Wikipedia's first sentence called it “elaborate system of genealogies”. Today it says “elaborate system of lifespans”.
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The opening as it read in 2020
This article deals with the chronology of the Hebrew Bible (or Christian Old Testament ). Creation of Adam (Michelangelo) Sistine Chapel The chronology of the Bible is an elaborate system of lifespans, ' generations ', and other means by which the passage of events is measured, beginning with the Genesis creation narrative .1A widespread scholarly understanding is that this marks out a world cycle ( Great Year ) of 4,000 years, ending, presumably, around 164 BCE (the year of the re-dedication of the Second Temple ).2 It was theological in intent, not historical in the modern sense. It also functions as an implied prophecy , whose key lies in the identification of the final event. The passage of time is measured initially by adding the ages of the Patriarchs at the birth of their firstborn sons , later through express statements, and later still by the synchronised reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah . The chronology is highly schematic . The Exodus takes place in the year Anno Mundi 2666, exactly two thirds of the way through the four thousand years.3Solomon's Temple is commenced 480 years, or 12 generations of 40 years each, after that.4 And 430 years pass between the building of Solomon's Temple and its destruction during the Siege of Jerusalem . The 50 years between the destruction of the Temple and the " Decree of Cyrus " and end of the Babylonian Exile , added to the 430 years for which the Temple stood, produces another symmetrical period of 480 years. The 374 years between the re-dedication of the Second Temple by the Maccabees and the Edict of Cyrus complete the 4,000 year cycle.5 As recently as the 17th–18th century, the Archbishop of Armagh James Ussher (term 1625-1656), and scholars of the stature of Isaac Newton (1642-1727) believed that dating creation was knowable from the Bible. Today, the Genesis creation narrative has long since vanished from serious cosmology , the Patriarchs and the Exodus are no longer included in most serious histories of ancient Israel , and it is almost universally accepted that the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges have little historical value.6The History of Ancient Israel: A Guide for the Perplexed . More significantly, the Exodus occurs at a point (2666) that is two-thirds of 4,000. By adding the remaining 375 years we arrive—in our modern calculations—at 538 - 375 = 163 BCE, the date of the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabee. Of course, this calculation implies that the framers of the chronology were aware of the accurate figure. So possibly the endpoint is the year of desecration (167), or even a date a little in the future, the date of the expected eschaton ... If so, the present Masoretic chronology dates from the second century BCE. Noteworthy, finally, is the hypothesis according to which the overall biblical chronology is based on a 4000-year cycle of Zoroastrian inspiration, a 'Great Year,' inserted into the biblical narrative calculating backwards from the same point in time, namely, the purification of the temple and the restoration of the temple cult in 164 BCE. The Oxford Companion to the Bible . If, as is possible, the Exodus took place in 2666 AM, is it perhaps significant that this is almost exactly two-thirds of 4000? ... If, as has been suggested, a figure of 4000 was held in mind, the present biblical chronology might be predicated upon the rededication of the Temple (about 164 BCE) after its profanation by Antiochus, which would establish a connection with Daniel, as well as with the books of Enoch and Jubilees.7
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The opening as it stood in 2010
This article deals with the chronology of the Hebrew bible (or Old Testament). The biblical chronology is the elaborate system of genealogies, generations, reign-periods, and other means by which Hebrew Bible measures the passage of time and thus give a chronological framework to biblical history, from the Creation to the Jewish uprising against the Greeks in the early decades of the 2nd century BCE, a period of four thousand years.
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This article deals with the chronology of the Hebrew Bible (or Christian Old Testament ).Creation of Adam (Michelangelo) Sistine Chapel The chronology of the Bible is the elaborate system of life-spans, "generations," and other means by which the passage of events is measured over the 4,000 years between the Creation of the world and the re-dedication of the Temple in 164 BCE.It is theological, not historical in the modern sense, and functions as an implied prophecy whose key lies in the identification of the final event.The passage of time from the Creation to the Exodus is measured by adding the ages of the Patriarchs at the birth of their firstborn sons, later through express statements, and later still by the synchronised reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah.The Exodus takes place in the year 2666 AM, exactly two thirds of the way through the four thousand years, the Temple is commenced 480 years, or 12 generations of 40 years each, after that, and 430 years pass between the building of the Temple and its destruction.The 50 years between the destruction of the Temple and the "Decree of Cyrus" and end of the Exile, added to the 430 years for which the Temple stood, produces another symmetrical period of 480 years, and the 374 years between the re-dedication of the Temple by the Maccabees and the Edict of Cyrus completes the 4,000 years.As recently as the 18th century, scholars of the stature of Isaac Newton believed that the date of Creation was knowable from the Bible.Today, the Genesis account of Creation has long since vanished from serious cosmology , the Patriarchs and Exodus are no longer included in most serious histories of ancient Israel, and it is almost universally accepted that Joshua and Judges have little historical value.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666305013.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Chronology according to the Hebrew Bible This article deals with the chronology of the Hebrew Bible (the basis of the Christian Old Testament ).Creation of Adam (Michelangelo) Sistine Chapel The chronology of the Bible is an elaborate system of lifespans, ' generations ', and other means by which the Masoretic Hebrew Bible (the text of the Bible most commonly in use today) measures the passage of events from the creation to around 164 BCE (the year of the re-dedication of the Second Temple ). It was theological in intent, not historical in the modern sense, and functions as an implied prophecy whose key lies in the identification of the final event. The passage of time is measured initially by adding the ages of the Patriarchs at the birth of their firstborn sons , later through express statements, and later still by the synchronised reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah . The chronology is highly schematic , marking out a world cycle of 4,000 years.The Exodus takes place in the year A.M. 2666 (A.M. = Anno Mundi, years of the world from creation), exactly two thirds of the way through the four thousand years; the construction of Solomon's Temple is commenced 480 years, or 12 generations of 40 years each, after that; and 430 years pass between the building of Solomon's Temple and its destruction during the siege of Jerusalem . The 50 years between the destruction of the Temple and the " Decree of Cyrus " and end of the Babylonian Exile , added to the 430 years for which the Temple stood, produces another symmetrical period of 480 years. The 374 years between the Edict of Cyrus and the re-dedication of the Second Temple by the Maccabees complete the 4,000 year cycle. As recently as the 17th–18th century, the Archbishop of Armagh James Ussher (term 1625–1656), and scholars of the stature of Isaac Newton (1642–1727) believed that dating creation was knowable from the Bible. Today, the Genesis creation narrative has long since vanished from serious cosmology , the Patriarchs and the Exodus are no longer included in most serious histories of ancient Israel , and it is almost universally accepted that the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges have little historical value.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178519908.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
This article deals with the chronology of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament . The Creation of Adam ( c. 1512 ) by Michelangelo – Sistine Chapel The chronology of the Bible is an elaborate system of lifespans, " generations ", and other means by which the Masoretic Hebrew Bible (the text of the Bible most commonly in use today) measures the passage of events from the creation to around 164 BCE (the year of the re-dedication of the Second Temple ). It was theological in intent, not historical in the modern sense, and functions as an implied prophecy whose key lies in the identification of the final event. The passage of time is measured initially by adding the ages of the Patriarchs at the birth of their firstborn sons , later through express statements, and later still by the synchronised reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah . The chronology is highly schematic , marking out a world cycle of 4,000 years. The Exodus takes place in the year A.M. 2666 ( Anno Mundi , years since the creation of the world), exactly two-thirds of the way through the 4,000-year period: the construction of Solomon's Temple commences 480 years afterward—12 generations of 40 years each—and 430 years pass between the building of Solomon's Temple and its destruction during the siege of Jerusalem . The 50 years between the destruction of the Temple and the " Decree of Cyrus " and end of the Babylonian Exile , added to the 430 years for which the Temple stood, produces another symmetrical period of 480 years. The 374 years between the Edict of Cyrus and the re-dedication of the Second Temple by the Maccabees complete the 4,000-year cycle. As recently as the 17th and 18th centuries, the Archbishop of Armagh James Ussher (term 1625–1656), and scholars of the stature of Isaac Newton (1642–1727) believed that dating creation was knowable from the Bible. Today, the Genesis creation narrative has long since vanished from serious cosmology , the Patriarchs and the Exodus are no longer included in most histories of ancient Israel , and it is very widely accepted that the Book of Joshua has little historical value.Even the United Monarchy is questioned, and although scholars continue to advance proposals for reconciling the chronology of the Books of Kings , there is "little consensus on acceptable methods of dealing with conflicting data".
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “elaborate system of genealogies”. Today it says “elaborate system of lifespans”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
elaborate system of genealogies
Now
elaborate system of lifespans
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