Events of the Bible

Events and Writing of the Bible

Everything Before 1,800 BCE: Prehistory (includes Genesis)

3,000 BCE - 1800 BCE

Includes:
*The creation of the World and Beginning of Human kind
*The family stories of Abraham and Sarah and their son Isaac
*The family stories of Isaac’s son, Jacob
*The family stories of Jacob’s sons, especially Joseph and Judah

The Great Flood addressed in “Epic of Gilgamesh” (circa this time)

3,000 BCE - 2750 BCE

Ancestor Stories

1800 BCE - 1500 BCE

Israelites are enslaved in Egypt along with Joseph

Exodus (Occurred Some point during this time)

1450 BCE - 1250 BCE

Includes:
*Liberation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt
*The beginning of the journey through the wilderness
*The covenant at Mount Sinai (the ten commandments)
*Instructions for building the tabernacle
*Israel worships the golden calf and God makes a new covenant
*Israel builds the tabernacle as the vehicle of God’s holy presence

Where 40 years of wandering would need to end to match archaeological findings

1,290 BCE

Israel in the Land

1,250 BCE - 1,000 BCE

Includes:
*Tribes of Israel Spread out
*Books of Joshua, Judges (Death of Joshua to just before birth of Samuel), Ruth

Events of the book of Joshua / Invasion of Canaan (Circa this time)

1,210 BCE

(Joshua conquers and divides the land → crossing of the Jordan

Events of Samuel take place (Circa this time)

1,000 BCE

Jawist (One of Four Hypothetical Sources of the Pentateuch)

960 BCE - 930 BCE

Responsible for Writing Genesis and Parts of Exodus and Numbers

First Temple (Ultimately Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar)

952 BCE - 587 BCE

Eloist (One of Four Hypothetical Sources of the Pentateuch)

950 BCE - 900 BCE

Starting with Genesis 15 (covers much of the same as Jawist)

Divided Monarchy

922 BCE

Rehoboam (Judah)
Jeroboam (Israel)
(2 Kings)

Assyria attacks Syro-Palestine (circa this time)

750 BCE

Hosea's Career

750 BCE - 721 BCE

(This is the last 30 years of the Kingdom of Israel)

Israel and Damascus try to rebel

743 BCE - 733 BCE

Judgement against northern Israel from Assyria

740 BCE - 734 BCE

Proto-Isaiah (Approximately)

740 BCE - 701 BCE

Israel and Damascus Pay Tribute

738 BCE

Syrian-Israelite Coalition

734 BCE - 732 BCE

Capture of Samaria and deportation of Citizens

723 BCE

Syrian Empire conquered and destroyed Israel

722 BCE

Deutero-Isaiah (Circa this time)

701 BCE - 539 BCE

Judah is almost overran (Only Jerusalem left)

701 BCE

Jeremiah's Ministry

627 BCE - 587 BCE

Deuteronomy text editing found (1 of 4 Hypothetical Sources of the Pentateuch)

621 BCE

Only Responsible for writing Deuteronomy

Fall of Assyrian city Ninevah to Medes and the Babylonians

612 BCE

Babylon vs. Egypt → Babylon ultimately won control of Judah

605 BCE

Ezekiel was exiled to Babylonia together with King Jehoiachin

597 BCE

Revolt against Babylon (first deportation)

597 BCE

Ezekiel began his prophetic career

593 BCE

2nd Revolt of Judah (massive deportation)

587 BCE

Destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem

587 BCE

Events found in Numbers occurred (Circa this era)

587 BCE - 539 BCE

Exile to Babylon

587 BCE

Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings are all part of Deuteronomistic History so were most likely written sometime during the exile

Following the Destruction of Jerusalem → Exile to Babylon

587 BCE - 538 BCE

Poetry found in Jeremiah had been delivered before this time

587 BCE

Thought to be his own words

3rd Revolt

582 BCE

Assassination of Babylonian governor

Priestly (One of the Four Hypothetical Sources of the Pentateuch)

550 BCE - 450 BCE

Responsible for writing scattered pieces from Genesis to the death of Moses

Cyrus [Persian Emperor] conquered Babylon

539 BCE

Found in the books of Daniel and Ester

Persian Period

539 BCE - 334 BCE

Leviticus most likely was made into its final form during this time

Return from Exile to Judah

539 BCE

Babylonian exiles were released from captivity

537 BCE

Building of the Second Temple

536 BCE - 480 BCE

Trito-Isaiah (Approximately)

525 BCE - 475 BCE

Existence of the Second Temple

515 BCE - 70 CE

Ezra came to Jerusalem

458 BCE

Third Large Return

445 BCE - 430 BCE

Nehemiah is governor → rebuilding of temples, walls, and fortification of city

Ezra is most likely written (Approximately)

400 BCE

Prophecy of Malachi

397 BCE

Alexander the Great enters Judah

322 BCE

Move from Persian to Hellenistic Rule

Thessalonica is founded

316 BCE

Capital of the Roman province of Macedonia

Maccabean War

167 BCE - 160 BCE

Independent Kingdom of Judah

165 BCE - 63 BCE

Between the periods of Hellenistic and Roman Rule

Recapture and rededication of Temple

165 BCE

Founding of Hanukah after Judah Maccabee's victory over the Seleucid Empire

Beginning of Roman Rule

163 BCE

Roman General Pompeii enter Judah

63 BCE

Transition from Roman Republic to Roman Empire

44 BCE

Birth of Jesus Christ

4 BCE

Pomponius Mela published a map of the known world (Approximately)

25 CE

During this time Story of Ministry of Jesus is set in Palestine

26 CE - 30 CE

Gospel of John

Death of Jesus

33 CE

Writing of the Four Gospels

33 CE - 100 CE

During this time all of the four Gospels were written (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Mark is the earliest of them all.

John is in Corinth

50 CE

The Letter of Paul to the Corinthians is written (Circa)

50 CE - 55 CE

John is in Ephesus

54 CE - 56 CE

John is in Caesarea

55 CE - 60 CE

Philemon is written (Most likely)

55 CE

The Letter of Paul to the Romans is written (Circa)

56 CE - 60 CE

Letter to the Galatians was most likely written at the same time

John is in Rome

60 CE - 65 CE

Attempted Jewish Revolt

66 CE

Judean-Roman War

66 CE - 74 CE

Nero's Persecution of Christians in Rome

66 CE - 68 CE

Historical origins of the Acts of the Apostles

70 CE - 73 CE

Romans destroyed Jerusalem and 2nd Temple

70 CE

Christians make a decisive break from Judaism

80 CE - 85 CE

Ephesians was written (Approximately)

80 CE

Early Post-Pauline times

Revelations is written

96 CE

Destruction of Judea

132 CE - 135 CE

John, the son of Zebedee, is named the beloved disciple

180 CE

Reigns of Various Kings and Official Leaders

Reign of Saul

1,020 BCE - 1,000 BCE

Reign of David

1,000 BCE - 965 BCE

Transition is discussed in 2 Samuel

Reign of Solomon

965 BCE - 922 BCE

Transition from King David to King Solomon is discussed in 1 Kings

Jeroboam’s Reign

786 BCE - 746 BCE

Amos preached during this time

Reign of Jotham

750 BCE - 731 BCE

Death of King Uzziah

740 BCE

Reign of Ahaz

735 BCE - 715 BCE

King Hezekiah's Reign

715 BCE - 687 BCE

Reign of Sennacherib in Assyria

704 BCE - 681 BCE

Reign of Josiah in Judah

640 BCE - 609 BCE

Reign of Jehoahaz II (Shallum) in Judah

609 BCE

Reign of Jehoiakim in Judah

609 BCE - 598 BCE

Reign of Jehoiachin (Coniah) in Judah

598 BCE - 597 BCE

Reign of Zedekiah in Judah

597 BCE - 587 BCE

Gedaliah (Governor of Judah)

587 BCE - 582 BCE

Reign of Cyrus the Great (King of Persia)

559 BCE - 530 BCE

Reign of Darius the Great

522 BCE - 486 BCE

In 520 BCE he needed a barrier against Egypt

Esther becomes Queen of Persia

480 BCE

Nehemiah’s first time as governor

445 BCE

Philip II is King of Macedonia

359 BCE - 336 BCE

Reign of Selecid Antiochus IV Epophanes

175 BCE - 163 BCE

Gaius Octavius (Augustus) is emperor

31 BCE - 14 CE

Dates from Other Events around the World

Earliest writing found in Sumerian texts

3,300 BCE - 3,000 BCE

Gilgamesh of Uruk is the 5th ruler of Post-Diluvian Dynasty of Uruk

2,700 BCE

First law book “Laws of Ur-Nammu” during time of King of Ur

2,100 BCE

Potential Dating of Trojan War

1,260 BCE

“The Babylonian Theodicy” was written

1,000 BCE

Relates to Job

First Greek Olympics

776 BCE

First record of any solar/lunar eclipse kept in Mesopotamia

747 BCE

Almaeon of Crotona located the seat of perception in the brain

510 BC

Democritus coined the idea and term ‘atoms’

465 BCE

The Oresteia by Aeschylus is performed

458 BCE

Empedocles → idea that everything is made up of Fire, Earth, Air, & Water

450 BCE

Construction of the Parthenon

447 BCE - 432 BCE

Plato’s Academy is founded

387 BCE

First “higher-learning” institution in the Western World

Life of Archimedes

287 BCE - 212 BCE

Physicist and Mathematician born in Sicily, Italy

Life of Eratosthenes

276 BCE - 194 BCE

Known for being the founder of geography by being the first person to calculate the circumference of earth and to create the idea of latitude and longitude.

Erasistratus distinguishes between the different bodily systems

250 BCE

First time ‘zero’ appeared in Babylonian number system

250 BCE

Halley's comet appears in May

240 BCE

Construction of the Great Wall of China begins

214 BCE

Construction of the 2,500 mile Great Wall of China begins in an attempt to keep out invading Mongols from the north

Parchment was invented in Pergamon

170 BCE

365.25 day calendar introduced by Julius Caesar

45 BCE

Julius Caesar is murdered

44 BC

Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii

79 CE