Dating the Bible

Internal evidence within the texts of the 27-book New Testament canon suggests that most of these books were written in the 1st century CE. The first book written is thought to be either the Epistle to the Galatians (written around 48 CE) or 1 Thessalonians, written around 50 CE. The latest book written is thought to be the Second Peter, written around 110 CE. The final book in the ordering of the canon, the Book of Revelation, is generally accepted by traditional scholarship to have been written during the reign of Domitian (81–96) before the writing of 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and the Epistles of John. Dating the composition of the texts relies primarily on internal evidence, including direct references to historical events. Textual criticism, as well as epigraphic analysis of biblical manuscripts, provides further evidence that scholars consider when judging the relative age of sections of the Bible.

Table I: Chronological overview

This table summarises the chronology of the main tables and serves as a guide to the historical periods mentioned. Much of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament may have been assembled in the 5th century BCE. The New Testament books were composed largely in the second half of the 1st century CE. The deuterocanonical books fall largely in between.