Approximate date biblical source
(All dates BCE, except where noted) c. 1850 Abraham leaves Mesopotamia for Canaan Gen 12c. 1700(?) Jacob and twelve sons settle in Egypt Gen 46
c.1280-1250 Moses leads Israelites our of Egypt Exod 13-15
after 1250 Joshua leads the conquest of Canaan Josh 1-24
c. 1200-1030 Judges: Israel is a twelve-tribe confederacy Judg 1-21
c.1020 Samuel anoints Saul king of Israel 1 Sam 10
c.1000-961 David creates Israelite empire, Jerusalem
as capital 2 Sam 2-21; 1 King 2
c.961-922 Solomon's rule; builds Temple in Jerusalem 1 Kings 3-11
922 United kingdom splits into ten-tribe northern
state (Israel) and two-tribe southern state (Judah) 1 Kings 12
721 Assyris conquers Israel, deports population 2 Kings 17
701 Sennacherib besieges Jerusalem 2 Kings 18-19(Is 36-7)
621 Book of Deuteronomy "discovered" 2 Kings 22-23;
Josiah reforms Judah's religion 2 Chron 34-35
598/597 Nebuchadnezzar sacks Jerusalem; deports captives
587 Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem, burns Temple,
takes Jews captive to Babylon 2 Kings 24
539 Cyrus the Great of Persia captures Babylon
538 Jewish remnant returns to Jerusalem Ezra 1
520-515 Second Temple is built and dedicated Ezra 6
Judah becomes province of Persian empire Hag 2
445ff. Torah promulgated, Ezra and Nehemiah's reforms Neh 8
c.356-323 Alexander the Great defeats Darius, rules
Palestine 1 Macc 1
323-197 Ptolemys of Egypt rule Palestine
167-164 Antiochus IV tries to force Hellenistic religion
on Jews, pollutes Temple 1 Macc; Dan 11:30
164 Successful Jewish revolt; Temple rededicated Dan 7:25; 12:7, 8:14, 9:27
142 Jews expel Seleucids; Judea independent kingdom 1 Macc
63 Pompey makes Palestine part of Roman Empire
66-73 C.E. Jews revolt against Rome
70 C.E. Romans destroy Jerusalem and Temple, ban Jews
90-91 C.E. Rabbis assemble at Jamnia (Yavneh) to formulate biblical canon