The order of the Hebrew Old Testament, or TaNaK, is as follows. The Ussher timeline chart by Paul Hansen that appeared in Creation magazine in September 2005 is available for download. Here is another way to look at the Old Testament's organization (but not chronologically ordered): Real History: The Timeline of the Bible by Paul Hansen on SeptemShare Originally published in Creation 27, no 4 (September 2005): 28-29. Isaiah thru Malachi) were written by prophets that God had sent to tell the people of things that would happen. Lamentations, Ezekiel & Daniel).įour of these books (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) were written by two of their kings and the rest (i.e. The rest of the books, from Psalms thru Malachi, were all written during the time that Israel was being ruled by its own king, or while they were being held captive by Babylon (e.g. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther all were written shortly after Israel returned from Babylonian captivity. In other words, they tell why these events took place (similar to what is designed to do) whereas both 1 & 2 Kings just document the events. The books of 1 & 2 Chronicles tell the same stories as 1 & 2 Kings (they run parallel to each other), but 1 & 2 Chronicles give the reasons behind the event.

If this is correct, the story of Job would fit into, but towards the end of, Genesis.) No one really knows for sure, but the text of Job seems to imply that Job's story is taking place after the Flood of Noah's day, probably between 2000-1800 BC. The books of Genesis thru 2 Kings are in chronological order already. The books have been placed into groups for the reasons described below. The rest of the books are placed following these events. This page attempts to place just the few Old Testament books in order so that there is no break in the continuity or flow of the events or story. (The books of the Old Testament can be organized in a way that places them in an order that makes it easier to follow what is happening.)

Books of the bible timeline