texts are noted in bold.
BCE SOUTH (Judah) NORTH (“Israel” in narrowersense)
1300 (Waning Egyptian domination of Canaan)
Spread of villages in Israelite hill country
1200 Merneptah Stela
(Assorted battles, e.g. Deborah, of hill-country Israelites with neighbors)
TIMELINE
Important texts are noted in bold.
| BCE | SOUTH (Judah) | NORTH (“Israel” in narrower sense) |
| 1300 | (Waning Egyptian domination of Canaan) | Spread of villages in Israelite hill country |
| 1200 | Merneptah Stela (Assorted battles, e.g. Deborah, of hill-country Israelites with neighbors) | |
| 1100 | Oral exodus traditionsOral ancestral traditionsOral victory traditions | |
| Saul’s “chieftainship” David (Hebron; 1010–1002) | ||
| 1000 | David (Hebron; 1010–1002)David (Jerusalem; 1002–970)Royal psalms, Zion psalms Solomon (Jerusalem; 970–930) Proverb collections (early form??) Non-P primeval history Rehoboam (Jerusalem) | |
| 900 | Jeroboam founds northern monarchy(early written forms of) Jacob narrative, Joseph novella exodus-Moses narrative, and Song of Deborah Omride dynasty (880–841) | |
| 800 | Jehu’s coup (841)Jeroboam II (782–753) | |
| Isaiah (start of collection) Syro-Ephraimite war(735–734) Assyrian domination of Israel begins (745–) | Amos | |
| Hosea Assyrian domination of Judah begins (734–) Isaiah (continued), Micah | ||
| Hezekiah (715–686) | Assyrian destruction of Israel (722)Hezekiah’s rebellion and reform (705) | |
| 700 | Sennacherib’s attack and mysterious withdrawal (701)Manasseh (697–642)Amon (642–640)Josiah (640–609) | (Waning of Assyrian power) |
| Zephaniah Josiah’s reform (623) Josianic edition of Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, etc | (Fall of Nineveh, Assyria’s capital) | |
| Nahum Jeremiah Domination of Judah by Babylonia | ||
| 600 | First wave of exiles (597) | Ezekiel’s early prophecy |
| Destruction of Jerusalem and second wave of exiles (586) | Lamentations and Psalm 137Ezekiel’s later prophecy | |
| Third wave of exiles (582) | Exilic additions to Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, and other booksNon-P/L Pentateuchal Source (incorporating exilic-modified forms of older non-P primeval history, Jacob–Joseph story, exodus-Moses story, and Deuteronomy)Priestly Pentateuchal SourceSecond Isaiah | |
| Persian conquering of Babylonian empire (539) | First wave of returnees (538)Another wave, beginning of Temple | |
| restoration (532) | Another wave with Zerubbabel, completion of Temple rebuilding (520–515) | |
| 500 | Haggai and Zechariah (1–9) Nehemiah’s return and governorships (445–425) (rebuilding wall, purification of priesthood) Nehemiah memoir | |
| 400 | Return with Ezra, divorce of foreign wives, elevation of Torah (397–)Combined (P and non-P/L) PentateuchNarratives of Temple-rebuilding and EzraThird IsaiahPsalter (final, Torah-oriented version of the book) Greek conquering of Persian empire (332) | |
| 300 | (Shifting domination of Palestine by Greek Ptolemies[Egypt] and Seleucids [Mesopotamia]; 332–142)Early parts of Enoch 1–2 Chronicles Wisdom of Ben Sira | |
| 200 | Jason purchase of high priesthood, attempt to Hellenize Jerusalem (174)Menelaus purchase of high priesthood (171) and Judean rebellion against himDaniel Antiochus Epiphanes IV campaign to eradicate observant Judaism and beginning of Hasmonean-led rebellion against Hellenistic rule (167–) Purification and rededication of Temple (164) Hasmonean independence and rule (142–63) Ezra–Nehemiah, Esther1–2 Maccabees, Judith | |
| 100 | Roman takeover of Palestine (63)Rule of Herod in Palestine (40–4)Beginning of Roman empire with reign of Caesar Augustus (Octavian) (27)Birth of Jesus (4?) | |
| CE | Paul’s letters (50s) Jewish War (first Jewish revolt) (66–70) Destruction of the Temple (70) | |
| Gospel of MarkGospels of Matthew and LukeActs of the ApostlesRevelation of JohnGospel of JohnPastoral Epistles | ||
| Second Jewish revolt (132–5) | ||
MAP 0.1 The ancient Near East. Redrawn from Adrian Curtis (ed.), Oxford Bible Atlas (4th edition). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, page 67.
Prologue Orientation to Multiple Bibles and Multiple Translations
Chapter Outline
Chapter Overview
The Bible as a Complex Product of Many Hands
The Different Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity
Basics on Bible Translations
Bible Abbreviations, Verses, and Chapters