One of the enjoyable discoveries of working on the ESV Study Bible was that the timelines of some of the key OT characters could be plotted—either because of explicit reference (e.g., so-and-so was 75 years old when X happened), or through inference (e.g., 25 years later) or through comparison with the ages of other characters.
Here are some of the results:
Abraham’s Timeline
|
Event |
Age of Abraham |
Genesis |
| Abram departs from Haran, enters Canaan | 75 | 12:4-5 |
| Abram fathers Ishmael with Hagar | 85-86 | 16:3-4 |
| Abraham fathers Isaac with Sarah | 100 | 21:5 |
| Abraham’s wife Sarah dies | 137 | 23:1 |
| Abraham’s son Isaac marries Rebekah | 140 | 25:20 |
| Abraham dies | 175 | 25:7 |
Isaac’s Timeline
|
Event |
Age of Isaac |
Genesis |
| Isaac’s mother Sarah dies | 37 | 23:1 |
| Isaac marries Rebekah | 40 | 25:20 |
| Isaac fathers Jacob and Esau with Rebekah | 60 | 25:26 |
| Isaac’s father Abraham dies | 75 | 25:7 |
| Isaac’s brother Ishmael dies | 123 | 25:17 |
| Isaac sends Jacob to Laban in Haran | 137 | 28:5 |
| Isaac’s grandson Joseph is born | 151 | 30:25; 31:38-41 |
| Isaac dies | 180 | 35:28 |
Jacob’s Timeline
|
Event |
Age of Jacob |
Genesis |
| Jacob’s grandfather Abraham dies | 15 | 25:7 |
| Jacob sent to Laban in Haran | 77 | 28:5 |
| Jacob marries Leah and Rachel | 84 | 29:21-30; 30:1, 22-26 |
| Jacob fathers Joseph with Rachel | 91 | 30:22-24 |
| Jacob flees from Laban to Canaan | 97 | ch. 31 |
| Jacob’s son Joseph sold into slavery | 108 | 37:12-36 |
| Jacob’s father Isaac dies | 120 | 35:28-29; cf. 25:26 with35:28 |
| Jacob reunites with Joseph and moves his family to Egypt | 130 | chs. 46-47; cf. 47:9, 28 |
| Jacob dies | 147 | 47:28 |
Joseph’s Timeline
|
Event |
Age of Joseph |
Genesis |
| Joseph’s father Jacob moves family from Haran to Canaan | 6 | 31:17-21 |
| Joseph sold to Potiphar in Egypt | 17 | ch. 37 |
| Joseph interprets dreams of cupbearer and baker in prison | 28 | ch. 40 |
| Joseph’s grandfather Isaac dies | 29 | 35:28-29 |
| Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, is released from prison | 30 | 41:1-36 |
| Seven years of plenty; sons Manasseh and Ephraim born during this time | 30-37 | 41:47-52 |
| Seven years of famine; two years into the famine Joseph reconciles with his brothers and father | 37-44 | 41:53-47:26 |
| Joseph’s father Jacob dies | 56 | 47:28 |
| Joseph dies | 110 | 50:22-26 |
Three Stages of Moses’ Life
|
Location |
Age |
Reference |
| Egypt | 0-40 | Ex. 2:11; Acts 7:23 |
| Midian | 41-80 | Ex. 2:15; 7:7; Acts 7:29-30 |
| The wilderness | 81-120 | Deut. 31:2; 34:7; cf. Num. 14:33-34; Deut. 29:5 |
