I am sure that most of us have gone through that rainy-day Bible exercise of starting with Adam and tracing through the begats of Genesis to figure out when what happened. I am equally sure that the vast majority of those who have tried it had not gotten any further than Abraham; I know that that is as far as I had ever gotten.
Well, a local young-earth creationism activist, Bill Morgan, got a lot further than we did, or rather a study that he had received did. In the November 1996 newsletter of the Creation Science Association of Orange County which he edited, Bill presented what appears to be a fairly complete chronological reckoning which goes from Adam to an independent historical event. I hereby present that article below. This is not an endorsement of the beliefs expressed, but rather just a re-printing of that article.
While it is usually questionable to include personal information, Bill would distribute his phone number widely and actively elicited phone calls. Indeed, I think that he would object if I were to redact it. I've lost contact with him for years, but if he should object to having his phone number posted here, then I will gladly remove it.
For many years I heard there were too many gaps to determine when Adam existed. Since I heard this so often, I said it myself. Recently I was given a study that clearly shows when Adam existed. So gather your family together, get out your Bible, your calculator, look up these verses and decide for yourself.
If there are any errors in this, or if you have any comments, please call me (Bill Morgan) at 714 898-8331.
{Note: A.C. stands for "after Creation," measured in years.}
Verse Father Son Father's Age at Birth of Son A.C. Gen 5:3 Adam Seth 130 130 Gen 5:6 Seth Enos 105 235 Gen 5:9 Enos Kenan 90 325 Gen 5:12 Kenan Mahalalel 70 395 Gen 5:15 Mahalalel Jared 65 460 Gen 5:18 Jared Enoch 162 622 Gen 5:21 Enoch Methusaleh 65 687 Gen 5:25 Methusaleh Lamech 187 874 Gen 5:30 Lamech Noah 182 1056 Gen 5:32 Noah Shem 500 1556 Genesis 7:6 states Noah was 600 when the flood came upon the earth. If Noah was 600, then Shem was 100 at the time of the flood. When Shem was 100, we have an A.C. date of 1656 (1556 + 100).
Now go to Genesis 11:10, Shem was father to Arpachshad two years after the flood. Thus Arpachshad was born on an A.C. date of 1658 (1656 + 2).
Verse Father Son Father's Age at Birth of Son A.C. Gen 11:12 Arpachshad Shelah 35 1693 Gen 11:14 Shelah Eber 30 1723 Gen 11:16 Eber Peleg 34 1757 Gen 11:18 Peleg Reu 30 1787 Gen 11:20 Reu Serug 32 1819 Gen 11:22 Serug Naher 30 1849 Gen 11:24 Naher Terah 29 1878 Gen 11:26 Terah Abraham 70 1948 Gen 21:5 Abraham Isaac 100 2048 Gen 25:26 Isaac Jacob 60 2108 Now we are to Jacob. Genesis 29:28-30 and Genesis 30:22-24 show Jacob was the father of Joseph.
In Genesis 47:7-9 Jacob stands before Pharaoh and states he is 130 years old. This places us at an A.C. date of 2238. Genesis 47:11 states this is the time Joseph, his father and brothers settled in Egypt.
Exodus 12:40 tells us the sons of Israel spent 430 years in Egypt. This gives an A.C. date of 2668 (2238 + 430 = 2668).
1 Kings 6:1 tells us Solomon's reign began 476 years after the sons of Israel left Egypt (480 - 4). This gives us an A.C. date of 3144 (2668 + 476).
Verse King Years of king's reign A.C. Next King 2 Chron 9:30 Solomon 40 3184 Rehoboam 2 Chron 12:13 Rehoboam 17 3201 Abijah 2 Chron 13:2 Abijah 3 3204 Asa 2 Chron 16:13 Asa 41 3245 Jehosophat 2 Chron 20:31 Jehosophat 25 3270 Jehoram 2 Chron 21:5 Jehoram 8 3278 Ahaziah 2 Chron 22:2 Ahaziah 1 3279 Athaliah 2 Chron 22:12 Athaliah 6 3285 Joash 2 Chron 24:1 Joash 40 3325 Amaziah 2 Chron 25:1 Amaziah 29 3354 Uzziah 2 Chron 26:3 Uzziah 52 3406 Jotham 2 Chron 27:1 Jotham 16 3422 Ahaz 2 Chron 28:1 Ahaz 16 3438 Hezekiah 2 Chron 29:1 Hezekiah 29 3467 Manasseh 2 Chron 33:1 Manasseh 55 3522 Amon 2 Chron 33:21 Amon 2 3524 Josiah 2 Chron 34:1 Josiah 31 3555 Jehoiakim 2 Chron 36:5 Jehoiakim 11 3566 Jehoiachin 2 Chron 36:9 Jehoiachin 3 mon 3566 Zebediah 2 Chron 36:11 Zebediah 11 3577 Zedekiah's reign ended in 3577 AC when the people of Jerusalem were taken into Babylonian captivity. 2 Chronicles 36:21 states their captivity lasted 70 years. This gives a date of 3647. Cyrus, the Persian, set the people free (2 Chronicles 36:23). History dates this event at 538 BC. Our AC date at the turn of the century is 4185 (538 + 3647).
This is 1996, so 1996 + 4185 = 6181. There may be error in rounding off the years, and whether the 538 BC and 1996 AD dates are precise, but the Bible does present a direct path to the time of Adam and Eve. If someone says there are too many gaps in the genealogies to get close to the time of Adam, they are either unaware of this information or they are lying.
Since I feel the Bible clearly teaches Adam was created during 6 literal days of the creation of the Universe, this places the age of the Universe at about 6181 years. That is another study which I will gladly mail to you.
By the way, Bill figures the earth to be 424 years older than the Jewish Calendar does, 1996 November 01 having been the 19th of Cheshvan (the third month) of 5757. The present counting method for years use the Anno Mundi epoch (Latin for "in the year of the world"), abbreviated AM or A.M. and also referred to as the Hebrew era. Hebrew year 5771 (a leap year) began on 9 September 2010 and ended on 28 September 2011. Hebrew year 5772 began at sunset on 28 September 2011 and ended on 16 September 2012. I'll leave to you the task of figuring what the Hebrew year is currently.
Return to DWise1's "Creation/Evolution" Page
Return to DWise1's Religion Page
Return to DWise1's Home Page
Share and enjoy!
First uploaded on 2000 July 05.
Updated 2017 February 08.