A Chronological Timeline of Major Biblical Events (New Testament)

Introduction

The Christian Bible is organized primarily by literary genre rather than historical timeline. This non-chronological arrangement stems from the ancient compilation process and causes issues like disjointed storytelling, overlapping timelines in the New Testament, and the need for readers to externally track historical context.

Because this structure can be challenging to navigate, it creates specific issues and hurdles for readers:

• Disjointed Storytelling & Context: The Bible skips back and forth across hundreds of years because its books are grouped into categories like Law, History, Poetry, and Prophecy. For instance, the book of Job, which likely takes place around the time of Abraham in Genesis, is placed after Esther.

  
  

• Overlapping Timelines: The New Testament is a prime example of disjointed chronology. The Book of Acts provides the historical timeline of the early church, but it runs concurrently with 22 different letters (Epistles) written by Paul and other apostles. Reading straight through means constantly jumping between historical events and the specific letters reacting to them.

  
  

• The "Synoptic Problem": The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) do not all record the same events of Jesus’ life in the same order. For example, Matthew and Mark order Jesus' cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree differently. This makes constructing a strict chronological sequence of Jesus' ministry difficult.

  
  

• Scholarly Dating Uncertainty: To fix this structure, many people try to create "chronological" reading plans. However, this is challenging because the exact dates of composition for books like Obadiah or Psalms are not universally agreed upon.

Wide Range of Interpretation

Organizing the biblical text in chronological order presents a significant challenge due to the uncertainty surrounding the dates of composition for various books. For some texts, scholars possess a high degree of certainty. For instance, the timing of certain letters by Paul can be pinpointed to within a month or two of their creation. However, other books allow for a broad spectrum of interpretations regarding their dates of origin.

The prophet Obadiah's writings are particularly difficult to date accurately. Scholars can only determine that his work was composed after a certain date and before another, with estimates varying by 150 to 200 years depending on the scholar. The Old Testament mentions at least twelve individuals named Obadiah, and it remains unclear which one is the prophet, or if the prophetic Obadiah might be a thirteenth individual. This uncertainty complicates the placement of his book.

Similarly, the book of Psalms presents challenges. Some psalms include superscriptions, such as “David wrote this when he fled from his son, Absalom,” which allows for confident dating. However, many psalms lack such context. The division of the Psalter into five books provides an approximate end date for each section, though it offers no insight into their initial composition dates.

Scholars often have greater confidence in dating New Testament texts compared to Old Testament ones. Nevertheless, some Old Testament books can be dated with reasonable certainty. For example, Moses is believed to have written the first five books during his forty years in the wilderness, indicating a specific timeframe. Deuteronomy, being his final work, was likely composed shortly before his death, allowing scholars to date it with confidence.

Conversely, books like 1 and 2 Samuel must have been written after David's reign, though the exact timing remains uncertain. The primary concern for scholars regarding the book of Samuel is not its date of writing, but the timing of the events it describes, which can be determined with more certainty. The overarching challenge lies in determining the chronological placement of these texts, especially when some aspects remain unknown and, in certain cases, unknowable.

The Major Events of Scripture in Chronological Order

The dates presented are approximate, and interpretations will vary among archaeologists, historians, and biblical scholars. This timeline is subject to change as ongoing research continues to provide new insights.

The timeline is based on traditionally accepted timeframes and general consensus of a variety of sources, including Wilmington's Guide to the Bible, A Survey of Israel's History (Wood), The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Thiele), ESV Study Bible, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and Easton's Bible Dictionary.

Thanks goes to Rich Valkanet and Discovery Bible for their major contributions to this timeline (Bible Timeline © 2010 by Rich Valkanet, Discovery Bible and Bible Hub).

Note:

• When the abbreviation "c." (or "ca.") precedes a year in history or writing, it stands for the Latin word circa, which means "around" or "approximately."

This article covers the the New Testament. A similar article covers the Old Testament.

New Testament