How to Understand the Chronology of the Bible
One continuous story — from Creation to Christ
The Bible is a remarkable book. It contains sixty-six books, written over many centuries, by many different human authors. Its pages include history, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, and accounts of the lives of men and women who encountered God.
Yet beneath this variety there is one great story.
It begins with God creating the heavens and the earth.
It follows the entrance of sin into the world, the judgment of the Flood, the calling of Abraham, the formation of Israel, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the promises spoken by the prophets.
Finally, it brings us to Jesus Christ, whose birth, death, and resurrection fulfill the purpose toward which the entire story has been moving.
Chronology helps us see that story as a whole.
Without chronology, we may know many Bible stories but have difficulty understanding how they fit together.
We may know Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, and Paul without appreciating the centuries that separate them or the events that connect them.
Chronology supplies the framework.
It helps us see that the Bible is not a collection of unrelated religious writings.
It is an unfolding record of God's dealings with mankind.
As Hebrews 1:1–2 tells us:
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
The story begins with Creation and finds its fulfillment in Christ.
Two men who help us understand the timeline
There are two historical works that will guide our investigation.
The first is James Ussher's Annals of the World.
James Ussher (1581–1656) was an Irish Anglican archbishop and a remarkable scholar.
He devoted years to studying the Bible, ancient history, languages, calendars, and historical records.
His chronology placed the creation of Adam in 4004 BC, traditionally dated October 23.
Ussher's work became especially influential when his dates were printed in the margins of many editions of the King James Bible.
Generations of Bible readers became familiar with his timeline.
His work deserves serious attention, even when individual dates or historical conclusions require examination.
The second book is one I have treasured for many years:
The Wonders of Bible Chronology, by Philip Mauro.
Philip Mauro (1859–1952) was an American attorney, a Christian scholar, and an unusually careful student of Scripture. His earlier work appeared in 1922 under the title The Chronology of the Bible. A revised edition was subsequently published under the title by which we know it today.
Mauro's contribution is particularly valuable because he examines the chronological information embedded in the Bible itself.
He pays close attention to the ages of the patriarchs, the genealogies of Genesis, the years of Israel's history, the reigns of the kings, and the prophecies of Daniel.
He is especially interested in the continuous line of events connecting the first Adam with Jesus Christ, the last Adam.
In his preface, Mauro describes this as a unique chronological and genealogical line, stretching from the beginning of the old creation to the beginning of the new.
That is a wonderful way to approach the subject.
Mauro does not ask us merely to memorize dates. He wants us to discover what those dates reveal about God's purpose.
Our seven ages of biblical history
For this study, we will organize the biblical story into seven great periods, following the general framework of Ussher's historical arrangement and making extensive use of Mauro's chronological investigations.
The First Age: From Creation to the Flood
The creation of Adam and Eve, the entrance of sin, the first generations of mankind, and the judgment of the Flood.
The Second Age: From the Flood to Abraham
The repopulation of the earth, the descendants of Noah, the Tower of Babel, and the calling of Abraham.
The Third Age: From Abraham to Moses
The patriarchs, God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph in Egypt, and the growth of Israel.
The Fourth Age: From Moses to David
The Exodus, the giving of the Law, the wilderness journey, Joshua, the judges, Samuel, Saul, and David.
The Fifth Age: From Solomon to the Babylonian Captivity
The Temple, the divided kingdom, the prophets, the fall of the northern kingdom, and the destruction of Jerusalem.
The Sixth Age: From the Captivity to the Coming of Christ
Daniel, the return from Babylon, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the Persian period, and the prophetic preparation for the Messiah.
The Seventh Age: The Coming of the Messiah
The birth of Jesus, His ministry, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and the establishment of the Christian faith.
Between the Old and New Testaments lies another important period, often called the four hundred silent years. We will give that period special attention as we approach the coming of Christ.
The ground rules for our investigation
Before we begin, we need to establish several principles.
1. Scripture is our primary authority.
We will begin with what the Bible actually says. Dates and calculations must be examined in the light of the biblical text, not imposed upon it.
2. Genealogies matter.
The genealogies of Genesis are not decorative lists of unfamiliar names. They contain chronological information.
We will follow Mauro in examining the ages at which the patriarchs became fathers and the years they lived afterward.
3. We will distinguish elapsed years from calendar dates.
There is a difference between saying that 1,656 years passed between Adam and the Flood and assigning that Flood a particular year BC.
Mauro and Ussher use different starting points for their BC calculations. We will show those differences rather than conceal them.
4. We will take account of historical evidence.
As the biblical story moves into periods where other historical records become available, we will compare the biblical record with the relevant evidence. We will be careful to distinguish established historical dates from estimates and disputed reconstructions.
5. We will pay attention to apparent chronological difficulties.
Some passages appear to present conflicting numbers or overlapping periods. Mauro devotes considerable attention to such problems, particularly in the books of Kings and Chronicles. We will not skip over difficult passages. We will investigate them.
6. We will distinguish Scripture from the interpretations of scholars.
Ussher and Mauro are valuable guides, but neither man's calculations are themselves Scripture. Where their conclusions differ, we will explain why. Where the biblical text does not permit an exact conclusion, we will say so.
7. We will never lose sight of the purpose of the chronology.
We are not studying dates for their own sake.
We are following the record of God's dealings with mankind and the promised coming of His Son.
One story, one purpose
There is a remarkable unity in the Bible.
The promise made in Eden begins a story that moves through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and the prophets.
The genealogies preserve the family line.
The covenants establish God's promises.
The prophets point toward the coming King.
Then, in the fullness of time, Jesus Christ comes.
Paul reminds us in Galatians 4:4:
"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law."
The timing was not accidental. God's purpose was unfolding through the centuries.
That is why I want to undertake this study. I want to understand the Bible not simply as a book of individual stories, but as one continuous account of God's redemptive work.
Philip Mauro has helped me appreciate the wonder of that chronological record. I hope that following his work, alongside the scholarship of James Ussher and the testimony of Scripture itself, will help us see it more clearly.
A continuation of an earlier study
This study grows out of an article I first published in 2024, entitled How to Understand the Chronology of the Bible.
That article has attracted 1,109 views, making it one of the most widely read articles on this site.
Clearly, the subject deserves a closer examination. Rather than simply repeat what I wrote then, I want to take the opportunity to go deeper, drawing particularly upon Philip Mauro's The Wonders of Bible Chronology and the historical work of James Ussher.
The original article remains available for readers who would like to begin with that overview. This new series will take us further, one age at a time.
I am grateful for the interest readers have shown in this subject, and I hope this expanded study will be even more rewarding.
Where we begin
We begin where the Bible begins.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Our journey through the ages of the Bible starts with Adam, Eve, and the world before the Flood.
We will follow the generations recorded in Genesis, examine the remarkable lives of Enoch and Methuselah, and discover how Philip Mauro uses these ancient genealogies to establish the first great span of biblical history.
One continuous story. One unfolding purpose. From Creation to Christ.
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When I Read the Bible Through
I supposed I knew my Bible
Reading piecemeal, hit and miss,
Now a bit of John or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah
Certain Psalms (the twenty-third!);
Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs—
Yes, I thought I knew the Word!
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.
Oh, the massive, mighty volume!
Oh, the treasures manifold!
Oh, the beauty of the wisdom
And the grace it proved to hold!
As the story of the Hebrews
Swept in majesty along,
As it leaped in waves prophetic,
As it burst to sacred song,
As it gleamed with Christly omens,
The Old Testament was new,
Strong with cumulative power,
When I read the Bible through.
Ah! Imperial Jeremiah,
With his keen, coruscate mind;
And the blunt old Nehemiah,
And Ezekiel refined!
Newly came the Minor Prophets
Each with his distinctive robe,
Newly came the Song idyllic,
And the tragedy of Job;
Deuteronomy, the regal,
To a towering mountain grew,
With its comrade peaks around it,
When I read the Bible through.
What a radiant procession
As the pages rise and fall,
James the sturdy, John the tender
O the myriad-minded Paul!
Vast apocalyptic glories
Wheel and thunder, flash and flame,
While the church triumphant raises
One incomparable Name.
Ah, the story of the Saviour
Never glows supremely true
Till you read it whole and swiftly,
Till you read the Bible through.
You who like to play at Bible,
Dip and dabble, here and there,
Just before you kneel, aweary,
And yawn thro’ a hurried prayer;
You who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book—
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude, impatient look—
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through!
—by Amos R. Wells (1862-1933)
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