The Layman's Bible Timeline: A Sequential Layout of Biblical Events 4004 B.C. - A.D. 100: Including the Inter-Testamental Period

IntroductionPurpose in WritingOne thing I've noticed by publishing books, is that everyone has something to say. I can present to the world my insights into matters which seem important to me, but when I place the books next to the thousands that are already out there, they are very small drops in the vast ocean of man's "wisdom." There seems to be, for the most part anyway, a striving to achieve and to get noticed in the world of publishing every bit as much as in any other endeavor in life. The rat-race seems to be going on here as well as Wall Street, or Washington. So, what seems good to me, is to simply write for the sake of my own education and as a tool to try and benefit those within my small sphere of influence.I started annotating 'Markers' in the Old Testament in order to more quickly find events I was looking for in scripture. The rational was that if I knew where two events occurred in scripture, and that a third event occurred between them, then I could find it more easily. As I started plotting individual events as I came across them, I looked up the dates and plotted them on the chart. Dating of EventsThere was one issue which I'd noticed as I went; there are so many different dating schemes used by various authors and theologians. The King James uses Usher's account; Halley's Bible Handbook uses more archaeological information for their dating. Then there are the various encyclopedias, history books, and web pages. Had I considered this from the beginning, I don't know if it would have made that much difference. There is so much variance between the dating schemes of professional theologians and archaeologists that I don't know if I could have made a perfect timeline where they couldn't even find agreement.This being said, most of my earlier plotting was done using Halley's Bible Handbook, then more and more, Bishop Usher's timeline which is represented in my copy of the KJB. Josephus plays a large role as well, but he is not perfect either, for instance, Genesis 5:3 states that Adam was 130 y/o when Seth was born. Josephus's Antiquities 1.3.4 gives Adam's age as 230 y/o when Seth was born. Other dating schemes I’ve referenced in places are MacArthur’s date estimates as well as from Elam’s notes on Bible School Lessons, 1928. As stated, there are different timelines available to anyone who wishes to search them out, I simply offer these dates as a convenient way to order events.And So...Regardless, the point of my chart is as a table of markers, useful for finding where events occur in scripture, and in what sequence. It is an ongoing work in progress, and should neither be viewed nor used as a finished product. If anyone is using these charts, feel free to make them your own. Write on them, cross things out, change dates. Even use whiteout if you like to totally remove a date or an item. Even as I send this to be published, I am still making updates, adjusting, adding, correcting. These charts are study aids, and I hope that they will aid you in your studies.In none of my writings am I interested in convincing others to subscribe to my own theology. My main purpose is to get to know my God and Savior better. If in this endeavor others can be helped along their own journey, so much the better. But this second purpose is only that, a second purpose in writing. It's always best that Christians take charge of their own journey.Keep Moving Forward!Rick Morrow 9/3/25 Read more