Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Nir Cohen wrote:  “1.  the 13 years do not refer to the egyptian calendar 
or any other calendar.  according to the text, it refers to the number of 
years the kings cited were vassals. so, unless the initial year is dated, it 
cannot be used to


dating the final, 13th, year. and vice versa.  similarly, the fine 
grammatical point concerning the 13th year seems irrelevant.  …Twelve years 
they 
served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.”
 
(a)  The only Year number that is expressly stated as such is the middle 
number:  Year 13.  Based on Year 13, we can understand that the “four kings 
against five” was fought in Year 14, and that Abram is portrayed as first 
settling at the Patriarchs’ Hebron in Year 12.  If we are given  o-n-e  Year 
number, that’s enough to date everything else.
 
(b)  The “fine grammatical point” concerning the second half of Genesis 
14: 4 is of critical importance, because it allows us to date the Patriarchal 
narratives.  The phraseology at Genesis 14: 4 is unique, as the preposition 
B/bet/“in” does not appear there.  What the text literally says is what, in 
my opinion, it in fact means:  “…and Year 13 they rebelled”.
 
(c)  You repeat the standard translation, which uses the English word “in”
.  But that word is not in the Hebrew text.  That’s my whole point.  Nowhere 
in the Bible do you see a reference to “in the 13th year” or “in the 14th 
year” or “And in the 14th year” without the preposition B/bet/“in” being 
present.  So rather than being an aberrational way of saying “and in the 13th 
year”, as heretofore viewed, I see this as intentionally saying what is 
literally set forth in the received Hebrew text:  “…and Year 13 they 
rebelled”.
 
*       *       *
 
The “fine grammatical point” regarding Year 13 in the second half of 
Genesis 14: 4 is the whole point, as to Hebrew grammar possibly being able to 
solve the longstanding Biblical mystery of the dating of the Patriarchal Age. 
 
If the second half of Genesis 14: 4 says “Year 13”, as I believe it clearly 
does, literally, and if it means what it literally says, which I believe it 
does, then we can date the Patriarchal narratives!
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois