Biblical chronology is the elaborate system of generations, reign-periods, and other means by which the narrative passages of the Hebrew Bible measure the passage of time and thus give a chronological framework to biblical history. The narrative history begins with the creation and continues through the age of the patriarchy, the events of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy through the history of ancient Israel and Judah, the Babylonian captivity down to the establishment of the Second Temple in 516 BCE.