|
Approximate date/s |
|
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| 3758 B.C.E. (by standard Jewish Calendar) | Creation of human beings |
[Genesis 1.1-2.4 (P),
2.4-3.24 (J)] Human beings as nepesh - unity of "dusty" body and divine breath |
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| 1800's B.C.E. | Abraham and
Sarah,
the Patriarchs |
(Genesis)
[Genesis 37.35 - first reference to Sheol] |
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| 1290-1220 | Moses and the Exodus | (Exodus - Deuteronomy) |
Prophets, prophetic
tradition: community righteousness
--> God's kingdom of shalom |
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| 1220 | Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan |
(Joshua ) (contradictions) |
"Deuteronomistic History" - i.e., influenced by D | ||
| 1220 - 1020 | Period of the judges (tribal confederacy) |
(Judges )
[Deuteronomistic History] |
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| ca. 1150? | [writing of Song of Deborah, Judges 5] | ||||
| 1000 - 922 | The Monarchy
(Saul-David-Solomon) |
(1,2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1-11)
[Deuteronomistic History] |
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| 922 - 722 | Division of Israel (north) and Judah (south) | 1 Kings 12 [D.H.]
|
Development of J (by a woman? after 848 in Judah),
E in Israel |
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| 760? | Amos (Israel) | ||||
| 750-722? | Hosea (Israel) | ||||
| 738-688? | 1st Isaiah (Isaiah 1-39: Judah) | ||||
| 725-700? | (Prophets - orally express the word of God we are called to hear <--> development of literacy, written texts used by priesthood as fixing, preserving the Word, located in a central place, the Temple as the only "authorized" center of worship) | Micah (from Judah - but favored the Moses-Sinai tradition of Israel, rather than the David-Zion tradition of Judah) | |||
| 722/721 | Israel (n) falls to Assyria | ||||
| 663 <--> 612 | fall of Assyrian Empire | Nahum | |||
| 640-609 | Reign of
Josiah; Josiah's reforms |
Zephaniah (2 Kings 22.1-23.25) |
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|
621 627 or 609 -- after 587 593 - 571 |
"Book of the Law" (Deut. 5-26; 28) found in the temple | Jeremiah (Judah): prophetic attack on "royal" religion Ezekiel (Judah) |
1st version of Deuteronomic [D] source "published" | ||
|
587 - 539 545 - 539 |
Babylonian Exile |
(2 Kings) 2nd Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) Lamentations |
Priestly [P] source (preserving Jerusalem priesthood traditions] | ||
|
539 - 332 520 : Haggai 520 - 518 : Zech. 1-8 (ca. late 5th ct. B.C.E., "proto-apocalyptic"
works: Zech. 9-14, Ezekiel 1) 500's: Proverbs (records much older sayings); late 500's/early 400's: Job ca. 450 : Malachi |
Post-exilic
period /
Persian Period 515 - dedication of the (rebuilt) Temple --> Period of Second Temple Judaisms (including Essenes, Sadducees, Pharisees, etc.) --> "proto-Judaism" that (a) transforms Biblical Judaism into Rabbinic Judaism (1st/2nd ct. C.E.), and (b) is a "proto-Christianity" that forms the context of emerging Christianity of the 1st ct. C.E. (see Boccaccini) |
1,2 Chronicles, Ezra - Nehemiah
3rd Isaiah (Isaiah 56-66) Obadiah Jonah "Lying spirit" volunteers in celestial court to
make the prophets speak falsely: 1 Kings 22.19-24; cf. 1 Chron.
21.1; Job 1-2; Zech. 3.1-2 Job: use of the Satan character, story of Job's suffering to challenge Deuteronomic theology --> Wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes: Tobit ("Deuterocanonical") [4th/3rd ct. B.C.E]) Sophia/Woman Wisdom - Prov. 8.1-9.6, Job 28.12-28 |
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| 458/398 | "book of the law of Moses" brought by Ezra from Babylonia |
Ezra 7.6-10, 14
Neh. chs 8-10 |
Prototype of P Code? P Code? Completed Pentateuch? | ||
|
332 - 63 300's/200's: Daniel 1-6, Ecclesiastes |
Hellenistic
Period (under Macedonian, subsequent empires) [Greek translation of Pentateuch)? |
Iranian/Zoroastrian
conceptions of dualistic cosmology, apocalyptic "last
judgment,"
Greek [Stoic] dualism between soul // body become known to Jewish community --> Apocalyptic literature: Joel 2.31, 3.16;
Ezek 1; Zech 1-8; Daniel 7.9-10, 13-14 + pseudepigraphical books
1 Enoch, 2 Baruch), apocryphal books Other Deuterocanonicals from 4th - 2nd cts: Letter of Jeremiah |
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| 221-204 | Ptolemy IV Philopator, king of Egypt | 3 Maccabees (deuterocanonical in Eastern Orthodox canon) | |||
| 2nd ct. | Separation of Samaritans from Jews: Samaritans hold Pentateuch (in Hebrew) as sole Scripture | ||||
| 200-180 | (Hebrew Scripture as including Prophets, Wisdom books) |
Sirach (Deuterocanonical)
Sophia/Woman Wisdom
|
| 198-168 | Persecution by Antiochus | Daniel 7-12
Resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12.2) Satan is now opponent of God, tempter and
oppressor of humanity Deuterocanonicals: 1, 2 Maccabees Other Deuterocanonicals from 3rd-1st ct.: Additions to Daniel (Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon) |
| 134-104 | Judith (Hebrew Bible + Deuterocanonical) | |
| 125 | Esther | |
| 63 | Palestine becomes a Roman protectorate | |
|
30 B.C.E.
30 B.C.E. - 38 C.E. |
Alexandria
(center of Hellenistic Judaism) conquered by Rome Palestinian Judaisms |
Wisdom of Solomon (Deuterocanonical): concept of pre-existent soul (8.19) Sophia/Woman wisdom |
| 65 - 70 C.E. | Jewish rebellion, destruction of Second Temple | 4 Ezra (Slavonic Bible; appendix to Latin Vulgate, but excluded from Catholic canon, Council of Trent, 1546; semicanonical in Armenian Church; included in Ethiopic manuscripts; few copies in Christian Arabic and Georgian) |
| 90 C.E. | Council of Jamnia: canon of Hebrew Scriptures established | |
| 135 C.E. | Jews expelled from Palestine - the Diaspora | |
|
5, 6 Ezra (Christian authorship)
4 Maccabees (appendix in some manuscripts of the Septuagint, but not canonical Hebrew Scripture) |
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|
1st-2nd centuries: |
The
beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism; development of Oral Torah:
the Written Torah
(Hebrew Bible) becomes less central. Midrash as
interpretive technique for expanding interpretations of
Scripture - initially, in order to synthesize Scripture with Oral
Torah Oral Torah, in turn, becomes written |
"orality" of Oral Torah, midrash - in contrast with a central Temple, religious hierarchy (priesthood), central text (as associated with literacy) - better suited to the conditions of the Diaspora, i.e., a decentralized plurality of diverse communities, each attempting to preserve "Judaism" in different cultures and contexts |
| 200 C.E. | Mishnah - compliation of legal rabbinic teaching | "establishment" of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity as "normative systems" - both out of shared roots in 1st ct. Palestinian Judaisms |
| 425 C.E. | Palestinian Talmud | |
| 6th ct. C.E. | Babylonian Talmud | |
| 6th-10th ct. C.E. | Development of Masoretic text of Hebrew Bible |
[Material drawn from:
Gabriele Boccaccini, "Multiple Judaisms," Bible Review XI:1 (January, 1995), 38-41,46
Denise and John Carmody, Western Ways to the Center (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1991)
Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (New York: Summit Books, 1987).
Interpreters' Dictionary of the Bible
HarperCollins Study Bible
The Oxford Study Bible, including essays from "A Complete Guide to the World of the Bible"
J. Benton White, From Adam to Armageddon: A Survey of the Bible (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1986), pp. 4,34,52, 175ff.]