Chronology of The Bible

Chronology Of The Bible

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) or Christian Old Testament indicates the passage of time and thus gives a chronological calibration to biblical history by means of various genealogies, generations, reign-periods, and other means.

The passage of time in the earlier passages of Genesis is indicated by counts of generations: an individual lived so many years, begat a son, and died at such and such an age: when the ages at each birth of a new generation are added together, the result is the total number of years elapsed. In later books the passage of years is calibrated to events in the overall narrative (e.g., 1 Kings 6:1 states that the building of the Temple of Solomon began in the 480th year from the Exodus), or by inter-relationships of the reigns of kings (e.g., king A of Israel came to the throne in year X of king B of Judah and ruled Z number of years, for example in 1 Kings 15:25-28).

While some of the events during the monarchic period (10th to 7th centuries BCE) are historical and can be related to extra-biblical historiography, attempts to date Moses and the Exodus, or yet earlier events such as the birth of Abraham, Noah's Flood, or the date of Creation as real events have been unsuccessful. These events and the dates assigned to such events should not be relied upon as historical fact.