Septuagint Chronology: Adam to Abraham

To determine the chronology of events from the creation of Adam to the birth of Abraham is more complicated than one might imagine. To begin with, the chronology of the Masoretic Text (MT) of the Old Testament in Hebrew differs significantly from that of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament in Greek. One must choose between the two.
 
James Ussher based his chronology on the Masoretic Text. In this essay, we will look at the chronology as found in the Septuagint (LXX). This chronology, whether in Hebrew or Greek, comes primarily from Genesis 5 and 11.

Diaspora Judaism (AD 1)

In 1451 BC, Joshua led the twelve tribes of Israel into the Promised Land. There they remained until 721 BC, when Yahweh allowed the ten northern tribes to be dragged into exile and oblivion for their faithless devotion to the Olympian gods. Then, in 588 BC, Yahweh allowed Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to exile even the two remaining tribes. While Yahweh later enabled a remnant to return to Jerusalem, from 588 BC until now most descendants of these tribes have lived outside of Jerusalem and its surrounding land.

Jewish History: Six Challenging Times

Norman Cantor (1929-2004), a Jewish medieval historian, wrote a book entitled The Sacred Chain: The History of the Jews (HarperCollins, 1994). In its first chapter, he mentions six particularly painful times in Jewish history that we do well to keep in mind.

Hellenic Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean

1. Struggle for control (323-280 BC)

Alexander, rightly called “the Great” by Olympian tradition, died suddenly, shortly after his return to Babylon from Incognita, in 323 BC. A struggle for power followed. Four of his generals fought one another to define their respective areas of control. Their struggles lasted about 40 years. By 280 BC, four relatively stable states had been created. The first controlled southern Hellenia; the second, northeastern Hellenia and western Anatolia; the third, eastern Anatolia, most of Levantia, and lands to the east in Incognita; the fourth, Egypt and south-central Levantia.

Manetho: History of Egypt (ca 250 BC)

In the year 332 BC, Alexander of Macedon led a Greek army in the successful conquest of Egypt. The following year he ordered the construction of a city he named after himself. Then he left Egypt and never returned.

Ptolemy, a leader in Alexander’s army, made himself ruler of Egypt following Alexander’s death in 323. He made Alexandria the capital of Egypt and paid for the construction of a library there. It soon became the largest and most important library in all of Olympia.

Ptolemy 2^nd (ruled 285-246 BC) paid as many as fifty scholars to work at the library. One remarkable work made possible by Ptolemy’s patronage was the Septuagint, a translation of Jewish Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek, published around 250. Another important work, also written in Greek and published at the same time, was the History of Egypt by a man named Manetho.

Septuagint (ca 250 BC)

Alexander of Macedon led his army to victory in the conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. He ordered the construction of Alexandria the next year. He then left Egypt to battle in other lands and never returned.

Alexandria grew rich through trade in all directions. By 300 BC, it was bigger than Carthage and the largest port on the Mediterranean Sea. By 200 BC, it was the largest city in the whole Mediterranean world.