The following dates (all B.C.) are close approximations based on correlating dates between the Bible and other ancient Near Eastern sources (largely from Assyrian accession lists, Babylonian king-lists, or Egyptian historical sources). Often dates can be confirmed between the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires by narratives recording contacts between these two countries.
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| 1446 Date for Exodus** | 1260 Date for Exodus** | |
|---|---|---|
| Abraham | 2166–1991 | 2000–1825 |
| Isaac | 2066–1886 | 1900–1720 |
| Jacob | 2006–1859 | 1840–1693 |
| Joseph | 1915–1805 | 1749–1639 |
| Moses’ birth | 1526 | 1340 |
| Exodus | 1446 | 1260 |
| Desert wanderings | 1446–1406 | 1260–1220 |
| Entrance into Canaan | 1406 | 1220 |
| Period of the judges | 1375 to 1050–1030 | 1210 to 1050–1030 |
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| Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Saul’s reign | 1050–1030 to 1010 | Numerals relating to Saul’s age and length of reign may be missing in the Hebrew text (see 1 Sam. 13:1)*** |
| David’s reign | 1010–971 | |
| Solomon’s reign | 971–931 |
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| Kingdom divided | 931 | See The Divided Kingdom: Kings of Judah and The Divided Kingdom: Kings of Israel |
| 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 |
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| 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 |
*See also Historical Books Timeline; The Divided Kingdom: Kings of Judah and The Divided Kingdom: Kings of Israel.
**See The Date of the 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).