Dating the Bible

Table columns:
Book
Date or range of dates most widely held by scholars
Earliest known fragment

Table rows:
cells: Gospel of Matthew
80–90 CE.[69] This is based on three strands of evidence: (a) the setting of Matthew reflects the final separation of Church and Synagogue, about 85 CE; (b) it reflects the capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE; (c) it uses Mark, usually dated around 70 CE, as a source.[70]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  104 (150–200 CE)
cells: Gospel of Mark
68–70 CE.[71] References to persecution and to war in Judea suggest that its context was either Nero's persecution of the Christians in Rome or the Jewish revolt.[72]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  45 (250 CE)
cells: Gospel of Luke
80–90 CE, with some scholars suggesting 90–100.[73] There is evidence, both textual (the conflicts between Western and Alexandrian manuscript families) and from the Marcionite controversy (Marcion was a 2nd-century heretic who produced his own version of Christian scripture based on Luke's gospel and Paul's epistles) that Luke-Acts was still being substantially revised well into the 2nd century.[74]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  4, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  75 (175–250 CE)
cells: Gospel of John
90–110 CE, the upper date based on textual evidence that the gospel was known in the early 2nd century, and the lower on an internal reference to the expulsion of Christians from the synagogues.[75]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  52 (125–160 CE)
cells: Acts
95–100 CE.[71] If Acts uses Josephus as a source, as has been proposed, then it must have been composed after 93 CE; the social situation is one in which the faithful need "shepherds" to protect them from heretical "wolves", which again reflects a late date.[76]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  29, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  45, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  48, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  53, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  91 (250 CE)
cells: Romans
c. 57 CE. One of the genuine Pauline letters, written to the Romans as Paul was about to leave Asia Minor and Greece, and expressing his hopes to continue his work in Spain.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: Corinthians
c. 56 CE. Another of the Genuine Pauline letters. Paul expresses his intention to re-visit the church he founded in the city c. 50–52 CE.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: Galatians
c. 55 CE. Paul does not express any wish to revisit the church in Galatia, which he founded, and so some scholars believe the letter dates from the end of his missionary work. The letter concerns the question of whether Gentile converts are required to adopt full Jewish customs.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: Ephesians
c. 80–90 CE. The letter appears to have been written after Paul's death in Rome, by an author who uses his name.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: Philippians
c. 54–55 CE. A genuine Pauline letter, it mentions "Caesar's household," leading some scholars to believe that it is written from Rome, but some of the news in it could not have come from Rome. It seems rather to date from an earlier imprisonment, perhaps in Ephesus, from which Paul hopes to be released.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: Colossians
c. 62–70 CE. Some scholars believe Colossians dates from Paul's imprisonment in Ephesus around 55 CE, but differences in the theology suggest that it comes from much later in his career, around the time of his imprisonment in Rome.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: 1 Thessalonians
c. 51 CE. One of the earliest of the genuine Pauline epistles.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: 2 Thessalonians
c. 51 CE or post-70 CE. If this is a genuine Pauline epistle it follows closely on 1 Thessalonians. But some of the language and theology point to a much later date, from an unknown author using Paul's name.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  92 (300 CE)
cells: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Epistle to Titus
c. 100 CE. The two Timothy epistles and Titus reflect a much more developed Church organisation than that reflected in the genuine Pauline epistles.[71]
Codex Sinaiticus (350 CE)  P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  32 (200 CE)
cells: Philemon
c. 54–55 CE. A genuine Pauline epistle, written from an imprisonment (probably in Ephesus) that Paul expects will soon be over.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  87 (3rd century CE)
cells: Hebrews
c. 80–90 CE. The elegance of the Greek and the sophistication of the theology do not fit the genuine Pauline epistles, but the mention of Timothy in the conclusion led to its being included with the Pauline group from an early date.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  46 (late 2nd century or 3rd century CE)
cells: James
c. 65–85 CE. Like Hebrews, James is not so much a letter as an exhortation; the style of the Greek makes it unlikely that it was actually written by James the brother of Jesus.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  20, P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  23 (early 3rd century CE)
cells: First Peter
c. 75–90 CE[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  72 (3rd/4th century CE)
cells: Second Peter
c. 110 CE. This is apparently the latest writing in the New Testament, quoting from Jude, assuming a knowledge of the Pauline letters, and including a reference to the gospel story of the Transfiguration of Christ.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  72 (3rd/4th century CE)
cells: Epistles of John
90–110 CE.[77] The letters give no clear indication, but scholars tend to place them about a decade after the Gospel of John.[77]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  9, Uncial 0232, Codex Sinaiticus (3rd/4th century CE)
cells: Jude
Uncertain. The references to "brother of James" and to "what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold" suggest that it was written after the apostolic letters were in circulation, but before 2 Peter, which uses it.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  72 (3rd/4th century CE)
cells: Revelation
c. 95 CE. The date is suggested by clues in the visions pointing to the reign of the emperor Domitian.[71]
P  {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}  98 (150–200 CE)

Questions about this table:
originalText: when was the earliest new testament book written
answer: answerTexts: c. 51 CE.