I was drawing a timeline of human history for my grandson, and was struck by a pleasing symmetry: The Patriarchs lived around 2000 B.C., and of course we live around A.D. 2000, and right in the middle we have the birth of Jesus. I’m not submitting this as proof of anything, and of course one could extend the timeline further back than 2000 B.C. But, as I say, there is a pleasing symmetry here, and for a young Christian just beginning to study human history there is some logic to beginning the timeline with the Patriarchs.