The return from Babylonian exile was not a single event, but rather a process that took place over the course of a century, during which time the temple and walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. I hope this timeline can help you situate the last part of the Old Testament story in its context.
The Babylonian exile is one of the most complicated narrative backdrops in the Old Testament, spanning many prophetic and historical books in Scripture. Understanding the scope of the exile and the return will inform our reading of dozens of Old Testament books, and help us gain a better understanding of the story of God’s people through history.
(Preaching on the exile to Babylon. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on July 20, 2025.)
This was by far one of the most difficult charts/timelines to put together in our journey through the Bible this year. The Babylonian exile and eventual return serves as the backdrop for many Old Testament books. I hope this can give you a clearer overall picture of this momentous period of Biblical history.
As we enter into a new section of Israelite history in our journey through the Bible, I thought it might be helpful to have provide a map and a timeline of the Divided Kingdom. Next week I will provide several timelines connected to the prophets of Israel.
I post this every year around Easter as people are thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, with minor revisions and updates (this year some more-than-minor revisions). I hope this is helpful to you in some small way as you more deeply consider the resurrection of our Lord.
As we transition out of our reading of the Pentateuch and into Joshua and Judges, I thought it would be helpful to put together a timeline of early Israel, from the Exodus to the beginning of the temple construction in 1 Kings 6:1. The two verses that form the backbone of this timeline are Judges 11:26 and 1 Kings 6:1, which impose pretty hard limits on the overall dates of the judges and kings. I hope this is helpful for you!
To accompany our study of Ezekiel, I have revised and updated my timeline of the most prominent Israelite prophets. I hope this can be helpful for your study of the Old Testament!
To accompany our sermon series on Ezekiel, I have composed a chronological and thematic chart of the book. I hope this will be helpful in your study of Ezekiel!
In preparation for our Vacation Bible School I have made a chart outlining some of the major themes in Daniel, plus an explanation of the chronology. You can find the pdf here.
We are going through Esther in our Sunday evening sermons at Dewey, so I made this chart to help us keep the overall narrative in mind. It might be surprising to see the length of time the story covers. You can get the pdf here.
Watts in the Word 
