Dating Destruction
There’s an enormous amount of chronological information in the Bible, but it is rare for Scripture to date an event by day, month, and year together.
It happens at the completion of major construction projects, when worlds are completed - the world of the tabernacle (Exodus 40:17), the temple (2 Chronicles 3:2), and the second temple (Ezra 6:15). In keeping with this, prophetic oracles concerning construction projects are dated similarly (cf. Ezekiel 1:1; 40:1; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:7).
On the other hand, diluvian destructions are also dated by day, month and year - the flood itself (Genesis 7:11), the death of Aaron (Numbers 33:38), the flood of Babylonians and swept over Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1, 8) as well as Ezekiel vision of that destruction (8:1).
The Passover is the model, dated not only by day, month, year but by hour.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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