How Biblical Dates Have Been Determined

How do archeologists and historians know that the reign of Sennacherib of Assyria ran from 705 to 681 BC/BCE since the BC/BCE (Before Christ/Before the Common Era) system dates from the birth of Jesus?  The Assyrians used a totally different dating system, as did the Persians, the Jews, the Romans, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Indians, the Muslims, the Hindus, and the Mayans.  Some of the calendars were based on lunar cycles, some on solar cycles, others on a combination of the two.  Some calendars were based on arithmetic calculations.  How could anyone find a unified, understandable, and universally agreed upon date for an ancient event occurring before the modern dating system?

First, we have to acknowledge that our modern dating system is in error by about 6 years.  It is now recognized that the biblical events surrounding the birth of Jesus (such as the fact that Herod died in 4 BC/BCE) require that Jesus’ birth occurred about 6 BC/BCE.  The calculations by Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century were in error, not the Bible.

The dating of biblical and other ancient events has been established in much the same way as modern science has advanced: one little step at a time, putting a piece here and another piece there until finally a recognizable pattern emerges.  Just like a jigsaw puzzle.

One of the first types of information which was used was lists of officials.  Roman consuls served for one year and a list of those men who served from 509 BC/BCE to 541 AD/CE exits.  If only one man can be locked into a specific year, then the entire list is locked.  Obviously then, an event known to have occurred during the reign of one of these men is also locked.  Such lists have been found in the records of numerous ancient cultures.

King lists have been found all over the world.  Events were often reckoned as having happened in the “third year of “ this or that king.  The second century Egyptian, Claudius Ptolmaeus, accurately compiled a list of the kings of Egypt, Persia, and Bablylonia from the eighth century BC/BCE forward.   The third century Egyptian priest Manetho divided Egyptian history into thirty dynasties.

Anchor events of known and provable date can often be tied to individuals and events spoken of in histories and lists.  There were solar eclipses on 6 April 648 BC/BCE and 15 June 763 BC/BCE and a lunar eclipse on 27 August 413 BC/BCE.

One piece of information by itself may be just a piece of information.  Put together with hundreds of other facts, there may suddenly be an “Aha!, there it is!”

BCE and CE

     BCE is the abbreviation for "Before the Common Era" and CE is the abbreviation for "Common Era."  These terms correspond to the earlier BC, "Before Christ," and AD, "Anno Domini" (Latin for the "Year of the Lord").  The newer terms are used because they are more inclusive of non-Christians than the earlier terms.  The actual dating remains the same.

     The earlier dating terminology was established in the Sixth Century and has been shown to be in error by about four to eight years.  Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm, West Bank) in about the year 6 BCE.