We do not know how old Jeremiah was when he began to prophesy, all we know is that it was in the 13th year of King Josiah. All the ages on this timeline are based on the assumption that he was 17 years old at that time. If we assume a different age, all of the ages given must be adjusted by the amount that we change it.
Note also that some events happen within 12 months of each other, and since we do not know Jeremiah’s
birth date we cannot be sure what age he would be. The timeline above has separated such events for presentation purposes. The events treated in this way when Jeremiah was 57/58 years old
- 3rd/4th deportation (and destruction of Jerusalem)
- Jeremiah taken to Egypt by force
In the Bible, the large volume of historical detail presented is mostly incidental to the main purpose of presenting God to the world, but at least it is reliable. Once we look outside the Bible, however, there are many uncertainties in ancient history. Many accepted historical ‘facts’ were reported hundreds of years after the events by historians from geographically different locations. Furthermore, when there are contradictions between historians (which are very common), distinguishing between fact and error is even harder.
This timeline is constructed from a combination of sources: first and foremost, the Bible, but writings from other historians have also been consulted. Herodotus, Josephus and several unknown chroniclers whose writings were recorded on clay tablets that have survived the rigours of time, some in better and some in worse
condition.
The timeline is attached to this email in PowerPoint format.
See also
A few articles on Wikipedia may be of interest:
Some previous articles about Jeremiah in Egypt are available on the Bible Tales website:
