Bible (Seder Olam Rabbah) Timeline
From Creation through the patriarchs, Exodus, judges, kings of Judah and Israel, prophets, exile and return, dated by the traditional Jewish chronology of Seder Olam Rabbah.
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Key events
Adam
3761 BCE – 2831 BCEThe first human, formed from the dust on the sixth day of Creation and placed with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Genesis gives his age at death as 930 (AM 930).
Creation of the world
3761 BCEThe six days of Creation in Genesis. Seder Olam Rabbah's count of the generations sets this at year 1 of the Hebrew calendar (Anno Mundi), the epoch still used for Jewish dating; all dates on this timeline follow that count.
Noah
2705 BCE – 1755 BCERighteous man who built the ark and survived the Flood with his family, from whose three sons all nations descend. Born AM 1056, he lived 950 years.
Great Flood
2105 BCEThe Flood begins in Noah's 600th year (AM 1656) and covers the earth for about a year; only those in the ark survive.
Abraham
1813 BCE – 1638 BCEFirst of the patriarchs, who left Mesopotamia for Canaan at God's call and received the covenant promising the land to his descendants. Born AM 1948, he lived 175 years.
Isaac
1713 BCE – 1533 BCESon of Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham was 100, bound on Mount Moriah, and father of Jacob and Esau. He lived 180 years.
Jacob / Israel
1653 BCE – 1506 BCESon of Isaac, renamed Israel after wrestling with an angel; his twelve sons became the twelve tribes. He died in Egypt aged 147.
Joseph
1562 BCE – 1452 BCEJacob's favorite son, sold into slavery by his brothers, who rose to become viceroy of Egypt and brought his family there during a famine. Traditional dating: born AM 2199, died AM 2309 at age 110.
Jacob's family goes down to Egypt
1523 BCEJacob, aged 130, settles with seventy members of his family in Goshen. Seder Olam counts 210 years in Egypt from this point (AM 2238) to the Exodus.
Aaron
1396 BCE – 1274 BCEElder brother of Moses, his spokesman before Pharaoh, and the first High Priest of Israel. He died on Mount Hor on 1 Av in the fortieth year after the Exodus, aged 123.
Moses
1393 BCE – 1273 BCELevite raised in Pharaoh's palace who led Israel out of Egypt, received the Torah at Sinai and guided the people forty years in the wilderness; the greatest of the prophets in Jewish tradition. He died aged 120 on Mount Nebo, in sight of the Promised Land.
Joshua
1355 BCE – 1245 BCEMoses' attendant and successor, one of the two faithful spies, who led Israel across the Jordan and through the conquest of Canaan. He led the nation 28 years after Moses' death according to Seder Olam and died aged 110.
Era of prophecy
1313 BCE – 313 BCEJewish tradition counts a thousand years of prophecy, from the giving of the Torah (AM 2448) to the end of the era of the last prophets and the Men of the Great Assembly (AM 3448).
Exodus out of Egypt
1313 BCEAfter ten plagues, the Israelites leave Egypt on 15 Nisan AM 2448 and cross the Sea of Reeds, 210 years after Jacob's family arrived. Passover commemorates it.
Forty years in the wilderness
1313 BCE – 1273 BCEAfter the spies' bad report, the generation of the Exodus is condemned to wander forty years in the desert, carrying the Tabernacle with them, until a new generation is ready to enter Canaan.
Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai
1313 BCESeven weeks after leaving Egypt, the Israelites hear the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai (6 Sivan, AM 2448), the founding covenant of the nation. Seder Olam also counts the era of prophecy from this year.
Israel crosses the Jordan into Canaan
1273 BCEOn 10 Nisan AM 2488, forty years after the Exodus, Joshua leads the people across the Jordan; the walls of Jericho fall soon after.
Era of the Judges
1245 BCE – 879 BCEFrom Joshua's death to the anointing of Saul, Israel was a loose tribal league led in crises by judges. Seder Olam counts the judges' terms as overlapping the years of oppression, so traditional dates for each judge are approximate.
Othniel
c. 1245 BCE – c. 1205 BCECaleb's younger kinsman from the tribe of Judah and the first judge, who freed Israel from Cushan-rishathaim of Aram; the land then had rest forty years.
Ehud
c. 1205 BCE – c. 1125 BCELeft-handed Benjaminite who killed Eglon, king of Moab, with a hidden dagger and led Israel to victory; the land rested eighty years.
Deborah and Barak
c. 1125 BCE – c. 1085 BCEThe prophetess Deborah, judging Israel under a palm tree in Ephraim, summoned Barak to defeat Sisera, general of Jabin of Hazor; Jael killed Sisera in her tent. The land then rested forty years.
Gideon
c. 1085 BCE – c. 1045 BCEManassite farmer called by an angel to free Israel from Midian, who routed their camp with three hundred men bearing trumpets and torches and refused the offer of kingship.
Jephthah
c. 982 BCE – c. 976 BCEOutcast Gileadite warrior recalled to lead the war against Ammon, best known for his rash vow concerning his daughter. He judged Israel six years.
Samson
951 BCE – 931 BCENazirite of the tribe of Dan with great strength, who fought the Philistines alone, was betrayed by Delilah, and died bringing down the temple of Dagon at Gaza. He judged Israel twenty years.
Eli the High Priest
c. 931 BCE – c. 891 BCEHigh Priest at Shiloh who judged Israel forty years and raised the young Samuel. He died on hearing that the Philistines had captured the Ark and killed his sons.
Samuel
c. 931 BCE – 879 BCEProphet and last of the judges, dedicated to the sanctuary by his mother Hannah, who led Israel after Eli's death and anointed both Saul and David. Seder Olam says he died aged 52, four months before Saul.
David
907 BCE – 837 BCEShepherd from Bethlehem who killed Goliath, became king at 30, made Jerusalem the capital and founded the dynasty that ruled Judah until the exile. Traditionally the author of many Psalms. He lived 70 years (AM 2854–2924).
Saul
879 BCE – 877 BCEBenjaminite anointed by Samuel as Israel's first king. He won early victories over Ammon and the Philistines but lost divine favor, and died with his sons in battle on Mount Gilboa. Seder Olam counts two years of reign.
United Monarchy
879 BCE – 797 BCESaul, David and Solomon rule all twelve tribes as one kingdom, from Saul's anointing (AM 2882) to the split after Solomon's death (AM 2964).
David reigns as king
877 BCE – 837 BCEDavid rules forty years: seven and a half in Hebron over Judah, then thirty-three in Jerusalem over all Israel.
David captures Jerusalem
870 BCEDavid takes the Jebusite stronghold of Zion, makes Jerusalem his capital and later brings the Ark of the Covenant there.
Solomon
837 BCE – 797 BCEDavid's son by Bathsheba, famed for his wisdom and wealth, who built the First Temple. His heavy taxes and foreign wives set the stage for the kingdom's split. Reigned forty years.
First Temple built
833 BCE – 826 BCESolomon begins the Temple in Jerusalem in his fourth year, 480 years after the Exodus (AM 2928), and completes it seven years later. It stood 410 years.
Jeroboam I
797 BCE – 776 BCEEphraimite former official of Solomon who became the north's first king and set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan to keep his people from pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Reigned 22 years.
Kingdom of Israel (northern)
797 BCE – 556 BCEThe northern kingdom of ten tribes, ruled by a series of short-lived dynasties from Shechem, Tirzah and later Samaria until the Assyrian exile. Reign dates follow the rabbinic chronology as tabulated in Seder HaDorot.
Kingdom of Judah
797 BCE – 423 BCEThe southern kingdom of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, ruled from Jerusalem by David's descendants until the Babylonian destruction. Reign dates here follow the rabbinic chronology of Seder Olam as tabulated in Seder HaDorot.
Kingdom splits in two
797 BCEAfter Solomon's death, the northern tribes reject his son Rehoboam at Shechem and crown Jeroboam, splitting the nation into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
Rehoboam
797 BCE – 780 BCESolomon's son, whose refusal to lighten the people's burden caused the northern tribes to secede. Shishak of Egypt plundered Jerusalem in his fifth year. Reigned 17 years.
Asa
778 BCE – 737 BCERighteous king who removed idols, deposed his idolatrous grandmother and fought off Zerah the Cushite. Reigned 41 years.
Omri
751 BCE – 740 BCEArmy commander who founded a strong dynasty and built Samaria as the northern capital. Reigned 12 years, part of them contested by Tibni.
Ahab
740 BCE – 719 BCEOmri's son, married to the Phoenician princess Jezebel, who promoted Baal worship and clashed with Elijah. Died of an arrow wound fighting Aram at Ramoth-gilead. Reigned 22 years.
Elijah
c. 740 BCE – c. 718 BCEProphet of Gilead who confronted Ahab and Jezebel, proclaimed a drought, defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and, by tradition, never died but was carried to heaven in a whirlwind.
Jehoshaphat
737 BCE – 714 BCEDevout king who sent officials to teach the Torah throughout Judah and allied with Ahab of Israel. The Bible gives 25 years; Seder HaDorot counts 23 because of overlap with his father.
Elisha
c. 718 BCE – c. 660 BCEElijah's disciple and successor, known for many miracles, including reviving the Shunammite's son and healing Naaman. He had Jehu anointed and died in the reign of Jehoash of Israel.
Jehu
706 BCE – 678 BCEArmy commander anointed at Elisha's command, who wiped out the house of Ahab, killed Jezebel and stamped out Baal worship, though he kept Jeroboam's calves. Reigned 28 years.
Athaliah
705 BCE – 700 BCEDaughter of Ahab and Jezebel and the only queen to rule Judah in her own right. She seized power by killing the royal heirs, but the infant Joash was hidden in the Temple; after six years the priest Jehoiada crowned him and she was executed.
Joash of Judah
700 BCE – 660 BCECrowned at age seven, he repaired the Temple under Jehoiada's guidance, but after Jehoiada's death he turned to idols and had the prophet Zechariah son of Jehoiada stoned. Reigned forty years.
Jeroboam II
647 BCE – 608 BCERestored Israel's borders from Lebo-hamath to the Dead Sea, as Jonah had foretold, in a time of prosperity that Amos and Hosea condemned for its injustice. Reigned 41 years.
Uzziah
646 BCE – 594 BCEAlso called Azariah; a strong king who built up Judah's army and agriculture. Struck with tzaraat after burning incense in the Temple, he lived apart while his son Jotham governed. Reigned 52 years.
Babylonian Empire
626 BCE – 539 BCEThe Neo-Babylonian Empire of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II, which destroyed Jerusalem. These are conventional historical dates, which run earlier than Seder Olam's count.
Isaiah
c. 600 BCE – c. 530 BCEJerusalem prophet in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, author of visions of judgment, comfort and universal peace. He counseled Hezekiah during Sennacherib's siege; the Talmud says Manasseh had him killed.
Ahaz
578 BCE – 562 BCEIdolatrous king who, attacked by Aram and Israel, rejected Isaiah's counsel and became a vassal of Assyria. Reigned 16 years.
Hoshea
574 BCE – 556 BCELast king of Israel. He became an Assyrian vassal, then rebelled with Egyptian help and was imprisoned by Shalmaneser V. The Bible counts nine years of reign from Ahaz's twelfth year; the rabbinic table dates his rule from Pekah's death.
Hezekiah
562 BCE – 533 BCERighteous king who purified the Temple, restored Passover, dug the Siloam water tunnel and withstood Sennacherib's siege with Isaiah's support. Reigned 29 years.
Fall of Samaria and exile of the Ten Tribes
556 BCEAfter a three-year siege, Assyria captures Samaria in Hezekiah's sixth year (AM 3205) and deports the northern tribes to Assyria and Media, the origin of the Ten Lost Tribes.
Persian Empire
550 BCE – 330 BCEThe Achaemenid Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great, which let the exiles return, until its conquest by Alexander. Conventional historical dates; Seder Olam counts only 34 years of Persian rule after the Second Temple was built.
Sennacherib besieges Jerusalem
548 BCEIn Hezekiah's fourteenth year Sennacherib of Assyria takes Judah's fortified cities and besieges Jerusalem; according to the Bible his army is struck down in a night and he withdraws.
Manasseh
533 BCE – 478 BCEHezekiah's son and Judah's longest-reigning king, who set up idols in the Temple and shed much innocent blood. Chronicles says he repented after being taken captive to Babylon. Reigned 55 years.
Josiah
476 BCE – 445 BCEBecame king at eight and led Judah's most thorough religious reform after a Torah scroll was found in the Temple. Killed at Megiddo opposing Pharaoh Necho. Reigned 31 years.
Jeremiah
463 BCE – c. 420 BCEPriest from Anathoth called in Josiah's thirteenth year, who warned for forty years that Jerusalem would fall to Babylon, was imprisoned for it, lived to see the destruction, and was taken to Egypt. Tradition credits him with Lamentations.
Jehoiakim
445 BCE – 434 BCEInstalled by Pharaoh Necho, he became Nebuchadnezzar's vassal, burned Jeremiah's scroll and later rebelled against Babylon. Reigned 11 years.
Daniel
442 BCE – c. 369 BCEJudean youth taken to Babylon who served at the courts of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and Cyrus, interpreted dreams and the writing on the wall, and survived the lions' den.
Zedekiah
434 BCE – 423 BCELast king of Judah, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. Ignoring Jeremiah's warnings, he rebelled; Jerusalem fell, his sons were killed before him, and he was blinded and taken to Babylon. Reigned 11 years.
Ezekiel
429 BCE – 407 BCEPriest exiled with Jehoiachin who began prophesying by the river Chebar in the fifth year of exile, with visions of the divine chariot, the dry bones and a future Temple. His last dated prophecy is from the 27th year of exile.
Siege of Jerusalem
c. 426 BCE – 423 BCENebuchadnezzar's army besieges Jerusalem from 10 Tevet in Zedekiah's ninth year; the walls are breached on 9 Tammuz two and a half years later, and the Temple is burned a month after.
Babylonian exile
423 BCE – 353 BCEThe seventy years foretold by Jeremiah, counted in Seder Olam from the Temple's destruction (AM 3338) to the start of the Second Temple (AM 3408).
First Temple Destroyed
423 BCENebuchadnezzar's forces burn Solomon's Temple on 9 Av AM 3338 after 410 years, and most of Judah is exiled to Babylon. Some conversions give 422 BCE; secular historians date it to 587/586 BCE.
Cyrus allows the Jews to return
371 BCECyrus of Persia proclaims that the Jews may return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple; Zerubbabel and the High Priest Joshua lead the first return and lay the foundations, but the work is soon halted.
Purim
356 BCEHaman's plot to destroy the Jews of the Persian Empire is overturned through Esther and Mordecai, and the Jews defend themselves on 13 Adar; the festival of Purim commemorates it.
Second Temple Built
353 BCE – 349 BCEBuilding resumes in Darius's second year (AM 3408), seventy years after the destruction, and the Second Temple is completed on 3 Adar of his sixth year. Some conversions give 352 BCE for the start.
Ezra arrives in Jerusalem
348 BCEEzra the scribe leads a second return from Babylon, teaches the Torah publicly and leads the community in separating from foreign marriages. Tradition credits him with founding the Great Assembly.
Greek Empire
336 BCE – 31 BCEFrom Alexander the Great's accession through the Hellenistic kingdoms that succeeded him, until Rome's victory at Actium. Judea was ruled by the Ptolemies and Seleucids, then by the Hasmoneans after the Maccabean revolt.
Nehemiah rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem
335 BCENehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian king, comes to Jerusalem as governor and rebuilds its walls in 52 days despite opposition, then leads a public renewal of the covenant.
Roman Empire
27 BCE –From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire. Rome ruled Judea through Herod and his successors and destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE.
Jesus of Nazareth
c. 5 BCE –Jewish preacher from Galilee, crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah. Historians usually place his birth c. 6–4 BCE and death c. 30–33 CE.
53 more in the interactive timeline.
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