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"This period witnessed the invention of writing and the beginnings of human history" (Arnold & Beyer, 23).
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According to Genesis 25:7, Abraham lived to be a "hundred threescore and fifteen years". This means Abraham was approximately 175 years old when he passed away.
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"This period of ancient Near Eastern history is marked by the movement of ethnic groups and new empires replacing the older powers of the Early Bronze Age" (Arnold & Beyer, 23).
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"In Egypt, after a period of darkness and confusion called the First Intermediate Period, the country once again flourished during the Middle Kingdom period" (Arnold & Beyer, 23). This time period was a peaceful and stable for Egypt.
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"The Late Bronze Age was one of international trade and balance of world powers, with Syria-Palestine caught in the middle" (Arnold & Beyer, 25).
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The events and people in this book mostly likely occur within the timeframe of 1376 BC - 1050 BC. The period of the Judges ended when Saul began his reign.
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This period "began with the invasion of the sea peoples and the shifting of political power throughout the ancient Near East" (Arnold & Beyer, 28).
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The events of Ruth occurred during the end of the rules of the judges which would be around 1100 BC. Ruth married Boaz and had a child. The events of Ruth's life lead to the birth of David, who would eventually become a king. -
Samuel appointed Saul as king of Israel in 1050 BC. God rejected King Saul for his disobedience as seen in I Samuel 15:23. Then, God called Samuel to anoint the next king. Samuel appointed David.
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David spent years running from Saul, but David was eventually crowned king. David was not perfect but he was the king that God chose.
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Solomon established himself on the throne in 970 BC after his father's death. Israel became a major power during Solomon's reign; however, "Israel's brief period of strength and prestige was ruined by Solomon's religious apostasy" (Arnold & Beyer, 201). Solomon never fully abandoned God, but he was not fully devoted either. It can be seen in I Kings 11, that Solomon strayed from God and started to add religious practices of his many wives. After Solomon died, the kingdom divided.
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After Solomon passed away, the nation divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. -
This period "covers Israel's divided kingdoms: northern Israel and southern Judah" (Arnold & Beyer, 30).
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According to National Geographic, the Assyrian Empire began around 900 B.C. and ended around 600 B.C. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/assyrian-empire/
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Uzziah was also known as Azariah in the bible. According to 2 Kings 15:2, Uzziah was "sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem."
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During this time period, Amos served as a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos called "Israel to repent of its sin and establish justice as the law of the land" (Arnold & Beyer, 436).
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"Isaiah is one of the most famous Old Testament prophets" (Arnold & Beyer, 334). Isaiah mainly prophesied mainly to Judah; however, he also had words for other nations (Arnold & Beyer, 335).
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"Shalmaneser V laid siege to Israel's capital, Samaria, in 725 B.C." (Arnold & Beyer, 30). In 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel finally fell to Assyria and King Shalmaneser V.
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According to II Kings 18:2, Hezekiah was 25 years old. According to Arnold & Beyer, he was anti-Assyrian (30).
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According to Arnold & Beyer, "Nahum mentioned the fall of Thebes, an event that occurred in 663 B.C. The prophet also speaks of Nineveh's fall, which took place in 612 B.C." (447). Due to this, we can conclude the dates of Nahum's ministry. Nahum prophesized that Assyria's capital, Nineveh, would fall (Arnold & Beyer, 447).
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According to Arnold & Beyer, "Josiah was the last godly king before the Babylonian exile" (222).
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During this time, Jeremiah served as a prophet until the fall of Judah in 586 BC. "Jeremiah experienced incredible opposition. He suffered beatings and public humiliation" (Arnold & Beyer, 367). Jeremiah prophesied Judah's destruction and warned the people of Judah to repent, but they did not listen.
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According to both the Chronological Life Application Study Bible and History.com, The Babylonian Empire began around 626 BC with Nabopolassar and ended around 539 BC when Cyrus conquered Babylon. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylonia
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According to Arnold & Beyer, Nebuchadnezzar ruled for 43 years. During his rule, "Babylonia reached the apex of its wealth and political power in what is called the Neo-Babylonian period" (Arnold & Beyer, 31)
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Daniel served as a prophet to the exiles in Babylon. Daniel was also drafted to counsel King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel warned Nebuchadnezzar that his pride was going to be his downfall (Arnold & Beyer, 418).
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In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians attacked Judah. During this attack, the Babylonians captured about 10,000 people, including Ezekiel. -
Ezekiel prophesized to those already in exile in Babylon and warned them of God's impending judgement and urged them to repent (Arnold & Beyer, 392).
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King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian military destroyed Judah and Jerusalem. According to Arnold & Beyer, Jerusalem fell in 587 B.C (30).
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According to the Chronological Life Application Study Bible, the Persian empire began in 549 BC and lasted until 331 BC. King Cyrus marks the beginning of the Persian Empire (Arnold & Beyer, 33). Cyrus began his rule in 559 BC. In 539 BC, Cyrus conquered Babylon which lead to his decree in 538 BC.
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According to Arnold & Beyer, this period is also known as the Persian Age (33).
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In 538 BC, Cyrus, the king of Persia, made a proclamation. According to Ezra 1: 1-11, Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile and allowed people to return to their homeland in order to rebuild. -
In 520 BC, Haggai served as a prophet to Judah after people returned from being exiled. According to Arnold & Beyer, "it was only after the ministries of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah that the second temple was finally finished in 516 B.C." (33). -
In 458 BC, Ezra returned to Jerusalem with a group of exiles. According to Arnold & Beyer, Ezra's expedition was the second from Babylonia (33). -
According to Nehemiah 2:1-10, King Artaxerxes allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem in order to help build the city. In the text, this event happened in the "twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king". According to Arnold & Beyer, Nehemiah led the third group (33). Nehemiah knew he had the primary task to help rebuild Jerusalem's city walls and defenses (33)
