Image : http://www.flickr.com
One of the easiest areas to lay out an Old Testament timeline is for the preaching of the prophets. Prophets were closely linked to times of intense distress in the History of Israel. Therefore, prophets can be placed in four major times of upheaval: The Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (and the time immediately preceding it) sometime around 722 BCE, The Fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (and the time immediately preceding it) sometime around 587 BCE, The Babylonian Exile from about 587 BCE to 539 BCE, and The Post-Exilic period and from about 539 BCE until the end of the Old Testament period perhaps in the second century with Daniel (though this book is not classed among the prophets in Jewish divisions of the Hebrew Bible).
The four primary crises provide a convenient framework for an Old Testament timeline for the prophets. For some of the prophets, like Joel, it is somewhat difficult to date their work; however, most of the other prophets can be linked clearly to one of these times of distress. For instance, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah (1-39), and Micah can all be linked to the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria around 722 BCE. Others examples would be linking Jeremiah to the fall of the Southern Kingdom, Ezekiel to the exile, and prophets like Haggai to the time after the exile.
The ease of creating an Old Testament timeline for the prophets stands in stark contrast to creating one for some of the earlier events in the history of Ancient Israel. For instance, whether one gives an early date (i.e. 15th century), late date (i.e. 13th century), or no date to the Exodus will confuse to a significant degree any earlier chronology of events such as the lives of the patriarchs.
Want to learn more about the timeline of Ancient Israel? Click here and pick up an audio course on the History of Ancient Israel by Eric Cline.
Jeremy Thompson is a Graduate level Instructor in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and a Doctoral Student in Biblical Languages.
My Links : Canon Camera Case Accent Acoustics Speakers Micro Innovation Speakers http://kevinwalters.theblogsyndicate.com/