Theory

This chapter develops the theory of time in the Bible. The articles here form steps in a story. The starting point is how the Bible counts things and how the calendar is structured. The story continues with how time runs at different scales for prophetic purposes. Issues surrounding genealogies are the next step, as well as the need to use parallel calendars. Finally this section ends with the starting epochs for counting time.

  • Counting Numbers

    Modern people often use real numbers to count time intervals. This is useful in many situations but it is also prone to serious errors. This article explains counting numbers and how they differ from real numbers. The reason? The Bible was written with counting numbers. (1,684 words)

  • 1 Based Math -- Bible Mathematics

    Neither the original Hebrew nor Aramaic nor later Greek nor Roman counting systems have a digit for zero. Nothing was written nor counted using zero “0” in the Bible. The first item in lists of items is item number 1.

    Obvious? Yes, but modern people don’t always count this way. Using zero based counting as an interpretive grid of time references in the Bible is a source of major errors. (3,318 words)

  • Definitions of Biblical Days

    The calendar day is the basic unit of time in the Bible. This unit breaks down into finer units of time, watches and hours, and those sub-day units of time become important in Passion Week.

    Days are also combined to form larger units of time, called calendar time. Calendar time includes weeks, months, years, Sabbath and Jubilee year groups, as well as 10 fold jubilees and millenniums.

    To accurately measure time, in all of its various aspects requires a precise definition of the base unit for all time, the calendar day.

    In this article we develop a definition for the Bible’s Calendar day. (2,271 words)

  • Defining Biblical Months

    Bible months are a predictable 30 days each. No exceptions. There is no attempt to make the month synchronous with the movements of the earth’s moon. It also makes time counted with months quite precise. This article explains how we know this. (2,721 words)

  • Defining Biblical Years

    The purpose of this article is to show that Biblical Years are either 360 days or 390 days, 12 or 13 months. The long years fall on the Sabbath and Jubilee years within a 50 year cycle. Read on to understand why. (2,129 words)

  • Prophetic Counting

    When Joseph interprets the cup bearer and baker’s dreams he reveals an important clue: Each time God speaks a number that number is a reference to time. Since the Bible is God’s word to us, all counts within the pages of the Bible are references to time. This article explains. (1,214 words)

  • Time Transforms

    "Day" and "Time" are two words that have well defined, but multiple meanings. Knowing those meanings unlocks numerous Bible passages.

    Generally speaking the word "day" means a 24 hour day when applied to a person, year when applied to nations and a millennium when applied to God.

    All such meanings can be recursive and applied again. Jesus uses these meanings extensively when he is giving his parables in the Gospels. There is a similar set of recursive meaning that come from time units below the hour. Those are covered better when looking at Passion Week. (2,804 words)

  • Defining 'Fathers'

    In order to construct a Bible timeline we need a Bible chronology. No chronologies exist the Bible, only genealogies. Converting genealogies to chronologies is complex, and fraught with error related to the original language terms for father. This article uses examples to show how Bible genealogies usually skip generations. (1,774 words)

  • The Genealogy Classroom: Exodus 6

    The single best place for study of Bible genealogies is Exodus chapter 6. In this chapter the time decorations that provide the raw data for chronologies are seen in their purest, and most easily learned form. (3,129 words)

  • Using Parallel Calendars

    This article deals with the philosophy of constructing a timeline from the Bible. By not converting to a modern calendar the work will carry precision matched to the Bible’s natural time precision. To do this correctly means we need to carry the Bible's calendar all the way to the modern era. Then run it in parallel to modern calendars. (2,129 words)

  • Starting Epoch

    The Bible was written without the use of long distance calendar epochs like we are familiar with today. In order to reconstruct the calendar we must choose a starting epoch. Two times in Biblical history make good starting epochs. The earliest reasonable starting epoch is Adam’s 1st year. The latter reasonable starting epoch is the Exodus from Egypt. The actual references to time in the Bible must then be stretched out from from the epoch. This article explores. (1,522 words)