Biblical Timeline Overview

Biblical timelines serve as essential tools for bridging the gap between ancient events and our modern comprehension of Scripture. By placing biblical stories and characters in chronological order, we see how God’s plan unfolds across the centuries with intentional design. Timelines can highlight key junctures, showing how pivotal occurrences—like covenants, conquests, exiles, and resurrections—fit into the larger tapestry of God’s redemptive work. This bigger picture helps believers appreciate the unstoppable continuity of His plan and observe the patience and faithfulness of God throughout history.

Moreover, understanding the “when” of biblical events can clarify the “why.” Aligning certain Biblical happenings with known dates in world history can provide insights into cultural influences, political shifts, and prophetic fulfillments. These connections bolster our confidence in the historical reliability of the Bible and affirm its divinely orchestrated nature. In essence, timelines enable believers to see both the overarching storyline of Scripture and the precise moments in which God demonstrated His sovereignty, weaving together countless details into a perfect and purposeful plan.

4 BC

Jesus, the "Second Adam" is born

The magi have arrived in Jerusalem, asking about the newborn king of the Jews so that they might locate and worship him. Herod the king became aware of their arrival to the city and their questions. Being ever mindful of any threat to his power, Herod is deeply troubled by the magi's questions. When Herod was troubled, everyone felt it. So all Jerusalem was troubled with him. Herod might have keenly felt the magi's claim that there was a king other than him, because he was in fact only "half-Jew." His father, Antipater, was an Edomite. Even if the magi's claim was not true, if the expectant people under Herod's rule put stock in the magi's words and believed their claim that the King of the Jews was recently born, it could lead to an uprising, and the end of his reign and dynasty. The magi's unexpected arrival and astonishing announcement that a Jewish King had been born was the talk of Jerusalem. No doubt many were hopeful that this might mean the coming of the Messiah. It did not take much political calculus for Herod to recognize that if he wanted to remain in power, he could not afford to allow these rumors to spread.

In Scripture, Jesus often uses the label, "Son of man," when describing Himself (Matthew 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:9, 12:8, etc). In Hebrew, the word translated as "man" in the phrase "Son of man," is "Adam." This is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:26 and 2:6-7 when God created "man." It is later written as, "Adam," as the text begins to refer to the first man by this name, literally meaning "son of Adam." Jesus is the "Second Adam" (Romans 5:14), and redeemed earth by living a perfectly obedient life, then dying for the sins of the world.

  1. 4000 BC — The First Adam
  2. 3870 BC — Seth is Born
  3. 3750 BC — Enosh is Born
  4. 3660 BC — Kenan is Born
  5. 3605 BC — Mahalalel is Born
  6. 3540 BC — Jared is Born
  7. 3380 BC — Enoch is Born
  8. 3310 BC — Methuselah is Born
  9. 3125 BC — Lamech is Born
  10. 3000 BC — The Birth of Noah
  11. 2450 BC — Shem is Born
  12. 2350 BC — The Great Flood
  13. 2270 BC — Tower of Babel
  14. 2000 BC — Abraham
  15. 1950 BC — Isaac is Born
  16. 1700 BC — Jacob and Sons go to Egypt
  17. 1570 BC — Moses is Born
  18. 1500 BC — Exodus From Egypt
  19. 1020 BC — King David of Judah
  20. 990 BC — King Solomon of Judah
  21. 586 BC — Babylonian Exile Begins
  22. 331 BC — Alexander the Great is defeated
  23. 175 BC — Reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes Begins
  24. 167 BC — Maccabean Revolt
  25. 4 BC — Jesus, the "Second Adam" is born
  26. AD 30 — Jesus’ Crucifixion
  27. AD 70 — Roman Conquest of Jerusalem