some useful dates for understanding the Bible in History

B.C.E.

ca. 1000-ca. 900 United monarchy (Saul, David, Solomon)

922-722 Divided monarchy (Israel in the north, Judea in the south)

722-720 Destruction of Samaria, the capital of Israel (northern kingdom); exile of northern kingdom to Babylonia

639-609 Josiah, king of Judah; institutes religious reforms in 621.

586 Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; Judean exile to Babylonia (beginning of "the Babylonian Exile"

538 Persian conquerors of Babylonia allow the Judeans to return to Judea

Beginning of the "Second Temple Period"

C.E.

70 Destruction of the Second Temple, following a Jewish revolt against the Romans. (A second revolt in 132-35 was also crushed.)

late 1st century Beginning of the Diaspora

Development of "rabbinic Judaism"

late 1st century Writing of the Gospels

ca. 200 Redaction of the Mishnah

early 300s Conversion of Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity; Christianity changes from a persecuted religion to the official religion of the empire

ca. 500 Redaction of the Talmud

1040-1105 Rashi

early 1500s Protestant Reformation

1883 a marking point for the development of the "higher criticism of the Bible": date of publication of Julius Wellhausen's Prolegomena to the History of Israel, the best known of his works in which he put forward the "documentary hypothesis" concerning the composition of the Pentateuch.