Bible Dates

For my own use, I consulted various Bible commentaries and reference books (including New Testament Introduction by Guthrie) to compile a table of Bible books, their authors and dates of composition. There are, of course, disagreements over these issues, but here is the best I could come up with.

The Bible – Dates and Authorship

Book

Author

Writing Completed

GENESIS Compiled from several oral traditions, Possibly by Ezra
J source 950 BCE
E source 750 BCE
P source 539
EXODUS J,E,P,D sources As above
LEVITICUS P source As above
NUMBERS J, E, P source As above
DEUTERONOMY D source 800 BCE?
JOSHUA Several 587 BCE
JUDGES Several + editor, some 8th and 9th Century BCE sources 6th Century BCE
RUTH Unknown as late as 3rd Cent BCE
1 SAMUEL Several + Editor Compiled around 560 BCE (some argue for 610)
2 SAMUEL As above As above
1 KINGS Unknown ca 560 BCE
2 KINGS As above As above
1 CHRONICLES Unknown ca 400 BCE
2 CHRONICLES Unknown early 4th century BCE
EZRA Ezra possibly early 4th century BCE
NEHEMIAH NEHEMIAH 4th century BCE
ESTHER Unknown 125 BCE
JOB Unknown 3rd-6th Century BCE
PSALMS Several before 586 BCE
PROVERBS Several 8th century BCE or later
ECCLESIATES Unknown 3rd Century BCE
SONG OF SOLOMON Unknown Unknown
ISAIAH (ch 1-39) Isaiah 6-7th Century BCE
  • (40-)
Others 200-300 years later
JEREMIAH Jeremiah 626-586 BCE
  • (26-)
Baruch ?
  • (46-51)
Others 626-586 BCE
  • (52:1-34)
Editor 626-586 BCE
LAMENTATIONS Jeremiah (?) 597 BCE
EZEKIEL Ezekiel + others after 597 BCE
DANIEL Unknown between 167-164 BCE
HOSEA Hosea 745 B.C.E
JOEL Joel 1st Half of 4th Century BCE
AMOS Amos 750 BCE
OBADIAH Obadiah after 586 BCE5th Century
JONAH Jonah (not the guy in the story) 5th Cen BCE
MICAH Micah et al 6th or Early 5th Cen BCE
NAHUM Nahum, et al Early 5th Century
HABAKKUK Habakkuk Early 5th Century
ZEPHANIAH Zephaniah 612-640 BCE
HAGGAI Haggai 520 BCE
ZECHARIAH Zechariah 518 BCE
MALACHI Unknown 450 BCE
MATTHEW Matthew (?) 80-85 CE
MARK Mark (?) 64-70 CE
LUKE Luke (?) 85-96 CE
JOHN John (which?) 85-90 CE
ACTS Same as Luke’s Gospel 90-100 CE
ROMANS Paul 55-59 CE
1 CORINTHIANS Paul 57 CE
2 CORINTHIANS Paul 58 CE
GALATIANS Paul 57-72 CE
EPHESIANS Paul (?) before 95 CE
PHILIPPIANS Paul 54-62 CE
COLOSSIANS Paul (probably) 60-61 CE
1 THESSALONIANS Paul 50-51 CE
2 THESSALONIANS Paul (?) 75-90 CE
1 TIMOTHY Paul (unlikely) 63-180 CE
2 TIMOTHY Paul (unlikely) 63-180 CE
TITUS Paul (unlikely) 63-180 CE
PHILEMON Paul 54-56
HEBREWS Unknown 60-96 CE
JAMES James (not the brother of Jesus) 100-125 CE
1 PETER Peter (?) 62-64 CE or later if not by Peter
2 PETER not Peter 125 or later
1 JOHN John 100 CE
2 JOHN John (which?) 100 CE
3 JOHN John (which?) 100 CE
JUDE not Jude 2nd century CE
REVELATION John (which?) Early 90’s
This entry was posted in Bible. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.