Chronology of the Bible
General Information
This presentation gives a chronological sequence of the events described
in the Bible. Each event includes the appropriate
Scriptural reference(s). Also, the location of the events are indicated,
as appropriate.
Much of the chronology of the Old Testament presents many complex
and difficult problems. Often the data are completely lacking, and
where they exist, they are often not particularly adequate or clear
in statement. Even where the data are abundant, the precise meaning
is often not immediately clear, and there are therefore many
interpretations possible. For the period from the Creation, through
Adam, to Abraham, essentially no external corroboration exists
for the Biblical statements. In that period, the Bible describes
a variety of genealogical numbers between the Flood and Abraham,
but the Masoretic text, the LXX, and the Samaritan Pentateuch,
tend to provide different numbers! (They should be the same.)
Beginning around 1000 BC, certain Biblical references to external
people and events have been matched to information amassed by
historians. Therefore, those dates become somewhat more certain.
By the time of Jesus, a number of large societies used established
calendars, so the years are likely to be even more certain.
Modern research by both Biblical scholars and historians continue
to improve the accuracy of the dates of the various events described
and mentioned in the Bible.
For events during the life of Jesus, please see the separate
Chronology for that period, at:
Chronology of the Life of Jesus.
The Old Testament |
|---|
| Description | Where | When | Scripture |
|---|
| The Creation of the Universe | . | before calendars |
Gen 1 |
| The Creation of Light | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:3-4 |
| The Creation of the Earth | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:9-10 |
| The Creation of Oceans | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:9-10 |
| The Creation of Plants | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:11-12 |
| The Creation of Fish | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:20-22 |
| The Creation of Land Animals | . | before calendars |
Gen 1:24-25 |
| The Creation of Man | Eden | before calendars |
Gen 1:26 |
| The Flood (the Deluge) | | before calendars |
Gen 7:11 |
| Abraham | | c. 1921 BC |
Gen 11:26 |
| The Patriarchs | | c. 1921-1706 BC |
Gen |
| The Descent into Egypt | | c. 1706 BC |
Gen 37:25 |
| Moses, the Exodus | Egypt | c. 1491 BC |
Exod 2:1-10 |
| c. 1445 BC |
Exod 5:25 |
| c. 1445 BC |
|
| The Crossing of the Jordan | | c. 1451 BC |
|
| Coronation of Saul | Israel | c. 1095 BC |
|
| Saul, David, Solomon, The United Monarchy | | c. 1050 BC |
|
| The Division of the Monarchy | | c. 975 BC |
|
| Judah, Israel, The Divided Monarchy | | 931 BC |
1Sam 11:8; 1Kings 14:19,29 |
Israel, The Assyrian Captivity
Fall of Samaria |
| c. 722 BC | 2Kings 17:6; 18:11 |
| Judah, the Babylonian Captivity | | 586 BC |
|
| Judah Released from Babylonian Captivity | | 538 BC |
|
| Nehemiah returned to Babylon | | 433 BC |
|
The Apostles, Books |
|---|
| Description | Where | When | Scripture |
|---|
| Pentecost | | c. 30 AD |
|
| Conversion of Saul/Paul | | 34 or 35 AD |
|
| Death of Herod Agrippa | | 44 AD |
|
| Epistle of James | | before 50 AD |
James |
| First Missionary Journey | | 48-49 AD |
|
| Jerusalem Conference | | 49 or 50 AD |
|
| Second Missionary Journey | | begun Spring 50 AD |
|
| Paul at Corinth | Corinth | 50-52 AD |
|
| 1Thess and 2Thess composed | Corinth | 51 AD |
1Thess, 2Thess |
| Galatians composed | Corinth(?) | early 52 AD |
Galatians |
| Gallio as Proconsul | | May 52 AD |
|
| Third Missionary Journey | | begun 54 AD |
|
| Paul at Ephesus | Ephesus | 54-57 AD |
|
| 1Cor composed | Ephesus | Spring 57 AD |
1Cor |
| 2Cor composed | Macedonia | Fall 57 AD |
2Cor |
| Romans composed | Corinth | Winter 57-58 AD |
Romans |
| Paul's arrest at Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Pentecost 58 AD |
|
| Paul's imprisonment at Caesarea | Caesarea | 58-60 AD |
|
| Paul on the island of Malta | Malta | Winter 60-61 |
|
| Paul's arrival at Rome | Rome | Spring 61 AD |
|
| Paul's imprisonment in Rome | Rome | 61-63 AD |
|
| Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians composed | Rome | Summer 62 AD |
Col, Philemon, Eph |
| Philippians composed | | Spring 63 AD |
Philip |
| Paul's release and further work | | 63-65 AD |
|
| 1 Tim, Titus composed | | 63 AD |
1Tim, Titus |
| Hebrews composed | | 64 AD |
Hebrews |
| Synoptic Gospels and Acts | | before 67 AD |
Matt, Mark, Luke, Acts |
| 1Peter, 2Peter composed | Rome | 64-65 AD |
1Peter, 2Peter |
| Peter's death at Rome | Rome | 65 AD |
|
| Paul's second Roman imprisonment | Rome | 66 AD |
|
| 2Tim composed | Rome | 66 AD |
2Tim |
| Paul's death at Rome | Rome | late 66 or early 67 AD |
|
| Epistle of Jude composed | | 67-68 AD |
Jude |
| Destruction of Jerusalem | | 70 AD |
|
| Writings of John | | before 100 AD |
Rev, 1John, 2John, 3John |
| Death of John | | 98-100 AD |
|
Later Christian History |
|---|
| Description | Where | When |
|---|
| Marcion | | c. 140 AD |
| Irenaeus | | 130-202 AD |
| Old Latin Bible | | 150-170 AD |
| Muratorian | | c. 170 AD |
| Tertullian | | 150-220 AD |
| Old Syriac Bible | | 200 AD |
| Origen | | 185-254 AD |
| Hippolytus | | 200-225 AD |
| Eusebius | | 325-340 AD |
| Codex Vaticanus | | 325-350 AD |
| Codex Sinaiticus | | 325-425 AD |
| Athanasius | | 367 AD |
| Amphilocius | | 380 AD |
| Peshitta Bible | | 375-400 AD |
| Carthage 3 | | c. 397 AD |
| Codex Alexandrinus | | 425-475 AD |
| NOTE: There are substantial variances of opinion on some of
the dates above. | |
| Jerome / Vulgate Bible | | 384 AD |
| Council of Nicaea | | 325 AD |
| Great Schism | | 1054 or 1204 AD |
| Wyckliffe Bible | | 1384 AD |
| Tyndale Bible | | 1531 AD |
| King James Bible | | 1611 AD |
| Rheims and Douai (Catholic) Bible | | 1582, 1609 AD |
| Revised Standard Bible | | 1946, 1971 AD |
| NIV Bible | | 1973, 1984 AD |
Chronol'ogy
Advanced Information
Chronology is the arrangement of facts and events in the order of time. The
writers of the Bible themselves do not adopt any standard era according
to which they date events. Sometimes the years are reckoned, e.g., from
the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:1; 33:38; 1 Kings 6:1), and sometimes
from the accession of kings (1 Kings 15:1, 9, 25, 33, etc.), and
sometimes again from the return from Exile (Ezra 3:8). Hence in
constructing a system of Biblical chronology, the plan has been adopted
of reckoning the years from the ages of the patriarchs before the birth
of their firstborn sons for the period from the Creation to Abraham.
After this period other data are to be taken into account in
determining the relative sequence of events. As to the patriarchal
period, there are three principal systems of chronology: (1) that of
the Hebrew text, (2) that of the Septuagint version, and (3) that of
the Samaritan Pentateuch, as seen in the scheme on the opposite page.
The Samaritan and the Septuagint have considerably modified the Hebrew
chronology. This modification some regard as having been wilfully made,
and to be rejected. The same system of variations is observed in the
chronology of the period between the Flood and Abraham. Thus: The
Septuagint fixes on seventy years as the age of Terah at the birth of
Abraham, from Gen. 11:26; but a comparison of Gen. 11:32 and Acts 7:4
with Gen. 12:4 shows that when Terah died, at the age of two hundred
and five years, Abraham was seventy-five years, and hence Terah must
have been one hundred and thirty years when Abraham was born. Thus,
including the two years from the Flood to the birth of Arphaxad, the
period from the Flood to the birth of Abraham was three hundred and
fifty-two years.
The next period is from the birth of Abraham to the
Exodus. This, according to the Hebrew, extends to five hundred and five
years. The difficulty here is as to the four hundred and thirty years
mentioned Ex. 12:40, 41; Gal. 3:17. These years are regarded by some as
dating from the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15), which was entered into
soon after his sojourn in Egypt; others, with more probability, reckon
these years from Jacob's going down into Egypt. (See Exodus.)
In modern times the systems of Biblical chronology that have been adopted
are chiefly those of Ussher and Hales. The former follows the Hebrew, and
the latter the Septuagint mainly. Archbishop Ussher's (died 1656)
system is called the short chronology. It is that given on the margin
of the Authorized Version, but is really of no authority, and is quite
uncertain.
To show at a glance the different ideas of the date of the
creation, it may be interesting to note the following:
From Creation to 1894.
- According to Ussher, 5,898;
- Hales, 7,305;
- Zunz (Hebrew reckoning), 5,882;
- Septuagint (Perowne), 7,305;
- Rabbinical, 5,654;
- Panodorus, 7,387;
- Anianus, 7,395;
- Constantinopolitan, 7,403;
- Eusebius, 7,093;
- Scaliger, 5,844;
- Dionysius (from whom we take our Christian era), 7,388;
- Maximus, 7,395;
- Syncellus and Theophanes, 7,395;
- Julius Africanus, 7,395;
- Jackson, 7,320.
(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)
Chronology of the Bible
Advanced Information
(According to Theophilus, around 168 AD)
(from Theophilus to Autolycus - Book III)
Chapter XXIV.--Chronology from Adam.
Adam lived till he begat a son, [687] 230 years. And his son Seth,
205. And his son Enos, 190. And his son Cainan, 170. And his son
Mahaleel, 165. And his son Jared, 162. And his son Enoch, 165. And his
son Methuselah, 167. And his son Lamech, 188. And Lamech's son was
Noah, of whom we have spoken above, who begat Shem when 500 years old.
During Noah's life, in his 600th year, the flood came. The total
number of years, therefore, till the flood, was 2242. And immediately
after the flood, Shem, who was 100 years old, begat Arphaxad. And
Arphaxad, when 135 years old, begat Salah. And Salah begat a son when
130. And his son Eber, when 134. And from him the Hebrews name their
race. And his son Phaleg begat a son when 130. And his son Reu, when
132 And his son Serug, when 130. And his son Nahor, when 75. And his
son Terah, when 70. And his son Abraham, our patriarch, begat Isaac
when he was 100 years old. Until Abraham, therefore, there are 3278
years. The fore-mentioned Isaac lived until he begat a son, 60 years,
and begat Jacob. Jacob, till the migration into Egypt, of which we
have spoken above, lived 130 years. And the sojourning of the Hebrews
in Egypt lasted 430 years; and after their departure from the land of
Egypt they spent 40 years in the wilderness, as it is called. All
these years, therefore, amount to 3,938. And at that time, Moses
having died, Jesus the sun of Nun succeeded to his rule, and governed
them 27 years. And after Jesus, when the people had transgressed the
commandments of God, they served the king of Mesopotamia, by name
Chusarathon, 8 years. Then, on the repentance of the people, they had
judges: Gothonoel, 40 years; Eglon, 18 years; Aoth, 8 years. Then
having sinned, they were subdued by strangers for 20 years. Then
Deborah judged them 40 years. Then they served the Midianites 7 years.
Then Gideon judged them 40 years; Abimelech, 3 years; Thola, 22 years;
Jair, 22 years. Then the Philistines and Ammonites ruled them 18
years. After that Jephthah judged them 6 years; Esbon, 7 years; Ailon,
10 years; Abdon, 8 years. Then strangers ruled them 40 years. Then
Samson judged them 20 years. Then there was peace among them for 40
years. Then Samera judged them one year; Eli, 20 years; Samuel, 12
years.
[687] i.e., till he begat Seth. [A fragment of the Chronicon of Julius
Africanus, a.d. 232, is gievn in Routh's Reliquiæ, tom. ii. p. 238,
with very rich annotations. pp. 357-509.]
Chapter XXV.--From Saul to the Captivity.
And after the judges they had kings, the first named Saul, who reigned
20 years; then David, our forefather, who reigned 40 years.
Accordingly, there are to the reign of David [from Isaac] 496 years.
And after these kings Solomon reigned, who also, by the will of God,
was the first to build the temple in Jerusalem; he reigned 40 years.
And after him Rehoboam, 17 years; and after him Abias, 7 years; and
after him Asa, 41 years; and after him Jehoshaphat, 25 years; and
after him Joram, 8 years; and after him Ahaziah, 1 year; and after him
Athaliah, 6 years; and after her Josiah, 40 years; and after him
Amaziah, 39 years; and after him Uzziah, 52 years; and after him
Jotham, 16 years; and after him Ahaz, 17 years; and after him
Hezekiah, 29 years; and after him Manasseh, 55 years; and after him
Amon, 2 years; and after him Josiah, 31 years; and after him Jehoahaz,
3 months; and after him Jehoiakim, 11 years. Then another Jehoiakim, 3
months 10 days; and after him Zedekiah, 11 years. And after these
kings, the people, continuing in their sins, and not repenting, the
king of Babylon, named Nebuchadnezzar, came up into Judæa, according
to the prophecy of Jeremiah. He transferred the people of the Jews to
Babylon, and destroyed the temple which Solomon had built. And in the
Babylonian banishment the people passed 70 years. Until the sojourning
in the land of Babylon, there are therefore, in all, 4954 years 6
months and 10 days. And according as God had, by the prophet Jeremiah,
foretold that the people should be led captive to Babylon, in like
manner He signified beforehand that they should also return into their
own land after 70 years. These 70 years then being accomplished, Cyrus
becomes king of the Persians, who, according to the prophecy of
Jeremiah, issued a decree in the second year of his reign, enjoining
by his edict that all Jews who were in his kingdom should return to
their own country, and rebuild their temple to God, which the
fore-mentioned king of Babylon had demolished. Moreover, Cyrus, in
compliance with the instructions of God, gave orders to his own
bodyguards, Sabessar and Mithridates, that the vessels which had been
taken out of the temple of Judæa by Nebuchadnezzar should be restored,
and placed again in the temple. In the second year, therefore, of
Darius are fulfilled the 70 years which were foretold by Jeremiah.
Chapter XXVI.--Contrast Between Hebrew and Greek Writings.
Hence one can see how our sacred writings are shown to be more ancient
and true than those of the Greeks and Egyptians, or any other
historians. For Herodotus and Thucydides, as also Xenophon, and most
other historians, began their relations from about the reign of Cyrus
and Darius, not being able to speak with accuracy of prior and ancient
times. For what great matters did they disclose if they spoke of
Darius and Cyrus, barbarian kings, or of the Greeks Zopyrus and
Hippias, or of the wars of the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, or the
deeds of Xerxes or of Pausanias, who ran the risk of starving to death
in the temple of Minerva, or the history of Themistocles and the
Peloponnesian war, or of Alcibiades and Thrasybulus? For my purpose is
not to furnish mere matter of much talk, but to throw light upon the
number of years from the foundation of the world, and to condemn the
empty labour and trifling of these authors, because there have neither
been twenty thousand times ten thousand years from the flood to the
present time, as Plato said, affirming that there had been so many
years; nor yet 15 times 10,375 years, as we have already mentioned
Apollonius the Egyptian gave out; nor is the world uncreated, nor is
there a spontaneous production of all things, as Pythagoras and the
rest dreamed; but, being indeed created, it is also governed by the
providence of God, who made all things; and the whole course of time
and the years are made plain to those who wish to obey the truth.
[688] Lest, then, I seem to have made things plain up to the time of
Cyrus, and to neglect the subsequent periods, as if through inability
to exhibit them, I will endeavour, by God's help, to give an account,
according to my ability, of the course of the subsequent times.
[688] [Usher notes this as affirmed in general terms only, and
qualified afterwards, in cap. xxix, infra, note i, p. 121.]
Chapter XXVII.--Roman Chronology to the Death of M. Aurelius.
When Cyrus, then, had reigned twenty-nine years, and had been slain by
Tomyris in the country of the Massagetæ, this being in the 62d
Olympiad, then the Romans began to increase in power, God
strengthening them, Rome having been founded by Romulus, the reputed
child of Mars and Ilia, in the 7th Olympiad, on the 21st day of April,
the year being then reckoned as consisting of ten months. Cyrus, then,
having died, as we have already said, in the 62d Olympiad, this date
falls 220 A.U.C., in which year also Tarquinius, surnamed Superbus,
reigned over the Romans, who was the first who banished Romans and
corrupted the youth, and made eunuchs of the citizens, and, moreover,
first defiled virgins, and then gave them in marriage. On this account
he was fitly called Superbus in the Roman language, and that is
translated "the Proud." For he first decreed that those who saluted
him should have their salute acknowledged by some one else. He reigned
twenty-five years. After him yearly consuls were introduced, tribunes
also and ediles for 453 years, whose names we consider it long and
superfluous to recount. For if any one is anxious to learn them, he
will ascertain them from the tables which Chryserus the nomenclator
compiled: he was a freedman of Aurelius Verus, who composed a very
lucid record of all things, both names and dates, from the rounding of
Rome to the death of his own patron, the Emperor Verus. The annual
magistrates ruled the Romans, as we say, for 453 years. Afterwards
those who are called emperors began in this order: first, Caius
Julius, who reigned 3 years 4 months 6 days; then Augustus, 56 years 4
months 1 day; Tiberius, 22 years; then another Caius, 3 years 8 months
7 days; Claudius, 23 years 8 months 24 days; Nero, 13 years 6 months
58 days; Galba, 2 years 7 months 6 days; Otho, 3 months 5 days;
Vitellius, 6 months 22 days; Vespasian, 9 years 11 months 22 days;
Titus, 2 years 22 days; Domitian, 15 years 5 months 6 days; Nerva, 1
year 4 months 10 days; Trajan, 19 years 6 months 16 days; Adrian, 20
years 10 months 28 days; Antoninus, 22 years 7 months 6 days; Verus,
19 years 10 days. The time therefore of the Cæsars to the death of the
Emperor Verus is 237 years 5 days. From the death of Cyrus, therefore,
and the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, to the death of the Emperor
Verus, the whole time amounts to 744 years.
Chapter XXVIII.--Leading Chronological Epochs.
And from the foundation of the world the whole time is thus traced, so
far as its main epochs are concerned. From the creation of the world
to the deluge were 2242 years. And from the deluge to the time when
Abraham our forefather begat a son, 1036 years. And from Isaac,
Abraham's son, to the time when the people dwelt with Moses in the
desert, 660 years. And from the death of Moses and the rule of Joshua
the son of Nun, to the death of the patriarch David, 498 years. And
from the death of David and the reign of Solomon to the sojourning of
the people in the land of Babylon, 518 years 6 months 10 days. And
from the government of Cyrus to the death of the Emperor Aurelius
Verus, 744 years. All the years from the creation of the world amount
to a total of 5698 years, and the odd months and days. [689]
[689] [As Verus died a.d. 169, the computation of our author makes the
creation, b.c. 5529. Hales, who says b.c. 5411, inspires us with great
respect for Theophilus, by the degree of accuracy he attained, using
(the LXX.) the same authority as his base. Slight variations in the
copies used in his day might have led, one would think, to greater
discrepancies.]
The individual articles presented here were generally first published
in the early 1980s. This subject presentation was first placed
on the Internet in December 1997.
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