The Lessons of Jesus

Understanding the Apocrypha · Back of the book

A Simple Timeline

Every date in Understanding the Apocrypha, in order, with the chapter that tells each part of the story.

About 2 minutes

Most dates before my birth are approximate. c. means about.

Kings, exile and return

  1. c. 1000 BC
    David, king of Israel. The setting of Psalm 151.
  2. 697–642 BC
    Manasseh, king of Judah. The setting of his prayer.
  3. 586 BC
    Babylon destroys Jerusalem and the first Temple. The setting of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah.
  4. 539 BC
    Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon. The Jews begin to return. The setting of 1 Esdras.

Under the Greek kings

  1. 332 BC
    Alexander the Great takes Judea. Greek kings rule for the next two hundred years.
  2. c. 300–200 BC
    The oldest parts of 1 Enoch are written. The Greek translation of the Law begins in Alexandria.
  3. c. 225–175 BC
    Tobit is written.
  4. 217 BC
    Ptolemy IV wins at Raphia. The setting of 3 Maccabees.
  5. c. 180 BC
    Ben Sira writes his book of wisdom in Jerusalem.
  6. 167 BC
    Antiochus IV bans the law of Moses and defiles the Temple. The Maccabean revolt begins.
  7. 164 BC
    Judas Maccabeus retakes and rededicates the Temple: the first Hanukkah.
  8. c. 160–150 BC
    Jubilees is written.
  9. c. 150–75 BC
    Judith, the additions to Esther and Daniel, 1 and 2 Maccabees and 1 Esdras are written.
  10. 132 BC
    Ben Sira’s grandson begins translating his book into Greek, in Egypt.

Under Rome

  1. 63 BC
    The Roman general Pompey takes Jerusalem. Rome rules from now on.
  2. c. 50 BC–AD 40
    The Wisdom of Solomon is written, in Alexandria.
  3. 37–4 BC
    Herod the Great rules Judea for Rome.
  4. c. 4 BC
    I am born.
  5. c. AD 19–72
    4 Maccabees is probably written.
  6. c. AD 30
    Rome crucifies me in Jerusalem.

After the Temple fell

  1. AD 70
    Rome destroys Jerusalem and the second Temple.
  2. c. AD 100
    2 Esdras is written.
  3. c. AD 100–150
    The Gospel of Thomas is probably collected.
  4. c. AD 150
    The Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of Peter are written. The Gospel of Mary is written in the same century.
  5. c. AD 180
    Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, condemns the Gospel of Judas.
  6. c. AD 200
    Serapion, bishop of Antioch, warns against the Gospel of Peter.

Who decided

  1. AD 367
    Athanasius lists the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.
  2. AD 393 and 397
    Councils at Hippo and Carthage include Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and the Maccabees.
  3. AD 405
    Jerome finishes his Latin Bible.
  4. 1534
    Luther prints these books as a separate Apocrypha between the Testaments.
  5. 1546
    The Council of Trent declares most of them scripture for Catholics.
  6. 1611
    The King James Bible prints all fourteen of Part One between the Testaments.
  7. 1646
    The Westminster Confession declares them no part of the canon.
  8. 1826
    The British and Foreign Bible Society stops paying for Bibles that include them.

Found again

  1. 1886–87
    The Gospel of Peter is found in a monk’s grave at Akhmim, Egypt.
  2. 1896
    The book holding the Gospel of Mary is bought in Cairo.
  3. 1945
    The Nag Hammadi books, including the Gospel of Thomas, are found in Egypt.
  4. 1947
    The first Dead Sea Scrolls are found at Qumran, including copies of Tobit, Sirach, 1 Enoch and Jubilees.
  5. 2006
    The Gospel of Judas is published, about thirty years after it was found.