The Bible For Dummies
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The Bible is vast and encompasses everything from Creation to the end of time. This brief timeline represents key events that happened in the Bible:

  • In the beginning”: Creation (Genesis 1)

  • Very early: Adam and Eve (Genesis 2–3)

  • Still quite early: Noah’s flood (Genesis 6–9)

  • Around 2000 b.c.e.: Abraham and Sarah leave for their Promised Land in Canaan (Genesis 12–25)

  • Around 1250 (or 1450) b.c.e.: Moses leads the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1–15)

  • Around 1000 b.c.e.: David begins ruling as Israel’s King (2 Samuel)

  • Around 950 b.c.e.: King Solomon, David’s son, builds the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6–8)

  • Around 925 b.c.e.: Israel splits into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12)

  • 721 b.c.e.: The northern kingdom of Israel is conquered and exiled by the Assyrians, becoming the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel (2 Kings 17)

  • Around 622 b.c.e.: King Josiah enacts many religious reforms (2 Kings 22–23)

  • 586 b.c.e.: The southern kingdom of Judah is conquered and exiled by the Babylonians, which begins the Exilic Period (2 Kings 25)

  • 538 b.c.e.: King Cyrus of Persia allows the Jews to return to their homeland, which begins the Postexilic Period (2 Chronicles 36:22–23)

  • 515 b.c.e.: The rebuilt Temple is dedicated under the leadership of the Judean governor, Zerubbabel, which begins the Second Temple Period (Ezra)

  • Around 425 b.c.e.: Nehemiah repairs the walls of Jerusalem, and Ezra and Nehemiah enact religious reforms (Nehemiah)

  • Around 165 b.c.e.: The Hasmoneans, under Judah Maccabee, rededicate the Temple, which is today celebrated as “Hanukkah” (1 Maccabees 4)

  • Around 6 b.c.e.: Jesus is born during the reign of Herod the Great, a Roman-appointed King of the Jews (Matthew 1 and Luke 2)

  • Around 30 c.e.: Jesus is crucified during the rule of Pontius Pilate, the Roman-appointed governor of Syria-Palestine (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

  • Around 46–64 (or 67) c.e.: The apostle Paul’s missionary journeys and letter writing (Acts 13–28 and Pauline Epistles)

  • 70 c.e.: The destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans

  • Around 95 c.e.: Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, is completed

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Jeffrey Geoghegan, PhD and Michael Homan, PhD have authored and coauthored numerous books and articles about the Bible.

Jeffrey Geoghegan, PhD and Michael Homan, PhD have authored and coauthored numerous books and articles about the Bible.

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