
Take a long paper fold it in half- lengthwise. Draw a long timeline across the lengthwise fold. On the left side, put the name Adam and the right side put the name of the last prophet of the Old Testament--that would be ....Malachi. Under Adam's name write 4000 BC under Malachi write 100 BC. Now fold it in half widthwise and right the name of Abraham and underneath his name write 2000 BC. Fold it again widthwise and you get spots for 3000 BC for Noah and 1000 BC for Solomon. You realize, of course, these dates are approximate, but it helps to see the scope of the Old Testament. It should look like this:
ADAM NOAH ABRAHAM SOLOMON MALACHI
-I--------------l------Flood, Babel----l---------Moses---l--------------l-------
4000 BC 3000 BC 2000 BC 1000 BC
It is also interesting to note that the book of Genesis covered about 2500 years of history. The Old Testament Times at a Glance chart is a great resource. It divides the books of the Bible into two categories: Historical and Prophetic. In the historical category the books Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges take up about 300 years. The next category is Ruth-100 years. 1 Sam about 110 years, 2 Sam and 1 Chronicles about 30 years, 1st Kings and 2nd Chronicles about 250 years, 2nd Kings about 175 years, then Books Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah about 75 years. Check out the prophetic books on your own. Mind you now, this is just the Old Testament history. We also need to consider the New Testament history, but I'll save that for another episode.

