Knowledge Library

Biblical Timelines

When things happened, where the dates are firm, and where they are not.

Scripture first

Galatians 4:4 · 1 Kings 6:1

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son. Scripture itself dates events, and it treats the timing of redemption as part of the good news.

What this shelf holds

  • The sequence from the patriarchs through the kingdoms, exile, return, the life of Christ and the apostolic mission.
  • Anchor points fixed by outside records, such as the fall of Samaria, the fall of Jerusalem and the reign of Tiberius.

How to use it

  • Learn the order before the dates. Sequence carries most of the meaning; precise years rarely change an interpretation.
  • Where two chronologies are held by serious Christians, name both.

What this cannot settle

Old Testament dating carries real uncertainty, and some schemes are presented with a confidence the evidence does not support. Audela gives ranges where ranges are honest.

Search biblical timelines

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4 entries on these shelves

Reference works

Each of these is named so you can open it and check us. Each carries what it is good for and what it cannot decide.

Every entry below is labelled with the kind of evidence it is, so a lexicon is never mistaken for the text and a commentary is never mistaken for a conclusion Scripture has drawn.

  • International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

    Scholarly referenceSupports the text, never settles it · James Orr, editor, 1915 · Public domain

    Long, signed articles on books, doctrines, peoples, languages and customs.

    Use forWorking through a subject at length when a dictionary entry is too thin.

    CautionArticles differ in quality and outlook because they have different authors. Where one contributor states a critical theory, that is his judgement, not a finding.

  • Antiquities of the Jews and The Wars of the Jews

    Historical and cultural backgroundSupports the text, never settles it · Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston, First century, translation 1737 · Primary source

    Jewish history from creation to the fall of Jerusalem, by a participant in the war.

    Use forNamed rulers, buildings, movements and events that touch the biblical record.

    CautionJosephus writes for Roman patrons and for his own reputation. He inflates numbers, flatters where it serves him, and is not an inspired witness.

  • Easton's Bible Dictionary

    Scholarly referenceSupports the text, never settles it · Matthew George Easton, 1893 · Public domain

    Short entries on nearly every name, place, object and term in the English Bible.

    Use forA quick, sober orientation to a word or name before you go back to the passage.

    CautionWritten for readers of a century ago. Its geography and dating have been overtaken in places by later excavation, and its theological asides are Reformed and nineteenth century, not neutral.

Back to Scripture

The order of authority

Scripture · Biblical cross references · Original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek · Historical, cultural, geographical and archaeological background · Trusted biblical reference works · Explanation and application

Read how Audela weighs each rung

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