The solar eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C.

I watched the solar eclipse on TV. Now you might enjoy going to the link I mention below.

Carl Rasmussen has posted an interesting article on his HolyLandPhotos’Blog here about “A Solar Eclipse and Old Testament Chronology.” He says,

But did you know that the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C. holds the key to the chronology of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)?

He continues to explain how we are able to know the date for certain Old Testament kings and events. We are all dependent on the work of scholars such as the late Edwin R. Thiele (1895-1986) and his The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings.

How are we to convert the relative dates given in the Bible (e.g., “in the fourth year of…”) to absolute dates (e.g., 966 B.C.)?

The Assyrians kept records of their kings and various officials on these stone documents called limmus, but in one of them they recorded the eclipse of the sun that occurred June 15, 763 B.C. according to astronomical computation.

Limmu stelae from Asshur. Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

I confess to having made the above photo of the limmu stelae from Asshur, displayed in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, Turkey, but failing to photograph the identifying sign.

Carl’s post and photo was enlightening to me. He explains about the limmu stelae and how Thiele used this material to develop a widely accepted Biblical Chronology. I urge you to read his article, and perhaps Thiele’s book. The book is available from Amazon and other sources.