Changes

In an effort to avoid any deviation from the literal meaning of the text, a literalist Bible chronology draws data from the best available textual evidence. Using the best textual readings of letterism as a beginning, a literalist chronology can be established and sometimes also be corroborated by the most reliable extant extra-Biblical findings of archæologists and [[Exegesis|textual historian]]s ([[Biblical creation account#Original manuscripts|Biblical manuscripts]]). Where widely varying interpretations or readings are proposed for a text, those most closely supporting the literal reading of the letter of the earliest available Biblical texts are adopted by Biblical literalist researchers, such as Donald G. Bryant, Gershon Galil and Kenneth Kitchen. Apparent internal inconsistencies in the textual data can often be harmonized, not always to the satisfaction of everyone, by recognizing such common practices in antiquity as coregencies or overlapping reigns of a king and his successor, and rival kings contending for the rule of the kingdom and differences between the records of Israel and Judah in the manner of counting the years of a king's reign.<ref name=gen/><ref name=AnsteyRomance/> :For example: the '''20'''th year of Jotham the son of Azariah/Uzziah (a characteristically Biblical formal statement of reign), is quite plainly and most explicitly stated in 2 Kings 15:30. This is followed immediately in 2 Kings 15:32-33 by the equally plain and explicit statement that Jotham the son of Uzziah reigned '''16''' years, and that he was '''25''' when he began to reign. A ''letterist critical reading'' sees an inconsistency here: the text says what it says: the numbers are clear and plain: Jotham's 20th year is his 20th year, but his 16 years of reign is 16 years. An ''historical-grammatical critical reading'' understands a coregency during which Jotham reigned 4 years (?) in the name of his father Uzziah over the king's household, and governed the people of the land, from the day Uzziah was stricken with leprosy for his sin to the day Uzziah died (2 Kings 15:1-5; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21), at which time Jotham officially began his own reign of 16 years (4 + 16 = 20). The Bible states officially that Azariah/Uzziah reigned 52 years and then he died; it states officially "the 20th year of Jotham", and it says "Jotham reigned 16 years"; but it does not say ''plainly and explicitly'' that Jotham was king 20 years, and it does not say ''plainly and explicitly'' that Jotham was coregent with his father 4 years. A letterist reading of these texts offers only contradiction and confusion. In reality there is no conflict here. The text can be understood as making sense only according to the ''sensus literalis historicus'' the true historical literal sense, according to the rules of sound interpretation.Uncertainty remains at many points. Biblical chronology includes numbers which were significant to the biblical authors, and at times integral to their message.<ref>Significant numbers include '''7, 49, 70, 12, 24, 72, 12,000, 144,000, 3, 4, 40, 318, 666'''. "Any interpretation based on ''[http://www.inner.org/gematria/gematria.htm gematria]'' must be treated with care; such interpretation always remains speculative." — ''Source'': "Number systems and number symbology", Joel F. Drinkard, Jr., ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', pp. 1199–1201.</ref> Differences between ancient and modern calendars often necessitates the giving of alternate dates, a resultant year both earlier and later by modern reckoning (such as 587/586 B.C.). Furthermore, different methods of harmonizing the dates of Biblical kings yield slightly different results.<ref name=hist.chron./><ref name=Bond/>