

Having gone back into the matter of Solomon’s length of reign, the Temple project etc., I now wish to

attempt a summarizing conclusion of this episode in the history of Israel.

First of all one must say that a line of sabbatical years align quite perfectly with the 7.5 years of David

at the beginning of his reign –between his conquest of Hebron and his conquest of Jerusalem–, and with

the 7.5 years of Solomon, at the beginning of his reign –from the start to finish of the Temple building at Jerusalem–. Is this accidental? Let’s see:

The following sabbatical years align with David’s and Solomon’s reign, as follows:

year month month duration event who? SY start SY fine comments:

David starts reign: King David’s chronology:

1010BC Ethanim 07/1010 1 year Sabbath Year Israel 07/1010 07/1009 in ‘Exodus Line’, Sabbath Year 83.

1010BC Ethanim 07/1010 David king in Hebron David 07/1010 07/1009 David starts his rule from Hebron at the start of a historical Sabbath Year: September/October 1010BC.


1002BC Aviv 01/1002 7.5 yrs Jerusalem conquered David during SY: yes David moves his seat to Jerusalem af–

– new capital of Juda ter conquest; king at Jerusalem for 33 yrs.

From 1 Aviv 1002BC during SY (nac).

Solomon’s reign: King Solomon’s chronology:


0974BC Aviv 01/0974 4 years? Start co-regency, option A

Shlomo 07/0975 07/0974 Possible co-reign David–Solomon, from first anointment: 1 Kings 1:39.

0971BC Aviv 01/0971 1 year? Start co-regency, option B

Shlomo during SY? no. Possible co-reign David–Solomon, from first anointment: 1 Kings 1:39.

0971BC Aviv 3 years Deliveries Tyrus Hiram Preparations Temple starts (LXX: 3 yrs)

0970BC Aviv 01/0970 40 years Start sole reign Shlomo Start sole reign Solomon: 01/970930.

Temple Building:

0968BC Ziv 02/0968 7.5 yrs Start Temple building Shlomo Solomon starts building in year 4<971.



0961BC Bul 08/0961 7.5 yrs End Temple building Shlomo during SY: yes Solomon ends building in year 11<971.

Such a conformity between the –entirely independ– lines of the David’s & Solomon’s reigns, the Sab-

batical Years, and the Chronology of the Levite Priest Orders is by itself no accident. The chance these alignments are the result of sheer chance are by definition statistically about impossible.

That’s why these 3 Lines confirm each other:

I. The King’s Chronology of King David (1010-970BC) and King Solomon (971-930BC),

II. The Sabbath Years Chronology started at E1590BC with an Exodus date of 01/1629 or 1628BC,

III. The Priestly Orders Chronology started at Ethanim 961BC until 7/10 Av 70AD.

Such a coincidence can be excluded as not historical;

such a conformity confirms this historical chronology!

chs.06.01.2020.

Marcel, 23.04.19/17h.

Documents

The First& Second anointment of Solomon Solomon was twice