The information below was culled from web browsing forays at various sites
Patriarch's name Years before son's birth Adam 130
Seth 105
Enos 90
Cainan 70
Maleleel 65
Jared 62
Enoch 65
Mathusela 187
Lamech 182
Noah 600
To the Deluge
1556Josephus, Ussher, and other scholars disagree slightly on some of their dates. But most agree that a straightforward reading of the Bible indicates the Deluge must have taken place in the third millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ — possibly between 2500 BC and 2300 BC.
The placing of a catastrophic global flood in the year 2304 BC means that all civilizations discovered by archaeology must fit into the last 4,285 years.
Old Testament 10,000 BCE - 800 BCE |
10,000 - 8000
The Natufian culture appeared in modern-day Israel - some of the first known human settlements in the world.
8000
Agriculture
began in Near East as people started using "digging sticks" to plant the seeds of wild grasses which would eventually become the domesticated wheat we know today.c. 6750
Pigs
are domesticated in modern Iraq.6500 - 6300
Wheel
was invented by Sumerians who lived in the Tigris-Euphrates river basin.c. 6000
Chickens
were domesticated in southern Asia.5508
Year of Creation, as calculated in seventh-century CE Constantinople and used by
Eastern Orthodox Church until 18th century CE.5490
Year of Creation, as calculated by Syrian Christians.
c. 5000
The earliest known cities were founded as increasing numbers of people began to gather in villages scattered around the Fertile Crescent.
4004 (October 23)
Date of Creation, as calculated by Irish theologian
James Ussher in 1650 CE.c. 4000
Horses
were domesticated.c. 4000
Sumerians in southern Mesopotamia developed the boat for water transportation.
3760
Year of Creation, as calculated by the
Hebrews and used since the 15th century CE.3641 (February 10)
Date of Creation, as calculated by the Mayans.
3500
Sumerian society developed in the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The Sumerians made use of many agricultural advances, such as domestic animals to pull plows, irrigated desert, drained marshlands and more in order to create a large, cosmopolitan civilization. The increased output of food allowed for the further development of a "leisure class" that did not have to work for food, allowing them to become priests, artists, merchants, scholars, etc. The Sumerians also developed oar-powered ships, animal-drawn wheeled chariots and other, similar vehicles, bronze objects, and the written cuneiform alphabet.
c. 3400
Early form of hieroglyphic writing started being used in Egypt.
3100
The first Egyptian Dynasty united the southern and northern kingdoms under the rule of Menes, founder of the city of Memphis which would become the center of his authority.
c. 3000
First human settlements were established on the site of modern-day Athens.
c. 3000
Stonehenge
was built in England.c. 2980- 2950
Life of Imhotep, famed Egyptian physician. He was worshiped as a medical demigod in ancient Egypt because of his work on medical methods for treating diseases rather than simply religious methods. Imhotep was also responsible for the construction of the pyramid of Zoser (the Step Pyramid at Sakkara), the first large stone structure in the entire world.
c. 2800
Egyptians began wearing wedding rings, believing that the circular bands symbolized eternity.
2613
The Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza was constructed by Cheops, son of the founder of Egypt's 4th Dynasty, Snefru.
c. 2600
The first recorded seagoing voyage carried Egyptian sailors to Phoenicia in search of cedarwood.
c. 2600
Chinese began cultivation of silkworms.
2560
Great Sphinx
at Giza, a 189-foot long monument to King Khafra (Khafre), the third king of the 4th Dynasty, was carved.2500
Sumerian cuneiform script was simplified from an earlier version consisting of thousands of ideograms.
2350
Sargon I founded the Akkadian empire, which ruled Mesopotamia for the next couple of centuries.
2349
The Great Flood occurred (according to fundamentalist sources).
2247
The Tower of Babel was constructed (according to fundamentalist sources).
2200
Indo-European invaders
, speaking the earliest forms of Greek, entered the mainland of Greece, and the Mycenaean Civilization (named after the leading Greek city on the peninsula from 1600-1200 BCE) emerged.2100
Ziggurat of Ur
was built by Sumerian king Ur-Nammu. Sumerians called it temen, from which the later word temple was derived.2000 - 1500
Minoan Civilization
(named after the Cretan ruler Minos) reached its height with its central power in Knossos on the island of Crete. This culture may have been more female-oriented and peaceful than others at the time.c. 2000-1700
Abraham left Ur in Chaldea (according to traditional sources). This is often called the age of the "patriarchs" (
Abraham , Isaac and Jacob ).c. 2000
Domestic bathroom plumbing appeared in Crete.
c. 2000
Babylonians replaced Sumerians as the dominant power in the Middle East, creating a decimal system notation.
c. 1800
Babylonians are believed to have initiated the custom of the handshake. It began with grasping the hand of a statue of the god Marduk in order to receive his power symbolically and it later came to symbolize good will.
c. 1792-1750
Hammurabi ruled Babylon and created his famous legal code.1750
The Babylonians began using windmills to pump water for irrigation.
1700 - 1500
Possible dates for when Joseph could have been in Egypt.
1660 - 1550
The Hyksos, a Semitic tribe, invaded Egypt and dominated the Nile Delta for about a century. The Hyksos were successful because they were superior archers and rode horses and chariots at the same time.
c. 1650
Cult of Yahweh
, earliest form of Judaism, may have been created by Abraham and carried on by his sons.1568
The Hyksos, a semitic tribe which had dominated the Nile Delta, was finally driven out by Egyptian leader Ahmose I, who then founded the 16th Dynasty.
1523 - 1027
Shang
Dynasty in China.1491
Date of the
Exodus of the Hebrews out of Egypt. (according to fundamentalist sources)1491
Ten Commandments
were received. (according to fundamentalist sources)c. 1479
Egyptian armies under Pharaoh Tuthmosis III defeated a confederation of Palestinian states and captured a fortress on the hill of Meggido. Christian theology predicts a final battle between good and evil on this spot (Armageddon = Hill of Megiddo). The first use of the title "Pharaoh," which means "Great House," is found here applied to Tuthmosis.
1470
A massive volcanic eruption at Thera destroyed the Minoan civilization on Crete. Because of huge waves rising up to 160 feet, the water levels along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean at first dropped, but then the Egyptian cost was flooded by large amounts of seawater, resulting in famine due to the loss of arable farmland.
1451
Hebrews arrive in Canaan (according to traditional sources)
1400
Iron Age
began in Asia Minor when methods for smelting iron ore were developed1400
Mycenaean Civilization
replaced Minoan Civilization after the destruction of Knossos. Bronze weapons, war-scenes on art, Cyclopean defense walls, and the fact that male warriors were buried with their weapons provide evidence for the claim that the Mycenaeans were militaristic. The horse-drawn chariot emerged around this time and the Mycenaeans would dominate the Aegean world for about 200 years.1349-1334
Amenhotep IV, aka
Akhenaten , ruled Egypt and developed the first recorded strict monotheism. He was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Tutankhamen, who eliminated his religious reforms1300
In Babylon they developed a new alphabetic script which was a further simplification of the cuneiform writing.
1305
Accession of Ramses II, the Great, of Egypt to pharaoh.
c. 1250
Possible date of the
Exodus of the Hebrews out of Egypt. (according to modern scholars)1232
Israelites of some sort were definitely in Canaan - Ramses II's son Merneptah defeated them in battle. They were not necessarily the same Israelites as those who left in the Exodus - they might have been from earlier emigrations.
1200-1020
Period of the
Judges in Israel.1200
Gilgamesh
epic, recorded in cuneiform script, is the first known such written legend.1193
Traditional date set for the city of Troy being destroyed by besieging Greek armies.
1146
Nebuchadrezzar I reigned as King of Babylon for 23 years.1141
According to biblical accounts in
Samuel , Israelite armies suffered massive losses to the Philistines.1050
Philistines
conquered Israel.1027 - 771
Zhou
Dynasty in China.1020 - 922
Period of the United Kingdom of Jews.
1020
Samuel
, last of the Israelite Judges, anointed Saul as the first King of Israel. Saul led a successful rebellion against Philistines.c. 1000
Earliest Old Testament documents were created from older and highly developed oral tradition.
1000
Saul
was killed at the Battle of Gilboa and was succeeded by David, first as King of Judah and then later as King of Israel. David later captured Jerusalem and made it his capital.c. 1000-950
Biography of David may have been composed, eventually becoming a written narrative of David's life later included in I and II
Samuel and I Kings .c. 1000
Iberians
invaded the region of modern Spain, giving the Iberian Peninsula its name.961
David died and was succeeded by his son,
Solomon .953
Dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem, built by Solomon.
c. 950 - 900
Composition of the "Yahwistic" (
J ) document, one of the four major sources believed to have been the basis of the Pentateuch (Books of Moses): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.922
Death of Solomon, who was succeeded by his son, Rehoboam. Rebellion against Rehoboam was led by Jeroboam, leading to a split of the kingdom into
two halves : Judah in the south under Rehoboam and Israel in the north under Jeroboam.c. 900
Assyrian war chariots were equipped with metal tires (copper or bronze) for greater durability.
884
Ashurnasirpal II, Assyrian king, began a 24-year reign during which he defeated Babylon and ensured Assyrian dominance throughout the Near East.
854
Ahab
of Israel joined with Ben Hadad of Damascus and Irkhuleni of Hamath in an allied army to halt Shalmaneser III. Egypt and Jehoshaphat of Judah lent support, but the alliance failed to stop the onslaught.c. 850
Traditional date for the probable composition of Homer's epic poems The Illiad
and The Odyssey.c. 850
Traditional date for when Elijah lived and prophecized.
c. 850 - 800
Composition of the "Elohistic" (
E ) document, another major source of the Pentateuch.842
Jehu
, an Israelite soldier, led a rebellion against Jehoram, Ahab's son, and founded a new dynasty in Israel. By the next year, however, he was paying tribute to the Assyrian leaders.814
Phoenicians founded Carthage (literally: "New Town") near their North African colony of Utica.
801
Indians began to venerate cows and dairy products.
800
Increase in trade and the establishment of governmental defense fortifications allowed for the emergence of Greek city-states from tribal communities. These grew up around marketplaces and included Athens, Thebes and Megara on the Greek mainland. The Greek city-states were considered the most famous units of Greek political life to develop in this society.
800 - 500
This period, often referred to as the Archaic period, marked the developments of literature and the arts, politics, philosophy and science. The Peloponnesian city of Corinth, Sparta and cities along the coast of the Aegean Sea flourished. For the most part, the Greek city-states were similar in their political evolution, with the exception of Sparta's elite dictatorship.
Most began their political histories as monarchies, evolved to oligarchies, were overthrown during the age of the tyrants (650-500 BCE) and eventually established democracies in the sixth and fifth centuries. Of the Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta were the two most important.
(http://members.aol.com/JAlw/flood_myth.html)
If the Noachian flood waters covered the tallest mountain (Mount Everest, about 5 miles) there would have five miles of water over the surface of the earth. The earth's radius is about 4,000 miles. To calculate the volume of the flood waters, we calculate the volume of a sphere (V = 4pR 3/3) whose radius R 2 = 4005 miles, and subtract the volume of a sphere whose radius if R1 = 4,000 miles. The difference is the volume of the flood waters. Next, we calculate the radius of a sphere which would contain the flood waters.
The radius POST FLOOD would be 622 miles!
(http://forum.cygnus-study.com/archive/index.php/t-1057.html)
The creationists end up being saddled with a date that is much too late in world history to be even slightly credible. For once we start to apply historical scrutiny to this date – based on what we know was happening in the world at that time – propounding the idea of a worldwide flood taking place in 2400 B.C becomes the height of absurdity.
First of all, it flatly contradicts everything we know about ancient Egyptian and Sumerian history. Historians have long since established that the Egyptian Empire was in full flower at this time, that, in fact, a mere hundred or so years before this, King Cheops had built the Great Pyramid at Giza. We also know that we can trace a virtually unbroken line of Egyptian rulers through almost 3,000 years of ancient history, starting with Menes, who united Lower and Upper Egypt at around 3200 B.C., and ending with Cleopatra who died in 30 B.C. Don’t see much room to fit a global flood in there. (And we won’t even bring up the fact that such a timeline would also mean that dinosaurs would have been stomping all over the earth at the same exact time as humans – a startling fact strangely unnoted in the Bible).
Now, in order to swallow the creationists’ assertion that God wiped out virtually the entire human population at this time, we would have to believe that the great Egyptian Empire abruptly ended at the middle of the third millennium right at the height of its power – losing every single man, woman and child in its kingdom - then miraculously started up again where it had left off. And it did so, astonishingly enough, without providing a single trace of its annihilation - and, in fact, actually leaving records behind that show that there was an uninterrupted chain of historic events linking the "pre and post flood" eras. And is one actually going to argue, against all common sense and logic, that the Egyptian civilization was restarted by a handful of HEBREW flood survivors?
I thought some of you might enjoy the above. T.