Discrepancy in the Timeline of King Asa of Judah
When Did he Enter an Alliance with the King of Aram?
Jul 8, 2009
Asa was the third king of the nation of Judah following the division of the Jewish nation into Judah and Israel after the death of Solomon.
Asa saw some years of peace then won a major war against the Cushite and Libyan armies, with two rounds of religious reforms along the way. Asa was one of the good kings. Then came renewed trouble with neighboring Israel, and Asa sought help from the king of Aram rather than from his God.
The Bible Record of Asa’s Reign
Asa’s story is told in 1st Kings 15 and 2nd Chronicles 14-16. The two accounts are quite similar, with more details being provided in 2nd Chronicles. Concerning the trouble with Israel, the two accounts give the timing of the event as follows.
- 1st Kings 15:16-17 – There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace. He…sent them to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.
- 2nd Chronicles 16:1-2 – In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus
These two accounts are amazingly similar, providing no textual conflict and complementary information. The problem: Baasha died in the 27th year of Asa’s reign. He had been dead nine years at the time the Bible said he began to press Judah.
Working out a Timeline of Asa’s Reign
Asa began to reign in the twentieth year of King Jeroboam of Israel. Thereafter, Israel went through a number of kings while Asa was on the throne of Judah for forty-one years. Here are the kings of Israel during that time, according to 1st Kings 15-22.
- Asa became king in the 20th year of Jeroboam
- Nadab became king of Israel in the 2nd year of Asa’s reign and reigned two years.
- Baasha became king in the 3rd year of Asa’s reign and reigned twenty-four years
- Elah became king in the 26th year of Asa’s reign and reigned two years
- Zimri became king in the 27th year of Asa’s reign and reigned only seven days
- Israel experienced civil war between Omri and Tibni
- Omri became king in the 31st year of Asa’s reign and reigned twelve years (including the disputed years of the civil war)
- Ahab became king in the 38th year of Asa’s reign and reigned twenty-two years
So Omri was king of Israel in the 36th year of Asa’s reign. Therefore, how can the 1st Kings and 2nd Chronicles say Baasha began to press Judah in the 36th year of Asa’s reign? From secular history, the reign of Ben-hadad I of Aram appears to overlap both the reigns of Baasha and Omri.
How to Resolve the Timeline Discrepancy of Asa’s Reign?
The question must be asked: Is the year of the Judean-Israeli conflict correct and the name of the Israeli king wrong, or is the name of the Israeli king correct and the year of the conflict wrong? Adam Clarke, based on the work of Ussher, indicated that at this point in the chronology the years were being reckoned from the beginning of the division of Judah and Israel into separate nations.
Thirty-six years from that event would be the sixteenth year of the reign of Asa, immediately after his victory over the Cushites and probably after the celebration/conference in Jerusalem (2nd Chronicles 15:9-15).
Another possibility is that the writers of these parts of both 1st Kings and 2nd Chronicles used the same erroneous source for the name of the Israeli king when the situation at Ramah erupted. If some years passed between the event and the writing, recollections may have been fading as to who the king of Israel was at that time.
Still yet another possibility is an ancient transcription error in the 2nd Chronicles account. Walvoord et al [The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament] suggest this as the most likely way to reconcile the timeline.
The exact time that this conflict took place, and who the king was in Israel that was giving King Asa trouble, is not a source of doubt for the accuracy of the Bible. Rather, it is a curiosity, and shows the richness of what can be studied in this book of books.
Source:
- Bible quotations obtained from the New International Version, 1984, International Bible Society and Zondervan Corporation.
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