Author: Dori

An Internal Chronology of the Bible

To God be the glory!

As I stated in My Perspective, Rûách @Élöhîm (Sprit of God) directed me to take the perspective of the Storyteller. I look at history as an interactive, dramatic production playing out on the stage of the earth in the theatre of the universe, written, produced, and directed by YHWH @Élöhîm with input by the characters.

All stories have a chronology internal to themselves, which may involve seconds to centuries to millennia. The events in the story should fit consistently within that internal chronology.

I’ve always been interested in the internal chronologies of imaginative world stories and seeing whether the author managed to have a consistent internal story chronology, especially for those stories occurring over several novels. J.R.R. Tolkien managed it with his “Tale of Years” in The Lord of the Rings but most authors’ chronologies get off at some point. Maintaining a consistent chronology for a story occurring over hundreds or thousands of years is exceedingly difficult.

The Bible, which is the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, tells the true Story of the Line of the Promise down through the millennia. Rûãch @Élöhîm inspired those whom He selected to record the Story of the Line of the Promise to include numerous time markers in The Bible, mostly in the form of life years and reign years.

Over the centuries, many Bible scholars have sought to fit these time markers into a timeline consistent with man’s historical timeline based on records outside of The Bible. That was not the tack Rûãch @Élöhîm directed me to take in developing an internal chronology of The Bible (ICB).

Instead, Rûãch @Élöhîm nudged me to stick with the internal chronology in His Story and not try to fit His time markers into man’s historical timeline.  He included two summary year spans: 430 years from Abraham to the Exodus and 480 years from the Exodus to the founding of the Temple in the fourth year of Solomon.

What I found was the internal chronology in The Bible is consistent within its internal parameters, as long as one counts the way the Hebrew scribes counted. If I try to fit the time markers together as the western Greco-Roman world counts, they do not work.

Eventually, Rûãch @Élöhîm sent me to man’s records for synchronisms to define the 380 years from the founding of the Temple to its destruction. While I worked hard at fitting the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel into the 380 years and thought I had found a solution, my chronology was not correct.

Rûãch @Élöhîm used a friend to direct me to Dr. Thiele’s The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, the accepted chronology for the kings of Judah and Israel, to correct my attempted Temple chronology. After the destruction of the Temple, I followed Rûãch @Élöhîm’s example in The Bible and used the reign years of the Gentile kings as time markers in the ICB.

With respect to synchronizing the ICB with the Western calendar,   I identified the relevant Bible events and assigned the Western calendar dates to them in a separate column.  Starting with the earliest synchronized event, the fifth year of Rechoboam, I assigned one Western calendar year to each ICB year in both time directions and let the years fall where they may within the life/reign year dates of Biblical events.

The ICB Menu link will take you to the menu of the charts and essays related to the ICB.

Badgerholt inkpotGrace and peace to you,

Dori

Premise and Perspective

The premise and perspective underlying my thinking and writing

Badgerholt inkpotI think it’s important to state the premise underlying all my writings and the perspective I take in thinking about things and analyzing them.  Readers may not agree with either the premise or the perspective, but at least you will know where I’m coming from and where my reasoning starts.  Or, more accurately, where Rûãch @Élöhîm (Spirit of God) has shown me that my reasoning must start, especially as I’m depending on Him to guide my thoughts into the truth.

The reverential fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom ~  
    And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  #  Proverbs 9.10

Premise

My initial premise – the premise underlying all my writings:

    YHWH @Élöhîm (LORD ,
     the @Élöhîm of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
               is Who He says He is, and
         has done what He says He has done
                   through Yeshûãø HamMashîãch (Jesus Christ)
      as recorded in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.

That’s it.  That’s the premise from which I start looking at what is, how it came to be, where it’s been, and where it’s going.  Another way to describe it is the premise is the universal that explains all the particulars, the holy grail of philosophy and science.

The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures (the Bible) are where YHWH @Élöhîm clearly states His claims about who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do.  I believe Rûách @Élöhîm inspired men to write the Scriptures as infallible in the original writings, including editing prior to the closing of the canon.  I acknowledge that down through the millennia, copyist errors have crept in, in spite of the care taken in copying the Scriptures by both Jews and Christians.  However, I believe any copyist errors are minor and do not affect YHWH @Élöhîm’s claims in any way.  His written word remains authoritative and definitive for those who believe Him.

And, while I think some translations do a better job than others of translating the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic into English (my native language and the only one I am qualified to comment on), I do not believe Rûách @Élöhîm designated any particular translation as the only one His believers should use, especially given that a certain amount of interpretation is inherent in the action of translating.  In fact,  and especially when doing a Bible study delving into the layers of the Word, I think it’s best to look at several translations plus the original languages in order to hear the what the Spirit is saying in the depths of His written word of truth.

Ultimately, the question is whether or not one believes YHWH @Élöhîm.  I believe Him.  I believe that He is who He says He is and that He has done what He says He’s done through His Word Incarnate, Yeshûãø hamMashîãch (Jesus Christ).

Who is YHWH @Élöhîm?

YHWH @Élöhîm is the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth.  He is the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, the only omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-present God who exists, the @Élöhîm of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Perspective

The perspective Rûách @Élöhîm directed me to take is that of the Storyteller. I look at history as an interactive, dramatic production playing out on the stage of the earth in the theatre of the universe, written, produced, and directed by YHWH @Élöhîm with input by the characters.

I view the flow of events as YHWH @Élöhîm telling His Story in order to accomplish His purpose. I look for the through line, themes, plot devices, plot structure, motifs, patterns, chief characters, foreshadowing, scene divisions, etc., used in telling stories. I find that history makes more sense when viewed from this perspective.

As part of this assignment, YHWH @Élöhîm gave me a great love of story and puzzle-solving as well as a delight in discovering how an author crafted his/her story in the telling of it.

So, there you are – my premise and my perspective.  I believe YHWH @ÉlöhÎm is who He says He is and that ‘history’ is ‘His Story.’  (And yes, I believe the pun is deliberate on YHWH’s part.  I’ve noticed that He’s fond of word plays.)

May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be will you all.

Dori

 

Welcome to Badgerholt 2.0

Badgerholt inkpot

Hello!

My name is Dori, and I am a scholar/artist in service to YHWH @Élöhîm, a fan of His storytelling and creative artistry.  All glory be to God!

When I was 40 years old, YHWH @Élöhîm called me to be a scholar/artist. Although I had already lived 40 years, in many ways, this call was the beginning of my journey. All that had gone before was training and prep to do this task, this good work, which He had created me to do. It took a few years before I understood how to describe this task, but ultimately, it came down to this.

A scholar/artist in pursuit of the knowledge of God (daøath @élöhîm) with a focus on YHWH @Élöhîm as a Creative Artist, pursuing the truth of His Story and appreciating the beauty of His artistry as an expression of the goodness of Who He is.

It’s been an interesting journey over the past 20 years, and it’s not over yet.

Badgerholt 2.0 is a place to share through pages and blog posts what YHWH @Élöhîm has taught me about His Story, His through line, and who He is, to the praise of His holy Name.  I invite you to read my writings in the hopes that what you read will enhance your worship of the Most High God, YHWH @Élöhîm, Maker of heaven and earth, for so He says He is in His written word, the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures called The Bible.

May the grace and peace of the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Dori

“I will remember the deeds of Yäh ~         
    Surely I will meditate on Your wonders of old #
and I will ponder on all Your historical acts ~   
    and on Your deeds I will muse #
@Élöhîm, in the holiness [is] Your way ~     
    who [is] a great @ël like @Élöhîm? #
You, the @Ël who does wonders ~       
    You make known among the people Your strength #
You redeemed with strength Your people ~     
    the sons of Jacob and Joseph  Seläh ” #          
                     Psalms 77.12-15  (my literal translation)

 

 

Covenant Nation Pattern – Updated

Israel and the United States have seemed bonded together since Israel became a nation state again in 1948.  But what if their ties go deeper than politics and shared values? What if their histories follow a similar pattern from Abraham (Israel) and the Pilgrims (US) to today?

Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Update: I’ve done a 2020 update incorporating another sub-pattern: King Josiah and President Trump

Read on.  Covenant Nation Introduction  

Covenant Nation Chart

Grace and peace to you,

Dori

 

Patterns: Who Wrote Genesis?: Genesis 2.4b – 5.1a

In Section One, I discussed my hypothesis on who wrote Genesis as applied toBadgerholt inkpot the first section: The book of the proceedings of the heavens and the earth, or Genesis One.

In the second section I apply my hypothesis to the book of the proceedings of Adam.  In particular, I note the identical construction in the Hebrew of Genesis 1.1 and Genesis 2.4b. I think this repetitive element  supports the idea that Genesis 2.4 should be divided between the two parts of the sentence and translated as the signature statement of the first section and the title of the next story, “How YHWH @Élöhîm fashioned hä@ädhäm (the man) and his wife.”

Click here for  Section Two.

Grace and peace,

Dori

 

Patterns: Who Wrote Genesis: Section 01 – Genesis One

“Now, the phrase “@ëlleh thôlëdôth” occurring only five times and only in Genesis begs the question of why its usage was so limited, but I’ll address why I think this happened in another post given the wording. in the Masoretic.” (From “On the Generations Of: A Pattern of Usage”)

In Who Wrote Genesis: Introduction, I discussed the overall structural divisions I see in Genesis based on the hypothesis that the phrase “@ëlleh thôlëdôth” identifies the individual writings Moses used to compile the book of Genesis at the direction of the Holy Spirit. These writings set the context for Moses’ own story as well as record the earliest chapters of the Story of the Line of the Promise.

This first section looks at Genesis One (1:1 to 2:4a), “These [are] the proceedings of the heavens and the earth.”  This is the story of how YHWH @Élöhîm re-formed the earth and re-filled it with life after it had become a wasteland and empty of life.  My analysis finds this is an oral story written down verbatim. The signature statement does not give a human author because likely the story has no human author, only a human transcriber.

So, here’s the first part of the essay I wrote discussing my research and Badgerholt inkpotconclusions.

Grace and peace to you,

Dori

 

 

 

Jacob & Rachel: A Logic Puzzle

Badgerholt inkpotIn reading the story of Jacob and Rachel in Genesis, I saw a story of love at first sight, at least on Jacob’s part. And I wondered, “How old was Jacob when he fell in love with Rachel?”

Although Scripture records that Esau was 40 years old when he married, and the next incident Scripture records is Jacob’s stealing the blessing and fleeing to Padan Aram where he met Rachel, that doesn’t mean that Jacob was 40 years old when he ran away. Scripture records the events that the Holy Spirit considered important in telling the Story of the Line of the Promise but He usually did not direct the human authors to specify how long it was between events. However, the Spirit did have the human authors include life years for certain individuals.  Therefore, the place to start is with those life years.

And I did start with those life years, as I described in My Journey: The First Question, which led to developing an Internal Chronology of the Bible. However, in hindsight, I now understand that all I really needed to do to answer my question was to solve a logic puzzle with six clues found in Scripture.

THE CLUES
  1. Jacob served Laban for 20 years, 14 years for Leah and Rachel and 6 years for his flocks.

Gen 31:41  These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

  1. Having served the agreed upon 14 years, Jacob renegotiated his wages in the year Joseph was born.

Gen 30.25-28  As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. | Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” | But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you. | Name your wages, and I will give it.”

  1. Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharoah.

Gen 41:46  Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

  1. Joseph interprets Pharoah’s dreams as foretelling seven good years followed by seven famine years.

Gen 41:25-31  Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. | The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. |The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. | It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. | There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, | but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, | and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe.

  1. Joseph invites his brothers down to Egypt for the five remaining famine years.

Gen 45:4-6  So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. | And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. | For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

Gen 45:11  There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’

  1. Jacob was 130 years old when he stood before Pharoah.

Gen 47:9  And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”

Using this information, one can deduce how old Jacob was when he fell in love with Rachel.

Solution

Have fun,

Dori

 

Patterns: Who Wrote Genesis? Introduction

“Now, the phrase “@ëlleh thôlëdôth” occurring only five times and only in Genesis begs the question of why its usage was so limited, but I’ll address why I think this happened in another post given the wording. in the Masoretic.” (From “On the Generations Of: A Pattern of Usage”)

So, why do I think Scripture uses “@ëlleh thôlëdôth” only five times?  Because I think the phrase was used to identify five writings Moses used to compile the book of  Genesis, telling the Story of the Line of the Promise from the rehabilitation of the earth to the death of Jacob.  A sixth scroll written in Egypt continued the Story through the death of Joseph and ended the book instead of using the signature phrase. I think these five writings were preserved in the Line of the Promise down through the generations with Jacob bringing them with him to Egypt.

So, here’s the intro of the essay  that I wrote discussing my research and Badgerholt inkpotconclusions.

Grace and peace to you,

Dori

 

 

Patterns: On the Generations Of

In this study, I look at the pattern usage in Scripture of the phrases usually translated at “These are the generations of . . .” or “Now these are the generations of . . .”  The question is whether these phrases introduce a section of Scripture or conclude a section of Scripture, especially in Genesis.

Grace and peace to you,

Dori

On the Generations Of  Essay

 

 

Patterns: Covenant Nation (Updated)

Israel and the United States have seemed bonded together since Israel became a nation state again in 1948.  But what if their ties go deeper than politics and shared values? What if their histories follow a similar pattern from Abraham (Israel) and the Pilgrims (US) to today?

Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Read on.  Covenant Nation Introduction  

Covenant Nation Chart

Grace and peace to you,

Dori

P.S. I’ve done a 2020 update incorporating another sub-pattern: King Josiah and President Trump.