Timeline of Old Testament Events

Our Old Testament timeline offers believers a valuable roadmap for navigating the vast and storied landscape of Scripture’s earliest narratives. By situating key events and figures in a clear chronological framework, we gain fresh perspective on how God orchestrated His redemptive plan through eras of creation, covenants, conquests, and captivity. This method of studying Scripture shines light on the divine thread tying together everything from Adam’s first breath in Eden to the return of God’s people from Babylonian exile. As we trace these pivotal moments in order, we discover not only a cohesive story of humanity’s struggle and redemption, but also an ongoing revelation of God’s steadfast faithfulness, His eternal wisdom, and His enduring desire to dwell among His people.

642 BC

King Amon of Judah

Amon of Judah (reigned ca. 642-640 BC), the son of Manasseh, ascended the throne at twenty-two and "did evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 21:19-20). Rather than learning from his father's late repentance, Amon "walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served" (2 Kings 21:21-22). Chronicles diagnoses the heart: he "did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied guilt" (2 Chronicles 33:23). His brief reign shows how inherited patterns solidify when pride refuses the mercy that was offered to the previous generation.

A palace conspiracy ended Amon's rule: "his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house," but "the people of the land" executed the conspirators and placed his eight-year-old son Josiah on the throne (2 Kings 21:23-24; 2 Chronicles 33:24-25). Amon was buried in the garden of Uzza (2 Kings 21:26). His life is a caution that proximity to grace is not the same as repentance; refusing to humble oneself cements folly. Yet God's covenant faithfulness preserved David's line through Josiah, anticipating the greater Son of David whose faithful obedience, not borrowed idolatry, secures lasting renewal for His people (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 1:1).