Martin Anstey
Martin Anstey was a Bible Chronologer significant for his contribution to Biblical Literalism for successfully resolving the apparent time gaps contained within the Bible's internal chronology. In 1913 Anstey's thesis, 'The Romance of Bible Chronology' was published, explaining how subtle pieces of information within the Bible text resolve these apparent chronological gaps.[1]
The Romance of Bible Chronology
Anstey identified five apparent chronological gaps within the Bible text, that had been attempted to be resolved with varying degrees of success by previous Bible chronologers.
The five apparent chronological gaps that Anstey identified were:
1. The Noah-Shem connection, which determines the exact age of Noah at the birth of Shem, (which Anstey calculated to be 502 years).
2. The Terah-Abraham connection, which determines the exact age of Terah at the birth of Abraham, (which Anstey calculated to be 130 years).
3. The Joseph-Moses connection, which determines the exact number of years which elapsed between the death of Joseph, with which the Chronology of the book of Genesis ends (Gen. 50:26), and the birth of Moses, with which the Chronology of the book of Exodus begins (Exodus 7:7), (which Anstey calculated to be 64 years).
4. The Joshua-Judges connection, which determines the number of years that elapsed during the administration of Joshua and the Elders that survived him, between the division of the land at the end of the Seven Years' War of Conquest, with which the Chronology of the Book of Joshua ends (Joshua 14:7,10 with Numbers 10:11,12; 13:17,20), and the oppression of Cushan-Rishathaim of Mesopotamia, with which the Chronology of the Book of Judges begins (Judges 3:8), (which Anstey calculated to be 13 years).
5. The Eli-Saul connection, which determines the number of years that elapsed between the death of Eli and the beginning of the reign of Saul, (which Anstey calculated to be 20 years). This is given in the summary of I Samuel 7:2.
Contribution to Biblical Literalism
Having resolved the apparent chronological gaps in the Bible text, Anstey was able to argue that the Bible provided a coherent yet select historical record of human civilization. Anstey's thesis also critiqued other chronological records for their chronological errors compared to the Bible text. While archaeological discoveries during the twentieth and twenty-first century have in some instances dated the arguments and data presented in Anstey's thesis, his original chronological calculations and observations remain accurate.