Era 6 of 13

Conquest and judges

1451–1095 BC356 years

Joshua – 1 Samuel 7; Ruth

Joshua takes Canaan; judges lead Israel through cycles of sin and rescue.

How the dates are set: Boundaries from Ussher: Jordan crossing 1451 BC; Saul made king 1095 BC. Ussher overlaps some oppressions and rests to fit 1 Kings 6:1.

Events 36

• Rahab hides the spies 1451 BC
  Joshua sent two spies to Jericho; Rahab hid them because she believed Israel's God was the true God, and they promised to spare her family.
• Israel crosses the Jordan 1451 BC
  With the river in flood, the Jordan stopped flowing as soon as the priests carrying the ark stepped in, and Israel crossed into Canaan on dry ground.
• Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal; the manna stops 1451 BC
  At Gilgal the new generation was circumcised and kept Passover, and the day after they ate the produce of Canaan, the manna stopped.
• The walls of Jericho fall 1451 BC
  Israel marched around Jericho once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh; at the trumpet blast and shout, the walls fell.
• Achan's sin and the defeat at Ai 1451 BC
  Israel was routed at the small town of Ai because Achan had secretly kept plunder from Jericho; after he was exposed and judged, Ai was taken by ambush.
• The Law read at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim 1451 BC
  As Moses had commanded, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, wrote the Law on stones, and read all of it to the assembled nation.
• Joshua's wars of conquest 1451–1445 BC
  Over about six years Joshua defeated the southern cities and then a northern coalition led by Jabin of Hazor, 31 kings in all.
• The Gibeonites' deception 1451 BC
  The Gibeonites posed as travelers from far away with moldy bread and worn-out sandals, and Israel made a treaty with them without asking God.
• The sun stands still at Gibeon 1451 BC
  When five Amorite kings attacked Gibeon, Joshua marched all night to rescue it; God sent hailstones, and at Joshua's prayer the sun stood still until the battle was won.
• Caleb receives Hebron at 85 1445 BC
  Caleb, still strong at 85, asked for the hill country around Hebron where the giant Anakim lived, and drove them out.
• Tabernacle set up at Shiloh; land divided 1445 BC
  The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, where it would stay for over 300 years, and Joshua divided the land among the tribes by lot.
• Joshua's farewell and death 1443 BC
  Joshua gathered Israel at Shechem, renewed the covenant, and challenged them to choose whom they would serve; he died at 110.
• Micah's idol and civil war with Benjamin 1413 BC
  In a time with no king, a man named Micah set up his own shrine, the tribe of Dan stole it, and an outrage at Gibeah led to civil war that nearly wiped out Benjamin.
• Cushan-rishathaim oppresses Israel 1413–1405 BC
  A new generation that didn't know Yahweh served the Baals, and God let a king of Mesopotamia rule them for eight years.
• Othniel, the first judge 1405 BC
  When Israel cried out, God raised up Othniel, Caleb's nephew, whose Spirit-led victory over Cushan brought forty years of peace.
• Eglon of Moab oppresses Israel 1343–1325 BC
  Eglon, king of Moab, with the Ammonites and Amalekites, took Jericho, the city of palms, and ruled Israel for 18 years.
• Ehud kills Eglon 1325 BC
  Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, brought Moab's tribute to King Eglon, killed him with a hidden sword, and led Israel to victory; Shamgar also struck down 600 Philistines.
• Jabin of Hazor oppresses Israel 1305–1285 BC
  Jabin, a Canaanite king ruling at Hazor, oppressed Israel for twenty years with 900 iron chariots commanded by Sisera.
• Deborah and Barak defeat Sisera 1285 BC
  The prophetess Deborah sent Barak to fight Sisera; God routed the chariots at the Kishon River, and Jael killed the fleeing Sisera.
• Midian oppresses Israel 1252–1245 BC
  For seven years Midianite and Amalekite raiders swarmed over the land like locusts at harvest time, driving Israel into caves.
• Gideon's 300 defeat Midian 1245 BC
  God called fearful Gideon, cut his army from 32,000 to 300, and used their trumpets, jars, and torches to throw the Midianite camp into panic.
• Abimelech makes himself king 1236–1233 BC
  After Gideon died, his son Abimelech murdered seventy brothers and ruled Shechem for three years until a woman dropped a millstone on his head.
• Tola and Jair judge Israel 1233–1188 BC
  Tola of Issachar judged Israel 23 years, then Jair of Gilead, who had thirty sons riding thirty donkeys, judged 22 years.
• Philistines and Ammonites oppress Israel 1206–1188 BC
  Israel served the gods of every neighboring nation, and God sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites for 18 years.
• Jephthah defeats Ammon; his rash vow 1188 BC
  Jephthah, an outcast from Gilead, defeated the Ammonites, but his rash vow cost him his only daughter.
• Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judge Israel 1181–1157 BC
  Three minor judges led Israel for a combined 25 years: Ibzan of Bethlehem, Elon of Zebulun, and Abdon of Ephraim.
• Ruth and Boaz 1181 BC
  Ruth, a Moabite widow, left her homeland to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, and married Boaz of Bethlehem; their great-grandson was King David.
• Forty years of Philistine rule 1157–1116 BC
  Israel again did evil and was ruled by the Philistines for forty years, the longest oppression in Judges.
• Samson's birth foretold 1155 BC
  The angel of Yahweh told Manoah's barren wife that she would bear a son, a Nazirite from birth, who would begin to save Israel from the Philistines.
• Hannah's prayer; Samuel born 1150 BC
  Childless Hannah prayed at Shiloh for a son and vowed to give him to God; she bore Samuel and brought him to serve with Eli.
• God calls the boy Samuel 1138 BC
  While Eli's sons corrupted the priesthood, God called young Samuel by name in the night and gave him a message of judgment on Eli's house.
• Samson kills a lion and fights the Philistines 1137–1136 BC
  Samson tore apart a lion with his bare hands, lost a riddle contest at his wedding, and struck a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone.
• Samson's death at Gaza 1117 BC
  Betrayed by Delilah, Samson was blinded and chained; in his last prayer he pulled down the temple of Dagon, killing more Philistines in his death than in his life.
• The ark captured; Eli dies 1116 BC
  Israel carried the ark into battle as a good-luck charm and lost; the Philistines captured it, Eli's sons were killed, and Eli fell and died at 98.
• The ark humbles Dagon and returns 1116 BC
  In Ashdod the idol Dagon fell on its face before the ark, plagues struck each Philistine city, and after seven months the Philistines sent the ark back.
• Samuel's victory at Mizpah: Ebenezer 1096 BC
  Twenty years after the ark's return, Israel put away its idols at Samuel's call; when the Philistines attacked at Mizpah, God thundered and routed them.

People alive in these years 4

MosesJoshuaEliSamson

Kings and rulers 1

Saul

See the chart of the kings of Israel and Judah

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