Old Testament Chronological Timeline

Creation

4000 BCE

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 is the focal point of God's creation story, where He forms, out of nothing but His words, structure and order to the heavens and the earth. It is in this event over the course of six days that the ever-present triune God creates all living things, including Adam and Eve, the first human beings created in His very likeness and image. Finally on the seventh day, He rests and sees that His creation is good.

The Fall of Man

3950 BCE

Adam and Eve are charged by God to be fruitful and multiply. They are to partner with God to subdue the earth and remain in oneness with God. God initiates free will with Adam and Eve and in doing so, gives them the choice to obey God by instructing them to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve disobey God, causing a chasm between God and man and ushering sin into creation.

The Flood

2871 BCE

Sin has run rampant across creation and mankind. All of Adam's descendants are corrupted by sinful nature except Noah and his family. Noah is told by God that the world and everyone in it will be destroyed by a great flood. God desires to preserve Noah because he has been found to be the only person in all of mankind to be in right standing with God. Noah is instructed to build an ark for his family, and two of every kind of animal. When the flood waters come, Noah and his family are safe.

Abraham and the Birth of a Nation

1946 BCE

Abraham, the father of the Hebrews is given a promise by God; that he will be the father of a great nation and inherit a promised land. God calls him out of his homeland and into a foreign place unfamiliar to him. Abraham is known as a man of faith whose life is marked by obedience. In his old age after years of faithful servitude to God, this promise is fulfilled through the birth of his son Isaac, and eventually his grandson Jacob. Jacob has twelve sons who form the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Exodus

1446 BCE

There is famine in the land and Jacob's family is forced to take refuge in Egypt, where they are welcomed by Jacob's son Joseph. After time, the Hebrew's welcome runs out and they are forced into slavery for 400 years. Moses, a Hebrew raised by Pharoah is called by God to lead his fellow Hebrews out of slavery. After a series of plagues on Egypt, Moses leads the people out of captivity by the power of God and into the desert of Sinai where they are given the ten commandments and a new covenant.

Israel Enters and Conquors Canaan

1406 BCE

After forty years of wandering in the desert, Moses is succeeded by Joshua to lead Israel in a military advance into the promised land. The Israelites, led by God, conquer the land of Canaan swiftly, destroying everything in their path. The Israelites settle in the land and are led by judges with God Himself as King over Israel.

The Greatest King of Israel

1003 BCE

Samuel, a prophet and the final judge of Israel, is asked by the Israelites to anoint a King so they can be like the surrounding nations. God allows this to be so and has Saul anointed as King. After Saul is disobedient to God's requests, Samuel is to search for a new King. Samuel is led to the house of Jesse and in 1029, anoints David, the youngest son. After nearly thirty years, David becomes King and grows the Kingdom to its peak influence, passing the kingdom on to his son Solomon.

The Kingdom is Divided

931 BCE

King David has dreams of building the Temple but is not allowed by God because of the bloodshed by David. Therefore, Solomon is charged with building the Temple and succeeds in doing so, bringing Jerusalem to a beauty admired by the nations. Unfortunately, Solomon made mistakes in taking on foreign wives, bringing disloyalty to the Kingdom. This led to strife within the Kingdom and the eventual division of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, namely Israel and Judah.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

586 BCE

The divided kingdom loses the strength it once had. Israel, to the north, is invaded in 725 and is utterly destroyed by the Assyrians because of their great sins against God. The kingdom to the south, Judah, withstands invasion from the Assyrians. The Babylonian kingdom also poses a threat to Judah. In 588, Jerusalem is attacked and the Hebrew people are starved, leading to their destruction and exile in Babylon.

Jerusalem Rebuilt

536

The Babylonians fall to the Persian King Cyrus II in 539. He releases a group of exiles and allows them to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem. After about 20 years of construction, the temple is rebuilt. A second group of exiles in 514, led by Ezra, are released. Ezra provides organization to the province and readministered Jewish principles. Later on, in 444, Nehemiah is appointed as governor and rebuilds the walls of the city to protect it from invasion.