The Old Testament and the Ancient
Near East 
(with references to ANET, ANEP, and COS)
This is a series of tables drawn up by Ralph W. Klein, that shows the major events and rulers of Israel and its neighbors, from ca 3000 BCE to 135 CE. The section on Israel locates prophets and other biblical writings according to critical scholarship. Also noted are extra biblical documents that shed light on the history, culture, and religion of Israel and its neighbors. Scattered throughout the tables are thumbnail pictures of ancient artifacts, maps, etc.. Click on these thumbnails, and you will see full sized pictures. I have also added numerous links to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, which, it must be noted, is not subjected to peer review and therefore should be used with caution.
Third Millennium in the Ancient Near East 2000-1550 BCE in the Ancient
Near East 1550-1200 BCE in the Ancient Near East Israel: Tribal Period through United Kingdom
1200-931 BCE The Divided Kingdom
(Rehoboam to Jehoshaphat in Judah//Jeroboam to Ahab in Israel 931-845 BCE The Divided Kingdom (Jehoram to
the beginning of Hezekiah in Judah//Ahaziah to Hoshea in Israel) 852-late 8c BCE Judah (Hezekiah
726-697/6 [continued] to the beginning of Josiah 640-609 BCE Josiah
[continued] and his successors; Judah during the Neo-Babylonian
Empire--Israel's exile 627-540 BCE Yehud (Post-Exilic Jewish Community)
and the Persian empire
539-329 BCE
From Alexander to the Transfer of Power from the Ptolemies
to the Seleucids 333-201 BCE From the Seleucids
[continued] to the Coming of
Rome 201-63 BCE Roman Rule of
Palestine--63 BCE to 135 CEThe following timelines were produced by the University of Notre Dame
Notes:
The chronology of the Israelite kings is taken from Gershon Galil, The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 147.
The chronology of Egypt and Mesopotamia is taken from Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East c. 3000-300 BC, 2 vols (London: Routledge, 1995).
ANET = James B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955; Supplement 1969)
ANEP = James B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 195; supplement 1959)
COS = William W. Hallo, ed., The Context of Scripture. 3 volumes. Leiden: Brill, 1998-2001. Here is an index of the materials in both ANET and COS.
© Ralph W. Klein
Last updated: September 21, 2005