Bible and world history: 1754 BC–1504 BC

Isaac’s continuing family line

Isaac’s lifespan continues to 1716 BC · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Genesis 35:28–29 gives Isaac 180 years and describes Esau and Jacob burying him. This continuing family label links the patriarchal story to Jacob’s household; it is not a separate Egyptian event.

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Jacob

1836–1689 BC · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Genesis 25 names Jacob and Esau as Isaac and Rebekah’s twins. Genesis 47:28 gives Jacob a lifespan of 147 years, including 17 in Egypt.

His lifespan continues into this period, including his years in Egypt.

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Joseph interprets dreams and prepares for famine

1697 BC: end of the famine · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Genesis 39–41 recounts Joseph’s imprisonment, his interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream, and his appearance before Pharaoh. Genesis 41 gives seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine and says Joseph was 30 when he entered Pharaoh’s service.

It supplies no BC year. The poster’s 1697 BC endpoint is a chart calculation, not an Egyptian archival date.

Dates: The famine’s BC endpoint belongs to the chart’s chronology; Pharaoh is unnamed in Genesis.

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Moses leaves Egypt

Moses aged 40; 1531 BC · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Exodus 2:11–15 recounts Moses killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and fleeing to Midian. Acts 7:23 supplies the age of 40.

The BC year here comes from the poster’s 1571 BC birth placement, not a year stated in Exodus.

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A new king and Israel’s oppression

1530 BC; not a date stated in Exodus · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Exodus 1:8 introduces a new king who did not know Joseph and describes Israel’s forced labor. Exodus 2:23 later mentions a king’s death during the oppression.

These are separate notices; the text supplies neither a royal name nor the poster’s 1530 BC date.

Dates: The death and the start of oppression should not be collapsed into one securely dated event.

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Japan before written chronicles

Jōmon culture during this period

East Asia

Japan’s archaeological history long predates the chart’s 660 BC marker. Jōmon settlements, pottery and exchange networks provide evidence for life in this period.

The much later influence of Chinese learning is important, but does not make early Japanese culture simply Chinese in origin.

Dates: The 660 BC marker is not the beginning of human history in Japan.

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The Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos

Approximately 1650–1550 BC · Historical estimate

Egypt

Hyksos rulers controlled the Nile Delta during Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period. Ahmose’s expulsion of them helped usher in the New Kingdom around 1550 BC.

The chart’s compact victory label does not establish a particular battle date or identify the Hyksos with the Israelites.

Names and identities: No identification of the Hyksos with Biblical Israel is assumed.

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Shang China

Approximately 1600–1050 BC · Historical estimate

East Asia

The Shang dynasty is attested through writing and archaeology. Its oracle-bone records and ritual life provide evidence for early Chinese society.

The poster’s “Tang-Shang” label belongs to this ancient dynasty; it should not be confused with the much later Tang dynasty of AD 618–907.

Dates: The dynasty is distinguished from medieval Tang China; “great astronomers” is a broad characterization, not a dated discovery.

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Kassite rule in Babylonia

Approximately 1595–1155 BC; extends into later periods · Historical estimate

Mesopotamia

Kassite kings ruled Babylonia during much of the later second millennium BC. The British Museum uses approximately 1595–1155 BC.

Their position under the chart’s Nimrod track does not identify Nimrod as a Kassite king or make the whole dynasty contemporary with Joseph.

Names and identities: The regional track continues across distinct rulers and dynasties.

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Jacob’s twelve sons

Family branches in Genesis 29–30 and 35

Biblical account

Genesis 35:23–26 lists Jacob’s sons by their mothers: Leah—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Rachel—Joseph and Benjamin; Bilhah—Dan and Naphtali; Zilpah—Gad and Asher. The chart’s separate boxes show these relationships, not twelve events occurring in the same year.

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Joseph is sold into Egypt

Joseph aged 17 in Genesis 37

Biblical account

Genesis 37 introduces Joseph at age 17 and recounts his sale and arrival in Egypt. The chapter uses both Ishmaelite and Midianite merchant designations.

The account is retained without inventing a named pharaoh or treating the merchants as a securely identified modern population.

Dates: The Biblical narrative is not independently dated by a named Egyptian king.

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Asenath, Manasseh, Ephraim and Jacob’s blessings

Genesis 41, 48 and 49; successive episodes

Biblical account

Genesis 41:45,50–52 names Asenath, daughter of Potipherah the priest of On, as Joseph’s wife and Manasseh and Ephraim as their sons. Genesis 48 recounts Jacob blessing those sons; Genesis 49 records his words to his own sons.

These are separate scenes across the family’s life in Egypt.

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Levi, Kohath, Amram, Aaron and Moses

Exodus 6 genealogy

Biblical account

Exodus 6:16–20 presents Levi, Kohath and Amram in the family line of Aaron and Moses and names Jochebed as their mother. The text gives 137 years for Levi, 133 for Kohath and 137 for Amram.

These relationships do not by themselves settle the number of years Israel spent in Egypt or identify an Egyptian dynasty.

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Caleb

Numbers 13–14; Joshua 14

Biblical account

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, represents Judah among the men sent to explore Canaan. Numbers 14 commends his faithfulness; Joshua 14 says he was 40 when sent and 85 when he asked for Hebron.

His main story belongs with the Exodus and settlement in the next period.

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Esau and Edom

A continuing Biblical family and regional track

Biblical account

Genesis 36 identifies Esau with Edom and describes his descendants and Edomite rulers. The chapter is a genealogy and king list, not a set of independently dated BC reigns.

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Moabites and Ammonites

Continuing peoples in the Biblical narrative

Biblical account

Deuteronomy 2 recalls the lands of Moab and Ammon; Deuteronomy 23:3–6 addresses their relationship to Israel’s assembly. These later references explain the chart’s continuing family tracks rather than marking their foundation in this period.

Biblical reference: The poster’s citations cover broader passages; the assembly restriction is specifically in Deuteronomy 23:3–6.

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Peoples of Canaan

Genealogical labels with later narrative references

Biblical account

Genesis 10:15–18 includes Heth and the Jebusites in Canaan’s genealogy. The Gibeonites and Perizzites are named in later Biblical narratives, including Joshua 9 and 11.

The four chart tracks are not all names explicitly listed in Genesis 10:15–18.

Names and identities: The shared Genesis reference does not explicitly list every name on the adjoining tracks.

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Early colonies to America: the chart’s interpretation

Undated interpretive connection

Americas

This timeline’s Christian interpretation connects the dispersal after Babel with settlement in the Americas. Josephus, Antiquities 1.5, describes sea travel and islands but does not identify the Americas or establish a date or route for settlement there.

Christian interpretation: The American connection is the chart’s interpretation, not a place named in Josephus.

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Hagar and Sarah in Paul’s interpretation

Galatians 4 is a later Christian interpretation

Biblical interpretation

Galatians 4:21–31 uses Hagar and Sarah in Paul’s argument about two covenants and freedom. It is a first-century Christian interpretation of the Genesis story, not an event occurring in this BC period.

Dates: The New Testament reference explains the story; it does not date it.

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Syria and the name Aram

Biblical family connection; not a dated national origin

Levant

Genesis 22:21 calls Kemuel the father of Aram. That family notice does not establish that every Syrian descended from him.

Aramean and Armenian are not interchangeable names; the chart’s short label should not be read as equating those peoples.

Context: The parenthetical “Armenians” is not a synonym for Arameans.

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Phoenicia and Canaanite religion

Regional and religious context

Levant

Baal and Astarte occur in evidence for Canaanite religion. The chart also names Moloch, but that compressed list should not imply that every coastal city had the same cult or that all three names identify one dated event.

Leviticus 18:21 is a Biblical reference to Molech.

Names and identities: Religious names are context, not a single event or a uniform religion across all cities.

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Assyrian power

A continuing regional development

Mesopotamia

Assyrian power developed unevenly during the second millennium BC. Shamshi-Adad I’s kingdom belongs earlier in that millennium.

The continuing Elam-and-Asshur track follows a regional development; its rising arrow does not identify one independently dated conquest.

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The Pelasgians in Greek tradition

Traditional name, not a securely dated state

Mediterranean

Ancient Greek writers used “Pelasgians” for several peoples and for inhabitants imagined to precede later Greek groups. Herodotus discusses the name but acknowledges uncertainty about their language.

The label does not establish one kingdom or a foundation year for Greece.

Names and identities: A traditional people-name is distinguished from an archaeological state.

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Iran and Indo-European language relationships

Language and regional headings

West Asia

The “Persia” and “Indo-German” tracks are broad labels. Iranian and Indo-Aryan languages form related branches within Indo-European; that linguistic relationship is not proof of one biological race or of an established Persian Empire during this period.

Context: The later Persian Empire must not be projected into this early regional heading.

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The Passover

1491 BC; just after this page’s boundary · Timeline chronology

Biblical account

Exodus 12 describes the Passover and Israel’s departure from Egypt. The traditional chart sequence puts the Exodus at 1491 BC, in the next period.

Exodus 7:7 gives Moses as 80 at his appearance before Pharaoh; neither passage names the king or gives a BC year.

Context: The Passover is carried forward to the next period, not made simultaneous with Joseph.

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