Chronology & History
50 study questions and answers, quoted from the Revised Version (1885/1895).
What do BC and AD stand for, and who devised AD?
Before Christ and Anno Domini ("in the year of the Lord"); devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in 525.
Historical record
Roughly when did the Exodus occur?
Either c. 1446 BC (early date, from 1 Kgs 6:1) or c. 1260 BC (late date) — both defended by serious scholars.
1 Kgs 6:1
When did the united monarchy divide?
About 931 BC, after Solomon's death.
1 Kgs 12
When did Assyria destroy the northern kingdom?
722 BC, when Samaria fell and the ten tribes were deported.
2 Kgs 17:6
When did Jerusalem and the temple fall to Babylon?
586 BC, under Nebuchadnezzar.
2 Kgs 25:8-10
What is the "intertestamental" or "silent" period?
Roughly 400 years between Malachi and John the Baptist, spanning Persian, Greek, Maccabean and Roman rule.
Mal 4; Luke 1
When did Herod the Great die, and why does it matter for dating Christ's birth?
Most place it in 4 BC; since Matthew sets the nativity before Herod's death, Jesus was likely born c. 6-4 BC.
Matt 2:1, 19
What were the Edict of Milan and the Edict of Thessalonica?
313 — Constantine legalised Christianity; 380 — Theodosius made Nicene Christianity the empire's official religion.
Historical record
What was the Great Schism, and when?
The 1054 split between the Western (Roman) and Eastern (Orthodox) churches, over papal authority and the filioque among other issues.
Historical record
Why did Pope Gregory XIII delete ten days in October 1582?
To correct the Julian calendar's accumulated drift, restoring the spring equinox to its true date for calculating Easter.
Inter Gravissimas, 1582
Roughly when did Abraham live?
About 2000–1800 BC, in the Middle Bronze Age.
Gen 12-25
When did David reign?
Approximately 1010–970 BC.
2 Sam 5:4
When did the Babylonian exile begin and end?
Deportations from 605 BC, temple destroyed 586 BC, return under Cyrus 538 BC.
2 Kgs 25; Ezra 1
When was the second temple completed and later expanded?
Completed 516 BC under Zerubbabel; greatly expanded by Herod from 20 BC.
Ezra 6:15; John 2:20
When did Alexander the Great conquer the Near East?
333–331 BC, spreading Greek language that later carried the New Testament.
Dan 8:21
When was the temple destroyed by Rome?
AD 70, under Titus.
Matt 24:2
When were the four Gospels most commonly dated?
Between about AD 60 and 95, with Mark generally earliest and John latest.
Patristic testimony
What did the Council of Nicaea settle, and when?
AD 325 — the Son is homoousios, of one substance with the Father, against Arius.
Nicene Creed
What was the Council of Chalcedon's definition?
AD 451 — one Person in two natures, without confusion, change, division or separation.
Chalcedonian Definition
Who translated the Latin Vulgate, and when?
Jerome, c. AD 382–405.
Vulgate
When was the Gutenberg Bible printed?
About 1455, the first major book from movable type in Europe.
Gutenberg, Mainz
When did Luther post the Ninety-Five Theses?
31 October 1517, at Wittenberg.
Reformation
When was the King James Version published, and the Revised Version?
KJV in 1611; the Revised Version New Testament 1881, Old Testament 1885, Apocrypha 1895.
KJV; RV
What was the Council of Trent, and when?
1545–1563, the Roman Catholic response to the Reformation, defining canon, justification and sacraments.
Trent
What were the First and Second Vatican Councils?
Vatican I (1869–70) defined papal infallibility; Vatican II (1962–65) reformed liturgy and ecumenical relations.
Vatican I; Vatican II
When were the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered, and why do they matter?
From 1947 at Qumran; they pushed Hebrew manuscript evidence back roughly a thousand years.
Qumran
What is the Masoretic Text?
The authoritative Hebrew Old Testament text with vowel points, fixed by the Masoretes c. AD 700–1000.
Masoretic tradition
What are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus?
Fourth-century Greek uncial manuscripts, among the oldest near-complete Bibles, heavily used by the Revised Version.
Sinaiticus; Vaticanus
When did the Great Awakening and the modern missionary movement begin?
Awakenings from the 1730s; the modern missionary era from William Carey's departure in 1793.
Church history
When did the modern Pentecostal movement begin?
Generally dated to Topeka (1901) and the Azusa Street revival (1906–09).
Azusa Street
What are the major periods of Old Testament history in order?
Patriarchs, Exodus, Conquest, Judges, United Monarchy, Divided Kingdom, Exile, Return.
Gen-Neh
When did the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles occur respectively?
Israel to Assyria in 722 BC; Judah to Babylon in stages from 605 to 586 BC.
2 Kgs 17:6; 25:8-11
Who were the Persian kings relevant to the return?
Cyrus, Darius I, Xerxes (Ahasuerus) and Artaxerxes I.
Ezra 1; 6; Esth 1; Neh 2
What happened during the intertestamental period?
Persian, Greek, Ptolemaic, Seleucid and Hasmonean rule, ending with Roman conquest in 63 BC.
Dan 8; 1 Macc
When was the Septuagint translated, and why does it matter?
From the third century BC in Alexandria; it is the Old Testament most New Testament writers quote.
LXX
Who were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots?
Legal traditionalists, priestly aristocrats, separatist ascetics, and armed revolutionaries.
Acts 23:8; Matt 3:7
When did Jesus most likely die, and how is it dated?
AD 30 or 33, from Pilate's prefecture, Passover timing and Luke's fifteenth year of Tiberius.
Luke 3:1; John 18:28
When were Paul's letters written relative to the Gospels?
Most of Paul's letters predate all four Gospels, from roughly AD 48 to 67.
Gal; 1 Thess
What happened to the apostles, by tradition?
Most died as martyrs; John alone is said to have died of old age in Ephesus.
Early tradition
What were the great persecutions of the early church?
Under Nero, Domitian, Decius, Valerian and finally Diocletian.
Rev 2:10
Who were the Apostolic Fathers?
Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, and the writers of the Didache and Barnabas.
c. AD 90-150
What heresies did the early councils address?
Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.
Nicaea; Constantinople; Ephesus; Chalcedon
What was the Muratorian Fragment?
A late second-century list of New Testament books, the earliest surviving canon list.
c. AD 170
When did monasticism begin?
With Antony in the Egyptian desert around AD 270 and Pachomius' communities soon after.
Church history
What was the Great Schism of 1054 about?
Papal authority and the filioque clause, culminating in mutual excommunications.
Church history
Who were the pre-Reformation reformers?
John Wycliffe in England and Jan Hus in Bohemia.
14th-15th century
What were the main branches of the Reformation?
Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist and Anglican.
16th century
What was the Westminster Assembly?
An English assembly (1643-53) producing the Confession and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
Westminster Standards
When did the modern Bible translation movement expand?
From the nineteenth century, accelerating through Bible societies and the twentieth-century missionary movement.
Translation history
What was the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910?
A landmark gathering usually regarded as the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement.
Church history