Biblical Timeline

In the Beginning

Creation

God created the heavens, the earth, and all living things in six days and rested on the seventh. He formed man from the dust of the ground and breathe...

Creation Old Testament

After Creation

The Fall of Man

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent deceived Eve, and Adam willingly...

Creation Old Testament

c. 3900 BC

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, brought offerings to God. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. In jealousy and rage, Cain murdered h...

Creation Old Testament

c. 2348 BC

The Great Flood

God saw that human wickedness was great on the earth and determined to destroy all life with a flood. Noah, a righteous man, was instructed to build a...

Creation Old Testament

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Noah

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c. 2242 BC

Tower of Babel

After the Flood, humanity gathered on the plain of Shinar and began building a city with a tower reaching to heaven. God confused their languages and...

Creation Old Testament

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Nimrod

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c. 2091 BC

Call of Abraham

God called Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a land He would show him. God promised to make him a great nation, bless him, and through him...

Patriarchs Old Testament

c. 2067 BC

Covenant of Circumcision

God renewed His covenant with Abraham, changing his name from Abram to Abraham and establishing circumcision as the sign of the covenant. God promised...

Patriarchs Old Testament

c. 2067 BC

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

God rained fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their extreme wickedness. Abraham interceded for the righteous, and God rescu...

Patriarchs Old Testament

c. 2066 BC

Birth of Isaac

Despite Abraham being 100 years old and Sarah 90, God fulfilled His promise and gave them a son, Isaac. His name means "laughter," reflecting Sarah's...

Patriarchs Old Testament

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Abraham, Sarah, Isaac

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c. 2050 BC

Binding of Isaac

God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham obeyed in faith, but God provided a ram as a substitute at the last m...

Patriarchs Old Testament

c. 2006 BC

Jacob and Esau

Isaac's twin sons, Esau and Jacob, struggled even in the womb. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, and Jacob later deceived Isaac to receive...

Patriarchs Old Testament

Jacob, Esau, Isaac...

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c. 1906 BC

Jacob Wrestles with God

On the night before meeting Esau, Jacob wrestled with a mysterious figure until daybreak. The encounter left Jacob with a dislocated hip but also a ne...

Patriarchs Old Testament

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Jacob

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c. 1898 BC

Joseph Sold into Slavery

Joseph, Jacob's favored son, was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers for twenty pieces of silver. He was taken to Egypt where, despite imprisonm...

Patriarchs Old Testament

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Joseph, Jacob

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c. 1876 BC

Israel Moves to Egypt

During a severe famine, Jacob and his entire family moved to Egypt at Joseph's invitation. Pharaoh gave them the land of Goshen. The family of seventy...

Patriarchs Old Testament

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Jacob, Joseph

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c. 1526 BC

Birth of Moses

When Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew baby boys killed, Moses' mother placed him in a basket on the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found and adopted him. Moses wa...

c. 1446 BC

The Burning Bush

While tending sheep in Midian, Moses encountered God in a burning bush that was not consumed. God revealed His name as "I AM WHO I AM" and commissione...

c. 1446 BC

The Ten Plagues and Passover

God sent ten devastating plagues upon Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go. The final plague, the death of the firstborn, was averted for Israe...

c. 1446 BC

The Exodus from Egypt

After the tenth plague, Pharaoh released the Israelites. Approximately two million people left Egypt, guided by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by n...

c. 1446 BC

Crossing the Red Sea

Pursued by Pharaoh's army, the Israelites were trapped at the Red Sea. God parted the waters, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground. When the Egyptia...

c. 1446 BC

Giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai

Three months after the Exodus, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai. God descended on the mountain in fire and smoke, and spoke the Ten Commandments directly...

c. 1446 BC

Golden Calf Incident

While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, the Israelites grew impatient and persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf idol. They worshiped it with...

c. 1445 BC

Building of the Tabernacle

God gave Moses detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary where God's presence would dwell among His people. The people c...

c. 1444 BC

Twelve Spies and the Wilderness Wandering

Moses sent twelve spies to explore Canaan. Ten returned with fearful reports, while only Joshua and Caleb urged faith. The people rebelled, and God co...

c. 1406 BC

Death of Moses and Commissioning of Joshua

After forty years of leading Israel, Moses was permitted to view the Promised Land from Mount Nebo but not enter it. He died at 120 years old, and God...

c. 1406 BC

Crossing the Jordan River

God miraculously stopped the flow of the Jordan River during flood season, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground into the Promised Land. Twelve stone...

c. 1406 BC

Fall of Jericho

God instructed Joshua to march around Jericho with the army and priests once daily for six days, and seven times on the seventh day. When the people s...

c. 1375-1050 BC

Period of the Judges

After Joshua's death, Israel entered a cycle of sin, oppression, crying out to God, and deliverance through judges. Key judges included Deborah, Gideo...

Deborah, Gideon, Samson...

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c. 1100 BC

Story of Ruth and Boaz

Ruth, a Moabite widow, chose to stay with her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi, declaring "Your God will be my God." In Bethlehem, she met Boaz, a kinsma...

c. 1070 BC

Samuel's Calling

The boy Samuel, dedicated to God by his mother Hannah, served in the tabernacle under Eli the priest. God called Samuel by name in the night, establis...

c. 1050 BC

Saul Anointed as First King

Despite God's warning about the costs of monarchy, the people demanded a king like other nations. Samuel anointed Saul, a tall Benjamite, as Israel's...

United Kingdom Old Testament

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Saul, Samuel

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c. 1024 BC

David and Goliath

The young shepherd David, armed with only a sling and five stones, defeated the Philistine giant Goliath who had defied Israel's army for forty days....

United Kingdom Old Testament

c. 1010 BC

David Becomes King

After Saul's death, David was anointed king over Judah and later all Israel. He conquered Jerusalem, making it his capital, and brought the Ark of the...

United Kingdom Old Testament

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David

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c. 990 BC

David and Bathsheba

King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. The prophet Nathan confronted David with a parab...

United Kingdom Old Testament

David, Bathsheba, Nathan...

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c. 966-959 BC

Solomon Builds the Temple

Solomon, David's son, built the First Temple in Jerusalem over seven years. At its dedication, the glory of God filled the temple as a cloud. Solomon...

United Kingdom Old Testament

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Solomon

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c. 930 BC

Kingdom Divides

After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam refused the people's plea for lighter burdens. Ten northern tribes seceded under Jeroboam, forming the kingdom...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

c. 863 BC

Elijah on Mount Carmel

The prophet Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel to a contest: whichever god answered by fire was the true God. Baal's prophets crie...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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A

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Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel

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c. 850 BC

Elijah Taken to Heaven

Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot and horses of fire, witnessed by his successor Elisha. Elisha received a double portion of...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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Elijah, Elisha

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c. 780 BC

Jonah and the Great Fish

God called Jonah to preach repentance to Nineveh, but Jonah fled by ship. God sent a storm, and Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fi...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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Jonah

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c. 740-681 BC

Isaiah's Ministry

Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah. He received his commission in a throne-room vision of God's holiness. His prophecies conta...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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Isaiah

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722 BC

Fall of Samaria (Northern Kingdom)

After centuries of idolatry and ignoring God's prophets, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser V. The Israelite...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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Hoshea

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c. 622 BC

Josiah's Reforms

King Josiah, who became king at age eight, instituted sweeping religious reforms after the Book of the Law was discovered in the temple. He destroyed...

Divided Kingdom Old Testament

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Josiah

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586 BC

Fall of Jerusalem

Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army besieged and conquered Jerusalem, destroying Solomon's Temple and the city walls. The people of Judah were carried in...

Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah, Jeremiah

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586-516 BC

Babylonian Exile

The people of Judah lived in Babylonian captivity for seventy years as Jeremiah had prophesied. During this time, they preserved their faith without a...

Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah

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c. 580 BC

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace

Three young Jewish exiles refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. They were thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal, but...

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego...

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c. 539 BC

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Daniel, a faithful Jewish exile in Babylon, refused to stop praying to God despite a royal decree forbidding it. He was thrown into a den of lions, bu...

c. 538 BC

Return under Zerubbabel

After Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon, he issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. Zerubbabel led...

Return from Exile Old Testament

c. 473 BC

Esther Saves the Jewish People

Queen Esther, a Jewish woman married to Persian King Ahasuerus, risked her life to expose Haman's plot to annihilate the Jewish people. Her courage an...

Return from Exile Old Testament

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M

H

Esther, Mordecai, Haman

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c. 458 BC

Ezra Returns and Restores the Law

Ezra, a priest and scribe, led a second wave of returnees from Babylon to Jerusalem. He was grieved to find that the people had intermarried with paga...

Return from Exile Old Testament

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Ezra

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c. 445 BC

Nehemiah Rebuilds the Walls of Jerusalem

Nehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian king, received permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its broken walls. Despite fierce opposition from Sanba...

Return from Exile Old Testament

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Nehemiah

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c. 430 BC

Malachi's Prophecy

Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, rebuked Israel for corrupt worship, unfaithfulness, and spiritual apathy. He prophesied the coming of a messe...

Return from Exile Old Testament

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Malachi

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c. 430-5 BC

Intertestamental Period

The four hundred years between Malachi and the birth of Christ saw Persia's fall to Greece, Alexander the Great's conquests, the Maccabean revolt, and...

Intertestamental Old Testament

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Judas Maccabeus

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Creation

Creation

The Fall of Man

Cain and Abel

The Great Flood

Tower of Babel

Patriarchs

Call of Abraham

Covenant of Circumcision

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Birth of Isaac

Binding of Isaac

Jacob and Esau

Jacob Wrestles with God

Joseph Sold into Slavery

Israel Moves to Egypt

Exodus

Birth of Moses

The Burning Bush

The Ten Plagues and Passover

The Exodus from Egypt

Crossing the Red Sea

Giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai

Golden Calf Incident

Building of the Tabernacle

Twelve Spies and the Wilderness Wandering

Judges

Death of Moses and Commissioning of Joshua

Crossing the Jordan River

Fall of Jericho

Period of the Judges

Story of Ruth and Boaz

Samuel's Calling

United Kingdom

Saul Anointed as First King

David and Goliath

David Becomes King

David and Bathsheba

Solomon Builds the Temple

Divided Kingdom

Kingdom Divides

Elijah on Mount Carmel

Elijah Taken to Heaven

Jonah and the Great Fish

Isaiah's Ministry

Fall of Samaria (Northern Kingdom)

Josiah's Reforms

Exile

Fall of Jerusalem

Babylonian Exile

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Return from Exile

Return under Zerubbabel

Esther Saves the Jewish People

Ezra Returns and Restores the Law

Nehemiah Rebuilds the Walls of Jerusalem

Malachi's Prophecy

Intertestamental

Intertestamental Period

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