Biblical Chronology
Biblical chronology is complicated. Scholars have debated for centuries over when certain biblical events occurred. The Bible itself isn’t always internally consistent—it doesn’t always agree with itself about when certain events took place. This is complicated by archaeology and the texts of ancient Israel’s neighbors which often paint a different picture than the Bible.
The Old Testament Come, Follow Me manual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says,
Don’t expect the Old Testament to present a thorough and precise history of humankind. That’s not what the original authors and compilers were trying to create. Their larger concern was to teach something about God—about His plan for His children, about what it means to be His covenant people, and about how to find redemption when we don’t live up to our covenants. Sometimes they did it by relating historical events as they understood them—including stories from the lives of great prophets. Genesis is an example of this, as are books like Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Kings. But other Old Testament writers did not aim to be historical at all. Instead, they taught through works of art like poetry and literature. The Psalms and the Proverbs fit in this category. And then there are the precious words of prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, who spoke the word of God to ancient Israel—and, through the miracle of the Bible, still speak to us today.[1]
There is a myriad of challenges in trying to discern Biblical chronology. These Latter-day Saint scholars articulate some of the challenges well:
The biblical narrative presents events in a historical framework. However, there are several chronological challenges to studying ancient Israelites and their history.
First, the biblical authors and editors were not interested in portraying history per se, but in recounting Jehovah’s work in the course of history (similar to Mormon’s efforts). They thus focused on events with positive or negative religious components, resulting in the omission of valuable information for reconstructing the history of Israel.
Second, no person named in the Old Testament is mentioned in contemporary nonbiblical texts until the mid-ninth century B.C., over a century after King David’s death. So readers are completely dependent on the Bible and the remains of material culture obtained through archaeological excavations for evidence of the Israelites and their practices prior to that time.
And third, there are discrepancies in the chronological data preserved within the Hebrew Bible itself, between data in the Hebrew Bible and ancient translations of the Bible (like the Septuagint), and between biblical data and non-biblical sources from the ancient Near East. None of these challenges, however, undermines our ability to understand the general picture and some of the detail of Israelite history. The archaeological discoveries of almost two centuries, both inscriptions and artifacts, generally validate the biblical depiction of ancient Israel…
Because of challenges in the surviving chronological data, there are discrepancies of a few years in various chronological systems. No reconstructed chronology for ancient Israel or the ancient Near East as a whole is without problems…Other publications will have slightly different dates for some kings and events.[2]
[1] “Thoughts to Keep in Mind: Reading the Old Testament,” in Old Testament 2022: Come Follow Me — For Individuals and Families: Living, Learning, and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2021), 2.
[2] Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2009), 8–9.
Literary Dating
For the sake of simplicity and literary cohesiveness, we have chosen to present the dates of the Old Testament as they best correspond with the internal narrative of the Bible. These dates are not necessarily corroborated with the findings of archaeology or source criticism, though those are valuable tools in assessing historical dating.
Many of the dates assigned rely on this timeline from Bible Hub.
Historical Dating
The following is a timeline based on The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford, 2004). It differs from the internal chronology of the Bible in that it does not assign a specific date to Creation, it presents a later dating of the Exodus (1200s BC as opposed to 1400s BC), and it assigns general time periods to many events in biblical history as opposed to calculated dates. This chronology more closely aligns with the findings of archaeology and historical critical methods of dating biblical texts. However, as noted above, no chronological system is perfect, so the following timeline may act as a general guide, but not an infallible one.
Further Reading
William F. Albright, “The Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 100 (1945): 16–22.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 1Gleason L. Archer, Jr., “The Chronology of the Old Testament,” Frank E. Gaebelein, (gen.ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 1. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979). Hbk. ISBN: 0310364302, 359–374.
Peter Åström, ed., High, Middle or Low?: Acts of on International Colloquium on Absolute Chronology held at the University of Gothenburg 20th–22nd August 1987. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature. (Paul Åström Forlag, 1987). ISBN: 9186098640.
James Barr, Biblical Chronology, Legend or Science? (London: University of London, 1987).
Pre–Scientific Chronology: The Bible and the Origin of the World (James Barr). This article is a View in format
John J. Bimson, “Sheshonk and Shishak: A Case of Mistaken Identity?” Journal of Ancient Chronology Forum 6 (1992 / 1993): 19–32.
Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Chronology of the Book of Judges: A Linguistic Clue in Solving a Pesky Problem,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52.2 (June 2009): 247–255.View in format
Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “In Defense of Paneling as a Clue to the Chronology of Judges: A Critique of Andrew Steinmann’s Reply,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53.2 (June 2010): 375–382.View in format
Duane L. Christensen, “Josephus and the twenty–two–book canon of sacred scripture,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29.1 (March 1986): 37–46.View in format
David J.A. Clines, “Regnal Year Reckening in the Last Year of the Kingdom of Judah,” American Journal of Biblical Archaeology 2 (1972): 9–34.
David J.A. Clines, “Evidence for an autumnal new year in pre–exilic Israel reconsidered,” Journal of Biblical Literature 93.1 (March 1974): 22–40.View in format [Reproduced by permission of the current copyright holder]
Edward Lewis Curtis, “The Old Testament reckoning of regnal years,” Journal of Biblical Literature 14 (1895): 125–131.View in format [This material is in the Public Domain]
S. DeVries, “Chronology, OT,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible Supplement, 161–66. Travis R. Freeman, “The Genesis 5 and 11 fluidity question,” Journal of Creation 19.2 (August 2005): 83–90.View in format
Gershon Galil, The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Studies in the Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Leiden: Brill, 1996. Hbk. ISBN: 9004106111. pp.200.
J. Goldberg, “Two Assyrian Campaigns against Hezekiah and Later Eighth Century Biblical Chronology,” Biblica 80 (1999): 360–390.
William Henry Green, “Primeval Chronology,” Bibliatheca Sacra 47 (1890) 285–303.View in format [This material is in the Public Domain and can be freely distributed and copied]
The Kings of Israel & Judah 1020–587 BCE (Dr. K.C. Hanson)
J. Hayes, A New Chronology for the Kings of Israel and Judah and Its Implications for Biblical History and Literature. John Knox, 1988.
Harold W. Hoehner, “The Duration of the Egyptian Bondage,” Bibliotheca Sacra 126: 504 (1969): 306–316.
Siegfried H. Horn, “The Chronology of King Hezekiah’s reign,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 2 (1964): 40–52.View in format
Siegfriend H. Horn, “Babylonian Chronicle and the ancient calendar of the kingdom of Judah,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 5.1 (Jan. 1967): 12–27.View in format
Siegfriend H. Horn, “From Bishop Ussher to Edwin R Thiele,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 18.1 (Spring 1980): 37–49.View in format
David M. Howard Jr., “’Three days’ in Joshua 1–3: Resolving a Chronological Conundrum,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 41.4 (Dec. 1998): 539–550.View in format
Peter James, ed., Centuries of Darkness: a Challenge to the Conventional Chronology of Old World Archaeology. Rutgers University Press, 1993. Pbk. ISBN: 0813519519. pp.434.
jonnson: The Gentile Times ReconsideredCarl Olof Jonnson, The Gentile Times Reconsidered. Chrology and Christ’s Return, 3rd edn. Atlanta: Commentary Press, 1998. Pbk. ISBN: 0914675060. pp.360.
Stephen H. Langdon [1876–1937], Babylonian Menologies and the Semitic Calendars. The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 1933. London: Oxford University Press, 1935. Hbk. pp.169.View in format [This material is in the Public Domain]
Raúl Erlando López, “The antediluvian patriarchs and the Sumerian King List,” Journal of Creation 12.3 (Dec. 1998): 347–357.
Leslie McFall, “Did Thiele Overlook Hezekiah’s Coregency?” Bibliotheca Sacra 146: 584 (1989): 393–404.
Leslie McFall, “A Translation Guide to the Chronological Data in Kings and Chronicles,” Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (1991): 3–45.View in format
Leslie McFall, “Has the Chronology of the Hebrew Kings finally been settled?” Themelios 17.1 (1991): 6–11.View in format
Leslie McFall, “Some Missing Coregencies in Thiele’s chronology,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 30.1 (Spring 1992): 35–58.View in format
Lesie McFall, “Chronologies,” Journal of Creation 16.2 (August 2002): 63–68.View in format
Leslie McFall, “Do the Sixty–Nine Weeks of Daniel Date the Messianic Mission of Nehemiah or Jesus?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52.4 (Dec. 2009): 673–718.View in format
Leslie McFall, “The Chronology of Saul and David,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53.3 (Sept. 2010): 475–533.View in format
E. Walter Maunder [1851–1928], “The Mosaic Calendar, as a Means of Dating Approximately Certain Ancient Writings,” Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute 51 (1919): 136–173. View in format [This material is in the Public Domain]
Eugene H. Merrill, “Fixed Dates in Patriarchal Chronology,” Bibliotheca Sacra 137: 547 (1980): 241–248.
Edmund A. Parker, “Note on the Chronology of 2 Kings 17:1,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 6.2 (July 1968): 129–133.View in format
Larry Pierce, “Evidentialism–the Bible and Assyrian chronology,” Journal of Creation 15.1 (April 2001): 62–68.View in format
Paul J. Ray, Jr., “The Duration of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 24.3 (Autumn 1986): 231–248.View in format
John Sailhamer, “Creation, Genesis 1–11, and the Canon,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1 (2000): 89–106.View in format
Jonathan Sarfati, “Biblical chronogenealogies,” Journal of Creation 17.3 (December 2003): 14–18.
J.D. Shenkel, Chronology and Recensional Development in the Greek Text of Kings. Harvard Semitic Monograph Series 1. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974. Hbk. ISBN: 0674130502. pp.160.
Andrew E. Steinmann, “The chronology of 2 Kings 15–18,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30.4 (Dec. 1987): 391–397. View in format
Andrew E. Steinmann, “The mysterious numbers of the book of Judges,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48.3 (Sept. 2005): 491–500. View in format [Steinmann presents a plausible solution to the vexed problem of the chronology of the book of Judges.]
Harold G. Stigers, “The interphased chronology of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Hoshea,” Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 9.2 (Spring 1966): 81–90.View in format [Reproduced by permission of the current copyright holder]
H. Tadmor, “The Chronology of the First Temple Period: A Presentation and Evaluation of the Sources,” World History of the Jewish People IV: 44–60.
Edwin R. Thiele, “The Synchronisms of the Hebrew kings––a re–evaluation,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 1 (1963): 121–138.View in format
Edwin R. Thiele, “The synchronisms of the Hebrew kings––a re–evaluation,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 2 (1964): 120–136.View in format
Edwin R. Thiele, “Coregencies and overlapping reigns among the Hebrew kings,” Journal of Biblical Literature 93.2 (June 1974): 174–200.View in format [Reproduced by kind permission of the copyright holder]
M. Christine Tetley, The Reconstructed Chronology of the Divided Kingdom. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2004. Hbk. ISBN: 1575060728. pp.350.
Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, revised. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1983. Pbk. ISBN: 082543825X. pp.253.
W. Wifall, “The Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 80 (1968): 319–37.
Rodger C. Young, “When did Solomon die?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 46.4 (Dec. 2003): 589–603.View in format
Rodger C. Young, “Tables of reign lengths from the Hebrew court records,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48.2 (June 2005): 225–248.View in format
Rodger C. Young, “Inductive and Deductive Methods as Applied to OT Chronology,”The Master’s Seminary Journal 18.1 (Spring 2007): 99–116.View in format
Charles L. Zimmerman, “The Chronology and Birth of Jacob’s Children by Leah and Her Handmaid,” Grace Journal 13.1 (Winter 1972): 3–12.View in format [Reproduced Courtesy of the Brethren Digital Archive]