Bible Chronology text.html

Chronology of the Bible
Rick Aschmann

Last updated:

8-May-2017

This chart is a text copy of the chart in Aschmann.net/BibleChronology, and is searchable, unlike the chart there, which is an image file. However, most of the clarifying
graphics are missing from this chart, and it is messy in many ways, so search it if you need to, but then go back to the main chart to see things more clearly.

Anytime the following is seen in the chart:

- - - - - - - - - -

it means that things above it and below it don’t quite line up, because I had to start a new table, but that any vertical lines should be assumed to continue.

Sarah and Abraham were children of Terah by

Family Tree of the Patriarchs

Terah

different mothers (Gen. 20:12), but this is all we

┌──

───────────

──┴──

───┬───

──────

────

───┬───

───────

──┐

know about the wives of Terah.

Haran

│

╔═════

══│══

═════════

═══════

═══╤═══

══╗

┌───

──┼──

─────┐

│

╠═════

══│══

════╤════

═══╗

│

║

Lot’s wife

══╤══

═══════

═══Lot

Iscah

Milcah════

══╤══

═Nahor

Abraham

═╩═╤═══

═Sarah

│

Hagar

│

Keturah

│

├──

───────

──┐

│

┌──

──┼──

───┐

Bethuel

(others, Gen. 22:20-24)

│

older

younger

┌─────

──┴──

───┐

│

daughter

──┐

daughter

───┐

Laban

Rebekah

══════

════

═══╤═══

Isaac

Ishmael

Midianites

│

(others)

Moab

Ben-Ammi

│

Ishmaelites

│

┌─

───┴───

───┐

Moabites

Ammonites

┌──

─────┴─────

──┐

│

╔══

══╤══

═══════

══│══

═══════════

══│══

═══════

╗

│

║

│

╔═══

═══╤═══

══│══

═══════════

══│══

═══════

╣

│

║

│

║

│

│╔═

═════╤═════

══│══

═══════

╣

│

Bilhah

│

Zilpah

│

Leah

│

Rachel

═══╤═══

╩═════

Jacob

Esau

====== Marriage or sexual relationship

│

Dan

Gad

Reuben, Simeon

Joseph,

Benjamin

Edomites

====== Marriage to blood relative

Naphtali

Asher

Levi, Judah

│

Issachar, Zebulon

Ephraim

Amalekites

====== Forbidden in Mosaic Law

Dinah

Manasseh

All of the teal-colored text showing the corresponding pages in The Narrated Bible is missing from this chart, since there is no need to ever search for this information,
which is almost entirely sequential. I only occasionally show the actual text found in that column, such as the following, since I made and use this file for translation purposes.

Shown in this
Column are the
corresponding
pages in The
Narrated Bible
by F. LaGard
Smith

I also do not show the dark-red year scale in this chart, for the same reason: it is sequential and need never be searched for.

— 2296 Terah born? (Gen. 11:32)

Chronology of the Bible

(born 2296?)

Terah

Why does this chronology start with Terah and not with Adam?
This depends on the question of whether the genealogies in
the Old Testament are complete or not, and it turns out that
they very rarely are. What about the genealogies in Genesis 5
and Genesis 11? Aren't they complete? No, actually a high view
of the inerrancy of Scripture requires us to conclude that they
are not. Read all about it here.

The Patriarchs

Names highlighted in red
are key individuals
whose timelines are
shown on the side.

— 2226 Haran born? (Gen. 11:26)

The names of Abram’s brother Haran and of the city of Haran,
both mentioned in Gen. 11:31, look identical in English, and one
might wonder if one was named after the other, but in Hebrew
they are completely different names, beginning with different
consonants, the first a simple h and the second a pharyngeal
sound (made deep in the throat), and they had different
meanings, and would never have been viewed as the same
name, any more than Dick and Nick would be considered the
same name in English.

(born 2226?)

Haran

— 2166 Abram born (Gen. 12:4) ———————————————————————————

Terah must have been at least 130 at this time, since Abram was 75 when he entered Canaan, after the
death of his father. Abram was evidently the youngest of the three brothers Haran, Nahor, and Abram
mentioned in Gen. 11:26, even though their names are given in reverse, and presumably Haran the
eldest was born when Terah was 70, as stated in this verse.

(born 2166)

Abraham

(Abram)

— 2156 Sarai born (Gen. 17:17)

··············· Lot, Milcah, and Iscah, children of Haran, are born (Gen. 11:27, 29)

(born 2156)

Sarah

(Sarai)

··············· Haran dies in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 11:28)

··············· Abram and Nahor both marry (Gen. 11:29)

··············· The Call of Abram, time uncertain (Acts 7:2-4, Gen. 12:2-3)— —————————

··············· Terah moves Abram’s entire clan to Haran (Gen. 11:31) ———————————

God called Abram while he was still living in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2-4). Terah, perhaps
respecting Abram’s call, takes his whole extended family and leaves Ur, with every intention of going all
the way to Canaan (Gen. 11:31), just as Abram was called to do. However, after they arrive in Haran, he is
apparently unwilling to continue, and Abram seemingly is unwilling to leave him in order to fulfill God’s
command, even though the original command (Gen. 12:1) had been “Leave your country, your people
and your father's household”!

(This seems to be the most logical way to reconcile Genesis 11 and 12 with Acts 7, and is
reflected in several Bible translations which have “The Lord had said to Abram” in Gen. 12:1. Another
view is that God had to call him twice, the first time reflected in Acts 7, and the second time in Genesis
12. Either way he did exercise faith and obeyed God, as Hebrew 11:8 tells us, even if his faith was not
perfect.)

— 2091 Death of Terah, Abram leaves Haran and settles in Canaan (Gen. 12:4-5) ————————————————

——————————

Abram arrives in Canaan at
the age of 75 (Gen. 12:4)

——————————

——

2091?

Abram goes to Egypt because of the famine. Separation from Lot. War with eastern kings. Promise and covenant first made. (Gen. 12:10-15:21)

— 2081 Abram takes Hagar as wife (Gen. 16:1-14)

— 2080 Ishmael born (Gen. 16:15-16)

Where exactly were Sodom and Gomorrah?
They have apparently been found!

↓

(born 2080)

Ishmael

— 2067 Confirmation of the covenant. Circumcision. Abram renamed Abraham, Sarai renamed Sarah. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Problem with Abimelech. (Gen. 17-20)

— 2066 Isaac born (Gen. 21:1-7)

— 2063 Isaac weaned, Ishmael and Hagar sent away (Gen. 21:8-21)

(born 2066)

Isaac

Was Hebrew Abraham’s native language? No, the Bible seems to clearly indicate that his
native language was ancient Aramaic, though it’s easy to miss that, because the references are not
very prominent. So what was Hebrew? Hebrew was the language of the wicked Canaanites! Read all
about it here.

But in that case why is he called Abram the Hebrew in Genesis 14:13? The answer is a bit
unexpected: in the Old Testament Hebrew is never used as a term for the Hebrew language (although by
the time of the New Testament it is), but only in reference to a group of people. And in Genesis it
seems clear from its usage that it had a much broader meaning than one referring to just Abraham and
his descendants. So what did Hebrew mean in Genesis? Click here for a discussion of this.

— 2029 Death of Sarah (Gen. 23:1-2)

— 2026 Isaac marries Rebekah (Gen. 24, 25:20)

-2029

··············· Abraham marries Keturah after Sarah’s death, has more children.

(Age at least 137 at remarriage, probably at least 140!) (Gen. 25:1-6)

— 2006 Esau and Jacob born (Gen. 25:24-26)

— 1991 Death of Abraham (Gen. 25:7-10)

··············· Esau and Jacob grown, Esau sells birthright (Gen. 25:27-34)

··············· Isaac, Abimelech, and Rebekah (Gen. 26:1-33)

— 1966 Esau marries heathen wives (age 40). (Gen. 26:34-35)

*Indicates a date about which I disagree with F. LaGard Smith

Jacob’s children’s mothers and probable birth years and birth sequence

(Gen. 29:31-30:24, 35:16-26, and 49)

There are many lists in the Bible of Jacob’s sons or of the tribes of Israel, but none seems to give
them in their actual birth order. Instead, most list them according to their mothers, as in Gen. 35:23-
26. However, their order can be deduced with some certainty from Gen. 29:31-30:24 and the fact that
all the sons except Benjamin were born during the second 7 years that Jacob had to work for Leah
and Rachel (Gen. 29:27), which were completed immediately after Joseph’s birth (Gen. 30:25-26).

		Leah	Bilhah	Zilpah	Rachel
	1921	Reuben (1)
	1920	Simeon (2)
	1919	Levi (3)
“Then she stopped having	1918	Judah (4)
children.” (Gen. 29:35 NIV) →	1917		Dan (5?)
	1916	Issachar (6?)	Naphtali (7?)	Gad (8?)
“Afterward she bore a	1915	Zebulun (9?)		Asher (10?)	Joseph (11)
daughter…” (Gen. 30:21 ESV) →	1914	Dinah (12)
	⁞
(Dinah sexually mature) →	1900?				Benjamin (13)

(born 2006)

Jacob

1991

— 1937 Death of Ishmael (Gen. 25:17)

1937

— 1929 Jacob deceives Isaac to receive blessing, flees to Haran (age 77!). (Gen. 27:1-29:20)

— 1922 Jacob marries Leah and Rachel (Gen. 29:21-30) 1921─

11 sons born (see box above)

— 1915 Birth of Joseph (Gen. 30:22-24) 1915─

— 1909* Jacob leaves Haran, meets Esau, settles in Shechem (Gen. 31-33)

1929─ Jacob works 7 years for Rachel 1929─

before marriage (Gen. 29:15-20), Jacob spends

1922─ works 7 years for Rachel and Leah a total of 20

after marriage (Gen. 29:21-30:26), years in Haran

1915─ and works 6 years for livestock (Gen. 31:38-41)

(Gen. 30:26-43, 31:41).

1909*─ 1909*─

Levi

(born 1919?)

(born 1915)

Joseph

— 1900? Rape of Dinah (age 14?), murder of Shechemites. Move to Bethel, then Bethlehem. Birth of Benjamin (Jacob 106!), death of Rachel. Reuben’s incest (age 22?).

Move to Hebron. (Gen. 34:1-35:22)

— 1898 Joseph sold into slavery, age 17 (Gen. 37:2b-36)

Potiphar's household, prison (Gen. 39)

— 1887 Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream, becomes ruler of Egypt, age 30 (Gen. 41:1-46a)

————————————————————————————————————

— 1885 Joseph sold into slavery, age 17 (Gen. 37:2b-36) ─ 7 years

— 1878 Start of seven years of famine (Gen. 41:53-57) ─ of plenty

— 1886 Death of Isaac (Gen. 35:27-29)

1898?—

1877?—

See box

below

for

Judah’s

story

1886

— 1876 Second visit of Joseph’s brothers, including Benjamin (Gen. 43:1-47:12) —————

─ 7 years

—————————

The Israelites move to Egypt
(Gen. 46, 430 years before
the Exodus, see Exo. 12:40-41

—————————

Senusret II

(Sesostris II)

1897

— 1871 End of seven years of famine ─ of famine

Senusret III

(Sesostris III)

1843

1839

Probable ruling
periods of the
pharaohs in the
Joseph story
(See this page,
this page and
this page.)

— 1859 Death of Jacob (Gen. 47:28-50:21)

— 1805 Death of Joseph (Gen. 50:22-26)

— 1782? Death of Levi (Exo. 6:16)

Judah’s Story (Genesis 38)

As can be seen from the following chart, there is just enough time for all of the events in the Judah story if each
of his sons marries quite young. (Judah apparently did not marry until after Joseph was sold into slavery.) For a
discussion of the chronology of Judah’s story, and the issue of Perez’s two sons mentioned in Gen. 46:12, see
Mathewson. (The actual events of Genesis 38 occur from 1898 to 1877.)

— 1918 Judah born

Judah

— 1918 Judah born

— 1898? Judah (age 20?) marries Shua’s daughter—

—

— 1892? Shelah born

Shelah

— 1883? Er (age 15?) marries Tamar, dies

— 1882? Onan (age 15?) marries Tamar, dies

— 1878? Shelah age 15, Tamar seduces Judah

— 1877? Perez and Zerah born

— 1897? Er born

— 1896? Onan born

— 1897? Shelah born

— 1877? Perez born

————Israelites move to Egypt————

1859

1805

1782?

Slavery in Egypt

“Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power” (Exodus 1:8-14). This was the start of the oppression of the Israelites,
time unknown. Genesis 13:15 says that the oppression is to last 400 years, but this must be a round number, since both Joseph (based
on biblical figures) and the Pharaoh of the years of famine (probable, see above) were still alive in 1846, 400 years before the Exodus.

The Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years, as stated in Exodus 12:40-41.
How many generations were they there? See this page for a discussion of this.
Also see this page for a discussion of why the 430 year figure applies only to
the time in Egypt and not to the time the patriarchs spent in Canaan, as many
have suggested.

When was Hebrew (Canaanite) first written?
Both the Bible itself and archeological and
other external evidences suggest that it was
after the time of Joseph, but before the time
of Moses. See this page for details.

The Exodus and the Entry into Canaan

*Indicates a date about which I disagree with F. LaGard Smith

— 1529 Aaron born (Exo. 7:7)				Aaron
··············· ······························		Pharaoh orders the killing of all newborn Hebrew boys (Exo. 1:15-22)
— 1526 Moses born (Exo. 2:1-9)				Moses

				(born 1495*??) Joshua
— 1486 Moses flees to Midian (Exo. 2:11-22)			For more on the dates of Joshua, Caleb, the elders, and Othniel, click here.	(born 1485) (Jos. 14:6-12) Caleb
				(born 1465 or later) (Num. 14:29-38) Elders who outlived Joshua (Jos. 24:31, Jdg. 2:7)
— 1447 Burning bush. First confrontation with Pharaoh and backlash (Exo. 3:6) — 1446 Plagues. Exodus. Mt. Sinai. Law. Golden calf. Tabernacle. (Exo. 7:1-39:31) ————————— — 1445 Tabernacle completed. First Passover after Egypt. Journey to Canaan. Spies and rebellions. (Exo. 39:32 – Num. 18:32)		The Exodus from Egypt (Exo. 12:40-41, 430 years after Israelites move to Egypt) (Exo. 12:51, 480 years before foundation of temple in 967)		—————————
	For a detailed, month-by-month chronology of the key years of the Exodus from Egypt, click here.	38 years of wandering in the desert (1445 – early 1407, Deu. 2:14-16)
				Othniel (nephew of Caleb)

— 1407 Return to Kadesh (April, Num. 20:1). Travel to Mount Hor, Aaron dies (August, Num. 20:22-33:38-39). Reach Jordan crossing. (Num. 20:1-35:8)

— 1406 Deuteronomy address (March, Deu. 1-30). Joshua named, Moses dies (Deu. 31-34). Cross Jordan, Passover (April, Jos. 1-5). Conquest. (Deu. 1-Jos. 12) ——

The Israelites enter Canaan

(Joshua 3)

—————————

— 1400 The Lord appears to Joshua, final disposition of land (Jos. 13-21). Joshua's address to eastern tribes and aftermath (Jos. 22). Caleb receives Hebron at 85 (Jos. 14:6-12)

— 1385*?? Joshua's final address and death (Jos. 23:1-24:30, Jdg. 2:8-9)

Additional conquests and failure to complete conquest (Jdg. 1:1-2:5)

“And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and
all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua…” (Jdg. 2:7)

Time of the Judges

1385*??

From Judges
through the
reign of David
the
corresponding
pages in The
Narrated Bible
are shown in the
far right column.
I do this
because I prefer
M. A. Cragg’s
chronology over
Smith’s for the
period of the
Judges.

— 1379?

1379?

Oppression by Mesopotamians

8 years (Jdg. 3:8)

Chronology of M. A. Cragg

Israelites do evil (Jdg. 3:7)

Oppression by Mesopotamians 8 years (Jdg. 3:8)

1380? —

1380

— 1371?

Othniel (nephew of Caleb) delivers Israel

and becomes judge for 40 years (Jdg. 3:9-11)

(I have added one year to all of his
dates to bring them into conformity
with the rest of this chronology.)

Colors used during the period of the Judges:

Years as judge

Possible additional years as judge (uncertain)

Years of peace, not necessarily matching a judge

Years when the Israelites do evil (only in Smith’s chronology)

Years of oppression

red figures: Time span provided in the text

According to research only made available in English in 2010, the name “Israel” has
been found to occur far earlier than previously known (see Merneptah Stele below), on
the Berlin Statue Pedestal Relief, a grey granite slab containing Egyptian hieroglyphics.
It has been dated based on writing style to no later than the reign of Amenhotep III
(1386-49), or even earlier, placing it shortly after the Biblical date of the entry into
Canaan in 1406. The other names on the slab are “Ashkelon” and “Canaan”, making it
clear that Israel was already in Canaan by this time. See also this page.

Othniel (nephew of Caleb) delivers Israel

and becomes judge for 40 years (Jdg. 3:9-11)

Chronology of The Narrated

Bible by F. LaGard Smith

— 1331?

1331?

Southwest

Israel

Southeast

Israel

Central

and

1327?—

1331?

1327?

Israelites do evil (Jdg. 3:12)

1322?

Northern

Israel

1322?—

Oppression by Moabites 18 years (Jdg. 3:13-14)

┌────┐

│Ruth? │

└────┘

Oppression by Moabites

18 years (Jdg. 3:13-14)

Moabites

— 1313?

1313?

Deliverance by Ehud (Jdg. 3:15-30)

The land has peace for 80 years. (Jdg. 3:30)

Deliverance by Ehud

(Jdg. 3:15-30)

┌────┐

1304?│Ruth? │

└────┘

1304?—

The chronology of the book of Judges is difficult, since if we add together all of
the time periods specified, it takes up quite a bit more time than there is available between
the Exodus and the founding of the temple, so some of the events must have occurred
simultaneously and been only regional.

Here I have very tentatively followed M. A. Cragg's chronology, but I have also
included the chronology from The Narrated Bible in a second column for comparison. A
quite different third arrangement can be seen in the timeline on this page. However, keep in
mind that any such arrangement is highly uncertain, in fact largely guesswork, since there
are almost no fixed points throughout this whole period. For more information click here.

“After Ehud came Shamgar” (Jdg. 3:31)

The land has peace for 80
years, at least in the
southeastern part of Israel,
near the Moabites. Ehud
and Shamgar are the
deliverers during this time,
though they are not
referred to as judges.
(Jdg. 3:30-31)

Ehud

“After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the
LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin” (Jdg. 4:1-2)

1253??

Philistines

1248??

1253?

evil

(Jdg. 4:1)

1253?—

— 1233?

— 1220?

— 1213?

1233?

Jabin

1213?-

1203—

The Merneptah
Stele, an inscription
by Egyptian pharaoh
Merneptah (reign:
1213-1203 BC)
contains the first
broadly accepted
reference to the
nation of Israel in any
archeological find:
“Israel is laid waste
and his seed is not”.
(However, see Berlin
Statue Pedestal
Relief above for a
probable older one.)

Deborah, Gideon

Northwest Israel

1233?

Oppression by
Jabin and the
Canaanites 20
years (Jdg. 4:2-3)

1213? Deliverance
by Deborah (Jdg.
4:4-5:31) The land
has peace for 40
years (Jdg. 5:31). It
appears that
Deborah’s
judgeship began
before this time
(Jdg. 4:4-5), and
we have no
information about
when it ended.

Southwest Israel

Philistines (Jdg.

? 3:31)

Deliverance by
Shamgar

(southwest only?)

Eastern Israel

Oppression by
Midianites
7 years (Jdg. 6:1-10)

Deliverance by
Gideon

(Jdg. 6:11-8:27)

The land has peace
for 40 years

(Jdg. 8:28)

The land has peace
for 40 years, at least
in central and
northern Israel
(Jdg. 5:31).

Israelites do evil (Jdg. 6:1)

Oppression by Midianites
7 years (Jdg. 6:1-10)

Deliverance by
Gideon

(Jdg. 6:11-8:27)

Shamgar
(southwest
only?)

1224?

Peace
continues
only in the
southeast?

1244?

Jabin and
Canaanites

1224?

Deborah

1224?—

1184?—

1177?—

— 1173?

— 1170?

— 1147?

— 1125?

— 1116?

1173?

1170?

Tola

1147?

Jair

1125?

1116?

Abimelech

(born 1174?)

1116?

“After the time of Abimelech
…Tola… rose to save Israel.

…He was followed by Jair”
(Jdg. 10:1-3)

Judges 12:

7 “Jephthah led Israel”

8 “after him, Ibzan”

11 “after him, Elon”

13 “after him, Abdon”

Around 1175 the
first known refer-
ence to the name
“Peleset” or
“PRST” appears
in several inscrip-
tions, evidently a
reference to the
Philistines, and
subsequent in-
scriptions indicate
that they settle the
five cities on the
coast. There is
some strong evi-
dence that they
were originally
Greeks. See
this page.

Abimelech king
in Shechem 3 years

(Jdg. 8:33-9:57)

Tola 23 years

(Jdg. 10:1-2)

1147?

Jair 22 years
in Gilead

(Jdg. 10:3-5)

1125?

Oppression by
Ammonites
18 years
(Jdg. 10:6-9)

The land has peace
for 40 years

(Jdg. 8:28)

Abimelech king

Tola 23 years (Jdg. 10:1-2)

Israelites do evil (Jdg. 10:6)

evil
(Jdg. 10:6)

Abimelech

Tola

1111?

1137?—

1134?—

1111?—

— 1107?

———

—————

300 years after conquest
of trans-Jordan mentioned
by Jephthah (Jdg. 11:26)

——————————

—————————

————————————

————

——————

—————

1107?—

——

— 1101?

1101?

Oppression

by
Philistines
40 years

(Jdg. 13:1)

Eli
judge
40
years

(1
Sam.
4:18)

1056?? Born (1 Sam. 1:1-23)

-1053?? Weaned

(1 Sam. 1:24-2:11) born

God speaks 1080?)

······ (1 Sam. 3:1-18)

(1 Sam. 3:19-20)

Samson leads
Israel 20 years
(Jdg. 15:20, 16:31)

Jephthah 6 years

(Jdg. 10:10-12:7)

Ibzan 7 years

(Jdg. 12:8-10)

Elon 10 years

(Jdg. 12:11-12)

Abdon 8 years

(Jdg. 12:13-15)

Oppression by ┌────┐
Ammonites 18 years│Ruth? │

(Jdg. 10:6-9) └────┘

Deliverance by Jephthah
6 years (Jdg. 10:10-12:7)

Ibzan 7 years (Jdg. 12:8-10)

1090?

Philistines

1080?

Ammonites

1089?

Jephthah

1083?

Jair

1089?

1090?—

1089?—

1083?—

1080?—

— 1076?

1076?

1076? (1 Sam. 4-6)

Samson

(born 1081)

1076?—

— 1056?

—

People repent after

20 years, Philistines

defeated

(1 Sam. 7:1-14)

Samuel judge

(1 Sam. 7:15-17)

(birth year unknown)

(Jonathan, Saul’s eldest son and
David’s friend, never ruled.)

Elon 10 years (Jdg. 12:11-12)

Abdon 8 years

(Jdg. 12:13-15)

1060?

(Jonathan)

1066?—

1060?—

1058?—

— 1050?

———

————————————

———————1050?: Acts 13:21

——————————

(born 1050?)

Institution of

kings in Israel

1 Sam. 13:1 (1 Sam. 8-12)

1050?

(born 1051?)

1050?—

— 1048??

God deposed Saul as
king: 1 Sam. 13:1, 15:23,28

Institution of

kings in Israel

1 Sam. 13:1 (1 Sam. 8-12)

—————

—————————————

1043?—

(born 1040?: 2 Sam. 5:4)

(born 1041: 2 Sam. 5:4)

Early kings
of Tyre and
Sidon
mentioned
in the Bible
or
important
to the
chronology

Saul

DYNASTY
OF SAUL

Saul

DYNASTY
OF SAUL

— 1025??

Samuel anoints David,
David kills Goliath

(1 Sam. 16-17)

— 1026?? Samuel anoints David,
David kills Goliath

(1 Sam. 16-17)

1026??—

— 1010?

David king over Judah in Hebron:

1 Sam. 28:1 – 2 Sam. 2:9 (2 Sam. 5:4-5)

1010?

Ish-Bosheth

1008?: 2 Sam. 2:10

— 1011 David king over Judah

1011

Ish-Bosheth

1009?: 2 Sam. 2:10

1011—

— 1003?

David king over all Israel

1003?: 2 Sam. 2:11, 5:4-5

— 1004 David king over all Israel

1004?: 2 Sam. 2:11, 5:4-5

1004—

David

(born 991?)

Chronology of M. A. Cragg

David

(born 991?)

Chronology of The Narrated

Bible by F. LaGard Smith

(born 1000)

DYNASTY
OF DAVID

(I have added one year to all of his
dates to bring them into conformity
with the rest of this chronology.)

DYNASTY
OF DAVID

(He makes no attempt to
estimate the dates of the
judgeships of Eli or Samuel.)

980

Hiram I

— 971?

— 970?

(born 972?)

————————————— 971 Solomon co-regent?

971

971—

— 967

———

————————————————————————————

Institution of

kings in Israel

1 Sam. 13:1 (1 Sam. 8-12)

——————————————

————————————————

———————————

967—

Friendly

commerce

Solomon

with David

- - - - - - - - - -

Solomon	The	Kings	DYNASTY OF JEROBOAM SON OF NEBAT (NORTHERN KINGDOM)	and Prophets of Israel					Neo-Assyrian Dynasty (Not named in Bible until Tiglath-Pileser III, but extra-Biblical sources show they interacted with the	(2 Sam. 5:11) and Solomon 947
	931——	Division of the kingdom	———————931	—————————————————————————————————						————
	Rehoboam 914		Jeroboam I	DYNASTY OF BAASHA		See this page for a summary chart for the kings of Judah and Israel following McFall’s chronology, and the corresponding biblical references.			Israelites as early as Shalmaneser III, as seen in boxes at left, and later with Jonah.)	(born 915)
	Abijah 911 (Abijam)	(born 908?)	910 909 Nadab	909					912
	Asa	Kingdom of Judah (South)	Kingdom of Israel (North)	Baasha 886	Zimri king for a week 885	Tibni com‑ petes with Omri for 4 years 885	DYNASTY OF OMRI 885	Those rulers mentioned by name in the Bible, whether Israelite or foreign, are highlighted in red.	Adad-nirari II 891 Tukulti-Ninurta II 884
		(born 880?)				881	Omri
	870 Jehoshaphat 848? Jehoram	— 873 Jehoshaphat co-regent? (born 863) — 853 Jehoram 853— co-regent?	Ahab fights in the Battle of Qarqar as an ally of Ben- Hadad II of Aram-Damascus against Shalmaneser III, according to the Kurkh Stela. (This battle is not mentioned in the Bible, and is evidently earlier in 853 than the battle of Ramoth Gilead in 1 Ki. 22:29-36, a much more local and thus biblically significant affair, where Ahab fights against Ben-Hadad and is killed.) Go to this page and search for Ahab. Also go to the link below and search for “Black Obelisk” and other references to Qarqar.			874? Elijah's ministry in Israel ——852?——	874 Ahab ——853—— Joram	Obadiah's prophecy about Edom 854 Ahaziah co-regent? 853 Ahaziah 852———————————	Ashur-nasir-pal II 859 —————————— Shalmaneser III	878 Ithobaal (Ethbaal I) Father of Jezebel wife of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31) 847
	841 Ahaziah (Jehoahaz) Queen Athaliah 835	(born 841)	841 —— 841 -	The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III mentions Jehu paying tribute this year. Go to this page, then search for “Black Obelisk”.				841		(born 841?) 831

- - - - - - - - - -

	Joel's ministry in Judah —814 Temple repaired Joash (Jehoash) 796	(born 821) (born 807) 791 Uzziah co-regent?	Jehu 814 Jehoahaz 798 Jehoash	DYNASTY OF JEHU 793 Jeroboam II co-regent?	Elisha's ministry in Israel 796?	Pygmalion’s sister Dido flees Tyre and subsequently founds Carthage. According to this site, Josephus said that 143 years passed between the start of construction of Solomon’s Temple and Dido’s flight. On the other side, this site provides good evidence that Carthage was founded 72 years before the foundation of Rome in 753, putting it at 825. This fixes the construction of Solomon’s Temple between 967 and 969, which matches Thiele and McFall’s dating for it.		- 825	————————— 824 Shamshi-Adad V 811 Adad-nirari III	———— Pygmalion (Pummay)
	Amaziah		782						783	785
*Indicates a date about which I disagree with F. LaGard Smith 739 (Is. 6:1) Isaiah's ministry	767 Uzziah (Azariah) 739 Jotham 731*	(born 776) (born 755) —751* Jotham co-regent? (born 740) 735 Ahaz co-regent? 729* Hezekiah	Jeroboam II 753 752 Zechariah 737—	Shallum king for a month 752 The Iran Stela of Tiglath-Pileser III (aka Pul) states that King Menahem paid tribute at some time in the previous nine years. (2 Ki. 15:19-20) Go to this page, then search for "Iran Stela".	DYNASTY OF MENAHEM 752 Menahem 742 Pekahiah 740* ———————	Jonah's prophecy in Nineveh and Israel (2 Kings 14-25) PEKAH 752 Pekah ———————————— 731	HOSHEA *731 Hoshea	Amos's prophecy in Israel and Judah Hosea's ministry in Israel ————————————— Fall of Aram-Damascus to Assyria (2 Kings 16:7-9	Shalmaneser IV 773 Ashur-Dan III 755 Ashur-nirari V 745 Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) (2 Ki. 15-16, 1 Ch. 5, 2 Ch. 28) -732———————— 727	The kings of Aram and Damascus appear frequently in the Bible during the period of the Israelite kings, but information about them is limited. See this page for more info.
Micah's in Judah ministry in Judah	Ahaz *715	co-regent?	—————	Fall of Israel (northern kingdom) to Assyria 723		————————————	723 —————	————————————— 722 Merodach-Baladan (Marduk-apla-iddina II)	Shalmaneser — V (2 Ki. 17-18) 722	Sargon II
——————————	——————————	——————	——711—	Assyria captures Ashdod (Is. 20:1). See Hezekiah.				710		(Isa. 20:1)
		(born 709*)							705
	—701 ←See Hezekiah. —700* Merodach-Baladan's	697*		Lives and Reigns of the Kings (Same cools used for governors): Years as king (also used for the ruling periods of the judges) Possible additional years as king (uncertain) Years as co-regent with father Years prior to becoming king (or after being deposed from kingship) Years prior to becoming king (or after being deposed from kingship), uncertain birth (or death) date Ministries of the Prophets: Known period of ministry (years fairly certain) Approximate period of ministry (general time period fairly certain) Assumed period of ministry (time period not known) Life prior to start of ministry (birthdate not completely certain)				703 702 (died 700?)		Sennacherib (2 Ki. 18-19, 2 Ch. 32,
letter Hezekiah *686 —681 Sennacherib assassinated (2 Ki. 19:37, 2 Ch. 32:21c, Is. 37:38), Manasseh repents (2 Ch. 33:10-13) Manasseh		Manasseh co-regent? (born 663)					Prior to 626 B.C. and the Chaldean dynasty, Babylon was mostly not an independent nation, but part of the Assyrian Empire. Merodach-Baladan at least twice threw off the yoke of the Assyrians, and apparently rebelled again in 700 (see here and here), which is probably when he wrote to Hezekiah. He sent envoys to King Hezekiah on his recovery, and Isaiah gave his famous prophecy about Babylon. (2 Kings 20:12-19)		681 669	Isa. 36-37 Esarhaddon (2 Ki. 19:37, Ezra 4:2, Isa. 37:38) 668

- - - - - - - - - -

Nahum's
prophecy
about
Nineveh
(p. 929)

*642

(born 648)

(born 632)

Sons of Josiah

Kings of Babylon,
Media and Persia

(p. 1221)

Ashurbanipal

(Osnappar)

(Ezra 4:10)

Amon *640

(born

The Exile

and

Media &
Persia

Babylon

626

627

—631 Josiah’s reforms

—621 Temple repaired

(2 Ki. 22:8-23:20,

2 Ch. 34:8-33)

626

Zephaniah’s
prophecy

Habakkuk’s
prophecy

633)

(born
615)

(born 618)

(born 622?) the

Return

Nabopolassar

Final weak kings

—612 Nineveh destroyed

——————————

Jeremiah’s
prophecy

Jehoahaz

—————— (Shallum)

Jehoiakim (Eliakim)

609 *609

—————

————

—605* (1:1-17) ——————

—604* (1:18-2:49)

First
deportation 605

———————

—

———————————————

605

——————————

————

*Dec. 598

———Jehoiachin——

(Jeconiah, Apr. 597

—————

————

—————————————

Great
deportation 597

(born 601)

———————

—

———————————————

——————————

586 ———

592 Coniah)

——————————

Ezekiel’s

—————

Zedekiah

————

—————————————

—584? Fiery furnace (Ch. 3)

Fall of Judah 586

Temple destroyed

———————

—

———————————————

Nebuchadnezzar II

(2 Ki. 24-25, 2 Ch. 36, etc.)

70 years

prophecy

—581 Final deportation (Jer. 52:30)

Daniel's
life and
ministry

Darius the Mede

(Daniel 5:31, 6,
9:1, 11:1)

(Click here for
extra-biblical

Evil-Merodach (Amel-Marduk)

561

Jehoiachin released

(2 Kings 25:27-30)

—561-

—562? Nebuchadnezzar repents(Ch. 4)

identifications)

561

559

555

Nergal-sar-ezer (Neriglissar) (Jer. 39:13)

Labashi-Marduk

70 years (2 Chr. 36:21, Jer. 25:8-14, 29:10, Daniel 9:2,
Zec. 1:12, 7:5)

—550* Daniel’s first vision (Ch. 7)

—547* Daniel’s second vision (Ch. 8)

550*

Nabonidus

——————————

—539 Cyrus’s decree (Ezra 1:1-4) ——————————————

————

—539* Wall (Ch. 5), Prayer (Ch. 9), Lion’s den (Ch. 6), retires (1:21, 6:28)

539

—

Fall of Babylon
to Persia 539

Belshazzar (Dan. 5,7,8)

539

—538 First Return under Zerubbabel (Sheshbazzar) (Ezra 1:5-3:6)

Foundation of temple laid 536 (Ezra 3:8-12)

538

—536 Daniel’s last vision (Ch. 10-12)

Cyrus the Great (2 Ch. 36:22-23, Ezra 1-6, Is. 44:28, 45:1,
Dan. 1:21, 6:28, 10:1)

—529 Accusation lodged (Ezra 4:6)

—522 Temple construction halted (Ezra 4:7-24)

Zerubbabel (Sheshbazzar) governor (grandson of Jehoiachin)

522

530

Cambyses II (“Ahasuerus/Xerxes”, Ezra 4:6)

—521 Temple construction restarted (Ezra 5:1-2)

Temple completed 515* (Ezra 6:14b-22)

520 —

Haggai’s
prophecy

519—

518—

Zechariah’s
prophecy

Gaumata (Pseudo-Smerdis)

(Artaxerxes, Ezra 4:7-23, 6:14)

Darius king of Persia

(Ezra 4-6, Haggai 1-2, Zechariah 1,7)

*Indicates a date about which I disagree with F. LaGard Smith

—490 The watershed Battle of Marathon, in which Greece prevents the Persian Empire under Darius from gaining a foothold in Europe —

—483 Xerxes’ banquet, Vashti removed as queen (Esther 1)

—480-479 Second Persian invasion of Greece under Xerxes, ultimately unsuccessful ————————————————————————

—478* Esther becomes queen (Esther 2)

—474* Haman plans the destruction of the Jews (Esther 3-8)

—478* The Jews are saved from destruction, institution of Purim (Esther 9-10)

———————

486

———————

Xerxes I

(Esther 1-10)

= Ahasuerus

—458-457 The “Second Return” under Ezra (Ezra 7-10)

ministry of

Ezra the priest

Decree to rebuild (Daniel 9:25)—

Those rulers mentioned
by name in the Bible,
whether Israelite or
foreign, are highlighted
in red.

465

—445 Nehemiah gets news and prays (Neh. 1)

—444 Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem, completion of wall

(Neh. 2:1-12:26)

—432 Nehemiah returns to Susa (Neh. 13:6)

—425? Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, wall dedicated

(Neh. 13:7-31, 12:27-47, 13:1-3)

444

Nehemiah governor

432

425?

49 years

(“7 sevens”, Daniel 9:25)

Malachi’s
prophecy

Artaxerxes I (Longimanus)

(Ezra 7:1-8:1, Neh. 2:1, 5:14, 13:6)

424 Xerxes II
423

—408?? Completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem? (Daniel 9:25)

The completion of Malachi and
Nehemiah marks the close of the
Old Testament Canon. After this
no more books of the Bible are
written until the first century A.D.,
not counting the Apocryphal
books, which are not accepted by
Protestants, Jews, Jerome the
translator of the Vulgate, or even
most church scholars before the
Reformation. The intervening years
are often called the
Intertestamental Period.

Darius II (Nothos)

(Darius the Persian?, Nehemiah 12:22)

404

Artaxerxes II

- - - - - - - - - -

The Intertestamental			Period 483 years (“62 sevens”, Daniel 9:25-26) to the start of the ministry of Jesus the Messiah (the Anointed One) in A.D. 27	358 Artaxerxes III 338 Artaxerxes IV Arses 330	(Darius the Persian??, Nehemiah 12:22) 336 Darius III (Codomannus) Bessus
——————————————	Fall of Persia to Alexander the Great, beginning the period of Greek influence	——————————————	——————————————————————————	————————	———————————————————————————— 329
		A.D. 27

—167 Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire, led by Judas Maccabeus

—142 Founding of the Hasmonean dynasty of high priests by Simon, brother of Judas, who were rulers of Judea, which was largely independent of both the Seleucid
Empire and the Roman Empire for much of this time. Before gaining full independence they were called “ethnarchs”, Greek for “rulers of a nation (or ethnic group)”.

—110 Full independence achieved under John Hyrcanus.

—104 The Hasmonean rulers begin calling themselves “kings” under Aristobulus I, in spite of not being descendants of King David.

Lives and Reigns of Herodian kings and tetrarchs, and various other rulers:

Years as ruler

Years as co-regent with father

Years prior to becoming ruler (or after being deposed)

Years prior to becoming ruler (or after being deposed),

uncertain birth (or death) date

Those rulers mentioned by name in the Bible are
highlighted in red in the charts below. (Sometimes
their biblical descriptions or territories are also
highlighted in red, as are a few of their family
members who were not rulers.) Obviously several
others are referred to indirectly, as when Paul
appeals to Caesar in Acts 25:11, the current
Caesar being the infamous Nero, who eventually
ordered Paul’s execution. Earlier when Paul
commanded the Romans to submit to their
governing authorities in Romans 13:1-7 this same
Nero had already become emperor.

HERODIAN
DYNASTY

(born 74)

(See also here,
especially the
last two links.)

—63 Conquest of Judea by the Roman Empire. The “kings” are demoted to ethnarchs
again. Antipater the Idumean, father of King Herod the Great, gains more and more
influence and political power, though he does not become ruler in his own right.

(born
before
20)

Sons of Herod
the Great
mentioned in
the Bible

—43 Antipater the Idumean assassinated by poisoning.

—39 Herod the Great, son of Antipater, is elected “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate.

—37 Herod captures Jerusalem with the support of the Romans, and executes Antigonus, the last Hasmonean ruler.

—20 Herod the Great begins rebuilding the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, as mentioned by Jesus 46 years later in April, 27 A.D. (John 2:20).

King Herod
the Great

(Mat. 2,

Luke 1:5)

died

(27)

(23)

—

Herod Philip
(aka Herod II),
first husband
of Herodias
(Mat. 14:3,
Mark 6:17).
He was never
a ruler.

ROMAN
EMPERORS

Jewish
high priests
mentioned
in the New

Testament

The New Testament

4 B.C.

(March/

(10)

—5

B.C.?—

Birth of
Jesus Christ

Roman Prefects and

April)

408 B.C.

procurators of Judea

Herod

Augustus

Archelaus,

(Luke 2:1)

—9 A.D. The boy Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:41-51)

(End of

“62

Coponius

Marcus Ambivulus

Annius Rufus

tetrarch 6 A.D.
of Judea,

Samaria
and Idumaea
(Mat. 2:22)

Philip,
tetrarch of

-12 Tiberius

co-regent?

Annas 6

(Luke 3:2,

John 18,

Acts 4:6)

Are the genealogies of Jesus complete? Click here for a discussion of this.

sevens”)

Valerius Gratus

(died 18)

Iturea and

Caiaphas 18

Trachonitis

Tiberius

(Mat. 26,

—27?

Jesus baptized, begins ministry

(Luke 3:1)

Luke 3:2,

—30?

Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension

Day of Pentecost

Ministry of Jesus

“1 seven”

Herod Antipas,

John

—34?

Martyrdom of Stephen, persecution by Saul, church scattered

Pontius Pilate

tetrarch of

11:49

—35?

Conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Paul)

Marcellus

Galilee & Perea

John 18,

—39

Saul visits Peter & James in Jerusalem, goes home to Tarsus

Marullus

(exiled 39)

(died

Caligula

Acts 4:5)

—43

Founding of church at Antioch

44 James killed by king Herod (Agrippa I)

34)

First Missionary Journey

Cuspius Fadus

King Herod Agrippa I

47 Ananias

—

Early 49? Council in Jerusalem

Galatians—?? 1 & 2 Thessalonians 50-51

1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 57?

Romans 57-58?

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon 61-63

1 Timothy, Titus 64-66?

2 Timothy 67-68?

Paul's Letters

Tiberius Julius Alexander

(reunited kingdom)

Claudius

(Acts

Late 49-Late 51 Second Missionary Journey

Ventidius Cumanus

(Acts 12) 48

(Acts 11:28,

23, 24)

18:2)

Late 53?-58 Third Missionary Journey

Marcus Antonius Felix

King Herod Agrippa II

58-63 Paul a prisoner

58-60 Caesarea

(limited kingship)

61-63 Rome

Porcius Festus

(Acts 25-26)

Nero

(Act 63?)

Lucceius Albinus

—

67? Martyrdom of Paul under Nero

Gessius Florus

(died 66)

Marcus Antonius Julianus

Destruction of Jerusalem
and the Temple

Vespasian

Titus

Domitian

(died 93)

—95? Completion of the Canon of Scripture with the writing of (Revelation) by the Apostle John.

Nerva

The letters explicitly attributed to Paul in the New Testament are mostly fairly easy to date
within the framework of Acts and its historical background, as shown above, except for
Galatians. However, the dates of writing of the other books of the New Testament are much
more difficult, and I have only given the tentative dates of two of these, the Book of Acts and
the Book of Revelation.

Trajan

117

Hadrian

For greater
detail from 25
A.D. to 75
A.D., and for
the corre-
sponding
pages in The
Narrated
Bible, click
here.