Researchers think Hazael conquered Gath around 830 B.C. But if you could go back in time and ask the king what year he seized the city, he wouldn’t use that date.

This year is 2023. You know the day and month. But did you know that people haven’t aways kept track of dates this way? People have used all kinds of calendars throughout history and even today!

People in Bible times usually described years based on who was in charge. Read 1 Kings 15:1 and Isaiah 6:1 for examples. So maybe Hazael would say, “I conquered Gath in the 12th year of my reign.”

In China, January 22 starts the Year of the Rabbit. The Jewish calendar tracks religious holidays. Hundreds of years ago, Aztecs carved calendars on round stones.

Much of the world uses the Gregorian calendar today, including the United States.

The Gregorian calendar counts years around a very important date. The years “Before Christ” (B.C.) count up to Jesus’ birth. So 100 B.C. means 100 years before Christ’s birth. The years after His birth are labeled as “Anno Domini” (A.D.). That means “in the year of the Lord.” So A.D. 100 means 100 years after Christ’s birth. (But the monk who came up with that system probably didn’t get Jesus’ birth year exactly right. Most scholars think Jesus was born between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C.)

Some people use “Common Era” (C.E.) instead of A.D. and “Before the Common Era” (B.C.E.) instead of B.C. That’s because they don’t want to refer to Jesus. But even so, B.C.E. and C.E. still count the years before and after Jesus’ birth.