Valerius Josephus Coucke (2 February 1888 – 20 December 1951 (aged 63) ) was a Belgian scholar and priest who was professor at the Major Seminary, Bruges in the 1920s. His importance to modern scholarship comes from his writings in the field of Old Testament chronology. His study of the methods of the authors of the books of Kings and Chronicles led him to conclusions that were later discovered, independently, by Edwin R. Thiele. His approach was distinctive for the use of citations in classical authors to obtain fixed dates in biblical history, most notably the date for the beginning of construction of Solomon's Temple.