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Genealogies of Gen. 5 & 10
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Worksheet For Calculating The Age Of The Earth
[1]A.M. (Anno Mundi) is a Latin term used in chronological reckoning of time, measured from the creation of the world. Anno means year, Mundi means beginning. A. D. (Anno Domini) is a Latin term referring to "the year of the Lord." It is used to measure time from the Christian era until the end of the world. (Anno means year, Domini means Lord, or Master.) B. C. is an abbreviation meaning "Before Christ." [2]Terah dies in Haran, when Abraham is 75, making Terah 130 at his birth. (Genesis 11:32, 12:4 Acts 7:4) 1. Although it is said (Genesis 11:26) that Terah is 70 years old when Abram, Nahor, and Haran are born (which seems to tell us that Abram was the oldest son of Terah, and was born in his 70th year), yet, by comparing Gen. 11:32, which tells us that Terah died in his 205th year, with Acts 7:4, which states that Abram left Haran when his father was dead and Gen. 12:4 which states that Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran, it appears that Terah was 130 years old when Abram was born. (The age of Terah when he died {205} subtracted from the age of Abram when he left Haran {75} equals 130.) I believe the proper interpretation of Genesis 11:26 is not that Abram, Nahor and Haran are triplets, or that all of them were born when Terah was 70 years old, but that Terah began his family at the age of 70. It is also very likely that Abram was not the firstborn, but that Haran was the firstborn. Abram is mentioned first because the story is about Abram. Haran is mentioned last because he died first. 2. Further proof that Terah was 130 years old when Abram is born is found in Genesis 11:27-30. Verse 28 declares that Haran died before his father in the land of his nativity, Ur of the Chaldees. Verse 29 states that Haran had at least two grown daughters: Milcah, who married Nahor, her uncle, the son of Terah, and brother of Abram; and Iscah, whose spouse is not mentioned. We conclude from these facts that Haran didn't die in infancy, but lived to marry and sire children, who were old enough to marry and bear children themselves before their father died and was buried in Ur of the Chaldees. [3]It is significant to note that Abraham in "only" 100 years old when Isaac is born. He, like his father (Terah) and grandson (Jacob) is able to sire children well into old age. This fact does not destroy the miracle birth of Isaac, rather it compliments that birth, and reveals more detail about the birth of the coming Saviour. The promise of the Saviour in Genesis 3:15 was not that He would be the seed of the man, but of the woman. Isaac's birth by Sarah, who was not only barren (Gen. 11:30), but past the age of childbearing, is a picture of the coming virgin birth of Jesus Christ. The miracle of Isaac's birth was not in Abraham, but in the woman, Sarah. The miracle of Jesus Christ birth was not in Joseph, but in the virgin Mary being overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit. [4]Jacob's age at the birth of Joseph can be calculated as follows: 1. Genesis 47:8,9 - Jacob is 130 years old when he comes into Egypt during the second year of the famine. 2. Genesis 41:46 - Joseph is 30 years old when he stands before Pharaoh. 3. Genesis 45:6 - Nine years later (the seven years of plenty have ended and the famine is in its second year), Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. Therefore Joseph is 39 years old when he reveals himself to his brothers. 4. Subtract the age of Jacob when he comes into Egypt (130) from the age of Joseph (39) and we discover that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph was born. 5. Genesis 37:3 - Joseph is the son of Jacob's old age. The fact that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph was born can be confirmed by the following: 1. Genesis 25:20 - Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. 2. Genesis 25:26 - Isaac was 60 years old when the twin boys, Esau and Jacob, were born. 3. Genesis 35:28 - Isaac was 180 years old when he died. Therefore, Esau and Jacob was 120 years old. (180-60=120) 4. This confirms that our calculations about the age of Jacob when Joseph was born is fairly close. |