Patriarchs to Judges (c. 2166–1030)*
| Abraham | 2166–1991 |
| Isaac | 2066–1886 |
| Jacob | 2006–1859 |
| Joseph | 1915–1805 |
| Moses’ birth | 1526 |
| Exodus | 1446 |
| Desert wanderings | 1446–1406 |
| Entrance into Canaan | 1406 |
| Period of the judges | 1375 to 1050–1030 |
United Monarchy (c. 1050–931)
| Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Saul’s reign | 1050–1030 to 1010 | For Saul’s age and length of reign, see 1 Sam. 13:1 and its ESV footnote** |
| David’s reign | 1010–971 | |
| Solomon’s reign | 971–931 |
Divided Monarchy to Exile (931–586)
| Kingdom divided | 931 | See The Divided Kingdom, pp. 490–491 |
| Syro-Ephraimite war | 740–732 | Pekah (Israel) and Rezin (Syria) pressure Jotham and Ahaz (Judah) to join their opposition to Tiglath-pileser III (Assyria) |
| Fall of Samaria (Israel) | 722 | Shalmaneser V (727–722) and Sargon II (722–705) of Assyria |
| Josiah’s reforms | 628 | |
| Battle of Carchemish | 605 | Daniel and three friends exiled to Babylon |
| Jerusalem attacked | 597 | Nebuchadnezzar II takes exiles to Babylon including Jehoiachin and Ezekiel |
| Fall of Jerusalem (Judah) | 586 | Nebuchadnezzar II takes more exiles to Babylon |
Return from Exile (539–445)
| Fall of Babylon | 539 | Cyrus of Persia (539–530) |
| 1st return of exiles to Jerusalem | 538 | |
| Temple building begins | 536 | |
| Temple completed | 516 | Darius I (522–486) |
| Esther in palace of Xerxes | 478 | Xerxes I/Ahasuerus (485–464) |
| 2nd return of exiles to Jerusalem under Ezra | 458 | Artaxerxes I (464–423) |
| 3rd return of exiles to Jerusalem under Nehemiah | 445 |
*The dates for the period of the Patriarchs to Judges follow the common view among many scholars that the exodus occurred c. 1446 B.C. Many other scholars would date the exodus c. 1260 B.C. (See Introduction to Exodus).
**Possible dates for the beginning of Saul’s reign are calculated based on other data in the OT: e.g., David’s age at accession and length of reign (2 Sam. 5:4–5); Ish-bosheth’s age when he became king (2 Sam. 2:10); and Jonathan’s probable age in relation to both Ish-bosheth and David, presuming that Jonathan was Saul’s firstborn son (1 Sam. 14:49; 31:2) and was at least 20 when referred to as a commander of troops early in Saul’s reign (1 Sam. 13:2).