MYTHIC
- Ain / Ain Soph / Ain Soph Aur — The Unknowable Source; the infinite divine mystery
- Creation of the Cosmos — Fiat Lux; emergence of light and form from formlessness
- Adam Kadmon — The Archetypal Man, Divine Image, Cosmic Template
- Adam & Eve — First embodied humans; formed from dust and divine breath
- The Garden of Eden — State of primordial wholeness
- The Tree of Life & Tree of Knowledge — Poles of Initiation and Exile
- The Fall of Man — Eating the fruit; descent into duality and forgetfulness
- Cain & Abel — The first fratricide; symbolic division of soul paths
- Seth — The Third Son; the pure lineage of divine remembrance
c. 12,000–2500 BC ??
- Enoch — The walker with God; ascends into the heavens (author of Enochian mysteries)
- Nephilim — The Watchers and the fallen angels
- The Flood & Noah’s Ark — Purification of the Earth; preservation of the seed
- Shem, Ham, Japheth — Sons of Noah; the three postdiluvian lineages
- The Tower of Babel — Fall of unified language; rise of separate nations
THE PATRIARCHAL ERA c. 2500–1500 BC
- Abraham — Covenant with El Elyon; archetype of faith
- Melchizedek — Priest-King of Salem; prefiguration of eternal priesthood
- Isaac — The son of promise
- Jacob (Israel) — Wrestles with the angel; receives divine name
- Twelve Tribes of Israel — The archetypal cosmic ordering
- Joseph — Dream interpreter; Egypt’s initiatory sojourn
THE MOSES ERA c. 1500–1200 BC
- Enslavement in Egypt — Descent into bondage (both literal and spiritual)
- Moses — Bringer of the Law; mystic of the burning bush
- The Ten Plagues & Exodus — Liberation through divine intervention
- The Crossing of the Red Sea — Passage through death to new life
- Revelation at Sinai — Theophany; transmission of Torah
- The Ark of the Covenant — Mystical vessel; carrier of divine presence
- The Tabernacle — Portable temple; meeting place of Heaven and Earth
- The 40 Years in the Wilderness — Testing, purification, wandering
THE KINGDOM ERA c. 1200–600 BC
- Joshua — Crossing into the Promised Land
- The Judges — Pre-monarchical leaders and prophets
- Samuel — Prophet-priest; anointer of kings
- Saul — First King; rejected by God
- David — Warrior-Poet-King; slayer of Goliath; author of Psalms
- Solomon — Builder of the First Temple; master of wisdom and spirits
- The Queen of Sheba — Initiatic encounter; transmission of gnosis
- The Division of the Kingdom — Israel (North) and Judah (South)
THE PROPHETIC ERA c. 850–400 BC
- Elijah — Prophet of fire; ascended in chariot of flame
- Elisha — Miracle worker; receiver of Elijah’s mantle
- Isaiah — Visionary of the Messiah and Suffering Servant
- Jeremiah — Prophet of lamentation and inner law
- Ezekiel — Vision of the Merkabah and wheels within wheels
- Daniel — Seer of beasts, dreams, and apocalyptic visions
- Hosea — Marriage as prophecy
- Joel — Spirit poured out upon all flesh
- Amos — Justice and righteousness
- Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi — Lesser-known prophets, each echoing moral and eschatological messages
THE EXILIC & SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD 586–100 BC
- The Babylonian Exile — Destruction of the First Temple; trauma and mysticism
- Ezekiel’s vision in exile — Origins of Merkabah mysticism
- Return under Cyrus — Rebuilding of the Temple
- Ezra and Nehemiah — Restoration of the Law
- Rise of the Sects — Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and the Essenes
- Qumran & the Dead Sea Scrolls — Mystical Essene writings; “Sons of Light” vs “Sons of Darkness”
- The Teacher of Righteousness — Essene preparations for their spiritual master
- The Book of Enoch, Jubilees, and other apocrypha — Esoteric currents
THE CHRISTIC ERA c. 5 BC – 100 AD
- Yochanan the Baptizer (John the Baptist) — Forerunner, prophet of purification
- Yeshua the Nazarene — Incarnate Logos; initiator of disciples
- The Crucifixion & Resurrection — Cosmic Atonement and rebirth
- Pentecost — Descent of Holy Spirit, Christic empowerment
- The Early Church and Gnostic Sects — Sophia-Christ mythos spreads
- The Book of Revelation —
- Persecution and Secret Transmission — Hidden gnosis, mystic lineage preserved
Year (BCE) | Event | Region/People | Primary Texts | Notes / Archaeology |
2000–1800 | Traditional era of the Patriarchs begins with Abraham and Sarah; migration from Mesopotamia toward Canaan | Early Israelite ancestors | Genesis 12–25 | Fits Middle Bronze Age mobility; literary memory rather than fixed chronology |
1900–1800 | Isaac traditions; covenantal succession | Early Israelite ancestors | Genesis 21–27 | Rituals of oath and blessing; etiologies of lineages |
1800–1700 | Jacob/Israel narratives; marriages to Leah and Rachel; tribal eponyms; renaming to “Israel” | Early Israelite ancestors | Genesis 28–36 | Explains origins of “Israel” and the Twelve Tribes |
1750–1650 | Joseph cycle; movement of Jacob’s family to Egypt during famine | Early Israelite ancestors; Egypt (Delta) | Genesis 37–50 | Situates an Israelite group in Egypt; aligns broadly with Second Intermediate Period patterns |
1700–1550 | Hyksos ascendancy in northern Egypt (context for Semitic presence) | Egypt | — | Background context; not identified with Israelites, but shows Semitic groups in Delta |
1550–1200 | Egyptian New Kingdom domination in Canaan | Egypt; Canaan | — | Sets political backdrop for later “Exodus/Conquest” memories |
15th–13th c. | Israelite oppression and Exodus traditions situated by some models | Israelite ancestors; Egypt/Sinai | Exodus–Deuteronomy | Competing chronologies (15th vs 13th c. proposals); composite memory |
13th–12th c. | Wilderness traditions; Sinai covenant; early cultic law | Israelite confederation | Exodus–Numbers | Foundational covenant and Torah reception |
1208 | “Israel” attested on the Merneptah Stele | Canaan | — | Earliest extrabiblical reference to Israel as a people in Canaan |
1200–1150 | Emergence of highland villages in central Canaan; population increase | Early Israelite ethnos | — | Archaeological horizon of new settlements; mixed origins |
12th–11th c. | Period of the Judges; charismatic leaders; conflicts with Philistines | Israelite tribes | Judges | Decentralized tribal league; regional deliverers (Deborah, Gideon, Samson) |
1050–1020 | Push for kingship in face of Philistine pressure | Israelite tribes | 1 Samuel | Transition from judgeship to monarchy |
1020–1000 | Reign of Saul | Benjamin/Ephraim | 1 Samuel | First monarchic center; contested rule |
1000–970 | David’s reign; Jerusalem captured and made capital | United Monarchy | 2 Samuel | Political consolidation; dynastic promise; Tel Dan stele later references “House of David” |
970–931 | Solomon’s reign; administrative districts; international ties | United Monarchy | 1 Kings 1–11 | Temple construction; royal building |
960 | First Temple completed and dedicated | Jerusalem | 1 Kings 6–8 | Cult centralization idealized in later texts |
931 | Kingdom divides: Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem) | Israel; Judah | 1 Kings 12 | Long dual-kingdom era begins |
9th c. | Omride dynasty; building at Samaria; regional conflicts | Israel | 1 Kings 16–22 | Mesha (Moabite) Stele records conflict; Tel Dan stele mentions “House of David” |
841 | Jehu’s revolt in Israel; submission to Shalmaneser III | Israel; Assyria | 2 Kings 9–10 | Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III shows Jehu (or envoy) paying tribute |
8th c. | Prophetic activity: Amos, Hosea (Israel); Isaiah, Micah (Judah) | Israel; Judah | Amos; Hosea; Isaiah 1–39; Micah | Social justice, covenant fidelity, anti-idolatry |
734–732 | Assyrian campaigns; fall of Aram-Damascus; annexations | Israel; Aram; Assyria | 2 Kings 15–16 | Tiglath-Pileser III reshapes Levant; deportations begin |
722/720 | Fall of Samaria to Assyria; Northern Kingdom ends | Israel; Assyria | 2 Kings 17 | Deportations; later memory of “Ten Tribes” |
701 | Sennacherib attacks Judah; Jerusalem survives Hezekiah’s revolt | Judah; Assyria | 2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 36–37 | Sennacherib Prism; siege archaeology in Judah |
715–687 | Hezekiah’s reign; religious centralization | Judah | 2 Kings 18; Isaiah | Hezekiah’s tunnel inscription; administrative seals |
late 7th c. | Ketef Hinnom silver amulets with priestly blessing | Judah | Numbers 6 (parallel) | Oldest biblical text fragments (palaeography c. late 7th–early 6th c.) |
640–609 | Josiah’s reign; reform; “book of the law” promulgation | Judah | 2 Kings 22–23 | Centralization of worship in Jerusalem |
612 | Nineveh falls; end of Assyrian capital | Assyria; Babylonia; Medes | — | Power shifts toward Neo-Babylon |
609 | Josiah dies at Megiddo; Egyptian intervention | Judah; Egypt | 2 Kings 23 | Judah becomes geopolitically vulnerable |
605 | Battle of Carchemish; Babylon defeats Egypt | Babylonia; Egypt | — | Nebuchadnezzar’s ascendancy |
597 | First Babylonian deportation; Jehoiachin exiled | Judah; Babylonia | 2 Kings 24 | Beginning of Exile; ration tablets attest Jehoiachin in Babylon |
586/587 | Jerusalem captured; First Temple destroyed | Judah; Babylonia | 2 Kings 25 | Major rupture; further deportations |
582–570 | Diasporic consolidation; exilic prophecy (Ezekiel) | Exile communities | Ezekiel | Re-imagining covenant without Temple |
539 | Cyrus conquers Babylon; policy enables return | Persia; Babylon | Ezra 1 (echo); Cyrus Cylinder (context) | Administrative restoration across empire |
538–520 | Early returnees; altar re-established; opposition and delays | Yehud (Persian province) | Ezra 1–4 | Small province centered on Jerusalem |
520–516 | Second Temple rebuilt and dedicated | Yehud | Ezra 5–6; Haggai; Zechariah | Temple cult restored; modest scale |
458 | Ezra’s mission (Torah teaching, community order) | Yehud | Ezra 7–10 | Scribal authority, intermarriage policy |
445–432 | Nehemiah’s walls; administrative and covenant reforms | Yehud | Nehemiah | Urban fortification; communal statutes |
5th c. | Elephantine Jewish community; papyri document temple and life | Egypt (Elephantine) | Elephantine Papyri | Jewish military colony with local temple (destroyed 410) |
4th c. | Torah and Prophets widely authoritative; evolving Writings | Yehud/Diaspora | — | Canon formation is gradual and multiregional |
332 | Alexander the Great conquers the Levant | Judea; Hellenistic world | — | Beginning of Hellenistic period |
301–200 | Ptolemaic rule over Judea | Judea; Egypt | — | Greek administration; diaspora growth in Egypt |
3rd–2nd c. | Septuagint translation effort begins in Alexandria | Diaspora (Egypt) | — | Greek Bible for Jewish communities |
200–167 | Seleucid control; rising tensions in Judea | Judea; Seleucids | — | Taxation, high-priestly politics |
167–164 | Antiochus IV’s decrees; Maccabean revolt begins | Judea | 1–2 Maccabees | Suppression of practices; rural resistance movement |
164 | Temple rededication (Hanukkah) | Jerusalem | 1 Maccabees 4 | Cult restored after profanation |
160–140 | Hasmonean consolidation; diplomacy and warfare | Judea | 1 Maccabees | From insurgency to dynasty |
140–104 | Hasmonean expansion (John Hyrcanus) | Judea and environs | — | Territorial growth; forced integrations |
104–76 | Aristobulus I; Alexander Jannaeus; sectarian conflicts | Judea | — | Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes crystallize |
2nd–1st c. | Essene communities; Dead Sea Scrolls composed/copied | Judean Desert | Community Rule; War Scroll; pBiblical mss | Apocalyptic, legal, and liturgical texts |
63 | Pompey enters Jerusalem; Judea becomes Roman client | Judea; Rome | — | End of full Hasmonean sovereignty |
40 | Herod appointed “King of the Jews” by Rome | Herodian realm | — | Transition to Herodian dynasty |
37–4 | Reign of Herod the Great; major building programs | Judea | — | Temple mount expansion; Caesarea, fortresses |
20s–10s | Herodian Temple expansion continues | Jerusalem | — | Monumental platform; courts and porticoes |
6–4 | Birth of Jesus placed by many scholars in late Herodian years | Judea (Bethlehem/Nazareth) | Synoptic infancy traditions | Chronology inferred from Herod’s death in 4 BCE |
1st c. BCE | Growth of apocalyptic/eschatological expectation | Judea; Diaspora | Daniel (final form), Enochic texts, Jubilees | Diverse messianic ideas; purification and renewal hopes |