Here in the United States, there is much excitement about the total solar eclipse that will take place on April 8, 2024. But did you know that the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C. holds the key to the chronology of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)?
Have you ever thought about how a Study Bible can, such as, date the rule of Solomon from 970 B.C. to 930 B.C.? Or supply the dates of the rule of any other biblical king? This is a complicated topic because the Bible itself does not give such dates—typically we find “relative” dates such as “in the fourth year of his reign, King Solomon began to build the temple” (1 Kings 6:1). But when exactly is the “fourth year . . .”? Some scholars have suggested 966 B.C. But how do they know that?
It is because scholars, such as Edwin R. Thiele, have been able to link the relative chronology given in the Bible to known dates from Assyrian records (Babylonian and Egyptian sources are used as well). But how do they know the dates of Assyrian rulers and events?
A collection of limmu stelae from Asshur in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul.
Well, I am glad you asked! It is because the Assyrians named their years after various officials, including the king. Such a person was called a limmu (don’t ask, just trust me). The Assyrians would then, in other documents, date an event (such as an invasion, a battle, the building of a temple, etc.) by the name of the limmu in which it occurred. It is fortunate that there are actually lists of limmus that can be joined to give a complete sequence from roughly 891 B.C. to 648 B.C.
But what we end up with is a sequence of limmus—giving us relative dates (“this limmu before that limmu,” etc.). How is it possible to turn this long sequence of relative dates to “absolute” dates? Well, some astronomical phenomena are tied to various limmus!
One item of unusual importance is a notice of an eclipse of the sun that took place in the month of Simanu, in the eponymy (limmu) of Bur-Sagale [name of a person]. Astronomical computation has fixed this as June 15, 763. With the year of the eponymy [limmu] of Bur–Sagale fixed at 763 B.C., the year of every other name of the complete canon can likewise be fixed. The Assyrian lists extant today provide a reliable record of the annual limmu officials from 891 to 648 B.C.; and for this period they provide reliable dates in Assyrian history. (Thiele pp. 41–42)
With this information, correlations with the Biblical text can be made, and Relative Biblical dates can be converted to what we now know as B.C. dates.
Thus, the solar eclipse on June 15, 763 B.C. has played a huge role in helping determine Biblical Chronology!
Disclaimer: this post is intended to express appreciation for all the time that scholars have put into trying to determine an accurate Biblical Chronology—it is far from a complete discussion of the many challenges met in trying to solve such a problem.
Thiele, E. R. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Revised edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1965.
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Eclipses occur in relatively frequent intervals based on the observer’s location & weather, so the one in 763 BC is not an absolute date, but one chosen by modern scholars based on assumptions about other events. I personally believe the modern Jewish calendar is more accurate (being about a century shorter than Thiele’s mainstream chronology during the Neo-Assyrian period).
Very helpful and insightful, Carl. Thank you!
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I appreciated this article, but also concur with the disclaimer at the end. It is far from a complete discussion. Just as food for thought, a minority of chronologists think Thiele was too dependent on the Assyrian Eponym Canon (AEC). Thiele’s methodology ensured the chronology of the Masoretic text conformed to the AEC. For one example of dissenting opinion, read “The Reconstructed Chronology of the Divided Kingdom” by the late M. Christine Tetley. In that book, Tetley proposed an alternative chronology of the divided kingdom based on the Lucianic text of the Septuagint. Although her book was basically written off by “Thiele school” reviewers, I think her basic thesis deserves reconsideration without necessarily accepting all her specific conclusions. Please forgive the long quotes below from the introduction of Tetley’s book regarding the eclipse and the AEC:
Page 3
“15/16 June 763 b.c.e. and provides a reliable fixed point for synchronizing the AEC with the Julian calendar. Beginning with Nabu-nasir in 747 b.c.e. it is possible to correlate Assyrian kings listed in the AEC with the Canon of Ptolemy, a list of Babylonian kings. This known correlation between Assyria and Babylonia confirms the accuracy of the AEC from 763 onward.“
“To establish absolute chronology, a synchronism has to be established between a Hebrew king and an Assyrian king. The earliest known synchronism, for example, comes from the records of Shalmaneser III of Assyria, which mention two kings of Israel: Ahabbu (Ahab) in a campaign record from Shalmaneser’s 6th regnal year and Iaúa (Jehu) in a campaign in Shalmaneser’s 18th year. According to 1 Kgs 22:52 MT, Ahaziah-I reigned for 2 years after his father Ahab’s death, followed by his brother Joram’s 12-year reign (2 Kgs 3:1) before Jehu usurped the throne. The 14 years required in the biblical record between the death of Ahab and the accession of Jehu seem to conflict with the 12 years given in the AEC between Shalmaneser’s 6th and 18th years. Thus, before the Hebrew kings can be dated to the Julian calendar, problems of synchronizing Israel’s and Judah’s kings with the AEC must be resolved.”
Page 7
“Conventional chronologists assume that the AEC is reliable before as well as after the solar eclipse of 763 b.c.e.” (Tetley cites Hughes and Kitchen as examples.)
“Hughes goes on to footnote uncertainty whether the eponym Balatu should be included in the eponyms for the reign of Adad-nirari III. This confused area of eponyms comes before 763 b.c.e.”
“Kitchen and Mitchell’s confident statement also illustrates the conventional approach: “From comparison of the Assyrian limmu or eponym lists, king-lists and historical texts, the date 853 bc can be fixed for the battle of Qarqar, the death of Ahab and accession of Ahaziah in Israel; and likewise Jehu’s accession at Joram’s death in 841 b.c.” It is assumed that dates before 763 b.c.e. can be relied upon, yet with no corroborating evidence 853 or 841 are used to establish the beginning of the DK in the 930s or 920s b.c.e. Methodology that accepts the reliability of the AEC before 763 b.c.e. without first testing its veracity, especially when there are significant problems involved in reconciling the Hebrew regnal years with the years assigned to the AEC, is suspect.”
See also her summary on Page 95.