There are two difficulties in this calculation of the years of the world. The one comes from the story of Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles, Cap. 7, 4, to whom Lucas puts this word into the mouth, that Abraham was brought from Haran to the land of Canaan after the death of his father Tharah. If this is true, it follows that Abraham was born in the 130th year of his father Tharah. For Abraham was 75 years old when he went out of Haran, that is, after the death of his father (as Stephen says), but Tharah lived 205 years. So it is clear that Abraham was born in the 130th year of his father Tharah.
On the other hand it is written in Gen. 11, 26 that Tharah was seventy years old when he begat Abraham, Nahor and Haran. But it would be intolerable and a great impertinence to say that Moses writes that Abraham was 60 years old before he was born. For if he was born in the 130th year of his father (as the narrative of Stephen reads), and yet (as Moses says) was born in his 70th year, it follows that he was born 60 years before he was born. That would mean (as I have said) to take out too much.
Which of both opinions you want to follow, you will be free for my sake, but it will be difficult to improve Moses. I hold it with Moses, namely that Abraham was really born in the 70th year of his father, then went away from Haran 60 years before the death of his father. Thus the 60 years do not fall away from the number of the years of the world. Further I believe that Tharah begat his firstborn son Haran approximately in the thirtieth year of his age. Because you see that so all other fathers, Peleg,
Eber, Salah etc., about the thirtieth year children have begotten, namely since they hurried to fill again the world empty after the sin flood. Therefore it is to be believed that also Tharah after her example and use around the thirtieth year had children, namely the firstborn son Haran about in the thirtieth, afterwards the Nahor about in the fortieth, finally the Abraham in the seventieth, and perhaps from another, namely a younger woman. For he himself calls Sarah his sister, the daughter of his father, not of his mother, or more correctly a niece, who descended from his brother Haran. But Abraham [Gen. 11, 26.] is called first, although he is the youngest, because he was actually born in the seventieth year [of Tharah]. At the same time Moses gives a reminder: since he writes that the three sons of Tharah were born in the same year, we are to think that the other two were born at another time, which he again mentions as born here, since he says that Abraham was born. Thus the sons of Noah are listed above as born in the same year, while only the oldest son Japheth was born in this year of Noah, as shown above.
Regarding the story of Stephen, it can be said that it was not his own statement, but a story taken from the mouths of the people; such a story tends to be confused and obscure. Then the evangelists tend rather to indicate the passages of Scripture than to cite them, and are content to have briefly referred to them and to the sources themselves. For see Matthew in the first chapter, how the genealogical register does not agree with the histories. At the same time, it cannot be denied that the
that this very passage, Apost. 7, has been corrupted in more than one way by some wise men. Yours: This is an obvious error, that he says that the Lord appeared to him in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran, and that he left Chaldea afterwards. Mesopotamia is put for Chaldea, unless you let Chaldea be located in Mesopotamia. Otherwise, he had long since moved from Chaldea. See the Augustine in the first book "of the questions about the first book of Moses", and de civitate Dei, lib. 16., cap. 15.
The other difficulty is in the years of Jehoram king of Judah and his son Ahaziah.
Here all calculators leave out 20 years, which becomes clear from this: Of Ahaziah it is written in 2 Chron. 22, 2. that he was 42 years old. Again 2 Kings 8, 26 that he was 22 years old. Therefore, if the book of Chronicles tells the truth, Ahaziah will be 2 years older than his father Joram. This becomes clear: Joram is 32 years old when he becomes king and reigns 8 years; that makes a total of 40 years.
By this opinion (if someone wanted to follow it) one would be forced to say that Ahazja was a son of Joram according to the law (legal). But it is against this that his mother Athaliah, the wife of Joram, is called the mother of Ahaziah. But in the scripture not the mothers of children are called "mothers" according to the law, but only the mothers of natural children.
I follow therefore the opinion of Jerome and Lyra, namely that Joram reigned 28 years. However, twenty years are in the history with silence transitions because of his wickedness, in which he ruled ungodly and tyrannically, but these years are indicated in the age of his son Ahazja, so that no error arose in the history. Thus Joram, the father, becomes 18 or 17 years older than his youngest son Ahaziah.
If this opinion holds, which I like to follow, it will happen that the last year of the last week is just the fourth thousandth year of the world, as you see in the Chronikon.