Old Testament Timeline

3760	Adam & Eve created (Year 1 of Jewish calendar)
3630	Seth born
3525	Enosh born
ca. 3500	Chalcolithic Period, first settlement
3435	Kenan born
3365	Mehalalel born
3300	Yered born
3138	Enoch born
3074	Methusaleh born
2886	Lemech born
2831	Adam dies
ca. 2800	Early Dynastic period (Akkad)
2704	Noah born
ca. 2700-2400	Old Kingdom period (Egypt)
ca. 2500-2200	Ebla flourishes
ca. 2500	First houses built in Jerusalem
ca. 2300-2200	Priestess Enheduanna, first known author in the world
2203	Shem born
2150	The Flood
2100-1700	Middle Kingdom period (Egypt)

2000-1750	Old Babylonian period
2000-1700	Israel's Patriarchal period
ca. 1900-1400	Old Assyrian period
1882	Terach born
1813	Abraham born
ca. 1850/1750/1700	Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Ishmael, famine forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt
1800	First Jerusalem city wall built
ca. 1792-1750	Hammurabi
ca. 1750-1200	Hittite empire
1765	The Tower of Babel
1743	Origin of traditions of the "Abrahamic covenant"
1713	Isaac born; Abraham circumcises himself; Sodom & Gomorrah destroyed
ca. 1700-1550	Hyksos in Egypt
1677	Isaac prepared as sacrifice; Sarah dies
1653	Jacob born
1638	Abraham dies
ca. 1600-1150	Kassite period (Babylonia)
1590	Isaac blesses Jacob instead of Esau.
ca. 1570-1085	New Kingdom period (Egypt)
1569	Jacob marries Leah
1565	Levi born
1562	Joseph born
1546	Joseph sold into slavery
1533	Isaac dies
1532	Joseph becomes viceroy of Egypt
1523	Jacob and his family join Joseph in Egypt
ca. 1500-1200	Ugaritic texts
1452	Joseph dies
1429	Egyptian enslavement of the Hebrews begins
ca. 1400-900	Middle Assyrian period
ca. 1400-1300	Amarna period (Egypt)
1393	Moses born.
1355	Joshua born.
1314	Moses sees the burning bush.
ca. 1300-1200	Mosaic period (Israel)
1280	Exodus from Egypt, Sinai Torah, Canaan Entry
1240	After setting up the Ark at Shiloh near Shechem (Nablus), Joshua launches foray into Jerusalem (Joshua 10:23, 15:63)
ca. 1200	Sea Peoples invade Egypt and Syro-Palestine
ca. 1200-1050/1000	Period of the Judges (Israel)
ca. 1200-1000	Jerusalem is a Canaanite city
ca. 1150-900	Middle Babylonian period:
ca. 1106	Deborah judges Israel.
ca. 1050-450	Hebrew prophets (Samuel-Malachi)
ca. 1000-587	Monarchical period in Israel
ca. 1030-1010	Saul (transitional king)
ca. 1010-970	David conquers the Jebusites and makes Jerusalem his capital
ca. 970-931	Solomon builds the First Temple on Mount Moriah
ca. 931	Secession of Northern Kingdom (Israel) from Southern Kingdom (Judah)
931-913	Rehoboam rules Judah
931-910	Jeroboam I rules Israel, choses Shechem as his first capital, later moves it to Tirzah
913-911	Abijah rules Judah
911-870	Asa rules Juda
910-909	Nadab (son of Jeroboam) rules Israel
909-886	Baasha kills Nadab and rules Israel
900-612	Neo-Assyrian period
886-885	Elah, son of Baasha, rules Israel
885	Zimri kills Elah, but reigns just seven days before committing suicide, Omri chosen as King of Israel
885-880(?)	War between Omri and Tibni
885-874	Omri kills Tibni, rules Israel
879	Omri moves capital of Israel from Tirzah to Samaria
874-853	Ahab, Omri's son, is killed in battle, Jezebel reigns as Queen. Athaliah, Ahab and Jezebel's daughter, marries Jehoram, crown prince of Judah
870-848	Jehoshapha rules Judah
853-851	Ahaziah, son of Ahab, rules Israel, dies in accident
750-725	Israelite Prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah
722/721	Northern Kingdom (Israel) destroyed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (10 lost tribes)
720	Ahaz, King of Judah dismantles Solomon's bronze vessels and places a private Syrian altar in the Temple
716	Hezekiah, King of Jerusalem, with help of God and the prophet Isaiah resists Assyrian attempt to capture Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32). Wells and springs leading to the city are stopped
701	Assyrian ruler Sennacherib besieges Jerusalem
612-538	Neo-Babylonian (“Chaldean”) period
620	Josiah (Judean King) and “Deuteronomic Reforms”
ca. 600-580	Judean Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel
587/586	Southern Kingdom (Judah) and First Temple destroyed-Babylonian exile
ca. 550	Judean Prophet “Second Isaiah”
541	First Jews return from Babylon in small numbers to rebuild the city and its walls. Seventy years of exile terminated. (Daniel 9, Haggai 2:18-19)
539	Persian ruler Cyrus the Great conquers Babylonian Empire

538-333 B.C.E.	Persian Period.
538 B.C.E.	Edict of Cyrus (first return from Exile).
520-515 B.C.E.	Jerusalem ("Second") Temple rebuilt.
520 B.C.E.	Judean Prophet Haggai.
500 B.C.E.	The notion of a Messiah, a political/military-religious/moral leader, develops.
450-400 B.C.E.	Reformation led by Ezra and Nehemiah.
ca. 450 B.C.E.	Torah (Pentateuch = first division of Jewish Scriptures) begins to gain recognition as Scripture.
438 B.C.E.	Achashverosh becomes king of Persia.
426 B.C.E.	First decrees by Haman; fast ordered by Esther, Haman's downfall and execution.
425 B.C.E.	Haman's ten sons executed; Purim celebration.
424 B.C.E.	Megillah recorded.
411 B.C.E.	Bagoas, a Persian, is made governor of Jerusalem.
333-63 B.C.E.	Hellenistic (Greek) period.
333/331 B.C.E.	Alexander the Great conquers the Land of Israel.
ca. 320-168 B.C.E.	Judaism under Greek Ptolemies & Seleucids.
ca. 250 B.C.E.	"Septuagint" translation of Torah into Greek.
ca. 230-146 B.C.E.	Coming of Rome to the east Mediterranean.
ca. 201 B.C.E.	Prophets (second division of Jewish Scriptures) recognized by some as Scripture
ca. 200 B.C.E.-135 C.E.	Jewish Qumran community.
175 B.C.E.	Selicid, king of Syria, plunders Jerusalem, murdering many.
166-160 B.C.E.	Jewish Maccabean revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple.
142-129 B.C.E.	Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.
63 B.C.E.	Rome (Pompey) annexes the land of Israel.
66-73 C.E.	First Jewish Revolt against Rome.
69 C.E.	Vespasian gives Yochanan ben Zakkai permission to establish a Jewish center for study at Yavneh that will become the hub for rabbinic Judaism.
70 C.E.	Destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple.