Go to Introduction

|| Bibletime Studies || Biblical Time Index || Hours Days Months || Hebrew Calendar || Reckoning methods || Inclusive Reckoning? || Righteous Reckoning? || Timing Events || Ages of People || Circumcised the Eighth Day || Hebrew Regnal Years || Righteous Reckoning Examples || Ambiguous Examples || Inclusive Reckoning Examples || Conclusion || Q and A ||

#5g RIGHTEOUS RECKONING - INCLUSIVE RECKONING ERROR REFUTED 2

This bible study uses a Greek Unicode font, and the Hebrew Unicode font "David" which comes with later versions of Windows.

How to Study the Word of God Index || Biblical Time Index || Inclusive Reckoning Refuted Index || Bible Studies Index

Introduction 5g

The importance of this bible study can be measured by the number of people who believe that Jesus died on a Friday afternoon, and raised on Sunday morning. This they justify because they say that the bible uses a system of inclusive reckoning to establish time, and any part of Friday counts as a whole day, and any part of Sunday counts as a whole day. Therefore they explain that Jesus' "three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:40) is not literal, but has to be reckoned inclusively. This is totally false. This bible study investigates and refutes the claim of inclusive reckoning of time in scripture, and shows with many examples that inclusive reckoning was not "always used", and certainly not for the southern kingdom of Judah from which Jesus came. Therefore, there is no reason to treat Jesus' words as inclusive in terms of time.

#5g5 Solomon took Seven Years to Build the Temple

1 KINGS 6:1
1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Yahweh.

1 KINGS 6:27-38
37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Yahweh laid, in the month Zif:
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So he was seven years in building it.

2 CHRONICLES 3:1-2
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where Yahweh appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

Note: Solomon began to build the temple in the second month of the fourth year of his reign, and finished it in the eighth month of the eleventh year of his reign. This is a total of seven years and six months. Now when it was recorded as a number of years, we would expect the years to be rounded up to eight with inclusive reckoning, and rounded down to seven with righteous reckoning. As 1 Kings 6:38 records the total time as seven years, we can see that the God inspired writer of these scriptures used righteous reckoning, not inclusive. If Solomon's eleventh year had twelve months, then the temple would have had to be finished in the first two days of the month. However, if Solomon's eleventh year was a thirteen month year, this would make half a year six months and fifteen days long, and so the temple would have to be finished in the first seventeen days of the eighth month. Both of these are obviously acceptable, but inclusive reckoning is an impossibility here.

Solomon 7 years 6 months building the temple diagram

#5g6 The Law of the Leper

LEVITICUS 13:4-7
4 If the bright spot is white in the skin of his flesh, and and appears to be not deeper than the skin, and its hair is not turned white; then the priest shall isolate him who has the plague seven days:
5 And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight is as it was, and the plague has not spread in the skin; then the priest shall isolate him another seven days:
6 And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague has faded, and the plague has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7 But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he has been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:

Note: If a man was checked by the priest for leprosy, and the priest was not certain, then he would isolate the man seven days, and check him on the seventh day. Now if he was still not satisfied, he would isolate him for another seven days and check him again on the following seventh day. Now suppose we use inclusive reckoning and assume the priest first examines the man on the Sabbath day. If he isolates him for seven days, and examines him again on the seventh day, then the day of his first examination would be included in the count as the first day, and the seventh day would then be the day before the next Sabbath. If on this day he decides to isolate him again for another seven days, then that day before the Sabbath becomes the first day of the second count. The seventh day of the second count would now fall on the second day before the Sabbath of the following week. In the diagram below the Sabbath days are shown in yellow for clarity. The total number of days comes to only thirteen, but could be as little as just over eleven when counted as a whole period with inclusive reckoning.

Inclusive
Ordinal Days
1st2nd 3rd4th5th6th 7th
        1st 2nd3rd4th5st6th7th
Inclusive
Cardinal Days
123 45 67       
  12 34567
Total Days123 456 78910111213

Now look at the same situation from a righteous reckoning point of view. For the sake of simplicity again, suppose the leper was checked by the priest on the Sabbath day, during daylight hours, after midday. That day would not be included in the ordinal count, but the first day would be the first day of the week, and the seventh day would be the seventh day of the week, which would be the next Sabbath. If he had to be confined again, the first day of the second count would be the first day of the second week, and the seventh day would be the Sabbath after that. The first seven day period would end on the seventh day, and the second seventh day period would end on the following seventh day. In the diagram below the Sabbath days are marked in yellow for clarity. This is a perfectly sound way of counting the days without confusion.

7 days to cleanse a leper diagram

Confirmation comes from the Septuagint where the words translated "seven days" in both places are ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας (Gtr. hepta hemeras) which are accusative case, which normally represents whole periods of time.

#5g7 Menahem Reigned Ten Years in Samaria

2 KINGS 15:17, 22-23
17 In the thirty ninth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.

Note: Menahem began to reign in the thirty ninth year of Azariah, and was replaced by his son in the fiftieth year of Azariah, yet he is said to have reigned only ten years. By inclusive reckoning this would come to a reign of twelve years, and the ten years recorded could have been anywhere between nine and ten years, so this is definitely not inclusive reckoning. Two other methods are both righteous reckoning, counting Azariah's thirty ninth year as Menahem's accession year. The first is that Menahem's ten year reign ended near the end of Azariah's forty ninth year, and his son Pekahiah did not begin to reign until the start of Azariah's fiftieth year. This would leave a short interregnum of a few days or weeks. The other alternative is that Menahem actually reigned more than ten years, say ten years and six months. But as we have seen before with righteous reckoning this would be rounded down, as it was with David (Example 2), and so recorded as ten years. This would allow his reign to begin in Azariah's thirty ninth year and end in his fiftieth year without error. Menahem's accession year is shaded yellow.

Menahem's 10 year reign diagram

#5g8 Pekahiah Reigned for Two Years in Israel

2 KINGS 15:23, 25, 27
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, for two years.
25 But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his place.
27 In the fifty second year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, for twenty years.

Note: Pekahiah began to reign in the fiftieth year of Azariah and was replaced in his fifty second year. Inclusive reckoning, counting any part of a year as a full year,  would have to count this as a three year reign, but it is recorded that  Pekahiah reigned only two years. This fits exactly with our accession year method, which is our equivalent of righteous reckoning. The fiftieth year of Azariah is counted as Pekahiah's accession year, which is shaded yellow.

Pekahiah's 3 year reign diagram

#5g9 Conclusion on All of the Above Examples

In every case the inclusive reckoning error is refuted. It simply does not work, but the righteous reckoning method works in every case.

Reference#5g1#5g2#5g3#5g4 #5g5#5g6#5g7#5g8
Inclusive reckoning? Red cross 1 Red cross 2 Red cross 3 Red cross 4 Red cross 5 Red cross 6 Red cross 7 Red cross 8
Righteous reckoning? Green tick 1 Green tick 2 Green tick 3 Green tick 4 Green tick 5 Green tick 6 Green tick 7 Green tick 8

Righteous Reckoning bible quiz Green tick

Please tell your friends about this website.
If you have a website of your own, then please link to this website.
Please copy and paste this bible study link into Facebook and Twitter to all your friends who believe in inclusive reckoning of time in scripture.

Arrow pointing left  More Reckoning Examples || Biblical Time Index || Interpret Scripture Index || Bible Studies Index || Ambiguous Examples  Arrow pointing right

Top