Without recourse. All Rights Reserved. Tree of Life©
Statement of belief: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)
Created 5929± 10 10 2025
[2009-01-08]
Updated 5941(?) 02 05 2027
[2010-10-14]
Revised 5925[(*??*)] 08 22
2029 [2012-12-07]
Revised 5928[(*??*)]
11 18 2032 [2016-02-27] – re the accession of Artaxerxes I.
New Meaning in Familiar Texts
“As soon as the seeker for truth opens the
Bible to read the utterances of God with reverence, possessing an earnest
desire to know "what saith the Lord," light and grace will be given
him, and he will see wondrous things out of God's law. He will not regard the
law of Jehovah as a yoke of bondage, but as the gracious commands of One who is
all-wise and full of compassion. He will make haste to fulfill His
requirements. Great truths
which have been neglected and unappreciated for ages, will be revealed by the
Spirit of God, and new meaning will flash out of familiar texts. Every page
will be illuminated by the Spirit of truth. The Bible is not sealed but unsealed. The most precious truths are
revealed; the living oracles are heard by wondering ears, and the consciences
of men are aroused into action.” --TSS 30.
{CSW 34.3}
“I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures
were as He wanted them; that
His hand was over and hid
a mistake in some of the figures, so that none could see it, until His hand was removed.” ({EW 74.1} The entire paragraph is quoted below!)
When did Xerxes/Ahasuerus reign begin?
And What About Artaxerxes I, Darius II, and Artaxerxes
II?
Conclusions from
the Elephantine Papyri and More
Abstract:
Studying carefully the details of
the Elephantine papyri dates in conjuntion with the corresponding Scripture
passages I find all data necessary for placing narrowly the beginnings of the
reigns of each of the above named Persian kings (cf. also the Elephantine papyri portion of this spread sheet:)
Considerations:
Two
exact anchor points are given:
1.
“AP
5. Elul 18 = Pachons 28, year 15 of Xerxes”
- between sunset Sept 12 and sunrise Sept 13, 471 BCE.
2.
“AP 6. Kislev 18 = Thoth [17],
year 21, the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes 1” - between sunset Jan 2 and sunrise Jan 3, 464 BCE.
What
calendar(s) are being used for the reckoning of years in these two papyri? What
may we learn from the exact anchor points above to answer this last question?
Three calendars may be
considered:
1.
The Egyptian calendar beginning with Thoth 1;
2.
The Babylonian/Persian calendar beginning with Nisanu/Abib 1; and
3.
The Scriptural/Jewish calendar beginning with Tishri 22.
In my prior
version of this article I was using a much more complex and convoluted form
of analysis, than I’ve now been blessed by. Please go to this link to discover simply and
quickly:
1) Why the two papyri,
AP 5 & AP6 are necessarily using Babylonian regnal year reckoning; and
2) That
Ahasuerus’/Xerxes’ began his reign within the Babylonian year beginning 1
Nisan, 486 BCE.
A
change of scribal dating policy is revealed during the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Although
I do not have the direct and simple data available to me in order to be able to
arrive at the answer to these last considerations, I can do so by looking at
the greater pattern of dating for the 13 double dated documents available from
the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Carefully
considering this
table of double dated papyri etc. it seems quite clear that at one point in
time the scribes in Elephantine changed their procedure from a prior policy of
using pure Egyptian regnal years to a new policy. According to this new policy
the scribes apparently kept on using the Egyptian calendar date as such, but the
regnal years were from this point of time tied to the Babylonian calendar, as
per the prior policy used under King Ahasuerus/Xerxes. Thus there was at this
point of time a change from non-accession year reckoning to accession year
reckoning. This change of policy apparently took place some time between the
dates given in AP 9 and the date of the Cairo Sandstone Stele. Is it possible
that the Cairo Sandstone Stele is a marker of this event?
Conclusions:
What
part of the year did Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes begin their respective reigns?
It
follows that some conclusions may be drawn re the time of year when these kings
acceded to the throne:
The beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Given that Egyptian calendar,
regnal year reckoning, was never used for any
of the extant Elephantine papyri pertaining to Artaxerxes I’s reign, but
only Babylonian/Persian calendar regnal years. Given also the dating discovered in the
Book of Nehemiah showing that the Scripture fall-to-fall default reckoning
precedes the Babylonian/Persian spring-to-spring reckoning. Thirdly, given also the double dated
(Babylonian/Persian calendar day dates vs Egyptian calendar day dates,) I find
that Artaxerxes I acceded
to the throne between the beginning of Nisan 1, 465 BCE and between the
beginning of Tishri 22, 465 BCE [i.e. between (March 24 or) April 23 and
November 19, 465 BCE.][1]
- Updated and revised
[December 7, 2012,] reversing my prior stand re the order of the calendars,
while also discovering a prime example of Seventh Day Sabbath keeping in the
Old Testament (which definitely does not agree with the so called Lunar Sabbath
teachings!)
- Updated and revised [February
27, 2016] primarily by removing all references to Egyptian regnal year
reckoning, which were never used by any of the extant Elephantine papyri of
Artaxerxes I’s time.
The beginning of the reign
of Ahasuerus/Xerxes:
Given the clear and
concise tabular data within the article of mine under this link, it is now clear that
Ahasuerus acceded to the throne between Nisan 1, 486 BCE and the beginning of
Nisan 1, 485 BCE.
Given the fact that, in the Book of Esther, the Scriptural and Babylonian year reckoning,
relative to the years of Ahasuerus’ reign, are the same for the month of Adar,
that is, during the 8th through the 12th months, it is
obvious that the Scriptural calendar reckoning of Ahasuerus’ years are trailing
the Babylonian regnal year reckoning during that same era. From this fact I
conclude that the reign of Ahasuerus/Xerxes began not only subsequent to the
beginning of Nisan 1, 486 BCE, but also subsequent to the beginning of Tishri
22, 486 BCE, while also prior to the beginning of Nisan 1, 485 BCE. However,
please cf. the analysis found within this article of mine…
Combining the statements within the two above
paragraphs it follows that Ahasuerus’/Xerxes’ reign began subsequent to the beginning of Tishri 22,
486 BCE and prior to the beginning of Nisan 1, 485 BCE.
The
beginning of the reign of Darius II:
Given
that all of the Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Scriptural calendar reckoning
are being clearly identifiable from the available papyri (cf. this table and
this table,) the beginning of the
reign of Darius II may be certainly narrowed down as follows:
Given
that Darius II’s 9th year of reign per Egyptian non-accession
reckoning began (cf. AP 25, which was dated between
sunset Nov 16 and sunrise Nov 17, 416 BCE)
with Thoth 1, 417 BCE (beginning at sunrise December 5, 417 BCE) I conclude
that his reign began between Thoth 1, 425 BCE and the beginning of Thoth 1, 424
BCE.
Given
also that Darius II’s 4th year of reign per the Babylonian calendar
began (cf. AP 20, which was dated between
sunrise and sunset Sept 2, 420 BCE) at the
beginning of Aviv 1, 420 BCE, I conclude that he acceded to the throne between
Aviv 1, 424 BCE and the beginning of Aviv 1, 423 BCE.
Given
also that Darius II’s 3rd year of reign per the Scriptural/Jewish
calendar began (cf. Kraeling 6, which was dated between sunrise and sunset on June 11, 420 BCE) at the beginning of Tishri 22, 421 BCE, I conclude
that Darius II acceded to the throne between Tishri 22, 424 BCE and the
beginning of Tishri 22, 423 BCE.
Combining
the statements within the three above paragraphs it follows that the reign of Darius II began between Tishri
22, 424 BCE and Thoth 1, 424 BCE. Furthermore, because all three calendars, the Egyptian, the
Babylonian, and the Scriptural/Jewish calendars, are defined for Darius, it
follows that so also are the accession years of the Babylonian and the
Scriptural/Jewish calendars…If the total number of years of reign of his
predecessor, Artaxerxes I was known in terms of those calendars then his
accession year would likewise be known, but thus far I do not have a way of
ascertaining Artaxerxes’ Scriptural regnal years exactly…
The
beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes II:
Given
that only the Egyptian regnal years are well defined by the dates in the
available papyri for this time period, and given that the scribal practice
during Darius II of specifying both regnal years when different is not followed
in Kraeling 9 & 10 and the beginning of Artaxerxes II’s reign can only be
defined in terms of the Egyptian calendar so far as the Elephantine papyri are
concerned:
Given
that Artaxerxes II’s 3rd year of reign per Egyptian non-accession
reckoning began (cf. Kraeling 10, which was dated between sunrise March 9 and sunrise March 10, 402 BCE) with Thoth 1, 403 BCE (beginning at sunrise December
2, 403 BCE) I conclude that the reign of Artaxerxes II began between
Thoth 1, 405 BCE and the beginning of Thoth 1, 404 BCE.
However,
given also the fact that Ezra is reckoning time using Scriptural years and that
the 7th & 8th Scriptural regnal years of Artaxerxes
II may be considered defined by 1) the evidence pointed out in SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 3, pp. 369-374, entitled “Additional Note on Chapter 7 re the events of Nehemiah
preceding the events of Ezra, and 2) in conjunction thereto the exact double
date specified in Ezra 10:9, i.e. Day Three of the week and the exact day of
the month, the year being the 8th regnal year of Artaxerxes, I conclude
that the 8th year of Artaxerxes began with Tishri 22, 397 BCE and
not a year later. Thus, the Scriptural accession year of Artaxerxes II is
found to have begun Tishri 22, 405 BCE going through Tishri 21, 404 BCE.
Combining
the statements within the last two paragraphs above it follows that the reign of Darius II began between Thoth
1, 405 BCE and the beginning of Tishri 22, 404 BCE.
More considerations by Ellen G.
White:
“September 23, the Lord showed me that He had stretched out His hand the
second time to recover the remnant of His people, [SEE PAGE 86.] and that
efforts must be redoubled in this gathering time. In the scattering,
The 1843 Chart
Comments and
donations freely accepted at:
Tree of Life©
c/o General Delivery
Nora [near SE-713 01]
eMail: TreeOfLifeTime@gmail.com
You are
hereby cordially invited to subscribe to our free email
course:
You’ll
discover firsthand the fundamentals for understanding Scripture time reckoning
as used by the ancient historian Josephus as well as by all the authors of the
Holy Scriptures! Much of this knowledge has - until now - been lost to the best
of scholars for many centuries.
“Great
truths which have been neglected and unappreciated for ages will be revealed by
the Spirit of God, and new meaning will flash out of familiar texts. Every page
will be illuminated by the Spirit of truth. The Bible is not sealed but
unsealed. The most precious truths are revealed; the living oracles are heard
by wondering ears, and the consciences of men are aroused into action.”
You
will make many surprising and exciting discoveries re the exact dates for
Jesus’ birth, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension… as well as the exact dates
of many, many more events found in your Bible, especially re the New Testament
times.
You’ll
discover the exact dates for the 12+ Roman Caesars beginning with Julius
Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus…
You’ll
discover the exact dates of most of the kings of Juda beginning with Hyrcanus
in the 2nd century BCE, Herod the Great, Agrippa, and many other
Judean kings and proconsuls, e.g. Pontius Pilate…
You’ll
discover many things re the Scripture traditions honored by all the disciples
and believers of the Apostolic times – as well as by the Jews – traditions that
have been long forgotten or not correctly restored when previously
re-discovered…
Be
prepared to re-think and to re-learn… Things may not be as you always thought
they were… But you’ll decide!
“Get
Your Tree of Life © 1st Century Chronology & Scripture Calendar
Introductory Course NOW…”:
It is a very simple Basics 101 type course entitled:
Tour Guide
towards “Tuning into the Frequency of the Creator & Becoming Oriented in
His Time…”
It is
one short email per week for you to enjoy with your family and friends…
C:\Documents and
Settings\Owner.YOUR-3F778DA96A\Application Data\Microsoft\tolcf\index.php
mailto:PowerOfChoice@gamaliel.intranets.com
C:\Documents and
Settings\Owner.YOUR-3F778DA96A\Application Data\Microsoft\index.html
C:\Documents
and Settings\Owner.YOUR-3F778DA96A\Application Data\Microsoft\index.html
Without
recourse. All Rights Reserved. Tree of Life©