1446/1260 b.c. Among the many theories regarding the route of the exodus, the traditional route to Jebel Musa is considered by many scholars to be the most plausible. Beginning at Rameses, the Israelites journeyed to Succoth, but these two sites are the only ones on the route identified

c. 1900/1730 b.c. Joseph arrived in Egypt during the reign of the Twelfth Dynasty, arguably the zenith of Egypt’s power. Shortly before this era, Upper and Lower Egypt had been unified under one ruler, and now Egyptian influence expanded south and east. The regular flooding of the

c. 1900/1730 b.c. Jacob sent Joseph from Hebron to Shechem to find his brothers, who had been pasturing their father’s flock. When Joseph arrived, he learned that his brothers had gone on to Dothan, so he went there and found them. His brothers threw him into a

c. 1976/1810 b.c. After acquiring wealth in Paddan-aram, Jacob returned to Canaan. He came to Mahanaim, where he sent his household ahead of him and crossed the Jabbok alone. There he wrestled with a mysterious man until morning and named the place Peniel (also called Penuel). Jacob then

c. 2026/1860 b.c. When Isaac was 40 years old, Abraham sent his eldest servant back to Paddan-aram, the land of his relatives, to obtain a wife for Isaac. The servant found Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, and brought her back to Isaac, who was living

c. 2067/1901 b.c. At Abraham’s request, the Lord spared Lot and his family from the destruction that came upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Afterwards, Lot’s two daughters feared that their isolation would result in the end of their family line and they plotted to get their father

c. 2085/1920 b.c. When five Canaanite cities rebelled against their four Mesopotamian overlords, the four kings led a campaign to reassert their control over the region. The campaign culminated in a battle in the Siddim Valley, and Abram’s nephew Lot, who was living in Sodom, was captured

c. 2091/1925 b.c. Abram was born in Ur, a powerful city in southern Babylonia. Abram’s father, Terah, eventually led the family toward the land of Canaan but decided to settle in Haran (see Gen. 11:27–31). After Terah’s death, the Lord called Abram to go

c. 2200 b.c. Many of the people groups mentioned in Genesis 10 can be identified with relative certainty. In general, the descendants of Ham settled in North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean coast, the descendants of Shem in Mesopotamia and Arabia, and the descendants of Japheth in Europe and

Genesis describes the location of Eden in relation to the convergence of four rivers. While two of the rivers are unknown (the Pishon and the Gihon), the nearly universal identification of the other two rivers as the Tigris and the Euphrates suggests a possible location for Eden at either their

c. 2000 b.c. The book of Genesis describes events in the ancient Near East from the beginnings of civilization to the relocation of Jacob’s (Israel’s) family in Egypt. The stories of Genesis are set among some of the oldest nations in the world, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia,

Map 1: The Middle East Today Map 2: The World of the Patriarchs Map 3: The Exodus from Egypt Map 4: The Tribal Allotments of Israel Map 5: Israel under Saul, David, and Solomon Map 6: The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah Map 7: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires Map