CHRONOLOGY OF THE FALL OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
Related to Ezekiel


One cannot be overly dogmatic about the dates of most Old Testament events. However, most of the dates given below can be considered fairly accurate to within a year. All dates are B.C. Spellings of names of individuals vary.


722 Samaria fell to the Assyrians after a siege begun under Shalmaneser and then carried out by his successor, Sargon. (2 Kings 17:6, 18:9-12)
640 Josiah's reign begins. (2 Kings 22:1, 2 Chron. 34:1)
632 At age 16, Josiah "began to seek the God of his father David." (2 Chron. 34:3)
628 Josiah "began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images, and the molten images." (2 Chron. 34:3)
627 The word of the Lord first came to Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:1-2)
627/626 The last great king of Assyria, Assur-Banipal, died, leaving the Assyrian Empire in a state of confusion.
626 Nabopolassar seized the throne in Babylon, which had previously been ruled by the Assyrians.
622 Josiah ordered repairs to be made to the temple, and Hilkiah, the priest, found the book of the law. (2 Chron. 34:8-14)
616 Nabopolassar unsuccessfully attacked declining Assyria.
612 Nineveh fell to the Babylonians under Nabopolassar, and the Medes, under Cyaxares. Asshur-Ubalit II, the Assyrian monarch, fled to Haran along with a remnant of the Assyrians.
610 Nabopolassar took Haran, and the fleeing Assyrians escaped to Palestine.
609 Asshur-Ubalit II attempted to recapture Haran and enlisted the help of Pharaoh-Neco. Josiah tried to stop Pharaoh-Neco at Meggido but was killed, (2 Kings 23:29). Pharaoh-Neco was unsuccessful in his attempt to take Haran, but did prevent the Babylonians from marching past Haran. Jehoahaz had replaced Josiah on the throne in Judah and had ruled for three months when Neco came back through Palestine on his return trip to Egypt from Haran. Neco deposed Jehoahaz and put Jehoiakim (Eliakim) on the throne. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt (2 Chron. 36:1-5). Jehoiakim was a vassal to Egypt from 609 to 605.
605 Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, marched to Carchemish, defeated the Egyptians there, and chased them back to Egypt. It was at this time that Jehoiakim was required to shift his allegiance to Babylon (2 Kings 24:1), and those of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1-7 were carried away to Babylon. On account of his father's death, Nebuchadnezzar hurried home from this expedition and became king of Babylon.
601 Babylon fared poorly in a battle with Egypt and as a result, Jehoiakim decided to shift his allegiance back to Egypt. (2 Kings 24:1)
598 Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah and Coniah). (2 Kings 24:6, 2 Chron. 36:8)
597 Nebuchadnezzar returned to bring Judah back into subjection. Among those taken captive were Jehoiachin, Ezekiel, and "all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives." Mattaniah (Zedekiah) was placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. (2 Kings 24:10-17)
593 Ezekiel was called as a prophet (Ezek. 1:1-2).
592 Ezekiel saw the vision of idolatry in Jerusalem (Ezek. 8:lff).
591 Certain of the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of Jehovah (Ezek. 20:1).
588 On the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. (2 Kings 25:1)
588 Ezekiel was told, "The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day," and the parable of the boiling pot was given (Ezek. 24:lff).
587 Ezekiel received the word of the Lord concerning Egypt (Ezek. 29:lff).
587 The Lord told Ezekiel, "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Ezek. 30:20-26).
587 The word of the Lord concerning Pharaoh came to Ezekiel (Ezek. 31:lff).
586 The word of the Lord concerning Tyre came (Ezek. 26:1ff).
586 On the ninth day of the fourth month, there was no longer any food in Jerusalem, as a result of the famine brought on by the siege. (2 Kings 25:3)
586 In the fifth month, Jerusalem fell. The temple, the king's house, and every great house were burned, and the walls were broken down. Zedekiah's sons are killed in his sight, his eyes are put out, and he is taken to Babylon. (2 Kings 25:4-10)
585* "The city has been taken," was the message that came to Ezekiel (Ezek. 33:21).

* Rather than "the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month," some manuscripts have "the eleventh year . . " at Ezekiel 33:21. If this alternate reading is correct, the message that the city had been taken would have come a year earlier.
585 Ezekiel took up a lamentation over Pharaoh (Ezek. 32:lff).
585 The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel describing Pharaoh in Sheol (Ezek. 32:17-32).
573 Ezekiel saw the vision of the new Jerusalem (Ezek. 40:1ff).
571 The fate of the land of Egypt was revealed to Ezekiel. It would be given to Nebuchadnezzar because "he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it," (Ezek. 29:17-21).