Research Report on Second Chronicles 2
The sacrifice given by Solomon at the dedication of the temple appears to indicate the length of time the temple would stand. Since the exact date of his dedication is unknown, we start at the end of Solomon’s temple and work backwards to suggest the dedication date. The math suggests this works.
Background
Two times in Second Chronicles 2 the number of alien slaves working for Solomon’s temple project are given. 70,000 are carriers, 80,000 are stone cutters and 3,600 are foremen to oversee the work. (2 Chr 2:2) (2 Chr 2:17)
These counts appear to be related to the future history of Solomon’s kingdom. Since the specific year of the temple dedication is not given with precision, the following takes these counts backwards from the fall of the city and the burning of the buildings, including Solomon’s temple.
The epoch used in the following report is from Jeremiah 52:12, 2 Kings 25:8 gives a date three days earlier. I have selected the following since it is an even multiple of 10 which is preferred in the long distance counts generally. The 2 Kings date puts the burning on the previous Saturday, the Sabbath. If that is the preferred date then the report would generate all dates three days earlier.
| Prophetic Dates from Second Chronicles 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start is Jeremiah’s Temple burn date(Jer 52:12) | ||||
| Tue | 10409-05-10 AA | 7 Aug -579 NS | 8 Jun 159 AUC | 3796960 AAN |
| 909-05-10 FE | 13 Aug -579 OS | 8 Jun 595 BC | 1509803 JDN | |
| Backing off 70,000 days | ||||
| Tue | 10217-06-30 AA | 11 Dec -771 NS | 17 Nov 53 BAUC | 3726960 AAN |
| 717-06-30 FE | 19 Dec -771 OS | 17 Nov 806 BC | 1439803 JDN | |
| Backing off 80,000 days | ||||
| Fri | 9998-04-10 AA | 30 Nov -990 NS | 30 Sep 316 BAUC | 3646960 AAN |
| 498-04-10 FE | 9 Dec -990 OS | 30 Sep 1069 BC | 1359803 JDN | |
| Backing off 3600 days | ||||
| Wed | 9988-05-10 AA | 21 Jan -999 NS | 17 Nov 328 BAUC | 3643360 AAN |
| 488-05-10 FE | 30 Jan -1000 OS | 17 Nov 1081 BC | 1356203 JDN | |
Comments
The intermediate dates may not be correct as the order of the 3 sets of men is not clear. The start point, though is highly suspicious as providing a key date in the dedication of the Solomon’s temple. It was the 8th month of the year 487 from Exodus that Solomon finished the temple in all its detail.(1 Kgs 6:38)
Now here approaching the great assemblies at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, recorded in the 7th month, but without the year, we get this reference. Odds are good this is the year of that dedication, for it had been standing for the better part of a year while Solomon’s team continued to work on the palace, taking another 12 years to finish it.
This count of the alien slaves under Solomon’s control appears to be the count of days that this temple would stand, before being burned down by Nebuchadnezzar’s alien invaders so many years later.