Instead of being organized chronologically, it is organized by literary genre. The Bible is indeed a well-organized collection of writings penned by more than two dozen authors spanning thousands of years. For instance, the first five books of the Old Testament- Genesis through Deuteronomy-are in chronological order, but later, I found timelines began to weave together and overlap. Go to the lessons with the name of the prophet for more detailed teaching on each of them (just enter the prophet’s name into the search box above.)įollowing is a PDF of the chart-you can use it however you want.Ĭlick on the chart below to download-you may use it however you wish.I assumed the Bible was organized in chronological order, and it took a while for me to realize my error. Each of the historical periods before, during, and after the captivity of Judah is also clearly marked. The ones who spoke to other nations are clearly marked. I organized the chart so that the prophets of Israel are grouped together as are the prophets of Judah. This chart will help you see overall how they fit correctly into the history of the time. Unless you read the messages of the prophets in their proper historical setting, outside of a few verses pulled out of context, they make little sense. The history of this time is told in the books of Kings and Chronicles, but the preaching of the prophets is scattered, and not in chronological order in the final books of the Old Testament.

Judah was conquered by Babylon in 586 BC and returned to the land after 70-year captivity.ĭuring all these times, God sent his prophets to challenge and encourage his people. Ultimately Israel was conquered by Assyria and went into captivity in 721 BC, never to return as an independent nation. Both nations deteriorated in their faithfulness to God, though Judah had some periods of revival.

In the overall history of the prophets in the latter part of our Bible, the nation of Israel was divided into two parts, Israel and Judah, after the reign of Solomon. More about the timeline of the Old Testament Prophets Please, CLICK HERE to sign up for additional infographics like this and other materials that help you know, trust, and apply the Bible. You can click on the image of the chart to download it and you have permission to reproduce and use it however you want. To understand their messages correctly, you need to understand their historical context, and to help you do that, I created a chart that will help you see what prophets preached when.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when you read through the Old Testament Prophets is that all these stories took place in real lives in actual history. You may reproduce it and use it however you want. Click on the image to download the timeline.

Timeline of bible books infographic