How the
Egyptians
have kept records of their dates.
Eusebius - Chronicles
The total is consistent with the words of the holy Apostle, but it does not include the years of Moses, or of Joshua the successor of Moses, or of Samuel, or of Saul. The number of years for Samuel and Saul, and also for Joshua, may be uncertain; but as the Apostle suggests, the 40 years of Saul should be added to the 450 years of the judges, and if the 40 years of David and the 4 years of Solomon are joined to this, they make a total of 534 years, the same as in the account of the Apostle. If we also add the 40 years of Moses in the wilderness, and the 27 years of Joshua the son of Nun, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, the total for the whole period is 600 years.
If this total is compared with the five generations between Nahshon and David, which were mentioned previously, and the years are divided equally between the generations, it follows that the men in each generation lived for more than 115 years before their sons were born. It is scarcely credible that, when Moses lived in all for 120 years, his descendants should reach almost the same age, before their sons were born. Therefore there is nothing left but to move on at this point to the account in the book of Kings.
The book of Kings clearly states that, from the exodus of the children of Israel until Solomon and the building of the temple, there was a total of 440 years; according to the Hebrew version, it was 480 years. [p105] The third book of Kings says as follows [ 1 Kings, 6'1 ]: "It happened in the 440th year after the exodus out of Egypt, that Solomon began to build the house of the Lord. " In the Hebrew version, it says "It happened in the 480th year" because the Jewish teachers, by a careful calculation, decided that the total came to 480 years. They did not count separately the years in which the foreigners are said to have ruled over the people [of Israel], but counted just the time that the judges ruled them, and included within this the periods of foreign domination. And this must be how it is done, because it is the only way that the total can be made to be 480 years. I believe that when the holy Apostle stated the number of years, which was mentioned before, he was not speaking in the manner of a chronographer, or of someone who was making an exact calculation. It would have been superfluous to introduce a discussion of chronology into his declaration of the message of salvation, and so he followed the common interpretation of the book of Judges.
The book of Kings expressly states that there were 440 (or 480) years from the exodus until Solomon. But if we look at the dates of each of the judges, and also count separately the times of foreign rule which are mentioned in the book of Judges, there is a total of 600 years between Moses and Solomon. This total of 600 years is divided up as follows:
Moses in the wilderness - 40 years
Joshua - 27 years
Judges and foreigners - 450 years
(as the Apostle states, in accordance with the book of Judges)
Samuel and Saul - 40 years
David - 40 years
Solomon (until the building of the temple) - 4 years
Therefore the men in each of the five generations, which we mentioned previously, must have lived for 120 years before their sons were born; which is wholly incredible.
However, if we follow the account in the book of Kings, we will have a total of 480 years, because the 120 years, during which the Hebrews were ruled by foreigners, have been removed. [p107] Instead, the years of their enslavement will have been combined with the years of their freedom in a single total, which is how the Hebrews themselves count it. That is how we will calculate the dates here, by assuming that the times of foreign rule are included in the number of years assigned to each of the judges. We have been particularly persuaded to use this method of calculation, by considering how long is allowed for the five generations from Nahshon to David. If we subtract the 40 years of Moses in the wilderness and the four years of Solomon from the total of 480 years, there are 436 years left, up until the death of David. If these years are divided equally between the five generations, there are 87 years for each generation. If anyone investigates this, he will find that it is a plausible account, starting from the birth of David. David was the eighth son of Jesse, and was born after his seven elder brothers when his father was an old man; and so we can reckon that something similar may have happened to his ancestors.
Therefore we will follow here the account in the book of Kings, that there were 480 years from the exodus out of Egypt until Solomon and the building of the temple. We will include the periods of foreign rule in the number of years assigned to each of the judges who ruled in succession.
The book of Judges supports this decision in another way, by the words of Jephthah, who was one of the judges of the people. When the Ammonites, who lived on the other side of the river Jordan, made war on Jephthah, he sent an embassy to the enemy, with this message [ Judges, 11'25-26 ]: "Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or fight with them? For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Jordan. Why did he not retake them during that time? " His message tells them that Moses and Balaam the son of Beor lived 300 years before their own time. [p109] The only way to produce this total of 300 years is to reckon that the periods when foreigners ruled [the people of Israel] are included in the number of years assigned to the judges who ruled them. If anyone counts the periods of the people's enslavement, when they were ruled by foreigners, separately [from the judges], he will produce a total which far exceeds the 300 years. But if he counts only the years which are assigned to the judges who ruled the people, he will find that there are 300 years from Moses until Jephthah, as Jepththah's message stated.
Therefore, the chronology which we use for this period will be as follows:
From Moses to Solomon
Moses - 40 years
Joshua - 27 years
foreigners and Othniel the judge - 40 years
foreigners and Ehud the judge - 80 years
foreigners and Deborah and Barak - 40 years
foreigners and Gideon - 40 years
Abimelech - 3 years
Tola - 23 years
Jair - 22 years
foreigners and Jephthah the judge - 6 years
Ibzan - 7 years
Abdon - 8 years
foreigners and Samson - 20 years
In his time, the Trojan war was fought.
Eli - 40 years
Samuel and Saul - 40 years
David - 40 years
Solomon (until the building of the temple) - 4 years
In total, from Moses and the exodus out of Egypt until the building of the temple, 480 years.
About Joshua, the book which bears his name tells us nothing more than that [p111] he died at the age of 110 years. But the Hebrews say that he was leader for 27 years; and so he was 43 years old when Moses went out of Egypt.
About Samuel, because Scripture does not explicitly assign a number of years to him, I think that the length of Saul's reign which is mentioned by the holy Apostle should belong jointly to Saul and to Samuel. It is clear that Samuel was leader of the people for many years; but Scripture states that Saul reigned for just two years. In the first book of Kings, it says [ 1 Samuel, 13'1 ]: "Saul was the son of a year in his reigning; and he ruled over Israel for two years". Symmachus makes this clearer in his translation: "Saul was like a year-old child in his reigning", meaning that Saul was pure and faultless at the beginning of his reign. He kept that nature for two years, but when he turned to evil ways, he was rejected by God and suffered divine punishment. Therefore the remaining years have been assigned to Samuel, and 40 years is the joint total for Saul and Samuel. It is clear that Saul [or Samuel] ruled for this length of time, not only from the evidence of the Apostle, but also from a careful investigation of Scripture, which says [ 2 Samuel, 2'10 ] that after the death of Saul, "Ish-Bostheth son of Saul was 40 years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. " Ish-Bostheth must have been born after Saul became king, because Scripture [ 1 Samuel, 14'49 ], when talking of the beginning of Saul's reign, mentions three sons of Saul, but not this one. Therefore we think that Ish-Bosheth was born later, and the length of Saul's reign was about the same as the age of his son after his death.
In summary, the third book of Kings [ 1 Kings, 6'1 ] says that there were 480 years from the exodus out of Egypt until Solomon and the building of the temple; there were 505 years from Abraham until Moses and the exodus; [p113] there were 942 years from the flood until the first year of Abraham; and there were 2,242 years from Adam until the flood. Altogether there were 4,170 years from Adam until Solomon and the building of the temple.
The historian Josephus, in the first book of his Jewish Antiquities, produced some Phoenicians as witnesses to the date of Solomon and to his building of the temple, and the evidence of the men whom he mentions seems useful to me. In that book, he writes as follows [ Against Apion, 1'106 ]:
The evidence of the Phoenicians about the temple at Jerusalem, from Josephus
I will now, therefore, pass from these records, and come to those that belong to the Phoenicians, and concern our nation, and shall produce proof of what I have said out of them. There are then records among the Tyrians that take in the history of many years, and these are public writings, and are kept with great exactness, and include accounts of the facts done among them, and such as concern their transactions with other nations also, those I mean which were worth remembering. Therein it was recorded that the temple was built by king Solomon at Jerusalem, one hundred forty-three years and eight months before the Tyrians built Carthage.
In their annals the building of our temple is related; for Hirom, the king of Tyre, was the friend of Solomon our king, and had such friendship transmitted down to him from his forefathers. He thereupon was ambitious to contribute to the splendour of this edifice of Solomon, and made him a present of one hundred and twenty talent talents of gold. [p115] He also cut down the most excellent timber out of that mountain which is called Libanus, and sent it to him for adorning its roof. Solomon also not only made him many other presents, by way of requital, but gave him a country in Galilee also, that was called Chabulon. But there was another passion, a philosophic inclination of theirs, which cemented the friendship that was between them; for they sent mutual problems to one another, with a desire to have them resolved by each other; wherein Solomon was superior to Hirom, as he was wiser than he in other respects: and many of the letters that passed between them are still preserved among the Tyrians. Now, that this may not depend on my bare word, I will produce for a witness Dius, one that is believed to have written the Phoenician History after an accurate manner. This Dius, therefore, writes thus, in his Histories of the Phoenicians:
"Upon the death of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the kingdom. This king raised banks at the eastern parts of the city, and enlarged it; he also joined the temple of Olympian Zeus, which stood before in an island by itself, to the city, by raising a causeway between them, and adorned that temple with donations of gold. He moreover went up to Libanus, and had timber cut down for the building of temples. They say further, that Solomon, when he was king of Jerusalem, sent problems to Hirom to be solved, and desired he would send others back for him to solve, and that he who could not solve the problems proposed to him should pay money to him that solved them. And when Hirom had agreed to the proposals, but was not able to solve the problems, he was obliged to pay a great deal of money, as a penalty for the same. As also they relate, that one Abdemon, a man of Tyre, did solve the problems, and propose others which Solomon could not solve, upon which he was obliged to repay a great deal of money to Hirom. "
These things are attested to by Dius, and confirm what we have said upon the same subjects before. [p117] And now I shall add Menander the Ephesian, as an additional witness. This Menander wrote the Acts that were done both by the Greeks and Barbarians, under every one of the Tyrian kings, and had taken much pains to learn their history out of their own records. Now when he was writing about those kings that had reigned at Tyre, he came to Hirom, and says thus:
"Upon the death of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the kingdom; he lived fifty-three years, and reigned thirty-four. He raised a bank on that called the Broad Place, and dedicated that golden pillar which is in Zeus' temple; he also went and cut down timber from the mountain called Libanus, and got timber of cedar for the roofs of the temples. He also pulled down the old temples, and built new ones; besides this, he consecrated the temples of Heracles and of Astarte. He first built Heracles' temple in the month Peritius, and that of Astarte when he made his expedition against the Tityans [(? ) inhabitants of Utica], who would not pay him their tribute; and when he had brought them under his control, he returned home. Under this king there was a younger son of Abdemon, who mastered the problems which Solomon king of Jerusalem had recommended to be solved. " Now the time from this king to the building of Carthage is thus calculated.
"Upon the death of Hirom, Baalbazerus his son took the kingdom; he lived forty-three years, and reigned seventeen years: after him succeeded his son Abdastartus; he lived thirty-nine years, and reigned nine years. Now four sons of his nurse plotted against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve years: after them came Astartus, the son of Eleastartus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned twelve years: after him came his brother Astharymus; he lived fifty-eight years, and reigned nine years: he was slain by his brother Phelles, who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was slain by Eithobalus, the (? ) son of king Astartus, who reigned thirty-two years, and lived forty-eight years: [p119] he was succeeded by his son Balezorus, who lived forty-five years, and reigned eight years: he was succeeded by Metenus his son; he lived thirty-two years, and reigned twenty-nine years: Physmalion succeeded him; he lived fifty-eight years, and reigned forty-seven years. Now in the seventh year of his reign, his sister fled away from him, and built the city Carthage in Libya. So the whole time from the reign of Hirom, till the building of Carthage, amounts to the sum of one hundred fifty-five years and eight months. "
Since then the temple was built at Jerusalem in the twelfth year of the reign of Hirom, there were from the building of the temple, until the building of Carthage, one hundred forty-three years and eight months. Therefore, what occasion is there for quoting any more evidence out of the Phoenician histories [on the behalf of our nation], since what I have said is so thoroughly confirmed already? To be sure, our ancestors came into this country long before the building of the temple; for it was not till we had gained possession of the whole land by war that we built our temple. And this is the point that I have clearly proved out of our sacred writings in my Antiquities.
That is what Josephus says.
The list of times [of reigns] which is shown here covers 432 years, from the building of the temple, in the fourth year of Solomon, until the destruction [of the temple] by the Babylonians. They are reckoned as follows:
Solomon - for 37 years
(The rest of his reign except for the first three years)
Rehoboam - for 16 years
Abijah - for 3 years
Asaph - for 41 years
Jehoshaphat - for 25 years
Jehoram - for 8 years
Ahaziah - for 1 year
Athaliah his mother - for 7 years
Joash - for 40 years
[p121] Amaziah - for 28 years
Uzziah - for 52 years
In his reign the Greeks established the first Olympic games [776 B. C. ].
Jotham - for 16 years
Ahaz - for 16 years
Hezekiah - for 29 years
Manasseh - for 55 years
Amon - for 2 years
Josiah - for 31 years
Jehoahaz - for 3 months
Jehoiakim - for 11 years
Jehoiachin, also called Jekhoniah, his son - for 3 months
Mattaniah, also called Zedekiah - for 11 years
In total, 432 years.
After this, the Babylonian captivity of the Jews and the abandonment of their country lasted for 70 years, which came to an end in the 65th Olympiad [520-517 B. C. ], in the second year of Dareius the king of the Persians, as the Holy Scriptures say.
Clemens agrees with our account, when he writes in the first book of his Miscellany as follows [ Stromata, 1'21 ]: "The captivity lasted for seventy years, and ended in the second year of Dareius Hystaspes, who had become king of the Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians; in whose reign, as I said above, Haggai and Zechariah and the angel of the twelve [Malachi] prophesied. And the high priest was Joshua the son of Josedec. " That is what Clemens says.
More evidence that there was a period of 70 years from the destruction of the temple until the second year of Dareius is provided by the prophet Zechariah, who said in the second year of Dareius [ 1'12 ] : "Almighty Lord, how long will you not pity Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which you have despised? This is the seventieth year. "
But the acute observer may say: "But why is it said at the beginning of the book of Ezra [ 1'1 ], that in the first year of Cyrus the king of the Persians, to fulfil the word of God which was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord aroused the spirit of Cyrus the king of the Persians, and he gave an order throughout his kingdom in a written decree. " And then, adding what follows in that book, [p123] he will show that it refers to the release of the Jews, and how Cyrus ordered the temple to be rebuilt. From this you would assume that the 70 years of the captivity came to an end in the reign of Cyrus, and not in the reign of Dareius.
To this I reply, that the words of the prophets refer to two different periods of 70 years. The one is reckoned from the destruction of the temple, and came to an end in the second year of Dareius, as the statement of Zechariah makes clear. The second is from the enslavement of the Jews, up until the capture of Babylon and the destruction of the kingdom of the Chaldaeans. This is reckoned from the time of the prophecy, and came to an end in the reign of Cyrus, and not in the reign of the Dareius, in accordance with the word of Jeremiah, in which he foretells what will happen [ 29'10 ]: "Thus says the Lord. When the 70th year has been completed, I will come to you, and I will fulfil my promise to you, that I will lead you back to this place. " And again, he prophesies as follows [ 25'11-12 ]: "All this land will be deserted and ruined, and they will serve the king of the Babylonians amongst the foreigners; and the Lord says about that nation, and about the land of the Chaldaeans, that I will bring them to ruin. "
All this was fulfilled in the reign of Cyrus, by counting the years, not from the destruction of the temple, but earlier, from the second year of Jehoiakim, king of the Jews, because it was in this year that Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Babylonians first enslaved the Jews; or even earlier, from when the prophet Jeremiah first began to prophesy. From that time, there were 40 years until the siege of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple, and 70 years until the first year of the reign of Cyrus. The one period of 70 years lasted from the beginning of Jeremiah's prophecy until the reign of Cyrus; but there were 30 years from the destruction of the temple until the reign of Cyrus, and [the other period of] 70 years was completed in the second year of the reign of Dareius. The temple was restored in the eighth year of Dareius.
From that time onwards, the Jews remained without their own kings. They had their own high priests as leaders, but were subject first to the kings of the Assyrians, then to the kings of the Persians, and after them to the Macedonians who ruled after Alexander, up until the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, who as king of Syria forced the Jews to adopt Greek customs. At that time, Mattathias the son of Asamonaeus, who was a priest at Jerusalem, his son Judas, who [p125] was surnamed Maccabaeus, and their successors re-established the Jewish state, and ruled it continuously until the time of Augustus.
In Augustus' time, Herodes was the first foreigner to become king of the Jews, with the support of the Romans; during his reign, our Saviour Jesus Christ was born. This was the fulfilment of the prophecy spoken by Moses [ Genesis, 49'10 ]: "The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his". These are the words of the prophecy.
But the total length of time, from Solomon and the first building of the temple until the second year of Dareius and the rebuilding of the temple, is 502 years. And from Moses and the exodus from Egypt until Solomon and the first building of the temple, is 480 years. And from the first year of Abraham until the exodus, is 505 years. And from the flood until the first year of Abraham, is 942 years. And from Adam to the flood, is 2242 years. So the overall total, from Adam until the second year of Dareius and the second building of [the temple in] Jerusalem, is 4680 years. And from the second year of Dareius which was the first year of the 65th Olympiad [520 B. C. ] [until the ministry of Christ], is 137 Olympiads and 548 years.
To show this in more detail, the kings of the Persians are listed here, along with the lengths of their reigns:
Cyrus reigned for 30 years
Then Cambyses - for 6 years
Dareius reigned for 36 years
In Dareius' second year, the temple in Jerusalem was restored. Dareius reigned for a further 34 years.
Then Xerxes the son of Dareius - for 20 years
In his reign, the story of Esther took place.
Artabanus - for 6 months
Artaxerxes "Macrocheir" - for 41 years
In his reign lived Ezra, the sacred scribe of the Hebrews, who is said to have memorised the whole of Holy Scripture, and who transmitted it to the Jews in the new Hebrew script, because they were living in enemy lands. Nehemiah the head cupbearer also lived at this time; with the approval of the king, he returned to Judaea [p127] and rebuilt Jerusalem, and surrounded the city with a wall; for up until then the city had been deserted, except for the temple which was rebuilt under Dareius. After Artaxerxes there were the following kings of the Persians:
Xerxes the second - for 2 months
Sogdianus - for 6 months
Dareius "Nothus" - for 19 years
Artaxerxes "Mnemon" - for 40 years
Artaxerxes, also called Ochus - for 26 years
Arses the son of Ochus - for 4 years
Dareius the son of Arsames - for 6 years
Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, killed Dareius and ruled over the Persian empire for 6 years; he had ruled over the land for 6 years before killing Dareius.
The empire of the Persians lasted for 234 years. Beginning in the 55th Olympiad [560-557 B. C. ], it ended in the 113th Olympiad [328-325 B. C. ]. And from the second year of Dareius until the death of Alexander, who died in the first year of the 114th Olympiad [324 B. C. ], is 197 years.
After the death of Alexander, there were the following kings of Egypt and Alexandria:
1. Ptolemy the son of Lagus - for 40 years
2. Ptolemy Philadelphus - for 38 years
3. Ptolemy Euergetes - for 24 years
4. Ptolemy Philopator - for 21 years
5. Ptolemy Epiphanes - for 22 years
6. Ptolemy Philometor - for 34 years
In his time, Antiochus Epiphanes was king of Syria; and in Antiochus' reign occurred the events which [are related] in the books of Maccabees. These books tell how Antiochus tried to convert the Jews to Greek customs; he defiled the temple by putting up sacred images there, and carried off the sacred vessels of the temple in the 151st Olympiad [176-173 B. C. ].
So from the death of Alexander of Macedonia to the first year of Antiochus Epiphanes, is 150 years. And from the second year of Dareius until Antiochus, is 347 years.
In the reign of Antiochus, Mattathias the son of Asamonaeus [p129] showed great devotion to his country's religion, and became leader of the Jews. After his death, his son Judas Maccabaeus [became leader]; and after him, his brother Jonathan [was leader]; and after him, his brother Simon [was leader].
The account of the book of Maccabees ends in the reign of Simon; it covers a period of 40 years, up until the end of the 161st Olympiad [136-133 B. C. ]. And from this time until Augustus the Roman emperor, is 88 years.
After Simon, according to Africanus and Josephus, Jonathan, also called Hyrcanus, was leader of the Jews for 26 years. After him, Aristobulus [was leader] for one year. Aristobulus was the first to wear the royal diadem, acting as king and high priest of the Jewish race; this was 484 years after the Babylonian captivity. After him, Alexander, also called Jannaeus, was king for 25 years. After him, his widow Alexandra, also called Sallina, [was queen] for 9 years. And after her, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus [were kings]. In their reign, Pompeius the Roman general forced the Jews to pay tribute to the Romans. He set up Hyrcanus as their king, but led off Aristobulus as a prisoner to Rome.
In Hyrcanus' reign, in the (? ) 184th Olympiad [44 B. C. ], Julius Caesar became emperor of the Romans, for 4 years and 7 months. And after him, Augustus (Sebastos in Greek) was emperor for 56 years and 6 months. In his reign, Herodes was the first foreigner to be made king of the Jews by the Romans; his family came from Ascalon, and he had no right to the throne. In Herodes' reign, Christ the Son of God was born in Bethlehem of Judaea.
After Augustus, Tiberius became emperor. In his 15th year, the fourth year of the 201st Olympiad [28 A. D. ], our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God, appeared amongst men.
So from Antiochus Epiphanes until the 15th year of Tiberius, is 201 years. And from Alexander of Macedonia until the same year of Tiberius, is 352 years. And from the second year of Dareius [until the same year of Tiberius], is 548 years. [p131] And from the 15th year of Tiberius until the final siege of Jerusalem in the second year of Vespasianus, is 42 years.
From Adam until the second year of Dareius, is 4680 years. And from the second year of Dareius until the 15th year of Tiberius, is 548 years. So the total, from Adam until the 15th year of Tiberius, is 5228 years.
From the 15th year of Tiberius until the 20th anniversary of Constantinus Victor Augustus, is 300 years. So the overall total, according to the Hebrews in the Septuagint version, is (? ) 5518 years. According to the Jews' Hebrew text, it is 1237 years less; and according to the Samaritans' Hebrew text, it is 935 years less.
This is the way in which the numbers of years are calculated, according to the Hebrews.
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Eusebius: Chronicle
- pages 131-189
Most of the original Greek text of the Chronicle has been lost. This translation is based on a Latin translation of the Armenian translation of the Greek original, in the Schoene-Petermann edition.
The references in red are the page numbers from that edition. The Greek versions of the names of the Egyptian kings have been preserved by Syncellus, and the spelling of these names follows the usual rule for transliteration of Greek names.
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[p131] THE EGYPTIANS
How [the history of] the Ethiopians is included in the chronology of the Egyptians, and [the times when] the Ptolemaei ruled over Egypt and Alexandria.
How the Egyptians have kept records of their dates.
After the chronology of the Chaldaeans, the Assyrians and the Hebrews, it it time to move on to the records of the Egyptians.
Diodorus, in the first book of his historical library [ 1. 44 ], writes as follows: "Some of them tell the story that the first rulers in Egypt were gods and heroes, who ruled for slightly less than sixteen thousand years; the last of the gods who ruled there was Horus the son of Isis. Then men became kings of the country, in the time of Myris, and have continued for slightly less than five thousand years, until the 180th Olympiad [60-57 B. C. ], when I visited Egypt, in the reign of Ptolemy, who was called the New Dionysus.
[p133] "For the great majority of that time, the country has been ruled by native kings; but for short periods it was ruled by Ethiopians, by Persians and by Macedonians. There were only four Ethiopian kings, and they did not rule in a single sequence, but at separate times; in total, they ruled for slightly less than 36 years. During the supremacy of the Persians, which was established when Cambyses conquered the [Egyptian] people by force, and which lasted for 135 years, the Egyptians rose in revolt, because they could not endure the harsh government and the impiety [of the Persians] towards the native gods. Then the Macedonians and their descendants became kings, for 276 years. For the whole of the rest of the time, [Egypt] was governed by native rulers, who consisted of 470 kings and 5 queens.
"Records about all of these rulers have been kept by the priests in their sacred books, which have been continuously handed down from one [generation] to another, since the most ancient times. These books tell about the character of each king, their virtue and their bravery, their spirit and their nobility, as well as the achievements of each of them in their reigns. However it is unnecessary, and moreover worthless, for us to write down the deeds of each of them; especially since many of them were judged to be insignificant even in their own times. " That is what Diodorus says.
And now it is right and fitting for us to add to this Manetho's account of the Egyptians, which seems to be a reliable history.
From the Egyptian records of Manetho, who composed in three books commentaries about the gods, demi-gods, spirits, and the mortal kings who ruled over the Egyptians, up until the time of Dareius the king of the Persians.
The first man amongst the Egyptians was Hephaestus, who discovered fire for them; he was the father of Sol [the Sun]. After him came [(? )Agathodaemon; then] Cronus; then Osiris; then Typhon the brother of Osiris; and then Horus the son of Osiris and Isis. These were the first rulers of the Egyptians. [p135] After them, one king succeeded another until the time of Bidis, for a total of 13,900 years - calculated by lunar years, which lasted for 30 days. That is the period which we now call a month, but the men of that time called it a year.
After the gods, a race of demi-gods ruled for 1,255 years. After them, other kings ruled [the country] for 1,817 years. After them, 30 kings from Memphis [ruled] for 1,790 years; and then another ten kings from Thinis ruled for 350 years. And then the shades and demi-gods were kings, for 5,813 years. The total for all of these is 11,000 years - which are lunar years, or months.
The total time, which the Egyptians assign to the gods and demi-gods and spirits is 24,900 lunar years - which is the equivalent of 2,206 solar years. If you compare this figure with the chronology of the Hebrews, you will find almost the same number of years. For Aegyptus is called Mizraim by the Hebrews; and he was born many years after the time of the flood. It was after the time of the flood that Ham the son of Noah became the father of Mizraim, who was also called Aegyptus; and when the nations were scattered around the earth, Mizraim set off for Egypt to live there. According to the Hebrews, there were 2,242 years in all from Adam until the flood.
So let the Egyptians boast of their antiquity, in the ancient times which preceded the flood. They say that they had some gods, demi-gods and shades. If the years which are recorded by the Hebrews are converted to months, the total is over 20,000 lunar years, so that there are about the same number of months as are contained in the years recorded by the Hebrews, when we count the years from the first-born man up until Mizraim. Mizraim was the patriarch of the Egyptians, and the first dynasty of the Egyptians was descended from him.
But if, even so, the number of years is found to be too large, then we must investigate the reason for this. Perhaps it happened that there were many kings in Egypt at the same time. They say that some of them were kings of Thinis, some of Memphis, some of Sais, and some of Ethiopia; and there were yet others in other places. [p137] And as it seems that these dynasties ruled each in its own (? ) nome, it is very unlikely that they ruled in succession to each other. Rather, some of them ruled in one place, and others in another place. Therefore the increase in the number of years can be explained in that way. But we will leave this matter, and proceed to the details of the chronology of the Egyptians.
After the demi-gods and spirits, they reckon that the first dynasty consisted of 8 kings. The first of these kings was Menes, who was an outstanding ruler. Starting from him, we will list the rulers of each generation. The succession of rulers was as follows.
1st Dynasty. Menes and his seven descendants:
Menes of Thinis, whom Herodotus [ 2. 4 ] calls Min, ruled for (? ) 60 years.
- He led his armies beyond the borders of his kingdom, and he was held in high esteem. He was seized by a hippopotamus.
His son Athotis ruled for 27 years.
- He built a palace in the city of Memphis. He was skilled in medicine, and wrote books about anatomy.
His son Cenchenes, 39 years
Venephes, 42 years
- In his reign there was a severe famine. He built the pyramids near Cocome.
Usaphais, 20 years
Niebais, 26 years
Semempses, 18 years
- In his reign there were many prodigies, and a great pestilence.
Ubienthis, 26 years.
In total: 252 years
2nd Dynasty. 9 kings:
Firstly, Bochus, in whose reign a chasm appeared in the ground at Bubastis, and many were killed.
Then Caechōus, in whose reign Apis and Mnevis and the goat of Mendes were honoured as gods.
[p139] Biophis, in whose reign it was decided that women too could reign as monarchs.
After him, there were three other kings, but nothing significant happened in their reigns.
In the reign of the seventh king, there is a legend that the river Nile flowed for eleven days with honey mixed in its water.
Then Sesochris [ruled] for 48 years. He is said to have been 5 cubits and 3 palms tall.
Nothing worthy of mention happened in the reign of the ninth king.
In total: 297 years
3rd Dynasty. 8 kings of Memphis:
Necherochis
- In his reign the Libyans revolted from the Egyptians, but when the moon unexpectedly grew in size, they were moved by fear and surrendered again.
Sesorthus
- He was called Asclepius by the Egyptians because of his skill in medicine. He discovered how to make buildings out of hewn stone, and also gave some attention to writing.
The other six kings achieved nothing worthy of mention.
In total: 197 years
4th Dynasty. 17 kings of Memphis, from another family:
The third king was Suphis
- He built the largest pyramid, which Herodotus [ 2. 124 ] says was built by Cheops. He was disdainful towards the gods, but later he repented and wrote the sacred book, which the Egyptians hold in the highest regard.
Nothing worthy of mention is recorded about the other kings.
In total: 448 years
5th Dynasty. 31 kings of Elephantine:
The first king was Othoēs, who was assassinated by his bodyguards.
The fourth king was Phiops, who became king at the age of six, and reigned until 100 years [old].
[Eusebius does not give a total number of years for this dynasty]
6th Dynasty.
Queen Nitocris, who was the noblest and most beautiful woman of her time, with a fair complexion. She is said to have built the third pyramid.
In total: [they ruled for] 203 years
[p141] 7th Dynasty. 5 kings of Memphis, who ruled for 75 (? ) days.
8th Dynasty. 5 kings of Memphis, who ruled for 100 years.
9th Dynasty. 4 kings of Heracleopolis, who ruled for 100 years.
The first king was Achthoēs, who was the most terrible of all the kings up to his time. He cruelly maltreated the inhabitants throughout Egypt, but later he fell into madness and was killed by a crocodile.
10th Dynasty. 19 kings of Heracleopolis, who ruled for 185 years.
11th Dynasty. 16 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 43 years.
After them, Ammenemes reigned for 16 years.
At this point, Manetho finishes his first book, which contains 192 kings who reigned in total for 2,300 years [and 75 days].
From the second book of Manetho:
12th Dynasty. 7 kings of Diospolis:
Firstly, Sesonchosis the son of Ammenemes, for 46 years
Ammanemes, for 38 years
- He was killed by his own eunuchs.
Sesostris, for 48 years
- He is said to have been 4 cubits, 3 palms and 2 digits tall. He conquered the whole of Asia in nine years, as well as Europe as far as Thrace. Everywhere he erected monuments to show his control over the nations; he depicted men's genitals on the columns for brave nations, and women's genitals for cowardly nations. Therefore the Egyptians gave him the first place of honour after Osiris.
Lamares, for 8 years
- He built the labyrinth in the Arsinoite [nome], as his own tomb.
[p143] His successors ruled for 42 years.
In total: they ruled for 245 years
13th Dynasty. 60 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 453 years.
14th Dynasty. 76 kings of Xois, who ruled for 484 years.
15th Dynasty. [? 17] kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 250 years.
16th Dynasty. 5 kings of Thebes, who ruled for 190 years.
17th Dynasty. Shepherds. Phoenician brothers and foreign kings, who captured Memphis:
Firstly, Saites, for 19 years
- The Saite nome was named after him. They established a city in the Sethroite nome, and from there they advanced and conquered the Egyptians.
Secondly, Bnon, for 40 years
Archles, for 30 years
Apophis, for 14 years
In total: 103 years. Joseph seems to have (? ) lived at the time of these kings.
18th Dynasty. 14 kings of Diospolis:
Amosis, 25 years
Chebron, 13 years
Ammenophis, 21 years
Misphres, 12 years
Misphragmuthosis, 26 years
[p145] Tuthmosis, 9 years
Amenophis, 31 years
- He is the one who is thought to be Memnon, the "singing" statue.
Orus, 38 years
Achencherses, 16 years
- In his reign, Moses led the exodus of the Jews out of Egypt.
Acherres, 8 years
Cherres, 15 years
Armaïs, who was also [called] Danaus, 5 years
- After 5 years he was expelled from Egypt, and fled from his brother Aegyptus to Greece, where he captured Argos and became the king of the Argives.
Rhamesses, who was also called Aegyptus, 68 years
Amenophis, 40 years
In total: 348 years
19th Dynasty. 5 kings of Diospolis:
Sethos, 55 years
Rhampses, 66 years
Amenephthis, (? ) 40 years
Ammenemes, 26 years
Thuōris, 7 years
- Homer [ Od_4'126 ] calls him Polybus, the husband of Alcandra, and in his reign Troy was captured.
In total: 194 years
This is [the end] of the second book of Manetho, which contains (? ) 92 kings who reigned in total for 2,121 years.
From the third book of Manetho:
20th Dynasty. 12 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 172 years.
21st Dynasty. 7 kings of Tanis:
Smendis, 26 years
Psusennes, 41 years
Nephercheres, 4 years
Amenophthis, 9 years
[p147] Osochor, 6 years
Psinaches, 9 years
Psusennes, 35 years
In total : 130 years
22nd Dynasty. 3 kings of Bubastis:
Sesonchosis, 21 years
Osorthon, 15 years
Tacelothis, 13 years
In total : 49 years
23rd Dynasty. 3 kings of Tanis:
Petubastis, 25 years
Osorthon, whom the Egyptians called Heracles, 9 years
Psammūs, 10 years
In total : 44 years
24th Dynasty. Bocchoris of Sais, 44 years. In his reign, a lamb spoke.
25th Dynasty. 3 Ethiopian kings:
Sabacon, who captured Bocchoris and burnt him alive, ruled for 12 years
Sebichos, his son, 12 years
Taracus, 20 years
In total : 44 years
26th Dynasty. 9 kings of Sais:
Ammeres the Ethiopian, (? ) 12 years
Stephinathis, 7 years
Nechepsos, 6 years
Nechao, 8 years
Psammetichus, 44 years
Nechao II, 6 years
- He captured Jerusalem, and took king Jehoahaz back as a prisoner to Egypt.
Psammuthes (Psammetichus) II, 17 years
Vaphres, 25 years
- The remaining Jews fled to him after Jerusalem had been captured by the Assyrians.
Amosis, 42 years
In total : 167 years
27th Dynasty. 8 Persian kings:
[p149] Cambyses, in the 5th year of his reign, ruled the Egyptians for 3 years
the magi, 7 months
Dareius, 36 years
Xerxes, the son of Dareius, 21 years
Artaxerxes, 40 years
Xerxes II, 2 months
Sogdianus, 7 months
Dareius, the son of Xerxes, 19 years
In total : 120 years and 4 months
28th Dynasty. Amyrtaeus of Sais, 6 years.
29th Dynasty. 4 kings of Mendes:
Nepheretes, 6 years
Achoris, 13 years
Psammuthes, 1 year
Muthes, 1 year
Nepherites, 4 months
In total : 21 years and 4 months
30th Dynasty. 3 kings of Sebennytus:
Nectanebis, 10 years
Teōs, 2 years
Nectanebus, 8 years
In total : 20 years
31st Dynasty. 3 Persian kings:
Ochus, in the 20th year of his reign, ruled over Egypt for 6 years
Arses, the son of Ochus, 4 years
Dareius, who was killed by Alexander the Macedonian, 6 years
All of the above is contained in the third book of Manetho.
What follows will be taken from Greek writers, because the kingdom of the Egyptians came to an end at this point. But as Flavius Josephus has produced evidence from the books of Manetho, in his history of the ancestors of the Hebrews, I think that it is right to record his words, which appear in the first [book of] his Antiquity of the Jews, as follows.
[p151] Josephus, [quoting] from the books of Manetho
I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians; not indeed of those that have written in the Egyptian language, which it is impossible for me to do. But Manetho, who was by birth an Egyptian, had some knowledge of Greek learning, as is very evident; for he wrote the history of his own country in the Greek language, by translating it, as he says himself, out of their sacred records; he also finds great fault with Herodotus for his ignorance and inaccuracy about Egyptian history. Now this Manetho, in the second book of his Egyptian History, writes concerning us in the following manner. I will set down his very words, as if I were to bring the very man himself into a court as a witness: "Tutimaeus. In his reign it happened, I know not why, that God was angry with us, and there came, unexpectedly, men of ignoble birth from the east, and they were bold enough to make an expedition into our country, and easily subdued it by force, because we did not even hazard a battle with them. So when they had overpowered our rulers, they afterwards burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and treated all the inhabitants in the most barbarous manner. Some of them they slew, and led their children and their wives into slavery. At length they made one of themselves king, whose name was Salitis; he also lived at Memphis, and he made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons in places that were the most suitable for them. He chiefly aimed to secure the eastern parts, because he foresaw that the Assyrians, who were the most powerful people of that time, would want to seize his kingdom, and invade it. He found in the Sethroite nome a city very suitable for this purpose, on the east side of the Bubastic channel of the river, which for theological reasons was called Avaris. He rebuilt it, and made it very strong by the walls he built around it, and put in a very large garrison of two hundred and forty thousand armed men, to guard it. [p153] Salitis came there in summer time, partly to gather his corn, and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise his armed men, and thereby to intimidate foreigners. After this man had reigned nineteen years, another, whose name was Bnon, reigned for forty-four years; after him reigned another, called Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months; after him Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then Jannas fifty years and one month; after all these, Assis reigned for forty-nine years and two months. And these six were the first rulers among them, who were all along making war with the Egyptians, and wanted gradually to eradicate them. This whole nation was styled Hyksos, that is, 'shepherd-kings': for the first syllable hyk, according to the sacred dialect, denotes 'a king', and sos is 'a shepherd', according to the ordinary dialect; and of these is compounded Hyksos: but some say that these people were Arabians. " Now in another copy it is said that this word does not denote 'kings', but, on the contrary, denotes that the shepherds were 'captives'. For hyk, as well as hak with an aspirate, in the Egyptian language expressly denotes 'captives'; and this to me seems the more probable opinion, and more in accordance with ancient history.
"These people, whom we have before named kings, and called shepherds also, and their descendants," as he says, "kept control of Egypt for five hundred and eleven years. " After this, he says, "The kings of Thebais and the other parts of Egypt rebelled against the shepherds, and a terrible and long war was fought between them. A king, whose name was Misphragmuthosis, subdued the shepherds, and after driving them out of the other parts of Egypt, he shut them up in a place [p155] that contained ten thousand arourai; this place was named Avaris. " Manetho adds, "The shepherds built a large and strong wall round all this place, in order to keep all their possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but Thummosis the son of Misphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them by force and by siege, surrounding them with an army of four hundred and eighty thousand men. But, despairing of taking the place by siege, he came to an agreement with them, that they should leave Egypt, and go, without suffering any harm, wherever they chose; and, after this agreement was made, they went away with all their families and possessions, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty thousand, and travelled out of Egypt, through the wilderness, towards Syria. But as they were in fear of the Assyrians, who were then the rulers of Asia, they built a city in that country which is now called Judaea; the city was large enough to contain this great number of men, and they called it Jerusalem. " Now Manetho, in another book of his, says that this nation, thus called 'shepherds', were also called 'captives', in the sacred books of his country. And this account of his is true; for feeding of sheep was the employment of our forefathers in the most ancient ages, and as they led such a wandering life in feeding sheep, they were called 'shepherds'. Nor was it without reason that they were called 'captives' by the Egyptians, since one of our ancestors, Joseph, told the king of Egypt that he was a captive, and afterwards brought his brothers into Egypt with the king's permission. But as for these matters, I shall give a more detailed account of them elsewhere.
But now I shall produce the Egyptians as witnesses to the antiquity of our nation. I shall therefore bring in Manetho again, and what he writes about the sequence of dates. He says: "When this people or shepherds left Egypt and went to Jerusalem, Tethmosis the king of Egypt, who drove them out, reigned for another twenty-five years and four months, and then he died; [p157] after him his son Chebron took the kingdom for thirteen years; after whom came Amenophis, for twenty years and seven months; then came his sister Amesses, for twenty-one years and nine months; then came her son Mephres, for twelve years and nine months; after him was Mephramuthosis, for twenty-five years and ten months; after him was Thmosis, for nine years and eight months; after him came Amenophis, for thirty years and ten months; after him came Orus, for thirty-six years and five months; then came his daughter Acenchres, for twelve years and one month; then was her brother Rathotis, for nine years; then came his son Acencheres, for twelve years and five months; then came another Acencheres, for twelve years and three months; after him Armais, for four years and one month; after him was Ramesses, for one year and four months; after him came Armesses Miamūn, for sixty-six years and two months; after him Amenophis, for nineteen years and six months; after him came Sethosis, also called Ramesses, who had an army of cavalry, and a strong navy. This king appointed his brother, Armais, to be his deputy over Egypt. He also gave him all the other authority of a king, except that he instructed him, that he should not wear the diadem, nor do any harm to the queen, the mother of his children, and that he should not meddle with the other concubines of the king. Then he made an expedition against Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and besides against the Assyrians and the Medes. He subdued them all, some by his arms, some without fighting, and some by the terror of his great army; and being puffed up by the great successes he had had, he went on still more boldly, and overthrew the cities and countries that lay in the east. But after some considerable time, Armais, who was left in Egypt, recklessly did all those very things, which his brother had forbidden him to do. He used violence against the queen, and continued to make use of the rest of the concubines, without sparing any of them. At the persuasion of his friends he put on the diadem, and set up in opposition to his brother. But then the chief of the priests in Egypt wrote letters to Sethosis, and informed him of all that had happened, and how his brother had set up in opposition to him. Sethosis therefore returned back to Pelusium immediately, and recovered his kingdom again. " The country was called Egypt from his name; for Manetho says, that Sethosis was himself called Aegyptus, [p159] and his brother Armais was called Danaus.
This is Manetho's account. And it is clear from the number of years allocated by him to this interval, if they are all added together, that these shepherds, as they are here called, were no other than our forefathers, who were delivered out of Egypt, and came from there to inhabit this country, three hundred and ninety-three years before Danaus came to Argos; although the Argives look upon Danaus as their most ancient king. Manetho, therefore, provides evidence from the Egyptians records for two points which are of the greatest consequence to our purpose.
