Usher, Ellen White and Darwin on the Age of the Earth

by koot van wyk Seoul South Korea 17 February 2009

Bishop Usher calculated the year and day of the start of Creation as on the 23rd of October 4004 BCE. Ellen White made a comment in the year 1864 that the earth is about 6000 years old. What we will see is that Charles Darwin's Origin of Species 1859 was still red hot from the printer when Ellen White made her strongest statement against its claims five years later.

With the assistance of an extract from a book online providing the date of Creation by various scholars, it is possible to indicate where Ellen White fit in to these available scenarios in her own time.

"Chapter 1: The Problems of Historical Chronology" The article dealt with problems with Medieval clerical chronographers.

Van Wyk's Date for the Creation

The fourth year of Solomon (1 Kings 6:1, 4) was in 970 BCE, the Exodus in 1450 BCE, the 430 year enslavement period of Israel in Egypt was from 1880 BCE, the Flood was in 2523 BCE and adding to that the 1656 years to Creation = 4179 years. Van Wyk's source for calculation is the consonantal text of the Masoretic Tradition. The 970 BCE date is an involved discussion on other extra-biblical sources as well.

Three sources are normally used to calculate this 4th year of Solomon

a. Timaeus words in Dionysius of Halicarnassus Antiquities of Rome 1,74 connected to Josephus Contra Apionem i, 117-126 which would make the fourth year of Solomon to coincide with the 12th year of Hiram, thus 957 BCE.

b. Servius Ad Aeneam 1,12 where it is stated that the founding of Carthage was 60 years before the founding of Rome. With 753 BCE as the founding date for Rome scholars add 60 years to come to 813 BCE for the founding of Carthage, 968 BCE for the ascension of Hiram and 956 BCE as the 12th year of Hiram or 4th year of Solomon.

c. Justinus Epitome Pompei Trogi 18,6,9 the founding of Carthage was 72 years before the founding of Rome. Since Rome was founded in 753 BCE scholars added 72 years to arrive at 825 BCE, 980 BCE as the date for the ascension of Hiram and 968/967 BCE as the date for the building of the Temple in the fourth year of Solomon. This is the position of J. Liver, "The Chronology of Tyre at the Beginning of the First Millennium B.C." IEJ 3 (1953): 113-120; E. R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1965): 53-54 and F. M. Cross, "An Interpretation of the Nora Stone," BASOR 208 (1972): 17. E. Merrill gave the parameters for the ascension of Hiram between 980-977 BCE (E. Merrill, "The 'Ascension Year' and Davidic Chronology," JANES 19 [1989]: 101-112).

d. Van Wyk arrives at 970 BCE on the following basis:

1. The date 825 BCE for the founding of Carthage is well established also with sources from Shalmanezer III's conquest (see J. Liver 1953: 119; and F. Safar, "A further Text of Shalmanezer III," Sumer 7 [1951]: 11-12, Col. IV, 10-12).

2. Josephus said in Contra Apionem i, 117-126 that between the founding of Carthage and the ascension of Hiram are 155 years and 8 months. Thus, 825 + 155 and 8 months = 981 BCE.

3. Josephus Ant. VIII,62 (= eleven years) and Josephus Contra Apionem I, 126 (= twelve years) would bring the 11 years to 981 - 11 = 970 BCE (inclusive 12 years if Julian conversion has to be taken into account).

Medieval Clerical Dates for Creation

Due to variations in the manuscripts and discussions and other factors dates of clerical scholars will vary from document to document, sometimes due to variants in the manuscripts. It all depends on the sources they are using.

Let us quote the main examples:

5969 BCE – the Antiochian dating according to Theophilus, see other version below

5508 BCE – the Byzantine dating, also known as "The Constantinople version"

5493 BCE – Alexandrian, the Annian era, also 5472 BCE or 5624 BCE

4004 BCE – according to Usher, a Hebraic dating

5872 BCE – the so-called "dating of the seventy interpreters" LXX

4700 BCE – Samaritan Pentateuch

3761 BCE – Judaism

3491 BCE – according to Hieronymus

5199 BCE – according to Eusebius of Caesarea

5500 BCE – according to Hippolytus and Sextus Julius Africanus

5515 BCE, also 5507 BCE – according to Theophilus

5551 BCE – according to Augustine

4179 BCE - according to Van Wyk

If Ellen White was following:

a) Bishop Usher's reckoning in Spiritual Gifts Volume III saying that the earth is about 6000 years old, then it would be 4004 + 1864 = 5868 years.

b) the Septuagint reckoning she would have had 5872 + 1864 = 7736 years.

c) the reckoning of Judaism it would be 3761 + 1864 = 5625 years.

d) the Samaritan Pentateuch it would be 4700 + 1864 = 6564 years.

Ellen White responding to Darwin and his followers in 1864

Ellen G. White Estate

Lift Him Up (1988), page 52, paragraph 6

Chapter Title: Lift Him Up as the Creator

"Infidel geologists claim that the world is very much older than the Bible record makes it. They reject the Bible record, because of those things which are to them evidences from the earth itself, that the world has existed tens of thousands of years. And many who profess to believe the Bible record are at a loss to account for wonderful things which are found in the earth, with the view that Creation week was only seven literal days, and the world is now only about 6000 years old. . . ."

"Without Bible history, geology can prove nothing. Relics found in the earth do give evidence of a state of things differing in many respects from the present. But the time of their existence, and how long a period these things have been in the earth, are only to be understood by Bible history. . . . When men leave the Word of God in regard to the history of Creation, and seek to account for God's creative works upon natural principles, they are upon a boundless ocean of uncertainty. Just how God accomplished the work of Creation in six literal days He has never revealed to mortals. His creative works are just as incomprehensible as His existence (Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, pp. 90-93).

Spiritual Gifts volumes III and IV were brought together in 1864. Volume III is the Old Testament narrative from Genesis 1 to Exodus 20.

According to these statements of Ellen White in 1864 then the calculation comparing Van Wyk's chronology would be:

4179 + 1864 = 6043 years.

Conclusion

It appears that Ellen White did not follow the famous Usher in this statement of hers made five years after Darwin wrote his famous book Origin of Species. She is remarkably close to the calculation presented in the consonantal text of the Masoretic tradition with updated modern scientific facts from extra-biblical sources.

Her "about 6000 years" need not be edited.

End item

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