Credits and licenses
© 2026 Jeff A. White. The timeline, its text, maps, and software are original to this project. Everything else in this site is used under a license that allows it, as listed here.
Bible Timeline Explorer: events, people, rulers, world events, maps, map routes and labels, and software
The Bible Timeline Explorer project.
Original work of this project
Chronology follows James Ussher's Annals of the World (1650), with the exceptions noted in each event. Scripture quotations on the timeline are from the World English Bible.
World English Bible
Michael Paul Johnson and volunteers; distributed by eBible.org. ebible.org/web
Public domain
The World English Bible is in the public domain. "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org, used here for the unmodified text.
The Apocrypha, World English Bible translation (in the Library)
Michael Paul Johnson and volunteers; distributed by eBible.org. ebible.org/web
Public domain
Public domain. Given in the Library as historical sources for historical and cultural context, not as Scripture. The WEB's own introductions to these books are not included.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (in the Bible reader's commentary panel)
Matthew Henry (1662–1714); completed after his death by other ministers (Romans to Revelation). ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc
Public domain
Public domain. The notes are from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library's electronic edition; the introductions to the books are from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org, AO Lab). Changes: Bible references written out in full where they name a book, the KJV text Henry sets before each section left out, and the formatting simplified.
Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (in the commentary panel)
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown (1871). ccel.org/ccel/jamieson/jfb
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library's electronic edition. Changes: Bible references written out in full, and the formatting simplified.
John Gill's Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (in the commentary panel)
John Gill (1697–1771). bible.helloao.org
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org, AO Lab). Changes: a few abbreviated Bible references written out in full.
John Calvin's Commentaries (in the commentary panel)
John Calvin (1509–1564); translated for the Calvin Translation Society (1843–55). bible.helloao.org
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org, AO Lab). Changes: a few abbreviated Bible references written out in full, and notes the API files out of verse order put in order.
Adam Clarke's Commentary and Critical Notes (in the commentary panel)
Adam Clarke (about 1762–1832). bible.helloao.org
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org, AO Lab). Changes: Bible references written out in full, and notes the API files out of verse order put in order.
Keil and Delitzsch's Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (in the commentary panel)
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch; English translation (Clark's Foreign Theological Library, 1857–78). bible.helloao.org
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org, AO Lab). Changes: Bible references written out in full; opening notes the API files under the wrong chapter are moved; notes put in verse order.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David and Commentary on Matthew (in the commentary panel)
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892). archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.php
Public domain
Public domain. The Treasury of David (Psalms) is from the Spurgeon Archive (archive.spurgeon.org), only Spurgeon's own Exposition and the introduction to each psalm; the Commentary on Matthew is from the Spurgeon Gems PDF (spurgeongems.org). The formatting is simplified.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the New Testament (in the commentary panel)
Albert Barnes (1798–1870). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Barnes
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Barnes module (crosswire.org). Changes: each note's opening words are set apart, Bible references written out in full, the book introductions placed at the book, and the formatting simplified.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes upon the Old and New Testaments (in the commentary panel)
John Wesley (1703–1791). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Wesley
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Wesley module (crosswire.org), based on the electronic edition by Sulu Kelley and Bill Brown. Changes: a note on several verses is shown once, and Bible references written out in full.
The Geneva Bible notes (in the commentary panel)
The Geneva translators (1560; 1599 edition). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Geneva
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Geneva module (crosswire.org). Changes: the verse text is left out (it is in the reader), each lettered note is introduced by the word it explains, and each book's Argument is placed at the book.
The Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 edition (in the commentary panel)
Cyrus I. Scofield (1843–1921). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Scofield
Public domain
Public domain (the 1917 edition only). The text is from CrossWire's Scofield module (crosswire.org), from the Wikisource transcription. Changes: each note's subject is set apart, Bible references written out in full, and the formatting simplified.
The People's New Testament (in the commentary panel)
B. W. Johnson (1833–1894). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=PNT
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's PNT module (crosswire.org). Changes: each note's opening words are set apart, the chapter summaries are placed at the chapter, and Bible references are written out in full.
The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts, by McGarvey and Pendleton (in the commentary panel)
J. W. McGarvey (1829–1911) and Philip Y. Pendleton. www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=TFG
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's TFG module (crosswire.org), from Ernie Stefanik's electronic edition. Changes: the harmony's notes are placed at the verse where each Gospel tells the passage, the quoted words that open a note are set apart, and the editor's notes and tables of contents are left out.
A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, by John Lightfoot (in the commentary panel)
John Lightfoot (1602–1675). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Lightfoot
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Lightfoot module (crosswire.org), from philologos.org. Changes: the bracketed words that open a note are set apart, and the formatting is simplified.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (in the commentary panel)
William Burkitt (1650–1703). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Burkitt
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Burkitt module (crosswire.org). Changes: the formatting is simplified.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (in the Dictionary)
M. G. Easton (1897). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Easton
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Easton module (crosswire.org; the Christian Classics Ethereal Library's edition). Changes: the markup is simplified and cross-references are linked.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (in the Dictionary)
William Smith (1884). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Smith
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Smith module (crosswire.org). Changes: the markup is simplified and cross-references are linked.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (in the Dictionary)
James Orr, general editor (1915). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=ISBE
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's ISBE module (crosswire.org). Changes: the markup is simplified and cross-references are linked.
Nave's Topical Bible (in the Dictionary)
Orville J. Nave (1896). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Nave
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Nave module (crosswire.org; the Christian Classics Ethereal Library's edition). Changes: the markup is simplified and cross-references are linked.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (in the Dictionary)
Roswell D. Hitchcock (1869). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=Hitchcock
Public domain
Public domain. The text is from CrossWire's Hitchcock module (crosswire.org; the Christian Classics Ethereal Library's text). Changes: the markup is simplified.
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (the cross-references under each verse in the Bible reader)
R. A. Torrey and earlier editors (about 1880). www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=TSK
Public domain
Public domain. The passages and the words of the verse they belong to are from CrossWire's TSK module (crosswire.org). Changes: the references are written in a uniform form and checked against the Bible text.
OpenBible.info cross references (the ranking of the cross-references)
OpenBible.info. www.openbible.info/labs/cross-references
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Cross references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY 4.0, built mostly from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and ranked by readers' votes. Changes: merged with the Treasury's own list, passages voted against left out unless the Treasury lists them.
The works of Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston (in the Library)
Flavius Josephus (about AD 37–100); translated by William Whiston (1737).
Public domain
Whiston's translation is in the public domain: Antiquities of the Jews, The Jewish War, The Life of Josephus, and Against Apion, from public-domain transcriptions. Whiston's footnotes are not included.
The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), translated by R. H. Charles (in the Library)
R. H. Charles (1912); Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge edition (1917), edited by W. O. E. Oesterley and G. H. Box.
Public domain
Charles's translation is in the public domain; from a public-domain transcription. Given in the Library as a historical source, not as Scripture. Oesterley's introduction and the editors' notes are not included.
Berean Standard Bible and Berean Interlinear Bible
Produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. berean.bible
Public domain
Dedicated to the public domain on April 30, 2023. The BSB text is shown unaltered (checked word for word against the official text), and each of its words is linked to the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word it translates, with transliteration and grammar, from the Berean Interlinear tables.
STEP Bible brief lexicons (TBESH and TBESG)
STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. www.STEPBible.org
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Dictionary forms, transliterations, and glosses of Hebrew and Greek words, and the Greek definitions (from Abbott-Smith's Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922), from STEP Bible's data at github.com/STEPBible. Reformatted for this site; definitions from Middle Liddell and TBESH's Hebrew definitions (Online Bible's Abridged BDB) are not included.
STEP Bible proper names (TIPNR)
STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. www.STEPBible.org
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
The family tree's people, their parents, partners, and children, and the verses that name them, from STEP Bible's Translators Individualised Proper Names (TIPNR) at github.com/STEPBible. Reformatted for this site, with these changes: the people it infers but Scripture does not name (nine generations in Matthew 1:15 and four in 1 Kings 2:27) are left out; names are given as the World English Bible prints them; and a few relationships are corrected where the text says otherwise (each is listed on the person's popup).
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, Open Scriptures edition
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project. github.com/openscriptures/HebrewLexicon
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
The Hebrew definitions come from James Strong's Hebrew dictionary (1890; public domain) in the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project's corrected edition.
MapLibre GL JS
MapLibre contributors. maplibre.org
The engine that draws the live map. Version 6.11.2; its license is included with it (lib/maplibre-gl-6.11.2/LICENSE.txt).
Natural Earth
Natural Earth (free vector and raster map data). www.naturalearthdata.com
Public domain
Land, rivers, and lakes (1:10m scale), clipped to the Bible lands and simplified; modern reservoirs and canals are left out.
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data
OpenBible.info. www.openbible.info/geo
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
The places named in the Bible, their most likely identifications with a confidence score, and the verses that name them. Coordinates it took from OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Wikipedia, or Palestine Open Maps are not used; a few places use this project's own coordinates instead.
Terrain elevation tiles
SRTM and GMTED2010 data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey; ETOPO1 from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information; served as Terrarium tiles by the Registry of Open Data on AWS. registry.opendata.aws/terrain-tiles
Public domain
Used for the map's shaded relief and 3D tilt: the Bible lands at moderate detail, the Holy Land in fine detail.
EU-DEM (in the terrain tiles for Europe and Turkey)
Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation programme. land.copernicus.eu
Copernicus data policy (free and open use, including commercial, with credit)
Produced using Copernicus data and information funded by the European Union - EU-DEM layers.
Alegreya and Alegreya Sans typefaces
Juan Pablo del Peral, Huerta Tipográfica (The Alegreya Project Authors). github.com/huertatipografica/Alegreya
Licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1; the license texts are included with the fonts.
Noto Serif Hebrew typeface
The Noto Project Authors. github.com/notofonts/hebrew
Used for Hebrew and Aramaic words. Licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1; the license text is included with the font.
Hebrew word-by-word audio
Open Hebrew Bible Project (Eliran Wong). github.com/eliranwong/MP3_BHS5_word-by-word
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (free use only; see the README's licensing policy)
The recorded Hebrew and Aramaic words played by the speaker button come from the Open Hebrew Bible Project's word-by-word MP3s, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International. This site is free to everyone; the audio is stored apart from the site's own files, with a map made by this project that matches each clip to the word it says.
ETCBC Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with linguistic annotations (as published by the Open Hebrew Bible Project)
Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer (ETCBC); text of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 5th rev. ed., © 1977 and 1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. shebanq.ancient-data.org/sources
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (free use only; see the README's licensing policy)
The audio's word-by-word numbering follows the ETCBC's text of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (via github.com/eliranwong/OpenHebrewBible), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International. It was used to match each recording to a word; the text itself is not published here.
Biblica Open Bible Maps
Biblica Open Bible Maps Team, Biblica, Inc.. open.bible
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (adaptations must be shared under the same license; see the README's licensing policy)
Biblica Open Bible Maps, © 2023-2026 Biblica, Inc. This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The original work by Biblica, Inc. is available for free at www.biblica.com and open.bible. Each map is shown as Biblica published it, rendered from Biblica's PDF to a WebP picture. The list of which maps go with each event and chapter is this project's.
Greek word-by-word audio
Open Greek New Testament Project (Eliran Wong). github.com/eliranwong/MP3_OpenGNT_word-by-word
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (adaptations must be shared under the same license; see the README's licensing policy)
The recorded Greek words played by the speaker button come from the Open Greek New Testament Project's word-by-word MP3s, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. The recordings are used unchanged. The map this project made to match each recording to a word (the data/audio files for the New Testament) is shared under the same license, CC BY-SA 4.0, and may be reused under its terms with credit to the Open Greek New Testament Project and to this site.
Open Greek New Testament (text and word numbering)
Open Greek New Testament Project (Eliran Wong). github.com/eliranwong/OpenGNT
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (adaptations must be shared under the same license; see the README's licensing policy)
The audio's word numbering follows the Open Greek New Testament (an NA28-equivalent text, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International). It was used to match each recording to a word; the text itself is not published here.
King James Version (1769 standard text)
Translators appointed by King James I (1611); text from eBible.org. ebible.org/find/details.php?id=eng-kjv
Public domain
The King James Version is in the public domain in the United States. In the United Kingdom, letters patent from the Crown mean that printing it there, or importing printed copies, needs permission from the patent holders (Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Collins); reading it online is not affected. This site includes only the 66 books, without the Apocrypha, and without the italics for supplied words.
American Standard Version (1901)
The American Standard Bible Committee (1901); text from eBible.org. ebible.org/find/details.php?id=eng-asv
Public domain
The American Standard Version is in the public domain. This site includes the text without footnotes or Strong's tags.