Religion

First Period (The Patriarchs of the People of Israel)

Period: 1850 BCE to 1700 BCE

Around 1800BC God called Abram to leave his home to go to the Promised Land.
God made a covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham, God promised him many descendants
1st patriarch – Abraham
2nd patriarch – Isaac (son of Abraham)
3rd patriarch – Jacob (son of Isaac)
Rueben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. These 12 sons of Jacob are the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel.
1700BC the Israelites settled in Egypt

Stories (Literary Forms)

1450 BCE

Stories were used in the Bible because every age group could understand them, from children to elders The First (Priestly) Creation Account from the book of Genesis, was the first instance of a story in the Bible. The story is about how God created the world in seven days. Genesis was first written in 1450 BC
Many other examples of stories were used in the Bible, some of the most famous ones being Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ death and resurrection, Noah’s Ark, the Fall of Man and the story of Moses.

Poetry (Literary Forms)

1400 BCE

Poetry is used in the Bible because it compresses a teaching into a minimum of words.
The first form of poetry used in the Bible is the Song of Moses, which is about Moses celebrating the destruction of the Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. This was in Exodus
Exodus was written in 1400 BC
Other examples of poetry include the Song of Miriam, the Mourning of the Exiles in Babylon and Saint Paul’s Epiphany on Love

Second Period (The Exodus and the entry into the Promised Land)

Period: 1300 BCE to 150 BCE

Around 1300BC the Israelites were forced into slavery by the Egyptians. God heard the peoples cries of help and remembered his covenant with Abraham, so he sent Moses to lead them to freedom and the promised land
known as the Passover today
God made a scared relationship with the Israelites
God created the Ten Commandments or the ‘Ten Words’ for the people to follow
Moses died before entering the Promised land, Joshua was his successor who was appointed by God to next lead the people

Third Period (The Monarchy)

Period: 1040 BCE to 587 BCE

Around 1040BC the Israelites wanted to have a king like other empires
God chose Saul to be the first king. but grew to disobey God.
God chose a shepherd boy named David
David was the greatest king of Israel, he always repented. He was succeeded by his son Solomon.
Solomon built a great temple in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant. But he was unfaithful to God by allowing other religions to grow in the kingdom.

Proverbs (Literary Forms)

700 BCE

Proverbs were mainly used in the Bible to express a general truth or teaching to live a life of God. Often in the form of metaphors.
The earliest collection of proverbs used in the Bible is from the Book of Proverbs. The collection is called “Proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah King of Judah copied.”
The first proverb in this collection is “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.”
This collection was written at around 700 BC

Fourth Period (The Exile)

Period: 587 BCE to 538 BCE

The Israelites turn away from God
God sent a prophet, Jeremiah to tell them to turn back to God or Jerusalem would be destroyed
He was ignored
Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem in 587BC
One of the greatest turning points in history of the Jewish people. The Babylonians trying to destroy the identity of the Jews
Solomon’s temple was destroyed including the Ark of the Covenant, which meant God was no long with them
The Israelites learnt that they were nothing without God.

Fifth Period (The Post-Exile)

Period: 539 BCE to 333 BCE

In 539Bc the kingdom of Babylon was conquered by a Persian king, Cyrus
Cyrus let the Jews back into Palestine to rebuild their temple and returned the scared vessels.
Nehemiah appoints himself as governor of Judah
Nehemiah was strict but he drew the people of Judah back to God and re-imposed the Laws of the Sinai Covenant especially the Ten Commandments
God was re-making them as the people of God

Psalms/Hymns (Literary Forms)

444 BCE

Psalms were mainly used in order to thank or praise God for the things he has done
The first psalm in the Bible is Psalm 1, in the Book of Psalms.
This particular psalm was written in 444 BC
Famous examples of psalms include:
Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd. He leads me in paths of righteousness. I will fear no evil. I will dwell in the house of the lord forever.
Psalm 117 - Praise the Lord! For great is his love towards us.
Usually sung

Sixth Period (The Greek Conquest)

Period: 333 BCE to 63 BCE

In 333BC the Persian empire was conquered by a Greek king, Alexander the Great
After Alexanders death in 323BC his empire spilt ins to two parts, the kingdom of Egypt and Asia
Ptolemy the ruler of Egypt left the kingdom free, and new religions came up
In 200BC Seleucus the ruler of Asia took control of Israel and wanted it to have Greek culture
Jews faced persecution
167BC the Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated
Jews spilt into 3 groups, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes

Seventh Period (Roman Conquest and Rule)

Period: 63 BCE to 135

The Roman Empire expanded, lead by Pompey the Great
In 64BC Pompey entered Jerusalem
The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD
The Jews rebelled many times but were crushed an estimated 600000 Jews died
Jews were forbade to going within sight of the ruins of Jerusalem. This was final dispersal of the Jews
New Testament was completed
Jesus was born in 6BC and started preaching and doing miracles at about 27AD
Jesus was crucified on Good Friday

Letters (Literary Forms)

57

Letters were used in the Bible because it helps us understand what it means to live as a Christian without our saviour with us.
The first letter (also known as epistles) written in the Bible is the letter of St Paul to the Romans.
This letter was written during 57-58 AD
Other letters include St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, St Paul’s letter to the Colossians and St Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

The Gospels

Period: 70 to 95

⁃ Matthew was written at around 85 AD
⁃ Mark was written at around 70 AD
⁃ Luke was written at around 85 AD
⁃ John was written at around 95 AD
check out the link for more info:
https://youtu.be/RaucATa9ufQ

Speeches (Literary Form)

1450

Speeches were used in the Bible in order to draw the readers’ attention
- The first speech used in the Bible is the speech God told the serpent, Adam and Eve during the Fall of Man. The speech is about God punishing them for eating from the Tree of Knowledge
- Genesis was written in 1450 BC, therefore the speech was written in 1450 BC
- Other examples of speech in the Bible is God’s speech to Abram, God’s speech to Moses and Paul’s speech in Athens, Greece.