Dates from History Channel and the Jewish Virtual Library

 Many scholars believe that the stories of Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood are archetypal myths that did not take place at a specific historical moment  Fundamentalist thinkers believe that every event in the Bible is historically grounded, and have determined that the world was created in 4004 BCE.

 BCE: Abraham  1765 BCE: The Tower of Babel  BCE: Isaac  BCE: Jacob  BCE: Joseph  1500: Israelites migrate to Egypt  Note: Many scholars believe that although these figures probably existed, they did not live as long as is suggested in the Tanakh

 1429 BCE: Israelites enslaved by Egyptians  1280 BCE: Moses leads Israelites out of Egypt  BCE: Moses writes down the Law; Israelites wander in the desert; Moses dies before reaching Canaan (Promised Land)

 BCE: Led by Joshua, Israelites conquer and kill most tribes inhabiting Canaan, claiming a place for themselves  BCE: Israel screws up; a Judge or a Prophet warns them of their wrongdoing; they are punished and repent; repeat

 BCE: Saul is king of Israel  BCE: David is king of Israel; Jerusalem becomes the capital  BCE: Solomon is king of Israel; first Temple is built  928 BCE: Israel splits into Northern and Southern kingdoms

 722 BCE: Northern Kingdom destroyed by Assyrians- 10 tribes of Israel lost  586 BCE: Southern Kingdom conquered by Babylonians- Temple destroyed- Israelites exiled  539 BCE: Persian emperor Cyrus the Great conquers the Babylonians; allows Israelites to return to Jerusalem; hailed as Messiah

 515 BCE: Temple is rebuilt  500 BCE: Still irritated over being ruled by someone, Israelites begin to develop the notion of “Messiah” as a military leader who would return Israel to independence and glory  450 BCE: Torah begins to gain recognition as “Scripture”  333 BCE: Persians conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic (Greek) culture influences Israel

 250 BCE: Hebrew scriptures translated in Greek  166 BCE: Maccabean revolt against Greek rulers  63 BCE: Rome (Pompey) annexes Israel  20 BCE: Herod the Great rebuilds the Temple  4 BCE-29? CE: Jesus of Nazareth born in Palestine; executed by Roman authorities  CE: Jewish revolt against Rome; Rome destroys Jerusalem and Temple