Biblical Chronology
A timeline of major events in biblical history — from Creation to the end of the Apostolic Age.
Date note
All dates before Abraham are approximate and debated; dates from Abraham onward are based on a synthesis of Scripture, Egyptian chronology, and archaeological evidence. "BC/AD" dates use the traditional Christian calendar.
🌟 Pre-History (Eternity to c. 2000 BC)
| Approximate Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eternity past | The eternal God exists; the Son and Spirit with Him | John 1:1; Col 1:15–17 |
| Creation | God creates the heavens, earth, and all life in six days | Genesis 1–2 |
| The Fall | Adam and Eve sin; death enters creation; the proto-gospel (Gen 3:15) | Genesis 3 |
| Cain & Abel | First murder; two lines of humanity develop | Genesis 4 |
| Enoch | "Walked with God; then he was no more" — taken to heaven without dying | Genesis 5:24 |
| c. 2350 BC | The Flood — Noah and his family preserved through the global flood | Genesis 6–9 |
| Post-Flood | Noah's three sons populate the earth; the nations begin | Genesis 10 |
| c. 2200 BC | Tower of Babel — languages confused; peoples scattered | Genesis 11 |
👴 The Patriarchal Period (c. 2100–1800 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| c. 2091 BC | Call of Abraham — God calls Abram from Ur; Abrahamic Covenant begins | Genesis 12 |
| c. 2080 BC | Abraham and Lot separate; Lot moves to Sodom | Genesis 13 |
| c. 2068 BC | Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed | Genesis 19 |
| c. 2066 BC | Birth of Isaac — the son of promise | Genesis 21 |
| c. 2050 BC | Binding of Isaac (Akedah) on Mount Moriah | Genesis 22 |
| c. 2006 BC | Birth of Jacob and Esau | Genesis 25 |
| c. 1914 BC | Birth of Joseph | Genesis 30 |
| c. 1898 BC | Joseph sold into slavery in Egypt | Genesis 37 |
| c. 1885 BC | Joseph elevated to Prime Minister of Egypt | Genesis 41 |
| c. 1876 BC | Jacob's family moves to Egypt — 70 people enter Goshen | Genesis 46 |
⛓️ Egypt & The Exodus (c. 1800–1400 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1805 BC | Death of Joseph | Genesis 50 |
| c. 1730 BC | A new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph enslaves Israel | Exodus 1 |
| c. 1526 BC | Birth of Moses — hidden in a basket on the Nile | Exodus 2 |
| c. 1486 BC | Moses flees to Midian after killing an Egyptian | Exodus 2 |
| c. 1446 BC | The Burning Bush — God calls Moses; the divine name YHWH revealed | Exodus 3 |
| c. 1446 BC | The Ten Plagues of Egypt — culminating in the Passover | Exodus 7–12 |
| c. 1446 BC | The Exodus — Israel leaves Egypt; the Red Sea parts | Exodus 14 |
| c. 1446 BC | Sinai Covenant — Ten Commandments given; Law revealed; Tabernacle built | Exodus 19–40 |
| c. 1445 BC | Israel's rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea — 40 years of wilderness decreed | Numbers 13–14 |
| c. 1406 BC | Death of Moses on Mount Nebo; Joshua becomes leader | Deuteronomy 34 |
🏰 Conquest & Judges (c. 1406–1050 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1406–1399 BC | Conquest of Canaan — Jericho falls; land allotted to tribes | Joshua 1–21 |
| c. 1399 BC | Joshua's farewell address; death of Joshua | Joshua 23–24 |
| c. 1375–1050 BC | Period of the Judges — cyclic pattern of apostasy and deliverance | Judges |
| c. 1200 BC | Deborah defeats Sisera | Judges 4–5 |
| c. 1169 BC | Gideon defeats Midian with 300 men | Judges 6–8 |
| c. 1105 BC | Birth of Samuel | 1 Samuel 1 |
| c. 1100 BC | Samson — 20 years as judge | Judges 13–16 |
👑 The United Kingdom (c. 1050–930 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1050 BC | Saul anointed — Israel's first king | 1 Samuel 10 |
| c. 1025 BC | David anointed by Samuel at Bethlehem | 1 Samuel 16 |
| c. 1010 BC | David becomes king of Judah, then all Israel | 2 Samuel 2, 5 |
| c. 1004 BC | Jerusalem captured and made capital; ark brought to Jerusalem | 2 Samuel 5–6 |
| c. 1000 BC | Davidic Covenant — God promises eternal kingdom through David's line | 2 Samuel 7 |
| c. 990 BC | David's sin with Bathsheba; murder of Uriah | 2 Samuel 11 |
| c. 970 BC | Death of David; Solomon becomes king | 1 Kings 1–2 |
| c. 966 BC | Temple construction begins | 1 Kings 6 |
| c. 959 BC | Solomon's Temple dedicated — God's glory fills the Temple | 1 Kings 8 |
| c. 931 BC | Death of Solomon; Kingdom divides into Israel (north) and Judah (south) | 1 Kings 12 |
⚔️ The Divided Kingdom (931–586 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 931 BC | Jeroboam sets up golden calves in Dan and Bethel | 1 Kings 12 |
| 875–850 BC | Ministry of Elijah — contest on Carmel; drought; Jezebel | 1 Kings 17–21 |
| 850–800 BC | Ministry of Elisha | 2 Kings 2–13 |
| 760–720 BC | Ministry of Hosea and Amos (northern kingdom) | Hosea, Amos |
| 740–680 BC | Ministry of Isaiah (southern kingdom) | Isaiah |
| 727–698 BC | Hezekiah's reign — Assyrian siege repelled; Temple reform | 2 Kings 18–20 |
| 722 BC | Israel (north) falls to Assyria — 10 tribes exiled; Samaria resettled | 2 Kings 17 |
| 627–585 BC | Ministry of Jeremiah | Jeremiah |
| 640–609 BC | Josiah's reform — greatest spiritual revival in Judah's history | 2 Kings 22–23 |
| 605 BC | First deportation to Babylon — Daniel and friends taken | Daniel 1 |
| 597 BC | Second deportation — Ezekiel and 10,000 taken | 2 Kings 24 |
| 586 BC | Jerusalem and Temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; third deportation | 2 Kings 25 |
🏺 The Exile & Return (586–400 BC)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 586–539 BC | The Babylonian Exile — Israel in captivity | Ezekiel, Daniel |
| 593–571 BC | Ministry of Ezekiel among the exiles | Ezekiel |
| 539 BC | Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great of Persia | Daniel 5 |
| 538 BC | Cyrus Decree — Jews permitted to return to their land | Ezra 1 |
| 537 BC | First return under Zerubbabel — 50,000 return | Ezra 2 |
| 536 BC | Temple foundation relaid; opposition begins | Ezra 3–4 |
| 520 BC | Haggai and Zechariah call the people to finish the Temple | Haggai, Zechariah |
| 516 BC | Second Temple dedicated — 70 years after the first was destroyed | Ezra 6 |
| 479 BC | Esther becomes queen; Haman's plot defeated | Esther |
| 458 BC | Ezra's return — second wave with 1,750 | Ezra 7 |
| 445 BC | Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls in 52 days | Nehemiah 4–6 |
| c. 430 BC | Malachi — the last OT prophet; 400 years of prophetic silence begin | Malachi |
✝️ The New Testament Era (c. 6 BC – AD 96)
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| c. 6–4 BC | Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem during Herod the Great's reign | Matthew 2; Luke 2 |
| c. 4 BC | Flight to Egypt; return to Nazareth | Matthew 2 |
| c. AD 8 | Jesus at the Temple, age 12 | Luke 2:41–52 |
| c. AD 26–28 | Ministry of John the Baptist | Mark 1 |
| c. AD 27 | Baptism of Jesus — the Spirit descends; "This is My beloved Son" | Matthew 3 |
| c. AD 27–30 | Three-year public ministry of Jesus — Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem | All four Gospels |
| c. AD 30 | The Last Supper — the New Covenant instituted | Luke 22 |
| c. AD 30 | Crucifixion of Jesus on Passover; His resurrection three days later | Matt 27–28; John 20 |
| c. AD 30 | Pentecost — the Holy Spirit poured out; 3,000 saved; the Church born | Acts 2 |
| c. AD 32–35 | Conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus | Acts 9 |
| c. AD 44 | James (brother of John) martyred; first apostle to die | Acts 12 |
| c. AD 46–48 | Paul's first missionary journey | Acts 13–14 |
| c. AD 49 | Jerusalem Council — Gentiles not required to keep Mosaic Law | Acts 15 |
| c. AD 49–52 | Paul's second missionary journey — Corinth, Athens | Acts 15–18 |
| c. AD 53–57 | Paul's third missionary journey — Ephesus, Macedonia | Acts 18–21 |
| c. AD 57 | Paul writes Romans — the summit of NT theology | Romans |
| c. AD 60–62 | Paul's imprisonment in Rome; writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon | |
| c. AD 64 | Nero's persecution — Rome; Peter and Paul likely martyred | |
| c. AD 66–70 | Jewish-Roman War | |
| c. AD 70 | Jerusalem and the Second Temple destroyed by Titus — exactly as Jesus predicted (Matt 24) | |
| c. AD 85–95 | John writes his Gospel, three letters, and Revelation on Patmos | |
| c. AD 95–96 | Revelation given to John — the close of the NT canon | Revelation |
See also: Old Testament Books · New Testament Books · Prophecies & Fulfillment