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From Magic City Morning Star R.P. BenDedek
How Long was the Ark of the Covenant at Kiriath Jearim? Adapted from a Seder Olam Rabbah Article at King's Calendar The issue of how long the Ark was at Kiriath Jearim, is important to Biblical Chronology, for it is a defining chronological reference for this time period. 1 Samuel 7:2 states: "And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel yearned after the Lord." But 1 Samuel 4:18 & 6:1 tell us that the Ark was captured on the day of Eli's death, and that it remained in the hand of the Philistines for 7 months. Here then is an apparent contradiction. The difficulty with this time period, is that the reference in 1 Samuel 7:2, to the Ark remaining at Kiriath-jearim 20 years until David's 7th year, is the only Biblical reference from which a chronology can be built, because the balance of the Biblical chronological data for this time period, is either corrupt or missing. Without any other references, there is no corroboration for either of these contradictory references. (See 'Corroboration' : The Law, Rules of Evidence Archaeology Part 1.) i) The Real Difficulty with 1 Samuel 7:2 There are quite a number of difficulties with the primary text reading of 1 Samuel 7:2, for irrespective of the contradiction in 1 Samuel Chapter 6, and despite the fact that 1 Samuel 7:2 appears to indicate a time lapse of only 20 years between Eli's death and David's 7th year, there are other considerations to be made. In response to my email question on the subject, Dr. Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament, Northern Baptist Seminary Lombard, IL 60148 wrote:
My inquiry derived from the fact that: 1. The King's Calendar, which works independently, mathematically, and directly from the Scriptural chronological references [as artificial time periods and using the principle of Linear Causality] indicates that the total [artificial year] time period to elapse between Eli's death and David's 7th year is 70 years. Therefore the 20 years mentioned in 1 Samuel 7:20 must be considered incorrect. 2. Josephus records a 40 year time lapse for this same 20 year period.
The total combined period for Samuel and Saul is equal to 32 years.[12+18+2=32] Add to these 32 years, the final year of Eli when the Ark was captured, plus the 7 years until David's 7th year when he collected the Ark from Kiriath Jearim, and the total is 40 years. Despite his 'negative' reputation as a chronologist, Josephus, irrespective of his carelessness, did work from 'source documents', even if he did not always understand them. He was careless, obviously disorganised, and little understood what was before him, probably because he had access to a 'third party's' chronological documents. The overall King's Calendar impression of Josephus's references however, is that his material was 'legitimate', and that his errors can be understood. [Chapter 20] Josephus' material, and the King's Calendar inherently insist that our current version of 1 Samuel 7:2, is not correct. For the King's Calendar, the demonstration of the error relates to the chronology for the Monarchal period of Israel's History, as well as for the Period of the Judges, and finds its' focus, in the chronology for King Saul. ii) 'Original' to Biblical Texts. Dr. Mariottini (quoted above) wrote that the "twenty years" is present in the Hebrew Text and in the Septuagint, so it is original to the biblical text. This expression does not mean that the 20 years is the original figure (at the time the details were recorded), but that as it appears in all the oldest manuscripts, we can be assured that it is the figure that was intended for us to read there. This however, does not mean, that at sometime prior to the compiling of the Septuagint (3rd Century BCE), that a different [or even no] figure had not already been either inserted or changed. If you read the English translation of 1 Samuel 7:2, it does not read smoothly, but rather appears to contain an insertion. Compare the following renditions.
If the original version has received an insertion, it is because someone was trying to calculate the time frame in the absence of other corroborating chronological records. One cannot however just alter the record merely to suit one's own chronological purpose [a common habit among modern Bible academics]. Nevertheless, 1 Samuel 6:1 contradicts this figure by saying that the Philistines only had the Ark for 7 months, and that because of the resultant plagues, they returned the Ark, sending it off on a cart to Beth-Shemesh. In the context of that Chapter however, it is apparent that despite this misadventure on the part of the Philistines, they did not desist from harassing Israel. What I suggest, is either that the 7 months of 1 Samuel 6:2 was originally "70 years", and/or that the 20 years listed in 1 Samuel 7:2, is an insertion based on an attempt to chronologise the period from Samuel to David's 7th year, and should read 70 years. iii) 7 months or 70 years : Changing the Biblical Details As mentioned earlier, the King's Calendar is an independent mathematical calculation, working directly from and applying, Scriptural chronological references, as artificial time periods, and operates upon the principle of Linear Causality. Years prior to looking at the Seder Olam Rabbah, and before considering these Biblical verses, the King's Calendar determined that Samuel Judged Israel for an independent period of 32 years and that Saul was king of Israel for 30 independent years. Add to these the 7 years of David and the last year of Eli, and the total is 70 years for the Ark to be in Kiriath Jearim. From this perspective then, and checking the balance of the Biblical Data, a new picture can plausibly be drawn. 1 Samuel Chapter 6:1 makes it quite clear that the Philistines returned the Ark voluntarily in 7 months.( :1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months) BUT
Despite the way the story is contextually situated following 2 Samuel Chapter 5 & 6 in relation to battles with the Philistines, these verses can lead one to consider that in fact the Ark was returned after 70 years, and this, probably because David, who used to work for the Five Lords of the Philistines, was now King of Israel. R.P.BenDedek Refer to the Original Article for all live links to the following items.
"The King's Calendar" [ on sale - while the economic recession is on], is a chronological study of the historical books of the Bible (Kings and Chronicles), Josephus, Seder Olam Rabbah, and the (Essene) Damascus Document of The Dead Sea Scrolls. See Chapter Precis page. Academic Articles at Magic City © Copyright 2002-2011 by Magic City Morning Star |
