Adam to Abraham
Gen 5:24 (KJV)
Notes — every event with its references, the notes and the sources are on the pages after the chart in the PDF.
1The Bible gives the years between births, not BC dates. These BC years are Ussher’s (1650): Creation in 4004 BC; a year is 4004 minus its years after Creation (AM).
2The Septuagint (in Brenton’s translation) and the Samaritan Pentateuch give other numbers: their Floods fall in AM 2242 and AM 1307, not AM 1656. The Septuagint also adds a second Cainan (Gen 11:13).
3Terah was 70 when his sons began to be born (Gen 11:26), but he died at 205 and Abram left Haran at 75 only after that (Acts 7:4), so Abram was born when Terah was 130.
4By these numbers Adam lived until Lamech was 56, Noah never knew Adam or Seth, Lamech died 5 years before the Flood, and Methuselah in the year of the Flood.
Adam to Abraham — Study notes
Every event on the chart, with its Bible references, certainty and notes. One chronology for the whole series: the Bible's own numbers with the main ancient records. "c." = about; a range (e.g. 6–4 BC) = some time in that range.
| Date | Event | Bible references | Lane | Cert. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Creation to the Flood: 1,656 years · 4004–2348 BC12 | ||||
| 4004–3074 BC AM 0–930 |
Adam lives 930 years Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son; all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died |
Gen 5:3, 5 | Adam | B |
| 3874–2962 BC AM 130–1042 |
Seth lives 912 years Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos; all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died |
Gen 5:6, 8 | Seth | B |
| 3769–2864 BC AM 235–1140 |
Enos lives 905 years Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan; all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died |
Gen 5:9, 11 | Enos | B |
| 3679–2769 BC AM 325–1235 |
Cainan lives 910 years Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel; all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died |
Gen 5:12, 14 | Cainan | B |
| 3609–2714 BC AM 395–1290 |
Mahalaleel lives 895 years Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared; all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died |
Gen 5:15, 17 | Mahalaleel | B |
| 3544–2582 BC AM 460–1422 |
Jared lives 962 years Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch; all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died |
Gen 5:18, 20 | Jared | B |
| 3382–3017 BC AM 622–987 |
Enoch lives 365 years5 Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah; all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years, and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him |
Gen 5:21–24 | Enoch | B |
| 3317–2348 BC AM 687–1656 |
Methuselah lives 969 years6 Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech; all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died |
Gen 5:25, 27 | Methuselah | B |
| 3130–2353 BC AM 874–1651 |
Lamech lives 777 years Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son; all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died |
Gen 5:28, 31 | Lamech | B |
| 2948–1998 BC AM 1056–2006 |
Noah lives 950 yearsNoah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth; all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died |
Gen 5:28–29, 32; 7:6; 9:28–29 | Noah | B |
| 2446–1846 BC AM 1558–2158 |
Shem lives 600 years7Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the floodand lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years: 600 years in all |
Gen 11:10–11 | Shem | B |
| From the Flood to Abram’s birth: 352 years · 2348–1996 BC | ||||
| 2346–1908 BC AM 1658–2096 |
Arphaxad lives 438 years8 Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salahand lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years: 438 years in all |
Gen 11:12–13 | Arphaxad | B |
| 2311–1878 BC AM 1693–2126 |
Salah lives 433 years Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eberand lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years: 433 years in all |
Gen 11:14–15 | Salah | B |
| 2281–1817 BC AM 1723–2187 |
Eber lives 464 years Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Pelegand lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years: 464 years in all |
Gen 11:16–17 | Eber | B |
| 2247–2008 BC AM 1757–1996 |
Peleg lives 239 years9 Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reuand lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years: 239 years in all |
Gen 11:18–19 | Peleg | B |
| 2217–1978 BC AM 1787–2026 |
Reu lives 239 years Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serugand lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years: 239 years in all |
Gen 11:20–21 | Reu | B |
| 2185–1955 BC AM 1819–2049 |
Serug lives 230 years Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahorand lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years: 230 years in all |
Gen 11:22–23 | Serug | B |
| 2155–2007 BC AM 1849–1997 |
Nahor lives 148 years Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terahand lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years: 148 years in all |
Gen 11:24–25 | Nahor | B |
| 2126–1921 BC AM 1878–2083 |
Terah lives 205 years3 Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran |
Gen 11:24–26, 32; 12:4; Acts 7:4 | Terah | B |
| From Abram’s birth to Eber’s death · 1996–1817 BC | ||||
| 1996–1821 BC AM 2008–2183 |
Abraham lives 175 years3Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran, after Terah’s death (Acts 7:4); Abraham’s life was an hundred threescore and fifteen years |
Gen 12:4; 25:7; Acts 7:4 | Abraham | B |
Certainty: A Stated in Scripture · B Worked out from Scripture · C Ancient record or astronomy · D Scholarly reconstruction · E Tradition / uncertain — scholars differ.
Adam to Abraham — notes and sources
How the dates were worked out
Genesis 5 and 11 give each man’s age when the next man in the line was born and how long he lived (Noah’s 950 years are in Genesis 9:29; for Shem to Nahor Genesis 11 gives the years lived after that birth, and the total is their sum). Adding the ages from Adam gives the years after Creation (AM): Adam’s life begins in AM 0, Seth is born in AM 130, Noah in AM 1056, the Flood comes in AM 1656 (Noah is 600, Genesis 7:6) and Abram is born in AM 2008. The Bible gives no BC year. This chart uses Ussher’s (1650), who put Creation in 4004 BC, so a BC year is 4004 minus the AM number (the Flood, AM 1656, is 2348 BC; Ussher’s years begin in the autumn, and his own headings for two of these years read one year earlier, 2349 BC for the Flood and 1922 BC for Terah’s death in AM 2083, while his headings for every other birth and death of these twenty lives agree with the subtraction). The numbers are those of the Hebrew text as the KJV prints them; the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch give other numbers (see the notes). Two numbers are worked out and not stated: Noah was 502 when Shem was born (Shem was 100 two years after the Flood), and Terah was 130 when Abram was born. From Abraham on, the series’ other charts use System A, which puts Abraham’s birth in 2166 BC, 170 years earlier than Ussher’s 1996 BC.
Dated lines on the chart
Creation: AM 01 — 4004 BC (Gen 1:1; Cert. E)
The Flood: AM 165614 — 2348 BC (Gen 7:6, 11; Cert. B)
Abram born: AM 20083 — 1996 BC (Gen 11:26, 32; 12:4; Cert. B)
Notes
1 The Bible gives the years between births, not BC dates. These BC years are Ussher’s (1650): Creation in 4004 BC; a year is 4004 minus its years after Creation (AM). Ussher put the first day of Creation on 23 October 4004 BC and counted forward from the Hebrew numbers of Genesis 5 and 11. The thin row under the axis gives the years after Creation (AM), which come from the stated ages, with Terah 130 at Abram’s birth (footnote 3). A BC year on this chart is simply 4004 minus the AM number, and the headings of his Annals for every birth and death of the twenty lives drawn here agree with that except two: his years begin in the autumn, so he heads AM 1656, the year of the Flood and of Methuselah’s death, 2349 BC (the ark is entered that December), and he heads Terah’s death, in AM 2083, 1922 BC (Abram leaves Haran the next spring, in 1921 BC). The chart draws those years at 2348 BC and 1921 BC like the rest. It does not claim that 4004 BC is the date of Creation: the Bible gives none. (Gen 5:3–32; 7:6; 11:10–26)
2 The Septuagint (in Brenton’s translation) and the Samaritan Pentateuch give other numbers: their Floods fall in AM 2242 and AM 1307, not AM 1656. The Septuagint also adds a second Cainan (Gen 11:13). In Brenton’s Septuagint the ages when the next man was born are Adam 230, Seth 205, Enos 190, Cainan 170, Maleleel 165, Jared 162, Enoch 165, Mathusala 167 (the Alexandrinus reading is 187) and Lamech 188. They add up to 1,642 years from Adam to Noah’s birth, so the Flood, in Noah’s 600th year, falls in AM 2242 where the Hebrew numbers give AM 1656. Most lives total the same (Adam 930, Methuselah 969) but Lamech lives 753 years, not 777. Genesis 11:13 adds a second Cainan: "And Cainan lived a hundred and thirty years and begot Sala". In the Samaritan Pentateuch (as tabulated on Wikipedia) the ages when the next man is born are the Hebrew ones except Jared 62 (Hebrew 162), Methuselah 67 (187) and Lamech 53 (182), which add up to 707 years to Noah’s birth, so the Flood falls in AM 1307. In Genesis 11 it has Arphaxad 135, Salah 130, Eber 134, Peleg 130, Reu 132, Serug 130 and Nahor 79 at the next birth (the Hebrew numbers are 35, 30, 34, 30, 32, 30 and 29) and Terah 145 years in all, so Abram is born in AM 2249, 942 years after the Flood (352 by the Hebrew numbers with Terah 130). This chart follows the Hebrew numbers, as the KJV prints them. (Gen 5:3–31; 11:10–13, 32)
3 Terah was 70 when his sons began to be born (Gen 11:26), but he died at 205 and Abram left Haran at 75 only after that (Acts 7:4), so Abram was born when Terah was 130. With Terah 130, which Ussher took, Abram is born in AM 2008 and Abraham dies in AM 2183, 25 years after Shem (AM 2158). If Terah was 70 when Abram was born (the Samaritan Pentateuch gives Terah 145 years in Gen 11:32, which fits that), Abram is born in AM 1948 and Abraham dies in AM 2123, 35 years before Shem. Genesis names Abram first, which need not make him the eldest. (Gen 11:26, 32; 12:4; 25:7; Acts 7:4)
4 By these numbers Adam lived until Lamech was 56, Noah never knew Adam or Seth, Lamech died 5 years before the Flood, and Methuselah in the year of the Flood. Adam died in AM 930 and Lamech was born in AM 874. Seth died in AM 1042, 14 years before Noah was born (AM 1056). Lamech died in AM 1651 and Methuselah in AM 1656, the year of the Flood (Noah was 600, Gen 7:6). Noah died in AM 2006, two years before Abram was born. Shem died in AM 2158, when Abraham was 150, and Eber in AM 2187, 4 years after Abraham (AM 2183). The last two sentences use the reading Terah 130. (Gen 5:3–31; 7:6; 9:29; 11:10–17; 12:4; 25:7)
5 Enoch’s 365 years end when God took him
(Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5): no death is stated. The bar shows the years to his departure. (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5)
6 By the numbers Methuselah’s 969 years end in AM 1656, the year of the Flood (Gen 7:6). Genesis does not say that he died in the Flood, only that he died (Gen 5:27). (Gen 5:25–27; 7:6)
7 Noah was 500 when he begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth
(Gen 5:32), but Shem was 100 two years after the Flood (Gen 11:10), when Noah was 602 (Gen 7:6), so Shem was born when Noah was 502. In the KJV Japheth is called the elder
(Gen 10:21), so Gen 5:32 is read as the age at which Noah began to have sons. (Gen 5:32; 7:6; 10:21; 11:10)
8 Luke 3:35–36 has a Cainan between Arphaxad and Salah. The Hebrew text of Genesis 11 has none; the Septuagint has one (Gen 11:13). This chart follows the Hebrew. (Luke 3:35–36; Gen 11:12–13)
9 Of Peleg Genesis says in his days was the earth divided
(Gen 10:25) but gives no date; the chart shows only his years. (Gen 10:25; 11:16–19)
Sources
The King James translators, The Holy Bible, King James Version — Pure Cambridge Edition text (bibleprotector.com), checked against eBible.org's 1769 text, 1611 (Cambridge text).
James Ussher, Annales Veteris Testamenti (English, The Annals of the World, 1658), 1650.
Wikipedia contributors, Ussher chronology (Wikipedia), online.
Wikipedia contributors, Terah (Wikipedia), online.
intertextual.bible, Genesis 11:32 — Samaritan Pentateuch (intertextual.bible), online.
Rodger C. Young, Ussher, Explained and Corrected (Associates for Biblical Research), 2018.
Lancelot C. L. Brenton (translator), The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament, with an English Translation, Genesis 5 and 11 (as published by eBible.org), 1851.
Wikipedia contributors, Genealogies of Genesis (Wikipedia), online.
Only sources actually checked are listed. Copyrighted charts were used for cross-checking only.
Free to copy, print and share for non-commercial use. Licence: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0). Scripture quotations: King James Version (KJV) (Cambridge text). Adam to Abraham Timeline v1.0, 2026-10-10.