The Chronology of the Hebrew Scriptures

The pivotal point in the Hebrew Scriptures is the overthrow of the city of Babylon by the Medes and Persians under King Cyrus. The Bible pays a lot of attention to this event which is considered a major historical revolution by all professional historians. There is no doubt among historians that this event took place in the year 539 before Christ. By using the said year as a starting point and by following the internal Biblical chronology, all historical events, developments, and persons described in the Hebrew Scriptures can be joined to year dates that we understand.

This is very useful because it enables us to understand Biblical history, see the connections and get everything in its proper place. Particularly, this makes it possible to see the chain of causes and effects. Putting all the stories and events in their chronological order also enables us to see the hand of God in human history.

The Bible makes it clear that in the second year of King Cyrus' reign (spring of 537 before Christ), he gave a decree that allowed the Jews to return to Israel at the end of a long period in which they were exiles in Babylonia. In the autumn of 537 before Christ, the Jewish exiles returned to Israel and they restored the worship of their God in Jerusalem.

Many Biblical prophecies make it clear that after the destruction of Jerusalem, the period during which the Jews would be in exile and God would not be worshipped in Israel would last 70 years. This brings us to the year 607 before Christ as the year in which Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were carried off to Babylonia as exiles. From 607 before Christ, we can count backwards in time for centuries by means of the lists found in the Bible. These lists have all the names of Israel's kings as well as the numbers of years of their reign. By doing this, we arrive at 997 before Christ as the year in which King Solomon died and Israel fell apart into a northern and southern kingdom.

King Solomon reigned for forty years. This means that he began to be in power in 1037 before Christ. He started with the building of the temple in 1034 before Christ, the fourth year of his reign (1 Kings 6:1). This same Bible passage tells us that the start of the building of the temple took place in the 480th year after the Israelites had left Egypt. Remember: since 480 is an ordinal number, you have to add 479 and not 480 years to the year 1034 to arrive at the year of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. This means that this exodus took place in the year 1513 before Christ.

In Exodus 12: 40-41, we can read that the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years before they left in 1513. Based on other Bible passages, it appears that in this context, the years which the descendants of Abraham spent in Canaan before they moved to Egypt are also counted as part of the 430 years mentioned. In Exodus 12: 40-41, we can read that the time when Abraham crossed the river Euphrates on his journey from the country of the Chaldeans to Canaan is viewed as the moment when he entered the territory that was under Egyptian rule.

By adding 430 years to the year 1513 (the exodus out of Egypt), we arrive at the year 1943 before Christ as the year in which Abraham crossed the river Euphrates and entered Canaan. He was 75 years old then.

To count backwards from the year 1943 before Christ to the year of the Flood, we should look at the various time-periods mentioned in the Bible between Genesis 11:10 and Genesis 12: 4.

There was a period of 2 years, counting from the beginning of the Flood to the birth of Arpachshad.

From the birth of Arpachshad to the birth of Shelach	- a period of 35 years
From there to the birth of Eber	- a period of 30 years
From there to the birth of Peleg	- a period of 34 years
From there to the birth of Reu	- a period of 30 years
From there to the birth of Serug	- a period of 32 years
From there to the birth of Nahor	- a period of 30 years
From there to the birth of Terah	- a period of 29 years
From there to the death of Terah, when Abraham was 75 years old and entered Canaan in that same year	- a period of 205 years

If you add these nine figures all up, you arrive at a period of 427 years between the beginning of the Flood and the year when Abraham entered Canaan. When you add 427 years to the year 1943 (the year when Abraham entered Canaan), you arrive at the year 2370 before Christ as the year of the Flood. Starting from the year of the Flood, it is pretty easy to determine the year when Adam and Eve were created (Genesis 5:3 - 29, 7: 6, 7:11).

From Adam's creation to the birth of Seth	- there was a period of 130 years
From there to the birth of Enosh	- there was a period of 105 years
From there to the birth of Kenan	- there was a period of 90 years
From there to the birth of Mahalalel	- there was a period of 70 years
From there to the birth of Jared	- there was a period of 65 years
From there to the birth of Enoch	- there was a period of 162 years
From there to the birth of Methuselah	- there was a period of 65 years
From there to the birth of Lamech	- there was a period of 187 years
From there to the birth of Noah	- there was a period of 182 years
From the birth of Noah to the Flood	- there was a period of 600 years

When you add all these ten numbers, you arrive at a total of 1656 years. If you add 1656 years to the year 2370 (the year of the Flood), you arrive at the year 4026 before Christ as the year when Adam and Eve were created. Based on the information given above, we can put the big events of our Biblical history in their proper order and join them to year-dates that are understandable for us.

The creation of Adam and Eve	4026 before Christ
The Flood	2370 before Christ
Abraham enters Canaan	1943 before Christ
The exodus out of Egypt	1513 before Christ
The start of the building of the temple	1034 before Christ
The falling apart of the kingdom	997 before Christ
The destruction of Jerusalem	607 before Christ
The return from the exile	537 before Christ
The rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls	455 before Christ
The baptism of Jesus	29 after Christ

Everything written above completely ignores the generally - accepted supposition that man has not been on the earth for about 6000 years, but for millions of years. But do not forget: no matter how widely - accepted this supposition may be, it is still a belief. There is no evidence for it. Bones that are found in the ground which are said to be tens of thousands of years old and considered remnants of our human ancestors might just as well be only a few thousand years old. They can also be just bones of animals.

No written texts exist which are older than a few thousand years before Christ. Consequently, there are no texts and stories anywhere in the world which tell us anything about what human life was like tens of thousands of years ago or events and developments in those days.

Besides, the Bible does not have any reference to people who lived before the creation of Adam and Eve. None of the Bible writers mentioned people who lived before Adam and Eve, neither did Jesus himself.

The history that the Bible tells us is a consistent story with a clear line in it. It is also a story with a very clear beginning and end. It begins with God's creation of the earth and of Adam and Eve with a clear aim. God wants to make the earth a paradise populated by people who are perfectly happy. They are people who will live forever and who have voluntarily submitted themselves to God's will. The story ends with God's achieving this aim. Within this story, with a clear beginning and a clear end, all developments and events can be joined to year dates which we understand. This means that with every event and development in the story, we know exactly when they took place.