ESV

Biblical

Micah Prophesies Destruction

c. 740 b.c. Micah foretold the destruction that awaited Jerusalem and the towns that guarded the approach to the city. Though these towns lay to the southwest of Jerusalem, they lay along the route normally traveled by invading forces from the north, who typically followed the Great Trunk Road

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Micah

c. 740 b.c. Micah prophesied to Israel and Judah during the decades just before the fall of Samaria through the time of King Hezekiah of Judah. Micah witnessed the destruction of Israel by the rising Assyrian empire, yet he probably also witnessed the Lord’s dramatic rescue of Jerusalem

Biblical

The Setting of Jonah

c. 760 b.c. Jonah prophesied during the politically prosperous time of Jeroboam II of Israel (2 Kings 14:23–28). During this time the Assyrians were occupied with matters elsewhere in the empire, allowing Jeroboam II to capture much of Syria for Israel. The Lord called Jonah to go

Biblical

The Setting of Obadiah

c. 570 b.c. Though various dates have been given for the prophecy of Obadiah, it was most likely written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 b.c. but prior to the fall of Edom in 553. Obadiah condemned the Edomites, who were descendants of

Biblical

Israel and Judah at the Time of Amos

c. 750 b.c. Amos, a shepherd from the Judean town of Tekoa, prophesied during a resurgence of political power for Israel and Judah. Under Jeroboam II, Israel had captured much of Syria, though it is not certain how firmly they held it. Likewise, Judah captured several Philistine towns as

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Amos

c. 750 b.c. Amos likely prophesied to Israel during the decades just prior to the fall of Samaria to the Assyrian Empire. The resurgence of this ancient empire dominated much of the politics of the ancient Near East from the time of Jeroboam and Azariah until the empire’s

Biblical

The Setting of Joel

c. 500 b.c.? Though there is much debate about the date of Joel’s prophecies, it is likely that they occurred during a national calamity sometime after Judah returned from exile in Babylon.

Biblical

Israel and Judah at the Time of Hosea

c. 740 b.c. Hosea prophesied during a time of great political turbulence in Israel and Judah. The early part of his ministry witnessed a brief period of resurgence under the reign of Jeroboam II, who captured much of Syria for Israel. Within a couple decades, however, Israel and Syria

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Hosea

c. 740 b.c. Hosea prophesied to Israel and Judah during the decades surrounding the fall of Samaria to the Assyrian Empire. The resurgence of this ancient empire dominated much of the politics of the ancient Near East from the time of Jeroboam and Azariah until the empire’s demise

Biblical

The Maccabean Kingdom

c. 167–63 b.c. The Maccabean kingdom of Israel had its beginnings when the priest Mattathias and his family refused to obey the Seleucid rulers’ order to sacrifice to the pagan god Zeus at Modein. They led a revolt that initially controlled only the territory of Judea in the

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Ptolemies and the Seleucids (Late)

c. 198–133 b.c. By the second century b.c., the Seleucid Empire was losing its grip on much of its territory, and the Roman Empire was rapidly expanding throughout the Mediterranean world. In an attempt to unite his empire and shore up his defenses against these pressures, Antiochus

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Ptolemies and the Seleucids (Early)

c. 323–198 b.c. The two most powerful successors to Alexander, Ptolemy and Seleucus, continued to expand their domains into territory claimed by other generals of Alexander, and they repeatedly clashed with each other over land along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, including the land later called

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Greeks

c. 335–303 b.c. The ascension of Alexander the Great to the throne of the Macedonian kingdom (in northern Greece) spelled the end for the mighty Persian Empire. After gaining the loyalty of the other city-states of Greece, Alexander’s astounding military prowess and success enabled him to systematically

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Persians

c. 538–331 b.c. After Cyrus the Great united the Median and Persian empires, he overthrew the Babylonians and established the greatest power the world had ever known. Under later rulers the Persian Empire eventually extended from Egypt and Thrace to the borders of India, and Cyrus himself declared,

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Babylonians

c. 605–538 b.c. Though their empire was short-lived by comparison with the Assyrians before them and the Persians after them, the Babylonians dominated the Near East during the early days of Daniel, and they were responsible for his initial exile to Babylon. Daniel himself, however, outlived the Babylonian

Biblical

Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s New Boundaries

c. 571 b.c. Ezekiel’s final vision describes the boundaries of a restored Israel, including the allotment to each tribe and the temple. Rather than following the boundaries traditionally occupied by the Israelites, which included Gilead east of the Jordan River and excluded land north of Tyre, Ezekiel’s

Biblical

Ezekiel Prophesies against Egypt

c. 571 b.c. Ezekiel prophesied that even the great nation of Egypt and its allies would fall to the Babylonians, who already occupied the land of Israel and Judah. The rule of the Babylonians would eventually extend as far as the borders of Cush, referred to elsewhere as Ethiopia.

Biblical

Tyre’s International Trade

c. 587 b.c. During Ezekiel’s time, the city of Tyre had grown very wealthy due to its strategic island location in the middle of the ancient Near East. Tyre served as a sort of international commodities exchange for the surrounding nations, and Ezekiel’s extensive list of various

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Ezekiel

c. 593 b.c. Ezekiel recorded his visions and prophecies while living in the vicinity of Babylon, where he had been exiled years earlier. By Ezekiel’s time, the Babylonian Empire had engulfed virtually all of the area along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and would eventually subdue

Biblical

Jeremiah Prophesies against Moab

In a series of prophetic condemnations of nations surrounding Judah, Jeremiah foretold of the doom of Moab and its cities. Moab had often acted as an enemy of Judah, from the time God’s people were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 22–24) to the time the Moabites

Biblical

Jeremiah Prophesies against Egypt

c. 586 b.c. Many of the leading families who had been freed from Ishmael chose to flee to Egypt to escape the Babylonians’ wrath over Gedaliah’s murder. Though Jeremiah himself warned against this course of action, he apparently was forced to accompany the refugees to Tahpanhes in Egypt,

Biblical

Gedaliah Is Assassinated

586 b.c. After depopulating Judah of all but the poorest of its inhabitants, the Babylonians set up a new governor, Gedaliah, in Mizpah. Among Gedaliah’s new officers was Ishmael, a member of the Judean royal family. King Baalis of the Ammonites incited Ishmael to assassinate Gedaliah at Mizpah,

Biblical

The Fall of Jerusalem

586 b.c. As punishment for Zedekiah’s rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. After the Babylonians had made a breach in the wall at the middle gate, Zedekiah realized his fate was sealed if he stayed in the city, so he and his soldiers attempted to escape during the night through

Biblical

Babylon Attacks Judah

586 b.c. The Babylonians had invaded Judah at least once before in 597 b.c., but in 586 Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed the walls of Jerusalem and the temple as punishment for Zedekiah’s rebellion. Zedekiah himself fled Jerusalem but was caught by the Babylonians near Jericho and sent to

Biblical

The Babylonian Empire

c. 597, 586, 582 b.c. Jeremiah witnessed multiple deportations of many of his fellow Judeans to Babylon (see 52:28–30), which he and other prophets had foretold would happen if the people did not repent of their wickedness. Jeremiah specifically foretold that the exiles would remain in Babylon