Dating the Bible

The oldest Hebrew Bible writings that are still here today, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were written in about the 2nd century BCE.  The oldest writing that has no pieces missing is a Greek translation called the Septuagint. It is from the 4th century - the Codex Sinaiticus. The oldest parts of the Masoretic Text, which is where we get modern Hebrew Bibles, are from the 9th century. Almost no biblical writing was written at the same time as the events it talks about.  Most of the writings about Jesus Christ were written long after he lived, some of them hundreds of years after.

 Table I: Chronological overview of the Hebrew Bible 
These tables show the chronology (order) of the Bible and when in history they were written. Much of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament may have been put together in the 5th century BCE.  Most of the New Testament books were written in the second half of the 1st century CE. The Deuterocanonical books fall in between.
PeriodDate or dates when books were writtenDuring the monarchic period of Ancient Israel and Ancient Judah 

8th–7th centuries BCE
c. 745–586 BCE Late 8th–early 7th: Amos 2:6-9:10 
 Isaiah 1–39, so-called  "First Isaiah" 
 Hosea   and, Micah,  the second half of the book is 7th Century
 Nahum - 7th century 
 Zephaniah in the reign of Josiah, c. 649–609 BCE  
 Habakkuk (possibly shortly before the battle of Carchemish, 605 BCE)  
 The first edition of the so-called “Deuteronomistic history”. The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings were written in the reign of Josiah. 
 Deuteronomy 5–26 in the reign of Josiah.Exilic period: when people were in exile in Babylon. 
6th-century BCE
586–539 BCE Most of Obadiah around the fall of Jerusalem, 586 BCE.  
 The completion of the so-called "Deuteronomistic history": (Joshua/Judges/Samuel/Kings).    
 Deuteronomy expanded with the addition of chapters 1–4 and 29–30. It now served as an introduction to the Deuteronomistic history. 
 Jeremiah 
 Ezekiel 
 So-called "Second Isaiah" ,Isaiah 40–55  

 Expansion and reshaping of Hosea, Amos, Micah and Zephaniah.
 Some early Psalms collection (psalms "of David") ending with psalm 89. 
 Lamentations written between 586 BCE and the end of the 6th century BCE  The post-exilic period when Judah was under Persian control
6th–4th centuries BCE
538–330 BCE The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers (The Torah). Finally completed by 250 BCE  
 Deuteronomy completed, expanding  chapters 19–25 and addition of chapters 27 and 31–34. This then served as the conclusion to the Torah. 
 So-called "Third Isaiah" (Isaiah 56–66)  
 Final version of Jeremiah  
 Haggai written at the end of the 6th century  
 Zechariah chapters 1–8 at the same time as Haggai, chapters 9–14 from the 5th century  
 Ruth written in the Persian period  
 Malachi 5th century BCE  
 Esther to the 3rd or 4th centuries BCE
 Joel – late Persian or Hellenistic  
 The books of Chronicles written between 400–250 BC  
 Proverbs  is impossible to date  and could be anywhere from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE
 Origins of the books of  Ezra and  Nehemiah. They may have reached their final version as late as the Ptolemaic period, c. 300–200 BCE, during the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Post-exilic during the Hellenistic period
3rd–2nd centuries BCE
330–164 BCE Job,    Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. They may have their origins in the 4th or even 5th centuries, but they seem to reflect contact with the Hellenistic world.   
 Book of Jonah (Persian or Hellenistic, no later than 2nd century BCE). 
 Most of the individual psalms making up the final third of the Book of Psalms. Maccabean/Hasmonean
2nd -1st centuries BCE 164 - 4 BCE Daniel 164 BCE, combining newly-written visions, chapters 7–12, with the Persian and Hellenistic tales of chapters 1–6.  

 Table II: Chronological overview of Deuterocanonical Old Testament 
PeriodDate or range of dates when books writtenPost-exilic during the Hellenistic period
3rd–2nd centuries BCE
330–164 BCETobit 225–175 BCE  Maccabean/Hasmonean

2nd -1st centuries BCE 164 - 4 BCE Judith 150–100 BCE, although some estimates  range from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE  
 1 Maccabees 100 BCE 
 2 Maccabees c. 100 BCE 
 3 Maccabees 100–75 BCE
 4 Maccabees mid-1st century CE
 Wisdom of Solomon late 1st century BCE to early 1st century CE 
 Sirach 196–175 BCE 
 Additions to Daniel Prayer of Azariah (Song of the Three Holy Children) 
 Bel and the Dragon: late 6th century 
 Susanna and the Elders: possibly 95–80 BCE 
 Baruch and Letter of Jeremiah 2nd century BCE
 Psalms of Solomon in the mid-1st century BCE 

 Table III: Chronological overview of the New Testament 
PeriodDate or range of dates when book or letter was writtenRoman rule of Judea.
Roman Emperors:

Claudius - 41–54 CE

Nero - 54–68 CE

Galba - 68–69 CE

Otho -January–April 69 CE

Aulus Vitellius  - July–December 69 CE

Vespasian - 69–79 CE

Titus - 79–81 CE

Domitian - 81–96 CE

Nerva - 96–98 CE

Trajan - 98–117 CE Galatians c. 48 or 55 CE;  1 Thessalonians c. 51 CE; 2 Thessalonians c. 51 CE or post-70 CE; 1 Corinthians c. 53–57 CE;Philippians c. 54–55 CE; Philemon c. 54–55 CE; 2 Corinthians c. 55–58 CE; Romans c. 57–58 CE; Colossians c. 62–70 CE
 Mark c. 65–73 CEPowell 2018, p. 166 
 James c. 65–85 CE
 First Peter c. 75–90 CE
 Luke c. 80–90 CEActs c. 80–90 CE
 Matthew c. 80–90 CE. 
 Ephesians c. 80–90 CE
 Hebrews c. 80–90 CE. 
 First Letter of John, Second letter of John, Third letter of John c. 90–110 CE
 John c. 90–110 CE
 Revelation c. 95 CE
 Jude  anywhere from c. 50–110 CE
 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Epistle to Titus c. 100 CE
 Second Peter c. 75–90 CESecond Peter c. 110 CE

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Category:Bible
Category:Ancient Israel and Judah