Bible Dating The Books

The Bible Approximate Dates when the Books were written THE OLD TESTAMENT Book Probable Date Genesis c.1250-1200 BC Exodus c.1250-1200 BC Leviticus c.1250-1200 BC Numbers c.1250-1200 BC Deuteronomy c.1250-1200 BC Joshua c.1200 BC Judges c.1200 BC Ruth c.1000 BC 1st Samuel c.700 BC 2nd Samuel c.700 BC 1st Kings c.600 BC 2nd Kings c.600 BC 1st Chronicles c.350 BC 2nd Chronicles c.350 BC Ezra c.400 BC Nehemiah c.400 BC Tobit c.200 BC Judith c.150 BC Esther c.300 BC 1st Maccabees c.100 BC 2nd Maccabees c.125 BC Job c.500 BC Psalms c.500 BC Proverbs c.450 BC Ecclesiastes c.300 BC Song of Songs c.450 BC Wisdom c.100 BC Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) c.180 BC Isaiah c.700 BC Jeremiah c.585 BC Lamentations c.550 BC Baruch c.550 BC Ezekiel c.590 BC Daniel c.165 BC Hosea c.750 BC Joel c.400 BC Amos c.750 BC Obadiah c.500 BC Jonah c.450 BC Micah c.740 BC Nahum c.612 BC Habakkuk c.600 BC Zephaniah c.620 BC Haggai c.520 BC Zechariah c.520 BC Malachi c.450 BC

THE NEW TESTAMENT Book Date Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

c.40-60 c.45-60 57-60 c.40-65 57-62 57 55 56 56 58 58 58 early 50 50-51 55 58 57 58 c.67 40's 65 61-62 57-62 57-62 57-62 61-62 68-70

Dating the Books of the Bible

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, [Author, Moses]. The life of Moses extended for 120 years (Deut. 34:7). The first forty years (1525-1485 BC) were spent in the courts of Pharaoh leaning all the wisdom of Egypt. (Acts 7:22). The next forty years (1485-1445 BC) found Moses in the desert of Midian as a shepherd. (Ex. 2:15; Acts 7:30) During the final forty years (1445-1405 BC) of his life, Moses led the children of Israel in the Sinai wilderness. It was during this time (1445-1405 BC) that the Lord gave Moses the Law. Joshua, [Author, Joshua]. The events of the Book of Joshua cover a forty-year time period (c. 1407-1367). This date is established from 1 Kings 6:1 and counting backwards. According to that passage, the fourth year of the reign of Solomon was also the 480th year since the children of Israel had left the land of bondage, Egypt, or 1447 BC. The forty years of wandering in the desert would establish the dates suggested here. The author of Joshua is Joshua. Judges, [Author, Unknown]. The Book of Judges covers a period of about three hundred years reaching from the death of Joshua in 1367 BC until the days of Samuel (c. 1064-1044 BC) Ruth, [Author, Unknown]. The opening verses place Ruth in the period of the judges during a time of great famine. According to Judges 6:3-6, such a condition exited during the days of the Midianite oppression, c. 1150 BC. 1-2 Samuel, [Author, Unknown]. According to Jewish tradition, Samuel did write the earlier portions of 1 Samuel, (11th century BC) which was honored by the prophets Nathan and Gad. (Cf. 1 Chron. 29:29) The final editing of the two books probably took place after the death of Solomon in 931 BC since 1 Samuel 27:6 speaks of the kingdom being divided. Almost a century of Hebrew history is covered (c. 1064-971 BC) as the era of the judges comes to an end and a monarchy is established. 1-2 Kings, [Author, Unknown]. The two books of Kings record the history of the Jews from the days of Solomon (971-931 BC) to the break up of the kingdom under the reign of Rehoboam. The narrative continues through the history of the two nations until the Northern Kingdom (Israel) falls in 722 BC and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) in 586 BC. About 385 years are covered.

Northern Kingdom

Southern Kingdom

First Dynasty Jeroboam I Nadab

931-910 910-909

Rehoboam Abijah

931-914 931-911

Second Dynasty Baasha Elah Zimri Tibni

909-886 886-885 885 885-880

Asa

910-869

Third Dynasty Omri Ahab Ahaziah Joram

885-874 874-853 853-852 852-841

Jehoshaphat Jehoram Ahaziah Athaliah

872-847 852-841 841 841-835

Fourth Dynasty Jehu Jehoahaz Jehoash Jeroboam II Zechariah

841-814 814-798 798-782 793-753 753

Joash

835-796

Final Kings before the Exile Shallum 752 Menahem 751-742 Pekahiah 741-740 Pekah 740-732 Hoshea 731-722

Amaziah Azariah (Uzziah)

796-767 791-739

Jotham

752-736

Ahaz

(743) 736-720 728-699 698-643 642-640 640-609 609 609-598 598 597-586

Hezekiah Manasseh Amon Josiah Jehoahaz Jehoiakim Jehoiachin Zedekiah

Special note. Three things make it difficult to establish a precise dating method in the ancient world. (1) In the Northern Kingdom of Israel a system was used whereby the year that a man became king was recorded as both his first year but also the last year of his predecessor. (2) In the Southern Kingdom of Judah the new reign of a king was not recognized officially until the beginning of the New Year in the fall after his enthronement. (3) The length of the reign of some kings includes a period of being a co-regent with their father. However, sometime in the eighth century both kingdoms changed to the accession year system.

1-2 Chronicles [Author, Ezra]. The books of Chronicles tells the story of the history of Israel from Adam until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC as well as the return of the Jews during the days of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great (559-529 BC). The house of David is a focal point of the book. The best that can be said is that the book was compiled sometime between the tenth century BC and the fifth. Ezra, [Author, Ezra]. The setting for Ezra is the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem in order to establish worship in the Temple. There were three returns from Babylon. The First Return took place in 538 BC; the Second Return under Ezra (chapters 7-10) occurred in 458 BC; and the Third Return was in 444 BC. Nehemiah led it. Nehemiah, [Author, Nehemiah]. Fourteen years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah also returned (444 BC). Exhorting the people to rebuild the walls of the city, the work was completed in 52 days despite severe opposition. According to the Elephantine Papyri, discovered in AD. 1903, Nehemiah ceased to be governor of Judah before 408 BC. Sometime during this period, this portion of the Word of God was recorded. Esther, [Author, Unknown]. The details of this book cover a 10 year period (483-473 BC) during the reign of the Persian king, Xerxes I (486-465 BC). On the basis of 9:20 and 9:32, Mordecai has been suggested as a possible author. Others favor Ezra or Nehemiah. Because 1:2 implies that the reign of Xerxes is finished, the book might have been written after 465 BC. Job, [Author, Unknown]. While the details of this book belong to the age of the patriarchs— the father acts a priest and there is no mention of the Tabernacle or the Law—the time of the composition is unknown. It may have been written as early as during the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or as late as the time of Solomon when wisdom literature abounded. Psalms, [Authors: Moses, Psalm 90; David wrote 73 psalms; Asaph wrote Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83; Solomon, Psalms 72, 127; Heman, Psalm 88; and Ethan, Psalm 89]. The date of writing covers from 1400-400 BC. Proverbs, [Authors: Solomon, Agur, Lemuel]. Because most of the proverbs were authored by Solomon, the dating of most of the book should be c. 950 BC. However, the final form came during the days of Hezekiah (c. 700 BC) since some of the proverbs were still being gathered. (25:1) Ecclesiastes, [Author, Unknown]. Solomon has traditionally been associated as the author, but since his name is not mention, doubts have arisen since the 1500’s AD. If Solomon were the author, the book could be dated near the end of his reign, c. 931 BC. Song of Solomon, [Author, Solomon]. Since Solomon composed 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), this may have been one. c. 950 BC.

Isaiah, [Author, Isaiah]. The prophet Isaiah was born during the reign of Uzziah and was called to ministry in the year of the king’s death (740 BC). He ministered during the reign of Jotham (752-736 BC), Ahaz (736-720 BC), and Hezekiah 729-699 BC). While there is a break in the narrative it is possible that Isaiah lived on until 681 BC, when Sennacherib died. According to tradition, Isaiah was cut in half by a saw during the days of the evil king Manasseh who succeeded Hezekiah. (cf. Heb. 11:37) The date of writing should be established as being in the middle of the eighth century BC. Jeremiah, [Author, Jeremiah]. Though Jeremiah is the leading author of the book, its final form may have put together by his scribe, Baruch. His prophetic ministry extended from the days of Josiah (640-609 BC) until the fall of Jerusalem during the days of Zedekiah (598-586 BC). His call to service came in 627 BC. The dating of the book is in the latter part of the 7th century BC. Lamentation, [Author, Jeremiah]. The people of Palestine read this 7th century book every year on the date honoring the memory of those sacrificed in the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC. Ezekiel, [Author, Ezekiel].