Although reading the Bible in its traditional thematic organization is by far the most common way to read it — for the obvious reason that it’s the order the church first established some 1600 years ago — it has also become popular in recent times to read the Bible chronologically, in the order the events happened.
I myself have read the Bible this way, and although it can be a little tricky to figure out (as I’ll explain below), it is a great way to more fully immerse yourself in the complete storyline of Scripture.
This article will help you organize the books of the Bible into a chronological reading plan. If you want to read through the traditional way, you can find the Bible’s canonical “Table of Contents” here.
The Challenge of Arranging the Bible Chronologically
It’s surprisingly difficult to read the Bible in the order of its events as they happened. For one thing, there was no consistent calendar or dating system in the ancient world. Time was usually tracked based on which king or dynasty was in power. So historians have to go back and mathematically triangulate reigns by comparing various kings from various kingdoms to arrive at something like a consistent calendar.
In addition, although some of the Bible’s books follow a straightforward timeline, others jump around a bit, often overlapping each other. And most of the prophets don’t specify when they were active, leaving scholars to determine their dates using context clues, archaeology, and other means.
Though on one hand this can make creating a simple Biblical timeline a frustrating exercise, in my opinion it is one of God’s many blessings to us that he has provided multiple perspectives on many eras of his covenant and works in his creation. Though there’s nothing wrong with trying, for example, to find the “historical Jesus” between the lines of the four gospels, we would have been much the poorer if God had seen fit to only give us one of them.
With all that in mind, here is a rough chronological list of the books of the Bible, with suggested (though often highly contested) dates and explanatory notes.
Old Testament Era
The Old Testament covers the entire history of creation from its very beginning up until the mid-fifth century BC.
Age of the Patriarchs (Beginnings to 1400s BC)
- Genesis 1-11
- Job [Takes place sometime during Genesis; this is a good break in the narrative to slot it in.]
- Genesis 12-50
Age of Exodus (ca. 1400s BC)
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy [Overlaps with Leviticus and Numbers.]
Age of Resettlement (ca. 1300s to early 1000s BC)
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
Age of Kings I: Saul and David (ca. 1050–970 BC)
- 1 & 2 Samuel
- 1 Chronicles
- Psalms [Covers a wide range of time, but most were written by David.]
Age of Kings II: Solomon (ca. 970–925 BC)
- 1 Kings 1-11
- 2 Chronicles 1-9
- Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon [All ascribed to Solomon.]
The Kingdom Divided and the Prophets (ca. 925–597 BC)
- 1 Kings 12-22
- 2 Kings 1-23
- 2 Chronicles 10-35
- Jonah
- Amos
- Hosea
- Isaiah
- Micah
- Zephaniah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Jeremiah
The Babylonian Exile (ca. 597–538 BC)
- 2 Kings 24-25
- 2 Chronicles 36:1-21
- Lamentations
- Obadiah
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
Return from Exile (ca. 538–450 BC)
- 2 Chronicles 36:22-23
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Joel [Debated; could be pre-exile.]
- Esther
- Malachi
New Testament Era
After skipping over 400 years (known as the “intertestamental period”), the New Testament picks up again with the birth of Jesus approximately 4 BC. The last of its books were written near the end of the first century, though they look ahead into the future.
Life of Jesus (ca. 4 BC – 30 AD)
- Matthew, Mark, John, Luke
- Note: The Gospels can be read in any order. Mark was probably written first and John last, but I suggest the above order because Matthew starts with the genealogy, and Luke segues right into Acts (which he also wrote).
Acts and Letters of the Apostles (ca. 30–100 AD)
- Acts
- James
- 1 & 2 Thessalonians
- Galatians
- 1 & 2 Corinthians
- Philippians & Philemon [Dating these hinges on which of Paul’s imprisonments they were written from.]
- Romans
- Colossians
- Ephesians
- 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus
- 1 & 2 Peter
- Hebrews
- Jude
- 1, 2 & 3 John
- Revelation
When Do the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books Take Place?
For the most part, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books are understood to have been written much later than the rest of the Old Testament (hence their other name, the books of the “intertestamental period”). But many of them take place much earlier than their composition.
If you want to slot the Deuterocanonical books into the above chronology, here’s where they would fit:
- Tobit: Between Zephaniah and Nahum.
- Baruch & Letter of Jeremiah: With Lamentations.
- Judith: Between Obadiah and Ezekiel.
- Daniel additions: With Daniel.
- Esther additions: With Esther.
- Sirach: After Malachi.
- 1 & 2 Maccabees: After Sirach.
- Wisdom of Solomon: After Maccabees. (Not written by Solomon, despite the name.)
Why Isn’t the Bible Arranged Chronologically?
There are many reasons why the rabbinical and church authorities who ultimately consolidated the biblical canon chose to do it thematically rather than chronologically. Here are a few of them:
- Complexity: As we have just seen, the biblical timeline is quite complex — and that is with all of our modern knowledge of archaeology and different dating systems around the ancient world! Today, we can make an educated guess about when Obadiah, for instance, may have been written, but in the rabbinic and conciliar periods it would have been very difficult for them to do so.
- Space: In the ancient world, it was impossible to include all the books of the Bible in a single volume as we do today, so they had to split them up across different scrolls or “codices.” (That’s how we got things like 1 and 2 Kings, which was originally composed as a single work.) So it made sense to organize them thematically, like a library.
- Use: Speaking of which, it was very unusual to read the Bible straight through, front to back, the way we might today. Instead, its primary use was liturgical, that is, for public worship. Rabbis, priests, or bishops would often read or teach through an entire book, cross-referencing it with other, similar passages. So again, it was helpful to have them sorted thematically.
- Interpretation: It may be strange to us today, but ancient readers of the Bible were generally not interested in it as history the way we are now. (They did typically believe it was historically true, but that wasn’t their primary concern.) They almost always sought deeper meanings — on moral, ethical, spiritual, theological, eschatological, analogical, and even symbolic levels — rather than narratives and timelines. So chronological organization would not necessarily have occurred to the church or rabbinical authorities as a valuable way to arrange the Bible, anyway.
More Resources for Exploring Scripture’s Grand Storyline
Just because the Bible wasn’t originally organized chronologically doesn’t mean it can’t be read chronologically. The rabbis and church fathers who established the canons determined which books were inspired; the order itself (other than the Torah, at least) was not part of that equation.
It’s important to know that there are many different ways we can read Scripture, and many layers of truth to uncover when we do. That’s part of what makes it Scripture, and not just another book! Though the ancients weren’t particularly concerned with the Bible as a storyline, it’s a wonderfully immersive way to read it today.
Here are some articles on Bible Gateway to help you put yourself in God’s great story of the Bible.
- Understanding the Story of the Bible Changes Everything by Zach Windahl
- How to Start Reading the Bible: A Beginner’s Guide by Jacob Edson
- One Simple Framework to Help You Fall in Love With Bible Study (Again) by Faith Womack
- Start Reading the Bible Like It’s Your Favorite Book by Matt Whitman
- 4 Foundational Principles for Reading the Bible as Literature by Dr. Bill Creasy
- 50 Major Events in the Bible Storyline [Infographic] by Jacob Edson
Want a simpler way to read the Bible chronologically? You can sign up for Bible Gateway’s chronological reading plan and get the daily reading right in your inbox. Or, if you prefer hard copy, you can try the Chronological Study Bible (available in NIV or NKJV) — also available as part of Bible Gateway Plus — or the new NIV Timeline Bible.
Jacob Edson is Editorial Director of Bible Gateway. He holds a Master of Theological Studies in Early Christian Thought from Harvard Divinity School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious History from Memorial University of Newfoundland, though with most of his coursework from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. His work has previously appeared in Ekstasis and Geez Magazine. He lives with his wife and children in New England.
