Septuagint Chronology: Creation of Adam to Birth of Abraham

To determine the chronology of events from the creation of Adam to the birth of Abraham is more complicated than one might imagine. To begin with, the chronology of the Masoretic text of the Old Testament in Hebrew differs significantly from that of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament in Greek. One must choose between the two.

James Ussher based his chronology on the Masoretic Text. In this essay, we will look at the chronology as found in the Septuagint. This chronology, whether in Hebrew or Greek, comes primarily from Genesis 5 and 11.

Ussher set 1996 BC as the year of Abraham’s birth. He dated Creation in 4004 or 2008 years before that. If we continue to accept 1996 as the year Abraham was born, the Septuagint chronology sets Creation 3394 years before that. There is a difference, then, of 1386 years between the Masoretic and Septuagint chronologies.

                                                                 Lived     Total

Name             Born     Died     Begat     After     Years

Creation        5390

Adam              5390     4460     230         700         930

Seth                 5160     4248     205         707         912

Enosh              4955     4050     190         715         905

Kenan             4765     3855     170         740         910

Mahalalel        4595     3700     165         730         895

Jared               4430     3468     162         800         962

Enoch             4268     3903     165         200         365

Methuselah     4103     3134     187         802         969

Lamech           3916     3163     188         565         753

Noah               3728     2778     502         450         950

Shem               3226     2626     100         500         600

Flood               3128     2262 years after Creation

Arpachshad     3126     2591     135         400         535

Cainan             2991     2531     130         330         460

Shelah              2861     2401     130         330         460

Eber                 2731     2327     134         270         404

Peleg                2597     2258     130         209         339

Reu                  2467     2128     132         207          339

Serug               2335     2005     130         200          330

Nahor              2205     1997      79          129          208

Terah               2126     1921      130        75            205

Abraham        1996     1132 years since the Flood

                                      3394 years since Creation

Copyright © 2018 by Steven Farsaci. All rights reserved.