Not everything in the Bible is written with chronology in mind. Imagine reading a story or watching a movie where the narrative features three separate events unfolding in three different locations simultaneously. When the author presents the story, they can’t tell what is happening in all three places at the same time, because writing is a linear action that happens letter by letter on a page, page by page in a book. Typically, a writer will describe one event and then use a transition word, such as “meanwhile,” to shift to another location and discuss another event. The writing would be a mess if they were trying to write about three faraway events happening simultaneously, because they would have constantly interjected to explain which event they were referring to.

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