Abraham, Babylon, and the Line of Kings
Two genealogies. No forced equations.
A position-by-position reading of Genesis 5 and 11 beside the surviving Mesopotamian antediluvian witnesses. Ordinal proximity is shown; identity is not presumed.
10 Genesis 5 positions9–10 Genesis 11 positions12 witness recordsResearch snapshot · 28 Sep 2026
Alignment is not equivalence.Names, cities, numbers, functions, and flood placement remain attached to their own textual traditions.
Alignment deskWitness registerGenesis numbersFlood topologyKings & sagesOpen questionsSources
Alignment desk
Choose a Genesis chapter, textual tradition, and external witness. Every row compares only the same ordinal position.
GENESIS
Chapter 5Chapter 11
TEXT
MTLXXSP
ANTEDILUVIAN WITNESSWB 444 · 8 kingsETCSL composite · same figures as WB 444WB 62 · 10 kingsUCBC 9-1819 · 7 or 8 kings, second-handBerossus via Polyhistor · 10 kingsNi 3195 · partial Nippur witnessCT 46:5 · 9 kings, details openUruk “W” · 7 kings, details openPeterson 2008 fragment · 2 unnamed kingsN 3514 · analogous, details openK 8532+ · late bilingual fragmentsUruk Kings & Sages · 7 pairs
WB 444 · 8 kings. Full 8-position sequence; ETCSL composite numbers follow this manuscript. Deity is shown only where this witness explicitly supplies one; “not stated” is not a claim of absence.
1
ShemMT
BEGETTING AGE
100
REMAINING
500
LIFESPAN
600
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
AlulimETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
28,800
CITY
Eridug
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
1 of 8
2
ArphaxadMT
BEGETTING AGE
35
REMAINING
403
LIFESPAN
438
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
AlalĝarETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
36,000
CITY
Eridug
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
2 of 8
3
ShelahMT
BEGETTING AGE
30
REMAINING
403
LIFESPAN
433
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
En-men-lu-anaETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
43,200
CITY
Bad-tibira
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
3 of 8
4
EberMT
BEGETTING AGE
34
REMAINING
430
LIFESPAN
464
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
En-men-gal-anaETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
28,800
CITY
Bad-tibira
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
4 of 8
5
PelegMT
BEGETTING AGE
30
REMAINING
209
LIFESPAN
239
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
DumuzidETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
36,000
CITY
Bad-tibira
FUNCTION
shepherd
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
5 of 8
6
ReuMT
BEGETTING AGE
32
REMAINING
207
LIFESPAN
239
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
En-sipad-zid-anaETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
28,800
CITY
Larag
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
6 of 8
7
SerugMT
BEGETTING AGE
30
REMAINING
200
LIFESPAN
230
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
En-men-dur-anaETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
21,000
CITY
Zimbir / Sippar
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
7 of 8
8
NahorMT
BEGETTING AGE
29
REMAINING
119
LIFESPAN
148
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
Ubara-TutuETCSL T.2.1.1
REIGN
18,600
CITY
Šuruppag
FUNCTION
king
DEITY
not stated
IDENTITY CLAIM
none
ORDINAL
8 of 8
9
TerahMT
BEGETTING AGE
70
REMAINING
135
LIFESPAN
205
FUNCTION
genealogical patriarch
CITY
not stated
DEITY
God in narrative; no per-position deity list
No position in this witness
The selected antediluvian sequence ends before this ordinal.
9Genesis positions shown
292 / 352Flood → Abram, by stated conventions
8Recoverable / attested witness positions
241,200 years · 8 kings · 5 citiesWitness summary
Witness register
“Open” means the research located the witness but not enough of its primary edition to recover every individual position.
FULL SEQUENCE
WB 444 · Weld-Blundell Prism
Old Babylonian · Larsa association · c. 1800 BCE
Eight kings in five cities. The ETCSL composite takes its antediluvian numbers from this manuscript.
Attested total
241,200 years
Flood line
“Then the flood swept over.”
Afterward
Kingship descends again; it is in Kish.
FULL SEQUENCE
WB 62 · Larsa recension
Old Babylonian · Ashmolean AN1923.62
Ten kings in six cities, ending with Ziudsuddu. It preserves only the antediluvian period.
Attested total
456,000 years = 126⅔ sars
Text issue
King 4 is printed 20,800 in one PDF; 21,600 is required by the total and follow-up sequence.
Ending
“[Ten kings] before the Flood” summary; no flood line or Kish resumption preserved.
SECOND-HAND / OPEN
UCBC 9-1819 · Tutub
Published by Finkelstein, JCS 17 (1963)
Seven or eight kings, 186,000+ years. Individual values here come through Hasel’s 1978 table, not direct collation.
City sequence
Eridu → Bad-tibira → Sippar → Shuruppak; Larak absent.
Concern
Several names and the 6,000 / 43,200 figures look awkward and remain unverified.
TRANSMITTED SEQUENCE
Berossus via Polyhistor
Eusebius’ Armenian Chronicon and Syncellus
Ten kings reaching the Deluge, ending with Xisuthros. The surviving list is mediated by later transmitters.
Attested total
120 sars = 432,000 years
Cities
Babylon → Pantibiblon → Larancha
Variant strand
Abydenus has variant name forms and a compressed route to Sisithrus.
PARTIAL
Ni 3195 · Nippur
Antediluvian material survives only in part
The recovered city sequence is “[Eridu], Larak, [Bad-Tibira], rest lost.” Individual names and reigns were not recovered in this research.
Context
The main Nippur SKL recension begins after the Flood and therefore supplies no antediluvian sequence.
COUNT ONLY
CT 46:5 · Nineveh
Bilingual Sumerian–Akkadian fragment
Nine antediluvian kings are attested, but the individual sequence was not recovered.
City sequence
[Eridu?] → Bad-Tibira → Sippar → Larak → Shuruppak
COUNT ONLY
“W” · Uruk
van Dijk, UVB 18 (1962)
Seven kings are reported. Their individual names, cities, and reigns were not recovered in this research.
ANALOGOUS FRAGMENT
Peterson 2008 · Nippur fragment
Not an SKL manuscript
Two unnamed kings of Shuruppak reign 36,000 and 43,200 years; dynasty subtotal 79,200. The overall antediluvian total is 360,000.
ANALOGOUS / OPEN
N 3514 · Nippur
Antediluvian dynasties in an SKL-like manner
The research confirmed the fragment’s analogous form but did not recover individual positions or numbers.
LATE FRAGMENTS
K 8532+ and duplicates
Bilingual Dynastic Chronicle witnesses
They attest variation in the antediluvian tradition; individual details were not recovered.
SEVEN PAIRS
W 20030,7 · Uruk Kings & Sages
Seleucid-era Uruk · conventionally 165/164 BCE
Seven antediluvian kings are paired with seven apkallu, followed by a flood notice and the post-flood Enmerkar–Nungalpirigal pair.
DUPLICATE NUMBERS
ETCSL composite t.2.1.1
Modern scholarly composite
Reported separately for reference, but not an independent numerical recension: its antediluvian figures follow WB 444. Fi, Go, P6, and WB 62 were not used in the composite.
Genesis numbers
The figures are textual data, not calibrated dates. Genesis 5 totals run Adam-to-Flood; Genesis 11 totals depend on how Abram’s birth is calculated.
Masoretic Text
1,656
Adam to Flood
292 / 352
Flood to Abram, with Terah at 70 / 130
Septuagint
2,242 / 2,262
Adam to Flood, Methuselah 167 / 187
942–1,132
Flood to Abram, depending on Kainan and Terah convention
Samaritan Pentateuch
1,307
Adam to Flood
942 / 1,002
Flood to Abram, with Terah at 70 / 130
Genesis 11 Kainan
MT · absent
LXX · present in most Greek mss
SP · absent
Jared · Gen 5
MT · 162 / 800 / 962
LXX · 162 / 800 / 962
SP · 62 / 785 / 847
Methuselah · Gen 5
MT · 187 / 782 / 969
LXX · 167 / 802 / 969; also 187 / 782 / 969
SP · 67 / 653 / 720
Lamech · Gen 5
MT · 182 / 595 / 777
LXX · 188 / 565 / 753; 182 in some mss
SP · 53 / 600 / 653
Terah · Gen 11
MT · 70 / 135 / 205
LXX · 70 / 135 / 205
SP · 70 / 75 / 145
Four flood topologies
The decisive comparison is not just who comes before the flood, but what the flood does to each sequence.
Sumerian King List
PLACEMENT
After the last antediluvian king or kings.
CAUSE
Not stated.
SURVIVORS
None named in the list.
CONTINUITY
Kingship descends from heaven again and is in Kish.
antediluvian kingship→ flood →Kish kingship
Berossus
PLACEMENT
In the reign of the tenth king, Xisuthros / Sisithrus.
CAUSE
Destruction of mankind decreed; Cronus gives warning.
SURVIVORS
Xisuthros, family, friends, animals.
CONTINUITY
Survivors return to Babylon and recover the buried Sippar writings.
warning→ vessel →three bird releases→writings recovered
Genesis
PLACEMENT
After Noah’s place in Genesis 5; Noah is 600 when it comes.
CAUSE
Divine judgment on human wickedness and violence.
SURVIVORS
Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives, and the animals.
CONTINUITY
Covenant; descent through Shem, Ham, and Japheth; Table of Nations.
judgment→ ark →covenant→nations
Eridu Genesis
PLACEMENT
After Ziusudra, king of Shuruppak.
CAUSE
Divine-council decree; motive lost in a lacuna.
SURVIVORS
Ziusudra, warned by Enki speaking to a wall.
CONTINUITY
After sacrifice to Utu, An and Enlil grant eternal life; Ziusudra is settled in Dilmun.
council decree→ seven-day storm →sacrifice→Dilmun
Seven kings, seven sages
The Uruk List of Kings and Sages pairs each antediluvian king with an apkallu. This is a transmitted pairing, not a deity assignment and not a Genesis equivalence. The first restoration is interpretive.
After the flood notice, the first post-flood pair is Enmerkar with Nungalpirigal.
Ayalu
Adapa · restored; [Uan] in some treatments
Alalgar
Uanduga
Ameluana
Enmeduga
Amegalana
Enmegalama
Enmeusumgalana
Enmebuluga
Dumuzi, the shepherd
Anenlilda
Enmeduranki
Utuabzu
Open questions stay open
The alignment marks gaps rather than silently normalizing them.
UCBC 9-1819Its individual readings are second-hand through Hasel 1978; Finkelstein’s edition was unavailable. Several entries need direct collation.
WB 62, king 421,600 fits Langdon’s follow-up sequence and the 456,000 total; one JRAS rendering has 20,800.
Berossus transmittersExact separation of Greek and Armenian readings requires a modern critical edition. Abydenus may preserve only a compressed account.
Greek GenesisMethuselah 167/187, Lamech 188/182, and several remaining-year figures vary among manuscripts.
Fragmentary recensionsNi 3195, CT 46:5, the Uruk “W” tablet, N 3514, and K 8532+ lack recoverable individual detail in the available research.
Eridu GenesisThe topology follows standard translations but was not rechecked here against a primary scholarly edition.
Source trail
Links reproduce the research record exactly. The report favored attested values and retained its cautions.
01
ETCSL t.2.1.1 · SKL composite, WB 444 sequence, flood line and Kish resumption.
02
Langdon 1923, “The Chaldean Kings before the Flood” · WB 62 edition.
03
Hasel 1978 · manuscript counts, city sequences, UCBC table, comparative totals.
04
Peterson 2008 · Nippur fragment and analogous witnesses.
05
Smith 2018, Table 2 · MT/LXX/SP Genesis 5 and 11 figures.
06
LXX–MT comparison table · alternate Greek readings.
07
G. Smith, Chaldean Account, ch. 3 · Berossus excerpts through Cory.
08
Lenzi 2008 · Uruk List of Kings and Sages.
09
OECT II bibliographic record · Weld-Blundell publication context.
Reading rule: same row means same ordinal only. It does not claim shared identity, derivation, chronology, or historical synchronism.
