Old Testament Regnal Year Reckoning
Reckoning of a king's regnal years varied depending on what system was used and what calendar year was observed.
The following table shows how various prophets and kingdoms reckoned the Regnal Years of kings according to either the accession or non-accession year system ("R/Y" columns) and what Calendar Year was observed ("C/Y" columns). Note, the table portrays the approximate sequence and relationship of the various kings but it does not intend to show the exact chronological reign of these kings.
The information in the table and discussion below has has been excerpted and compiled from the work of Finegan1 (who cites Thiele and McFall) and McFall2:
Accession Year is in | , Non-Accession year is in | , Nisan/Nisanu Calendar Year is in | , Tishri Calendar Year is in |
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Jer,
Zec, Eze
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Dan,
Ezr, Neh
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Judah
(S.K.)
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Israel
(N.K.)
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Mesopotamia
|
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Period
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R/Y
|
C/Y
|
R/Y
|
C/Y
|
R/Y
|
C/Y
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King
|
R/Y
|
C/Y
|
King
|
R/Y
|
C/Y
|
King
|
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Acc | Tishri | Solomon | ||||||||||
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931-848
BC
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Acc | Tishri | Rehoboam | Non | Nisan | Jeroboam | |||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Abijam | Non | Nisan | Nadab | |||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Asa | Non | Nisan | Baasha | |||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Non | Nisan | Elah | ||||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Non | Nisan | Zimri | ||||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Non | Nisan | Tibni | ||||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Non | Nisan | Omri | ||||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Jehoshaphat | Non | Nisan | Ahab | |||||||
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848-798
BC
|
Non | Tishri | Jehoram | Non | Nisan | Ahaziah | |||||||
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Non | Tishri | Ahaziah | Non | Nisan | Joram | |||||||
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Non | Tishri | Athaliah | Non | Nisan | Jehu | Acc | Nisanu | Shalmaneser III | ||||
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Non | Tishri | Joash | Non | Nisan | Jehoahaz/Jehoash | Acc | Nisanu | |||||
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|||||||||||||
798-723
BC
|
Acc | Tishri | Amaziah | Acc | Nisan | Jehoash | Acc | Nisanu | |||||
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Acc | Tishri | Azariah | Acc | Nisan | Jeroboam II | Acc | Nisanu | Tiglath-pileser III | ||||
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Acc | Tishri | Acc | Nisan | Zechariah | Acc | Nisanu | ||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Acc | Nisan | Shallum | Acc | Nisanu | ||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Acc | Nisan | Menahem | Acc | Nisanu | ||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Jotham | Acc | Nisan | Pekahiah | Acc | Nisanu | |||||
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Acc | Tishri | Ahaz | Acc | Nisan | Pekah | Acc | Nisanu | Shalmaneser V | ||||
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Acc | Tishri | Hezekiah | Acc | Nisan | Hoshea | Acc | Nisanu | Sargon II | ||||
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697-
586 BC
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Acc | Tishri | Manasseh | Acc | Nisanu | Sennecherib | |||||||
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Acc | Tishri | Amon | Acc | Nisanu | Esarhaddon | |||||||
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Acc | Nisan | Acc | Tishri | Josiah | Acc | Nisanu | ||||||
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Acc | Nisan | Acc | Tishri | Jehoahaz | Acc | Nisanu | Nabopolassar | |||||
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Acc | Nisan | Acc | Tishri | Acc | Tishri | Jehoiakim | Acc | Nisanu | Nebuchadnezzar | |||
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Acc | Nisan | Acc | Tishri | Acc | Tishri | Jehoiachin | Acc | Nisanu | ||||
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Acc | Nisan | Acc | Tishri | Acc | Tishri | Zedekiah | Acc | Nisanu | ||||
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Different prophets and chroniclers reckoned a year of a king's rule differently. A year of a king's rule may or may not include the partial initial year in which the king ascended to the throne, and subsequent years are measured from the start of different calendar years, depending on the prophet's or chronicler's viewpoint.
Factual-year: A full year of a king's reign, reckoned from the actual accession to the anniversary of the same accession. The 1st year of reign begins on the day of the king's accession and the 2nd year begins exactly a year later.
Regnal-year: A full year of a king's reign (there are no 'partial' regnal years) as reckoned from calendar new year to end of calendar year. Regnal years coincide with calendar years:
But a regnal year can be reckoned by either the accession or non-accession method and also by different calendars (e.g. civil vs sacred):
Accession-year system: (used in Judea, Babylonia, Assyria, and Persia)
The portion of the year from the accession of the new king to the end of the then current calendar year (before "new calendar year" begins) is treated as the new king's "accession year" but is credited towards the expiring king's last regnal year. The new king's year 1 begins then with the new calendar year.
The new king is not credited with any of his "accession year", the entire calendar year being credited to the prior king, including that portion since the prior king expired.
The 1st regnal year begins after the new king's uncredited and uncounted "accession year" on the 1st day of the new calendar year after his accession, and subsequent regnal years thereafter begin on the 1st day of each new calendar year.
The accession-year system is sometimes called "postdating".
Non-accession-year system: (used in Judea, Egypt)
The portion of the year from the accession of the new king to the end of the then current calendar year (before the "new calendar year" begins) is treated as year 1 of the new king, and the expiring king is not credited with this calendar year as a regnal year (because he did not live out the full year on the throne).
The new king is credited with an entire 1st regnal year, even though reigning over only the portion since the prior King expired.
The 1st regnal year begins on the day of the king's accession, and the 2nd year begins on the 1st day of the new calendar year after his accession, and subsequent regnal years thereafter begin on the 1st day of each new calendar year.
The non-accession-year system is sometimes called "antedating".
King's who started and ended their reign within a single calendar year (e.g. "child-kings" who are quickly murdered) would not be credited with any regnal years because the next king who closed out the calendar year would be credited with reigning that year.
A major point of confusion long existed for Bible scholars because both the accession and non-accession reckoning systems were in use in Judea, and then exiled persons such as Daniel and Ezra would use the Jewish civil calendar while prophets such as Jeremiah, Zechariah and Ezekiel would use the Jewish sacred calendar. Edwin R. Thiele is largely credited with unraveling these different reckoning systems and Leslie McFall has further refined them into what is now called the "Thiele/McFall system".
Thiele/McFall system summary:
- Judah (Southern Kingdom) used Jewish civil calendar year beginning Tishri 1 for regnal years and:
- accession-year Rehoboam to Jehoshaphat
- non-accession-year Jehoram to Joash
- accession-year Amaziah to Zedekiah (includes Jehoiakim)
- Israel (Northern Kingdom) (since Jeroboam return from Egypt) used the Jewish sacred calendar beginning Nisan 1 for regnal years (as did Egypt & Mesopotamia used a spring-time new year calendar and perhaps to make Israel distinct from Judah) and:
- non-accession-year Jeroboam I to Jehoahaz
- accession-year Jehoash to Hoshea
- Jeremiah (and Ezekiel, Haggai and Zechariah) used the Jewish Sacred calendar (for both Jewish and Babylonian Kings) beginning Nisan 1
- Daniel (and Ezra, Nehemiah) used the Jewish civil calendar beginning Tishri 1 for regnal years
- Babylon, Assyria and Persia used accession-year reckoning and a calendar year beginning Nisanu 1
- Egypt used non-accession year reckoning and a calendar year beginning Thoth 1 (late Aug)
For the purposes of verifying fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy of 69-weeks, and the prophetic passages which bear on the post-exilic reconstruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, we are mainly concerned with how Daniel and Jeremiah (and Ezekiel who cites Daniel) reckoned the years of a King's reign. So, in summary;