“That's Backwards”

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

     I have attempted to look this up online, but I cannot find the answer.  Why do the years in the Bible go from high to low rather than from low to high? Example:  740 BC - 681 BC rather than 681 BC - 740 BC.  Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Can’t Count On It

Dear Can’t Count On It,

BC time is calculated by counting up because it is counting up towards the time when Christ walked the earth.  BC stands for “before Christ”, and using this dating method, time is counted backwards from the approximate birth of Christ.  For example, 650 BC would mean “650 years before Jesus”.  Consequently, the numbers get smaller as you get closer to Jesus’ birth.

Share