ARE THERE GAPS IN THE GENEALOGIES IN DETERMINING WHEN ADAM LIVED?


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.


START OF ARTICLE


ARE THERE GAPS IN THE GENEALOGIES IN DETERMINING WHEN ADAM LIVED?

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.}

VerseFatherSon Father's Age at Birth of Son A.C.
Gen 5:3AdamSeth130130
Gen 5:6SethEnos105235
Gen 5:9EnosKenan90325
Gen 5:12KenanMahalalel70395
Gen 5:15MahalalelJared65460
Gen 5:18JaredEnoch162622
Gen 5:21EnochMethusaleh65687
Gen 5:25MethusalehLamech187874
Gen 5:30LamechNoah1821056
Gen 5:32NoahShem5001556

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).

VerseFatherSon Father's Age at Birth of Son A.C.
Gen 11:12ArpachshadShelah351693
Gen 11:14ShelahEber301723
Gen 11:16EberPeleg341757
Gen 11:18PelegReu 301787
Gen 11:20ReuSerug321819
Gen 11:22SerugNaher301849
Gen 11:24NaherTerah291878
Gen 11:26TerahAbraham701948
Gen 21:5AbrahamIsaac1002048
Gen 25:26IsaacJacob602108

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).

VerseKing Years of king's reign A.C.Next King
2 Chron 9:30Solomon403184Rehoboam
2 Chron 12:13Rehoboam173201Abijah
2 Chron 13:2Abijah33204Asa
2 Chron 16:13Asa413245Jehosophat
2 Chron 20:31Jehosophat253270Jehoram
2 Chron 21:5Jehoram83278Ahaziah
2 Chron 22:2Ahaziah13279Athaliah
2 Chron 22:12Athaliah63285Joash
2 Chron 24:1Joash403325Amaziah
2 Chron 25:1Amaziah293354Uzziah
2 Chron 26:3Uzziah523406Jotham
2 Chron 27:1Jotham163422Ahaz
2 Chron 28:1Ahaz163438Hezekiah
2 Chron 29:1Hezekiah293467Manasseh
2 Chron 33:1Manasseh553522Amon
2 Chron 33:21Amon23524Josiah
2 Chron 34:1Josiah313555Jehoiakim
2 Chron 36:5Jehoiakim113566Jehoiachin
2 Chron 36:9Jehoiachin3 mon3566Zebediah
2 Chron 36:11Zebediah113577

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.


END OF ARTICLE


Commentary

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

Contact me.


Share and enjoy!

First uploaded on 2000 July 05.
Updated 2017 February 08.