Chronological Guide to the Bible

EX P LO R E GO D’S WO R D I N

HI S TO R I C A L OR D E R

T O T H E B I B L E

Chronological Guide

W O R K S W I T H A N Y T R A N S L A T I O N

See the people, places, and events of the Bible come alive with this unique Chronological Guide and enhance your study. It enhances your study with any Bible.

The Chronological Guide to the Bible’s colorful pages guide you step-by-step through the Nine Epochs of Biblical History—the same ones used in the best-selling Chronological Study Bible. Maximize your understand-ing as you experience God’s Word in dynamic historical order, no matter which translation you choose.

Dig deeper into the cultures and people of biblical times with The Chronological Guide to the Bible!

• Works with any Bible, any translation!• Gain deeper understanding of the biblical story by learning

its historical setting• Learn the history and chronology of the Bible and see its

people, places, and events come alive• Includes chronological reading guides, book introductions

and outlines for all 66 books of the Bible• Full color pages throughout

EX P LO R E YO U R BI B L E I N

CH RO N O LO G I C A L OR D E R

TO

TH

E B

IB

LE

Chronological G

uide

TN Chronological_Guide_Cover.ind1 1TN Chronological_Guide_Cover.ind1 1 12/22/09 12:44:24 PM12/22/09 12:44:24 PM

The Chronological Guide T O T H E B I B L E

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page i

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page ii

The Chronological GuideT O T H E B I B L E

www.ThomasNelson.com

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page iii

The Chronological Guide to the BibleCopyright © 2010 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Adapted from The Chronological Study Bible, copyright © 2008 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Portions formerly published as The Life and Times Historical Reference Bible,copyright © 1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Contributing scholars: Timothy B. Cargal, Mark W. Chavalas, James R. Edwards, John O. Gooch, Lowell K. Handy, Craig S. Keener, David T. Landry, Robert Lintz, George Lyons, John S. Mason, David Merling, Gerald P. Morris, and John W. Wright.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the priorpermission of the publisher.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please [email protected].

All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version, copyright ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Editorial Services, Design, and Typesetting Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406www.koechelpeterson.com

ISBN: 978-1-418-54175-0

www.thomasnelson.com

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11- 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page iv

TABLE OF CONTENTSContributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiReading Theological History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiRearranging the Bible’s Canonical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

EPOCH 1 Before the Patriarchs (Creation–2000 B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1The Beginnings of Human Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

EPOCH 2 The Patriarchs, Israel’s Ancestors (2000–1500 B.C.). . . . . . . . . . . 7The Changing of the Empires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Egypt in the Middle Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

EPOCH 3 The Rise of a Unified People (1500–1200 B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Egypt and the Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17The Conquest of Canaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

EPOCH 4 From Tribes to a Nation (1200–930 B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39A Tribal Confederation in Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41The United Monarchy in Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

EPOCH 5 The Fall of Two Nations (930–586 B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66The Divided Monarchy in Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68The Neo-Assyrian Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76The Neo-Babylonian Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

EPOCH 6 Exile and Return (586–332 B.C.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Exile in Babylon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Wisdom in the Ancient Near East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110The Persian Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

EPOCH 7 Between the Two Testaments (332–37 B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135The Greek Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137The Roman Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

EPOCH 8 The Coming of the Messiah (37 B.C.–A.D. 30) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Introductions to Jesus Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Early Lives of John the Baptist and Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151The Galilean Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154From Galilee to Jerusalem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Jesus’ Final Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Final Ministry in Judea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166Jesus’ Final Week in Jerusalem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

EPOCH 9 The Church Age (A.D. 30–100) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178The Gospel to the Jews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180The Gospel to the Gentiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183The Gospel to the Gentile World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184The Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198Apocalyptic Writings and the End Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Photo Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page v

Timothy B. Cargal, Ph.D., served as UniversityLecturer in Philosophy and Religion at WesternKentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), and ispastor of Northwood Presbyterian Church (SilverSpring, MD). Dr. Cargal is author of Restoring theDiaspora: Discursive Structure and Purpose in theEpistle of James.

Mark W. Chavalas, Ph.D., is Associate Profes-sor of History at the University of Wisconsin—LaCrosse (La Crosse, WI). Dr. Chavalas is editor ofNew Horizons in the Study of Ancient Syria andEmar: The History, Religion, and Culture of aBronze Age Town in Syria. He has had nine sea-sons of archaeological field work in Syria.

James R. Edwards, Ph.D., served as chair of theDepartment of Religion at Jamestown College(Jamestown, ND) and is Professor of Religion atWhitworth College (Spokane, WA). A specialist inNew Testament studies, Dr. Edwards contributedto Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary and isauthor of Romans in The New International Bibli-cal Commentary.

John O. Gooch, Ph.D., served as curriculum edi-tor for the United Methodist Church (Nashville,TN) and as Assistant Professor of Religion, Metro-politan College, St. Louis University. He is the onlyknown youth minister with a doctorate in Patris-tics. Dr. Gooch is coauthor of A Pocket Guide tothe Bible.

Lowell K. Handy, Ph.D., serves as Senior Lecturerin Scripture at Loyola University Chicago (Chicago,IL), and is Indexer/Analyst for the American Theo-logical Library Association (Evanston, IL). Dr.Handy is author of Among the Host of Heaven:The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy andThe Educated Person’s Thumbnail Introduction tothe Bible.

Craig S. Keener, Ph.D., is Visiting Professor ofBiblical Studies at Eastern Baptist TheologicalSeminary (Wynnewood, PA). Dr. Keener focuses onNew Testament background and is author of TheIVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testa-ment, as well as seven other books. He remains ac-tive in campus ministry.

David T. Landry, Ph.D., is Assistant Professorof Theology at the University of St. Thomas (St.Paul, MN). Dr. Landry is coauthor and coeditor ofThe Christian Theological Tradition.

Robert Lintz, Th.D., served as Bible editor forThomas Nelson Publishers (Nashville, TN). Dr.Lintz is associate editor of The Wesley Bible, edi-tor of The Life and Times Historical ReferenceBible, and author of Shepherd’s Notes—Exodus,Ruth, Esther.

George Lyons, Ph.D., served as Professor of Bib-lical Literature at Olivet Nazarene University(Kankakee, IL) and is Professor of Biblical Litera-ture at Northwest Nazarene College (Nampa, ID).Dr. Lyons is author of Pauline Autobiography andMore Holiness in Everyday Life, and is a specialistin the Gospels and Paul’s letters.

John S. Mason, Th.M., served as Professor ofBiblical Studies at Daystar University College,Nairobi, Kenya, and as a missionary in Eritrea. Heis editor of the Tigrinya Grammar, and assistanteditor of the New Geneva Study Bible.

David Merling, Ph.D., is Associate Professor ofArchaeology and History of Antiquity and Asso-ciate Director of the Institute of Archaeology atAndrews University (Berrien Springs, MI). Dr.Merling has directed archaeological digs in Jordan,and is coeditor of Hesban After 25 Years and au-thor of The Book of Joshua: Its Theme and Rolein Archaeological Discussions.

Gerald P. Morris, Ph.D., served as adjunct Pro-fessor of Old Testament Interpretation at TheSouthern Baptist Theological Seminary(Louisville, KY) and as Assistant Professor of Bib-lical Studies at Ouachita Baptist University(Arkadelphia, AR). Dr. Morris is author ofProphecy, Poetry and Hosea.

John W. Wright, Ph.D., served as Visiting Assis-tant Professor at St. Mary’s College (Notre Dame,IN) and the University of Notre Dame and as pas-tor of the Winamac (IN) Church of the Nazarene.Dr. Wright contributed to The Anchor Bible Dictio-nary as a specialist in Second Temple Judaism,and is Associate Professor of Religion at PointLoma Nazarene College (San Diego, CA).

CONTRIBUTORS

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page vi

The Bible is really a library of books in one. Infact, the 66 books of the Old and New Testamentswere written by more than 40 people from allwalks of life over a period of more than 1,000years in three different languages; and their con-tents cover a variety of ancient peoples and cul-tures. Most of the books of the Old Testamentwere written for the Jewish people, the nation Godchose to help Him bring His Son Jesus into theworld. The books of the New Testament werewritten initially to the first-century followers of Je-sus who were scattered in a variety of culturesthroughout the Roman Empire.

If we are to understand and appropriate theBible’s life-giving message today, we need somesense of the historical and cultural context inwhich its diverse parts appeared. Unfortunately,the individual books of the Bible do not alwaysprovide that information. At the time that thesebooks were written, readers would have been fa-miliar immediately with the events and customsthe writings describe. But thousands of yearslater, we read the same words under entirely differ-ent circumstances and risk misunderstanding oronly dimly understanding them if we neglect theirhistorical and cultural background.

The Chronological Guide to the Bible will pro-vide you with a guide through the history and cul-ture of the Bible. It will help you follow the flow ofevents in the Scriptures and see where sacred his-tory and secular history converge into one story ofsalvation. You will learn how sacred history fitsinto the context of secular history—why an eventhappened, how events relate to each other—aswell as the cultural, religious, political, and geo-graphical background that influenced the events.

Reading a Chronological TextThis chronological guide’s attempt to rearrangethe Bible text in the order of the events it narratesmay be a bit unsettling at first for some Biblereaders, as though it is a violation of the integrityof the Bible. The goal of this chronological guideis not to replace the time-honored canonicalarrangement, but instead to honor time as the set-ting in which the biblical record appeared. Readerswho study the Bible via this guide will return totheir traditional Bibles better equipped to readthem. Acquiring a sense of the flow of the Bible’sstory will put flesh and blood on its message.

Rearranging the Bible is a fallible human ef-fort. Even those who have earned advanced de-grees in the various fields of biblical studieswould disagree on any particular rearrangement.The editors of The Chronological Study Bible(upon which this guide is based) were forced attimes to make hard decisions, to choose one loca-tion at the neglect of another that is equally plau-sible. In such instances, an honest effort has been

made to acknowledge another possible arrange-ment and to present its case fairly.

In the case of debated issues this biblicalguide avoids presenting a single, biased perspec-tive. Rather, it treats evenhandedly the entire spec-trum of credible opinion on disputed matters—both the views of traditional, conservative Biblestudents and those of modern, critical scholarship.No attempt is made to persuade readers that oneparticular view is correct; that determination is ulti-mately their prayerful and thoughtful responsibility.

READING THEOLOGICAL HISTORY

One goal of The Chronological Guide to the Bibleis to help readers acquire a greater appreciationfor the historical dimensions of the biblical mes-sage. The Bible is not a theology book arrangedaccording to topics: God, man, sin, salvation, etc.Nor is it simply a chronicle of events from creationto the final consummation. Historical events are of-ten the Bible’s subject matter, but these events arealways reported from the perspective of theologi-cal history. It is in the arena of history that Godhas chosen to make Himself known.

History and the Old TestamentThe Old Testament is centered in history. It de-scribes historical events and is addressed, at onelevel at least, to a specific historical audience: theHebrew people. This makes the faith taught in theBible very different from the beliefs of other an-cient Near Eastern peoples.

The peoples surrounding the Hebrews builttheir religious beliefs on the rhythms of nature.The world had visible patterns, but to its inhabi-tants these rhythms were unexplainable, uncon-trollable, and therefore attributed to the gods.There were gods to represent all the phenomena ofnature: gods of the sun, moon, rain, storms, rivers,seas, and the earth itself. The typical religious ex-pression of such religion was the myth, a storythat explained these unexplainable features of na-ture. For instance, almost every people had a mythof a deity who was dead for part of the year andalive for the rest of the year—a story that ex-plained the recurring cycle of the seasons.

The God of the Old Testament is very differ-ent. Most importantly, He is one God. All the phe-nomena that other peoples regarded as gods aresimply the creations of the one God. In the otherreligions of the ancient Near East, nature was di-vine; in the Bible, God both created nature andwas more than nature. The God of the Bible dealswith His creation not in recurring, regular pat-terns, but in one-time, extraordinary moments ofself-revelation, in recognizable locations on earth.

For this reason, the Old Testament’s primary

INTRODUCTION

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page vii

the bread and wine symbols of His death and ofthe new covenant (Luke 22:19, 20). History hadreached its highest point in Him. So Paul, the mostinfluential teacher of Christianity, described therisen Christ as the one “through whom are allthings, and through whom we live” (1 Cor. 8:6).

The Message and the Historical SettingWhile both the Old and New Testaments presenttheir message on a historical frame, the messagetakes precedence to the historical setting. Thewriters of biblical history did not write in thesame manner as a modern historian. Ancient his-tory writers were not as interested in “when some-thing happened” as they were in the meaning ofthe events they were recounting. Therefore thereader of biblical history must be aware thatmany of the concerns that dominate modern his-tory writing (specific dates, discussions of naturalcauses) simply were not very important to most ofthe biblical writers.

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’SCANONICAL ORDER

The individual books included in the Old and NewTestaments as authoritative are called “the canon.”For some readers, the placement of these books inour English Bibles (called “canonical order”) isslightly confusing, since it does not always followchronological order. Rather, it follows the order ofthe Latin Vulgate translated by Jerome in the 4thcentury A.D.

A reader can follow the Old Testamentchronology easily for the first dozen books (Gene-sis through 2 Kings), but after that the chronologi-cal order often disappears. The books of Chroni-cles through Esther backtrack and retell many ofthe events already described. Portions of thebooks of Psalms and Proverbs refer to times thatare centuries apart, and the prophetic writings,speaking of widely different times, are not pre-sented in straight chronological order.

The New Testament reader also faces somechronological uncertainty. The life of Jesus ap-pears in four Gospels, and while all four Gospelsreport information about Jesus in general chrono-logical order, none do so strictly. Certain sayingsor events appear in differing sequences in the vari-ous Gospels. Each of the authors had a slightlydifferent purpose and audience in mind and struc-tured his materials in order to achieve the greatesteffectiveness. Determining the events of Paul’s lifeis not simple since the information from his lettersdoes not always connect directly with the narra-tive of the Book of Acts.

Thus the canonical order presents a dilemma.To understand the Bible the reader must under-stand something of the history to which the Biblerefers. At the same time, though, that historicalbackground is not readily apparent from the order

mode of communication is not myth, but history.The writers wanted to tell how, at specific mo-ments in history, God chose Abraham, blessed Ja-cob, and saved Abraham’s and Jacob’s descen-dants from slavery in Egypt. They wanted to tellhow God established His chosen king over Israel,how God allowed that kingdom to be destroyed,and how once again God rescued His people fromcaptivity. To tell their very different sort of faith,the Israelites used the art of history writing, andthe Old Testament itself contains some of the veryearliest examples of this art.

Of course, not all of the Old Testament con-sists of history writing. But even the parts of theOld Testament that are not history writing usuallyappear in some historical context. The oracles,speeches, and poetry of the prophets are not his-tory, but they are addressed to real people in realhistorical situations. They recall God’s mighty actsof the historical past; they promise that God canand will act in history again. The books of wis-dom and philosophy, which do not speak of his-tory at all, such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, arenevertheless identified with the historical contextof King Solomon’s court. Even the psalms, in-tended for regular repetition in public worship, of-ten provide a historical background, such asPsalm 3, superscribed as “A Psalm of David whenhe fled from Absalom his son.”

Israel understood God as a God who acts inhistory, and for this reason almost every religiousutterance was read in light of the history of God’smighty acts. Therefore, unless the reader knowsthe history of Israel and the ancient Near East, theBible will always be, to some extent, a closed book.

The New Testament and the OldThe Old Testament was the Bible of the New Tes-tament writers. Old Testament images and con-cepts filled their minds. Allusions to the Old Testa-ment appear on nearly every page of theirwritings. The teaching of the Old Testament wasbasic to their thought.

These New Testament writers also believedthat Christ was God’s final revelation, the One whobrought the earlier revelation into proper focus(Heb. 1:1, 2). Indeed, the risen Christ Himself hadexplained to His disciples how He fulfilled theScriptures (Luke 24:27). Thus New Testamentwriters understood Him to be the One whobrought to completion God’s plan of salvationrecorded in the early chapters of Genesis.

History writing in the New Testament is atheological history. The authors believed that thepurpose and meaning of history could be found inChrist. Therefore, the history of which they wrotewas salvation history. God’s earlier saving workslooked forward to the Cross. God’s bringing Hispeople out of Egypt became a pattern for Christ’satoning work. At the Passover meal commemorat-ing this deliverance from bondage, Christ made

INTRODUCTION v i i i

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page viii

of the books in the Bible itself. The ChronologicalGuide to the Bible makes the Bible’s historicalbackground more accessible by rearranging theBible text according to nine epochs of time andproviding a chronological Bible reading list withineach of those epochs.

Moving Whole Books: To begin with, wholebooks of the Bible are relocated according to thehistorical time period narrated in the books. Thisreordering disrupts the canonical order of thebooks, and though this might seem irreverent tosome people, it actually continues an ancient prac-tice. The order of books in the Septuagint (theGreek Old Testament) differs from that of the olderHebrew Bible, and some of the Septuagint reorder-ing is reflected in our English Old Testaments.

The early Greek translators, thinking achronological order would make more sense, movedsuch books as Ruth, Ezra, and Nehemiah from theirpositions in the Hebrew manuscripts. The Book ofRuth does not appear after the Book of Judges inthe Hebrew Bible, but near the end of the Bible.The books of Ezra and Nehemiah come before thebooks of Chronicles, even though they narrateevents occurring later in time than those narratedby Chronicles. When the Old Testament was trans-lated into Greek during the Hellenistic era (336–37B.C.), the confusing chronology of the Hebrew Biblewas changed by relocating several of these books.The Book of Ruth, for instance, was inserted be-tween the books of Judges and 1 Samuel, whileEzra and Nehemiah were placed after 2 Chronicles.

Moving Portions of Books: Chronological con-fusion is not restricted to the order of whole books,however. The contents of certain individual booksare not in chronological order, making it difficult fora modern reader to comprehend the historical con-text. So in addition to reordering whole books, eventhe contents of individual books have been re-arranged—quite extensively in books such as Isa-iah and Jeremiah—to follow a chronological outline.

Combining Portions of Books: Moreover, vari-ous books have been woven together. For instance,the historical books of Kings and Chronicles are of-ten interrupted by prophetic books or passages thatpertain to the time described in the history. The fourGospels are combined into one presentation follow-ing the sequence of the Gospel of Mark. Certain ofPaul’s letters are inserted into the Book of Acts.

Principles of RearrangementRearranging the biblical books chronologi-

cally is by no means easily accomplished, sinceBible scholars differ on almost every importantpoint of chronology. The rearrangement in TheChronological Guide to the Bible is based on two

distinct chronological goals. First, it provides a rel-ative chronology, placing related events togetherwithout fixed dates. For instance, the prophetAmos spoke in the northern kingdom of Israelduring the reign of Jeroboam II, and so the historyof Jeroboam II is read alongside the words ofAmos that refer to Jeroboam’s time. Second, thisguide provides an absolute chronology tied to his-torical information and fixed dates (or at least ten-tative dates). An absolute chronology enablesreaders to place the biblical history in the largercontext of world history.

There are imposing difficulties with any at-tempt to construct either relative or absolutechronologies. Many biblical passages offer nochronological specificity. Even among books andpassages that provide some indication of a spe-cific historical context, the intended context is notalways clear. For instance, the oracle of Jeremiah14 is dated to the time of “the droughts,” and Jere-miah’s original audience supposedly had no trou-ble identifying this time. Modern readers, however,are not so fortunate: Were these droughts duringthe reign of King Josiah or King Jehoiakim orKing Zedekiah? Jeremiah’s prophetic career spansthe reigns of all three kings. In the Book of Joelanother prophet responds to a locust plague thatravaged the land of Judah. But when was thatplague? Different scholars place Joel in at leastthree different centuries. All one can do in select-ing a time period for the Book of Joel is to look atclues within the prophecy itself and then, in allhumility, guess.

Genesis Through JoshuaThe books of the Bible that narrate the earli-

est events do not provide specific years or refer tospecific events or names that can be dated byother means. Even such a central figure as Egypt’spharaoh during the Exodus is never referred to byname. Moreover, the years that are given are oftensuspiciously round numbers—such as 40 years,which may be simply a symbolic number repre-senting one generation.

Due to this lack of specific chronological in-formation, scholars disagree widely on exactlywhen to date many events of early Israelite his-tory. The Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt, for exam-ple, is dated by many scholars in the 15th centuryB.C., whereas other scholars place it 200 years later,during the 13th century. The choice of either of

Cyrus Cylinder. Terracotta, Babylonian, ca. 539-530 B.C.From Babylon, southern Iraqphoto by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’S CANONICAL ORDERi x

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page ix

these dates does not affect the chronological se-quence of the narrative. Thus both dates are givenwithout stating any preference. The dates of theExodus, wilderness wandering, and the conquestunder Joshua are interrelated; consequently, thedate a person favors for the Exodus determinesthe dating of the other two events.

The Exodus and Wilderness WanderingWhen presenting relative chronology, the passagesof the Bible are ordered according to the historythat is narrated in the passage, not according to thetime of the book’s writing. For instance, the booksof Exodus through Deuteronomy narrate theevents of Israel’s departure from Egypt and thesubsequent wilderness wanderings. In TheChronological Guide to the Bible, these books ap-pear in the historical context of the Exodus, al-though many scholars argue that parts of thesebooks were written much later. Regardless of whenthese books were written, their narrative can be ap-preciated as marvelous literature telling a story setin the time of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.

Samuel, Kings, and ChroniclesThe books of 1 and 2 Kings represent historical ac-counts that were evidently put together in their cur-rent form during the Babylonian exile (597–539B.C.). Yet, because they narrate events as far back intime as the death of King David (about 970 B.C.), thebooks of Kings are not located in The ChronologicalGuide to the Bible during their time of writing (theExile), but rather are divided up and associatedwith the various historical eras which they narrate.

The history of the Israelite kingdoms is re-counted in two full-length histories. The first isrecorded in the books of Samuel and Kings, andthe second appears in the books of Chronicles.The two histories are very similar; indeed, 1 and 2Chronicles often quote directly from the earlier his-tory of Samuel/Kings. Yet there are some markeddifferences in perspective. Whereas Samuel and

Kings emphasize the religious leadership ofprophets, Chronicles emphasizes the role of thepriests. In order to present both historical accountsin their entirety, while staying as close as possibleto chronological order, the two histories alternate.The account of a particular historical time appearsfirst as told in Samuel or Kings, then the same his-tory as told in Chronicles follows. This dual historybegins at the reign of King Saul and continues un-til the destruction of Jerusalem, at which time asingle chronological account resumes.

The Kings of the Divided MonarchyIsrael and Judah kept careful records of thelengths of reign of their rulers. The Bible’s datesfor the kings are relative dates, cross-referencingthem to one another: for instance, Ahab becameking of Israel in the 38th year of Asa king of Ju-dah (1 Kin. 16:29). Since no definite year is givenfor the beginning of Asa’s reign, however, this in-formation alone is not enough to establish Ahab’sdates.

An additional problem occurs when the yearsof reign are totaled. When the years given for thekings of Israel and Judah are added up, Israel’s to-tals do not always correspond to Judah’s. Theseapparent inconsistencies may appear for variousreasons. When one king dies and another iscrowned, is that year counted twice—as the lastyear of the deceased king and also as the first yearof the new king? When a crown prince rules as re-gent while his royal father is still alive, as happensmore than once, are the years of the coregencycounted in the reigns of both kings? These ques-tions make it difficult to utilize the years of reignin calculating an overall chronology. To provide aconsistent presentation, The Chronological Guideto the Bible adapts the system of dates for thekings found in The Mysterious Numbers of theHebrew Kings by Edwin R. Thiele.

In the later history of Israel, the dates aremuch more certain, though a few chronological

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’S CANONICAL ORDER x

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page x

problems remain. Occasionally a biblical historianwill recount some event out of chronological order,usually to make a theological point. For instance,the very last event described in the life ofHezekiah king of Judah is his entertaining of am-bassadors from Babylon (2 Kin. 20:12–19; Is.39:1–8). Evidence from both inside and outside ofthe Bible reveals that that event actually occurredearlier, certainly not just before Hezekiah’s death(2 Kin. 20:21). The biblical historian evidentlymoved the account to the end because of theprophet Isaiah’s warning about Babylon. DuringHezekiah’s reign, God had delivered Judah from As-syria, but the historian foreshadows a coming timewhen God would allow Judah to fall to Babylon.Emphasizing chronological order, The Chronologi-cal Guide to the Bible restores such temporal dis-placements to their probable chronological contexts.

The ProphetsOther biblical books also concern the time coveredby the Samuel/Kings and Chronicles double his-tory. In The Chronological Guide to the Bible mostof the prophetic books are inserted at the appro-priate historical points, according to the eventswhich are narrated or prophesied, not according tothe times when the books were written. The Bookof Jonah, for instance, is often thought to havebeen composed some time in the Persian era(559–331 B.C.), but events in the book are set in thelifetime of the prophet Jonah, who lived centuriesearlier, during the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753B.C.). Thus, the Book of Jonah appears in the con-text of Jeroboam’s reign.

Other prophetic passages speak of timeslater than the traditional date of composition forthe passage itself. For example, parts of the Bookof Isaiah refer to events that took place centuriesafter the prophet Isaiah lived. Though Isaiahprophesied in Jerusalem during the 8th centuryB.C., the passage of Is. 44:28—45:1 refers by nameto Cyrus, a Persian king who lived in the 6th cen-tury B.C. For this reason, some chapters from theBook of Isaiah appear in the time of Cyrus(539–530 B.C.). While scholars disagree whetherthese chapters were written by Isaiah of Jerusalemor by a later prophet during the 6th century, theyagree that the 6th century is the time to whichthese chapters refer.

The Book of Ezekiel provides many dates,most of which indicate when the prophet receiveda message from God. To calculate his dates Ezekielbegan counting from the exile of Jehoiachin toBabylon in 597 B.C. Each date is expressed as a“year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity” (Ezek. 1:2) ora “year of our captivity” (Ezek. 33:21). In provid-ing modern equivalents for Ezekiel’s dates, TheChronological Guide to the Bible follows the sys-tem of dates compiled in Babylonian Chronology626 B.C.–A.D. 75 by R. A. Parker and W. H. Dub-berstein.

The Book of JeremiahThe Book of Jeremiah, perhaps the most radicallyrearranged book in The Chronological Guide to theBible, is a prime example of a book that lackschronological order in its canonical form. As oneof the most history-conscious of the propheticbooks, Jeremiah refers specifically to individualkings and officials and even includes several his-torical narratives. At the same time, though, thesehistory-minded oracles and historical narrativesare not presented in anything resembling chrono-logical order. Even the historical narratives of Jer.25—29 and 32—40 skip back and forth in time(see Jer. 25:1; 26:1; 32:1; 36:1). Thus, although theBook of Jeremiah is only understandable in lightof the historical events surrounding the destruc-tion of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., simply reading thebook from start to finish does not give the readerthat necessary understanding.

Messianic PropheciesMessianic prophecies raise a question as to thetime period to which a particular prophecy refers.The New Testament takes great care to demon-strate that many Old Testament passages ulti-mately refer to the person and work of JesusChrist. It would make sense to locate such Old Tes-tament passages at pertinent places in the life ofJesus. This has not been done, however. Withoutdenying that messianic prophecies are ultimatelyfulfilled in Christ, most of them also have signifi-cance for their original Old Testament time period.For instance, the promise in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold,the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,” is quotedin Matt. 1:23 as a reference to Christ’s virgin birth.In the context of Is. 7, though, the promise is apart of the prophet Isaiah’s larger message to Ju-dah’s king Ahaz, providing a sign that he shouldnot fear the nations of Syria and Israel, for theywould soon be destroyed (Is. 7:16). This prophecyhas significance for more than one time period;and in The Chronological Guide to the Bible, it ap-pears in its original context, during the reign ofAhaz, even though its prophetic significance ex-tends to the later context at the birth of Christ.

Wisdom Literature and PsalmsSome of the most hotly contested debates amongOld Testament scholars concern the date whenthis or that passage was composed. Fortunately,The Chronological Guide to the Bible only seeks toplace biblical passages according to the setting de-scribed, a question about which there is moreagreement. Even so, complete scholarly consensusstill is not possible, and sometimes it is not certainto which time period various passages refer.

The wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesi-astes, and Job is an example of such chronologicaluncertainty. While most of the Old Testament iscentered in history, these writings are an exception.Wisdom speaks of universal, practical matters that

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’S CANONICAL ORDERx i

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page xi

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’S CANONICAL ORDER x i i

apply to all people of all nations in all ages. Aproverb such as “Hatred stirs up strife, but love cov-ers all sins” (Prov. 10:12), for example, applies justas well to every age. Most of the Book of Proverbsand all of the Book of Ecclesiastes are associatedwith the court of King Solomon, the revered head ofthe wisdom movement in Israel. So in The Chrono-logical Guide to the Bible these passages appear inSolomon’s time. Some sections of Proverbs and thewhole Book of Job, however, defy chronologicalplacement. For this reason, these writings are sepa-rated from the chronology and located, somewhatarbitrarily, in the Babylonian exile.

The psalms also intentionally resist chrono-logical placement. For the most part, they do notrefer to any one time, but rather speak in generallanguage, providing words for worship in the tem-ple. Some psalms have superscriptions that associ-ate them with particular events and determinetheir placement. Most of the psalms, however, aretimeless, and without a historical context to followcan be placed only in reaction to their content.David’s hymns of praise appear, as a block, in atime when David praised God: when he broughtthe Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (1 Chr.15:29). On the other hand, David’s laments appearat a time when David lamented: during a plague (1Chr. 21:30). Other psalms appear in other historicalcontexts, from the fall of Jerusalem (Ps. 89) to theBabylonian captivity (Ps. 137) to the rebuilding ofJerusalem under Nehemiah (Ps. 120—134).

The GospelsA challenging task faces us when we attempt toarrange the Gospels into a chronological presenta-tion of Jesus’ life. If early Christian tradition iscorrect, Mark’s Gospel was not written to providea sequential account of the events in Jesus’ life. Ifthe other Synoptic Gospels—Matthew and Luke—are related to Mark, as most scholars believe, theyare not organized primarily along chronologicallines either. What has long been recognized aboutJohn’s Gospel is probably also true of the SynopticGospels: the Gospel writers’ theological interestsand their communities’ practical needs were moredecisive than historical concerns.

The first three Gospels are called the Synop-tic Gospels. The word “Synoptic” comes from twoGreek words meaning “seen together.” Matthew,Mark, and Luke tell the story of Jesus in essen-tially the same sequence and in nearly identicalterms. The similarities are especially obviouswhen these three Gospels are compared with John.But equally striking are their conspicuous differ-ences when compared closely with each other.This creates what scholars call the “SynopticProblem”: How can both the similarities and thedifferences be satisfactorily explained?

Similarities might be explained by appeal tothe Gospels’ divine inspiration. But this fails toaccount for their differences. Virtually all scholars

today agree that the similarities among the Synop-tic Gospels are so close as to require a literary ex-planation. That is, either all three copied from alost earlier gospel or two of the Gospels dependedon the third.

Other gospels did exist, which are called“apocryphal” because the church never acceptedthem. The apocryphal gospels were never widelyused. Some were rejected because they seemed topromote false doctrines. Others were dismissed asmerely fanciful speculations designed to answerthe curious questions of those familiar with thecanonical Gospels. In any case, none of the apoc-ryphal gospels that survive explain the similaritiesamong the canonical Gospels.

Various theories have been proposed to ex-plain how the Gospels might have depended oneach other. St. Augustine proposed the theory thatMatthew was the earliest Gospel and that Lukeand Mark used it in writing theirs. Many modernscholars espouse a similar view. But since the 19thcentury most scholars have presumed that Markwas the earliest Gospel. Even assuming that Markwas written first still does not account for all thesimilarities among the Synoptic Gospels. To offermore explanation, most scholars assume that, inaddition to Mark, Matthew and Luke depended ona now-lost source. This hypothetical source is gen-erally called “Q,” an abbreviation for the Germanword Quelle, meaning “source.”

Both ancient tradition and scholarly opinionseem to agree that Mark was the earliest Gospel.Since we cannot be certain of the exact sequenceof events, the life of Jesus in The ChronologicalGuide to the Bible follows Mark’s order. Additionalinformation provided by the other Gospels isarranged in what seems to be the most plausibleorder around Mark’s framework.

Acts of the ApostlesThe second task in rearranging the New Testa-ment books is to construct a chronology of impor-tant events that occurred during the lives of theapostles and during the early years of the Christ-ian church. The Book of Acts and the New Testa-ment letters serve as the basis for the chronologyof the church age. References to the political lead-ers during this time help pinpoint certain dates.

The Book of Acts is the one book of the NewTestament that traces the development of theearly church after the ascension of Jesus. Standingbetween the Gospels and the New Testament let-ters, Acts is a bridge between the life of Jesus andthe ministry of the apostle Paul. As such, the nar-rative of Acts is one source of historical informa-tion about the early church.

There is little doubt that the Book of Acts andthe Gospel of Luke come from the same author.Since the author does not identify himself by name,scholars have ascribed the authorship of bothbooks to Luke, the companion of Paul (2 Tim. 4:11).

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page xii

Luke was closely associated with many events ofPaul’s mission, and this results in greater vividnessin the latter half of Acts. At places (see Acts16:10–17), the narrative changes to the first person(“we”), indicating that Luke was personally present.Nevertheless, some scholars believe that the booksof Luke and Acts were written by an anonymouswriter who was later identified with Luke. Alsoquestioned is whether Luke is a reliable historian,since his primary motive for writing was not torecord history, but to inform his audience of thetriumphant course of the gospel, beginning in Je-sus and continuing in the church (Acts 1:1). Thus,other scholars look to Paul’s letters for a chronol-ogy of his ministry.

Paul’s LettersPaul the apostle was the earliest and most influen-tial interpreter of Christ’s message and teaching. Asan early Christian missionary, Paul founded andcorresponded with several early Christian churches.Using Paul’s letters, however, to determine achronology of events in his life is difficult. The let-ters do not provide any specific dates or a sequenceof events, but only offer pieces of information thatscholars try to relate to the narrative of Acts. Tomake the task more difficult, scholars cannot agreeon the sequence in which Paul wrote his letters, oron whether all of the letters accredited to Paul wereactually written by him.

The New Testament letters follow the generalcustom and form of letters that became an impor-tant form of communication in the Greek-speakingworld about 300 years before the birth of Jesus.The Roman government provided postal serviceonly for official documents, so private letters weresent by special messengers or friendly travelers.Letters normally were sent to designated parties,although some were “open” or circular letters.Paul’s letters, with the possible exception of Eph-esians, were addressed to specific congregations.

Ancient letters normally followed a patternthat included: (1) an introduction, listing the namesof sender and recipient, followed by a formalgreeting inquiring about the recipient’s health anda thanksgiving formula; (2) a body, or purpose forwriting; and (3) a conclusion, consisting of appro-priate remarks and a farewell. Paul’s letters followthis pattern, with some exceptions. Paul replacedthe bland greeting of inquiry about health with asalutation combining Christian grace and Hebrewpeace. His thanksgiving was likewise more than aformality; it was a sincere expression of gratitudefor the well-being of his congregations. He alsoomitted the farewell in favor of personal greetingsor a benediction.

Since Paul’s letters do not provide a sequenceof events, The Chronological Guide to the Bible fol-lows the narrative sequence of Acts. In the OldTestament, books were rearranged based on thedescription of the narrative. Since the New Testa-

ment letters describe themselves as communica-tion written from a particular sender to intendedrecipients, individual letters have been placed ac-cording to this description, if possible. In canoni-cal Bibles, the Pauline letters are arranged in theNew Testament according to length, from thelongest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon). InThe Chronological Guide to the Bible they havebeen arranged, as much as possible, according toinformation given in the salutations, greetings,and bodies of the letters.

The Prison EpistlesThe Book of Acts ends with Paul in prison inRome. Four letters—Philippians, Philemon, Colos-sians, and Ephesians—are known as the PrisonEpistles, since all make reference to Paul being inprison. Paul, however, was imprisoned in Caesareaand possibly in Ephesus, besides Rome, so theplacement of any one of the Prison Epistles mustbe considered tentative.

The Pastoral LettersThe chronology from Paul’s imprisonment on isdrawn from inferences in the New Testament let-ters, which have been arranged in The Chronologi-cal Guide to the Bible according to their saluta-tions, where possible. The Pastoral Letters—1 and2 Timothy and Titus—have been placed accord-ing to the belief of some that Paul was releasedfrom Roman imprisonment to continue missionarywork in Macedonia. If Paul was martyred while inprison, however, possibly in A.D. 64, these letterswould have been compiled much later, by an un-known editor.

The Last New Testament WritingsThe final books of the New Testament offer littlehelp in determining a chronology. According totradition, Peter was martyred in A.D. 64, so the let-ters of 1 and 2 Peter have been placed in TheChronological Guide to the Bible just before thattime. Those who think one or both of the letterswere written by an unknown author would placethem later. Writings such as Hebrews and the let-ters of 1, 2, and 3 John indicate some time in thelast half of the 1st century A.D., but a more precisedating is impossible. The Book of Revelation ap-pears last in The Chronological Guide to the Bible.Its contents are not limited to a specific time; theauthor wrote about God’s plan for his own day andfor the far future.

REARRANGING THE BIBLE’S CANONICAL ORDERx i i i

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page xiii

TN_Chron SG FrontMatter.qxd:FM 12/18/09 12:22 PM Page xiv

BEFORE THEPATRIARCHSCREATION—2000 B.C.The Bible begins its story with theaccounts of creation and of humankind’searliest ancestors and history. The epochextending from undatable creation toabout 2000 B.C. witnessed the beginningboth of life itself and of humankind’s firstcivilizations. The very earliest part of thisepoch is called “prehistory” because it cov-ers the story of humans before there wererecorded events. The advent of writing around 3000 B.C. marks the start of the his-torical era, as humans began preservinginformation concerning their economies,laws, and religions.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE PASTArchaeologists arrange historical and cul-tural evidence according to the most vitalmetal of each period, such as stone, cop-per, bronze, or iron. The dates for theseperiods are approximate and are based onvarying theories and interpretations of thebiblical data.

The Stone Age (before 4000 B.C.) is subdi-vided into the Old Stone Age or Paleolithicperiod, an age of hunting and food-gather-ing in which people made implements offlint or chipped stone; the Middle Stone Ageor Mesolithic period, a transitional stage to afood-producing economy with more devel-oped civilization; and the New Stone Age orNeolithic period, which included the inven-tion of pottery and advances in agriculture,textiles, and animal husbandry.

The Copper-Stone Age, or Chalcolithicperiod (4000 to 3000 B.C.), saw a transitionto a significant use of copper. At some sitesfrom this period, dwellings were under-ground, entered by shafts from the surfaceand connected by tunnels. Copper work-ing was found in the many pits, ovens, andfireplaces common in such sites.

The Early Bronze Age (3000 to 2000 B.C.)is the period in which we leave “prehisto-ry” and enter the “historical” period. This isthe period in which written recordsappear. The Mesopotamians pioneeredwriting, but Egypt was quick to recognizethe benefits of it. At the site of Arad inPalestine, archaeologists have uncovered apotsherd bearing the signature of Narmer,who is often identified with Menes, thepharaoh of Egypt’s first dynasty.

THE PEOPLES AND GROUPSThe story of the Bible is linked with the his-tories of two great lands: Mesopotamiaand Egypt.

The earliest known inhabitants of Meso -potamia lived in the southern part, theland of Sumer or southern Babylonia.Known as Sumerians, this culture greatlyinfluenced the entire ancient Near East,including the Israelites. The Sumeriansdeveloped a township system of govern-ment, consisting of city-states, in whichthe temple of the local deity was the cen-ter of economic, cultural, and religious life.

EPOCH ONE

TN Chron_SG_Epoch_1_1109:Epoch 1 12/7/09 2:38 PM Page 1

2EPOCH ONE

In northern Babylonia lived the Accadians. Thisculture took its name from the town of Agade,also known as Accad. The Accadian culture didnot develop the independent city-state system ofthe south, but seems to have existed as a singleterritory. While there were temples, the palaceand household played the more important role inthe Accadian economy. Around 2300 B.C. a north-erner named Sargon of Agade was able to unifynorth and south Babylonia.

Egypt was a land divided into two kingdoms:Lower Egypt around the Nile Delta and UpperEgypt of the Nile Valley. Egypt’s prehistory or pre-dynastic period witnessed the development ofrulership by pharaohs. This period ended around3000 B.C. with the unification of Lower and UpperEgypt by the ruler Menes, resulting in the FirstDynasty. During the following Archaic period, thecountry came to accept a divine monarchy inwhich the pharaoh was considered the incarna-tion of the sky god Horus. Later pharaohs of theOld Kingdom, beginning about 2700 B.C., becamefamous for their pyramids.

THE BIBLICAL LITERATUREThe Book of Genesis is usually divided at Gen. 12,where the story of the patriarch Abraham begins.The chapters 1—11, which concern the timebefore the patriarchs, are called “primeval history”because they relate the first ages of the world.

The major narratives of this primeval history givean account of creation, a great Flood, and the towerat Babel. The creation account (Gen. 1—3) describesthe creation of all things, including humankind. Thenewly created humans rebel against God, resultingin their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. TheFlood account (Gen. 6—9) tells of the continuedevil in human hearts, and God’s judgment uponhumanity. The redemption of Noah’s family offers anew beginning. Following the Flood, Gen. 11 nar-rates the spread of the human race and its arrogantattempt to build a tower to the heavens. God con-fuses their languages, forcing them to disperse.

THE BEGINNINGS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATIONBiblical and secular historians agree that human civilization began in the ancient Near East. The earliestlarge communities developed in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran) and in Egypt. Palestine, wherebiblical Israel is found, lies along the best road between Mesopotamia and Egypt, and so the Bible’s ownhistory appropriately begins with these two civilization centers.

The task of assigning specific dates to this ancient history is difficult and uncertain, but scholars haveplaced the first human settlements as early as 7,000 to 8,000 years before Christ. Although dating theearly events of civilization is elusive, we can at least follow the general stages by which human commu-nities developed.

Advances in technology made it possible for humans to live in large communities. First they devel-oped stone tools, then discovered how to make clay vessels, how to extract and use copper ore, and, byabout 3000 B.C., how to use bronze. In terms of food and support, humans moved from small familygroups hunting and gathering their food to larger nomadic clans tending domesticated animals.Farming developed next, and by 3000 B.C. people in Mesopotamia and Egypt were using sophisticatedirrigation techniques to harness the regular floods of the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. Now for thefirst time, food could be produced in large supply, enough to support cities and even empires.

The period from 3000 to 2000 B.C. (called the Early Bronze Age) saw the development of several suchempires: the civilizations of Sumer, Accad, and Ur in Mesopotamia and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.Towering monuments testify to the amazing technological sophistication of these cultures. This was theage of the great pyramids in Egypt and of similar structures in Mesopotamia, called ziggurats. Theseancient peoples worshiped many gods, and writings from this time describe not only these gods, but alsothe creation of the world and a great flood.

EPOCH ONEChronological Reading Guide

❏ Genesis 1:1—11:32


CREATION to 2000 B.C.3

The Old Testament as awhole chronicles the his-tory of the nation of

Israel. This nation does not emerge as an entity,though, until the Book of Exodus, when Godappears to the twelve tribes at Sinai. Genesis,then, is the prologue to the history of Israel.Chapters 1—11 tell about the creation and earli-est history of all humankind, and chs. 12—50describe God’s working within the chosen familyof Abraham, from whom Israel descended.

Within the theological narratives of Gen. 1—11, there are several brief comments that reflectthe advancing civilizations of Mesopotamia andEgypt. There are conflicts between hunters andshepherds and between shepherds and farm-ers. Humans develop technology and crafts-manship and establish the first cities. Chapter 11describes humanity’s technical skill (and vault-ing ambition) in its account of a tower, or ziggu-rat, in the plains of Shinar (Mesopotamia).

Genesis, along with the books of Exodusthrough Deuteronomy, has traditionally beenattributed to Moses. Many scholars retain thisview today, but others, noting abrupt changes invocabulary and style and certain perspectivesthat appear to come from a later time, arguethat the book contains several sources and tra-ditions, some much older than others. In eithercase, whether written entirely by Moses or com-posed from 900 to 400 B.C. of various ancientstrands, the Book of Genesis is a recounting ofIsrael’s origins by one who knew that all this wasleading to God’s choice of Israel as “a specialtreasure...above all people” (Ex. 19:5).

OUTLINE OF GENESIS 1–11

I. The Creation 1:1—2:25A. Creation of the World 1:1—2:3B. Creation of Man 2:4–25

II. The Fall 3:1—5:32A. The Fall of Man 3:1–24B. After the Fall 4:1—5:32

III. The Judgment of the Flood 6:1—9:29A. Causes of the Flood 6:1–5B. Judgment of the Flood 6:6–22C. The Flood 7:1—8:19D. Results of the Flood 8:20—9:17E. After the Flood 9:18–29

IV. The Judgment on the Tower of Babel 10:1—11:9

A. Family Lines after the Flood 10:1–32B. Judgment on All the Family Lines 11:1–9

THE CREATOR GOD IS NOT SUN OR MOON(GEN. 1:16)In Gen 1:16 the two great lights created by Godare called the “greater light” and “lesser light.” Thewords “sun” and “moon” were not omitted by acci-dent from this verse. The writer of Genesis wasaware that two prominent gods worshiped in theancient Near East were the sun and the moon.

In Egypt the sun was associated with severalimportant gods, including Amon-Re, Re, and Aton.Egyptians believed that the sun, as the god Re, cre-ated the world by his own personified power. Oneof Re’s “eyes” was the moon god Tefnut. AnotherEgyptian god was Ptah, who was also consideredthe creator of all things. Ptah’s two eyes were thesun and moon.

In Mesopotamia the sun god Shamash wasworshiped as the benefactor of the oppressed.Night was seen as the passing of the sun to thenetherworld or underworld. Ancient peoplesprayed to the hidden sun for mediation betweenthe dead and the living.

Canaanite worshipers knew the sun asShemesh. The appearance of this god’s name inplace names, such as Beth Shemesh (1 Sam. 6:12),hints at the importance of Shemesh to the polythe-istic Canaanites.

The author of Gen. 1:14–19 makes the casethat the “greater” and “lesser” lights are simplycreations of the creator God. No one should ac-knowledge the sun and moon as deities or confusethem with the true God.

THE BOOK OF GENESIS


4EPOCH ONE

The Ancient Near Eastafter 3000 B.C.During the 3rd millenniumLower and Upper Egypt wereunited. Egypt’s Old Kingdom(2700–2160 B.C.) produced thegreat pyramids, such as thoseat Giza. In Mesopotamia, theland of Sumer developed asystem of independent city-states. Toward the end of themillennium this city-state rulewas replaced by a more exten-sive territorial rule centered inAccad.

TIME CAPSULE Prehistory to 2400 B.C.

5869 Carbon-14 dating of early fortification at Jericho

5500 Pottery is first known in Palestine

5000 Evidence of temple at Eridu, Iraq

4500 Sockets for hinging doors used in Sumer

4000 Casting of molten silver and gold in the Near East

3500 Sumerians develop advanced civilization in southern Mesopotamia

3200 Earliest writing, from Uruk in the Sumerian language

3000 Egyptians write in hieroglyphic script

2550 The Great Pyramid of Giza, 481 feet high

2450 Egyptians make copper pipes

2400 Elba, a Semitic city-state in northern Syria

WHERE WAS EDEN? (GEN. 2:10–14)The Book of Genesis states that God planted a garden “eastward inEden” (Gen. 2:8). For centuries biblical commentators have specu-lated on the location of Eden, which is associated with four rivers:Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates (2:10–14). The last two ofthese rivers are known, Hiddekel being the Hebrew name for theTigris River. Thus the mention of the Tigris and Euphrates riverswould suggest a location for Eden somewhere in Mesopotamia.

Unfortunately, the other rivers, Pishon and Gihon, are obscureand defy absolute placement for the location of Eden. Pishon was inthe land of Havilah (2:11), which has been associated with Arabia(Gen. 25:18), as well as with India. Gihon was in Cush (2:13), whichwas an ancient name for the area south of Egypt. Some scholarshave argued that Pishon and Gihon represent the Indus and Nilerivers, but others contend that they may have been canals.


CREATION to 2000 B.C.5

Records of the Descendants (Gen. 5:1—6:22)

Genesis 1—11 tells much of its story by means ofgenealogies. At the end of the Cain and Abelaccount is a list of eight descendants of Cain(Gen. 4:17–22), among whom are the ancestors ofpastoral nomads (v. 20), musicians (v. 21), andmetalworkers (v. 22). In Gen. 5 the line of Adam’sdescendants through Seth is given, breaking offjust before the Flood. Finally, in Gen. 10 the peo-ples of the earth are listed under the three sons ofNoah, categorized according to clans, languages,location, and nationality.

It is possible, using the numbers of these lists,to add up the years and thus date the creation ofthe world at about 4004 B.C. Such computationswere published in A.D. 1650–1654 by theArchbishop James Ussher and are held to bysome scholars today. Many scholars, though,argue that modern historical dating and chrono-logical specificity were foreign to the ancientmind and suggest that the exact numbers shouldnot be read so mechanically. Furthermore, thenumbers themselves vary in different text tradi-tions, showing many disagreements between theHebrew Bible, Samaritan Pentateuch, and theSeptuagint (Greek Old Testament). Thus differentinterpreters treat the genealogies in differentways, with many concluding that a date for thecreation of the world is impossible to determine.

The Flood Through Other Eyes (GEN. 6—9)Divine destruction of the world by means of a flood is a motif known in cultures from around the world.Most of these stories appear to have had their origin in the biblical account (Gen. 6:5—9:29). However,the ancient Near East has numerous myths of the great flood that are separate retellings of the sameevent. Mesopotamian stories of the flood are first found written in the Sumerian language, in the earliestknown literature (3rd millennium B.C.). A variety of retellings produced a number of versions. The twomost famous flood stories outside the Bible are the Gilgamesh Epic and the story of Atrahasis.

Both similarities and differences exist between the biblical Flood story and the legend known as theGilgamesh Epic. Though the Gilgamesh flood story appears already in the mid-3rd millennium Sumerianstories, the epic account most widely known comes from the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal(668–627 B.C.). The story is related by the flood survivor, Utnapishtim, at the edge of the world, where Gil-gamesh (king of Uruk around 2600 B.C.) had sought him to discover how to become immortal.

There is no reason given in this account for the decision by the council of the gods to destroy theearth. However, Ea, the god of wisdom, realizing that destruction was a mistake, warns Utnapishtim that aflood is coming. Utnapishtim tears down his house and builds a boat, into which he gathers animals inpairs, seeds of all plants, his relatives, and skilled craftsmen. The deities unleash the flood, destroyingeverything that is not in the boat. After the flood ceased, the boat rested on a mountaintop in the ZagrosMountains. Utnapishtim releases first a dove, then a sparrow, both of whom return without finding a placeto land, and lastly a raven, who does not return (similar to Gen. 8:6–12). The flood is finally over andeverything is allowed to leave the boat and repopulate the earth.


6EPOCH ONE

The First World Empire (GEN. 10:8–10)The city of Accad was one of the major urban centers in centralMesopotamia and one of the first cities in the kingdom of thelegendary Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). Although the precise location hasnot been found, Accad was most likely near Babylon.

The Sumerian name of the city was Agade. A certain Sargonof Agade (c. 2350 B.C.) founded the city and made it the capital ofan early Semitic dynasty. Sargon and his successors (notably hisgrandson Naram-Sin) were able to control the entire Tigris-Eu-phrates basin and claimed to have even reached the Mediter-ranean Sea. The dynasty of Agade lasted for about two centuriesand was in fact the first world empire. Evidently the city was thendestroyed and not subsequently reoccupied. A Sumerian textfrom the late 3rd millennium B.C., The Curse of Agade, commemo-rates the city’s demise.

Erech is the biblical form ofUruk, a Sumerian city onthe Euphrates River in an-cient Mesopotamia. The

name “Erech” is cited in Gen. 10:10 and Ezra 4:9,and its historical importance is that Uruk (Erech)played a role in the origin of urbanization.

Archaeological investigations have confirmedthat the Ubaidian people, early inhabitants ofSumer, founded two villages in this area before4000 B.C. By 3700 B.C. the two centers fused to-gether to create Uruk, the first urban site in worldhistory.

The first evidence of public architecture,cylinder seals, and the origins of writing comefrom this city. Building projects at Uruk included

the earliest known ziggurat, a holy mound at thetop of which was the White temple. Cylinder seals,which were used to mark ownership, spread fromUruk throughout the ancient world. Picture writing(dated to about 3200 B.C.) expressed ideas througha series of pictures. This writing would later evolveinto the script known as cuneiform, used first bythe Sumerians, early inhabitants of the Tigris-Eu-phrates valley.

Uruk had a long history, existing until Hellenis-tic times (the end of the 1st millennium B.C.). In theBible it is mentioned very early as part of Nimrod’spost-Flood kingdom (Gen. 10:8–10). Much later intime, it is one of the cities and nations writingagainst Jerusalem during the reign of the Persianruler Artaxerxes I (465–424 B.C.; Ezra 4:9).

BABEL AND ITS TOWER (GEN. 11:1–9)Babel was one of the chief cities in Nimrod’s kingdom (Gen. 10:8–10).The term “Babel” is the Hebrew form of the name “Babylon,” the cityon the Euphrates River in central Mesopotamia.

The city has a very ancient past. It is first mentioned by the Acca-dian king Sargon (c. 2350 B.C.), who, according to tradition, burned it.Shar-kali-sharri (c. 2200 B.C.) restored its temple tower. Hammurabi(1792–1750 B.C.), a king of the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, made it hiscapital city. Unfortunately, archaeologists have been able to find evi-dence only as far back as the period of the Neo-Babylonian king Neb-uchadnezzar II (605 B.C. and later). The rising water table in the areahas prevented much research into earlier periods.

Babel has received much attention over its tower (Gen. 11:4, 5). Itlikely was a staged temple tower known by the Sumerian term “ziggu-rat.” Ziggurats were developed in the 3rd millennium B.C. at Uruk(Erech) and Ur in Babylonia, as well as at Nineveh, and consisted ofsmaller and smaller stages or stories built on top of each other. Thosewho believe the tower at Babel refers to temple ruins fromMesopotamia point especially to Etemenanki, the ziggurat of the Mar-duk temple in Babylon. A Babylonian text describes it as having a baseof 295 feet square with seven platforms over 108 feet high. The topplatform had a temple where the god met with humanity. Access wasachieved by ramps or stairways.

The First Major City(Gen. 10:10)


Documents

Chronological Guide to the Bible