Ezekiel’s Redemptive History (3)-Chronology
How to calculate years regarding to the book of Ezekiel?
Exodus 12:1-2 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
Senior Pastor Rev Abraham Park taught us that God gave the people of Israel new calendar. To be precise, it was the old calendar Israel had used before but forgotten because of living in Egypt that has different calendar system for 430 years.
The calendar God gave or reminded the people of Israel was not a solar calendar but a lunar based calendar. A lunar based calendar 30 days for odd months and 29 for even months, thus one year consists of 354 days. There is an intercalary month almost once every 3 years in order to compensate the match up with solar calendar. In Jewish calendar system, there are two cycles: Nisan cycle and Tishri cycle. Nisan cycle considers Nisan to Nisan as one year, whereas Tishi cycle considers Tishri to Tishri as one year.
Which cycle is used for the book of Ezekiel?
The people of Israel were taken to Babylon 1st time in 605BC (Jehoiakim), 2nd 597BC(Jehoiachin), the 3rd 586BC (Zedekiah).
These kings are the kings of Southern Judah and Southern Judah used Tishri cycle to calculate their king’s chronology. Thus, these years of Babylon exiles are calculated according to Tishri cycle.
In writing the 11th book of HOR series, Sn. Pastor Rev Abraham Park recalculated and wrote all the years according to Tishri cycle. Whatever happened during the month of Tishri to the month of Nisan, both cycles count as the same year but the things had happened during the month of Nisan to the month of Tishri, there will be one year difference.
- The year when Ezekiel was taken to Babylon was 597BC. HOR series book 5 explains that it was the 10th day of Nisan (Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings & Babylonian chronology)
10th day of Nisan in 597BC Tishri cycle, according to Nisan cycle, this date belongs to 596BC Nisan cycle.
Ezekiel 33:21 Now in the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the refugees from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been taken.”
- Jerusalem was taken on the 9th day of the 4th month. (2 Kings 25:3-4)
If the 9th day of the 4th month was seen as 586BC Tishri cycle, the 5th day of 10th month should be regarded as the 13th year of Babylon exile. However, as the book of Ezekiel says the 5th day of the 10th month was in the 12th year from the exile, it gives us a hint that the book of Ezekiel uses Nisan cycle.
- Ezekiel 33:21-22 says that in the 12th year, on the 5th day of 10t month, someone came and said that the city (Jerusalem) had been taken.
Ever since the HOR series came out, Sn. Pastor Rev Abraham Park used Tishri cycle years o say what year it happened. Thus, he cannot simply changes all the years and numbers from book 11 because the book of Ezekiel is recorded according to Nisan cycle. So, Sn. Pastor Rev Abraham Park re-calculated and changed the years that are in the book of Ezekiel to the ones based on Tishri cycle.
| Scriptures | Years written in book of Ezekiel | Years according to Tishri cycle |
| Ezekiel 1:1-2 | 5th day of 4th month, 5th year | 593 BC |
| Ezekiel 8:1 | 5th day of 6th month, 6th year | 592 BC |
| Ezekiel 20:1 | 10th day of 5th month, 7th year | 591 BC |
| Ezekiel 24:1 | 10th day of 10th month, 9th year | 588 BC |
| Ezekiel 26:1 | 1st day of (?) month, 11th year | 587/586 BC |
| Ezekiel 29:1 | 12th day of 10th month, 10 year | 587 BC |
| Ezekiel 29:17 | 1st day of 1st month, 27th year | 571 BC |
| Ezekiel 30:20 | 7th day of 1st month, 11th year | 587 BC |
| Ezekiel 31:1 | 1st day of 3rd month, 11th year | 587 BC |
| Ezekiel 32:1 | 1st day of 12th month, 12th year | 585 BC |
| Ezekiel 32:17 | 15th day of (?=12) month, 12th year | 585 BC |
| Ezekiel 33:21 | 5th day of 10th month, 12th year | 585 BC |
| Ezekiel 40:1 | 10th day of 1st month, 25th year | 573 BC |
Once we know the exact years, the story can be understood even deeper. For example, 586 BC was the 3rd captivity. So, these are things happened right after the 3rd exile and the things right before the 3rd exile.
Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
Both Hebrew word for testimony and judgment are used to describe the Word of God. The Word of God is precise, thus if we understand the Bible precisely, we will be able to understand the heart of God, the will of God precisely.
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