This is a list of the books of the Bible in the approximate order in which they were written. I say "approximate" because there are three factors that greatly complicate such a list:
- Nobody knows exactly when most books were written.
- There is much disagreement about when most books were written, with opinions differing by many centuries at times.
- Some books were written over the course of many centuries, being compilations of oral histories and records from different sources, and even being edited or updated by later authors.
Order: The order in which the book appears in the standard Protestant Bible.
Name: The commonly understood name.
Author: The traditional, primary, and/or probable author(s). Some books were written by multiple authors and others were edited, translated, or compiled by a later scribe, like Ezra, working from a collection of manuscripts or oral traditions.
Author: The traditional, primary, and/or probable author(s). Some books were written by multiple authors and others were edited, translated, or compiled by a later scribe, like Ezra, working from a collection of manuscripts or oral traditions.
Subject Period: The period of time covered by the books contents. Like the date of authorship, the subject period is a fuzzy concept for many books. Some books combine historical narrative with prophecy of the future (Isaiah, for example), and the precise subject period of prophecy is always up for interpretation.
Written: The approximate period of time in which the book was written. Some books, like the Psalms, were written over vast periods of time and other books are of very uncertain date, so their placement in the list is fuzzy, to say the least.
Order | Name | Author(s) | Subject Period | Written |
1 | Genesis | Moses | 4000-1600 BC | 2000-1400 BC |
2 | Exodus | Moses | 1600-1400 BC | 1600-1400 BC |
3 | Leviticus | Moses | 1600-1400 BC | 1600-1400 BC |
4 | Numbers | Moses | 1600-1400 BC | 1600-1400 BC |
5 | Deuteronomy | Moses, Joshua | 1600-1400 BC | 1600-1400 BC |
6 | Joshua | Joshua, Phinehas | 1500-1300 BC | 1500-1300 BC |
7 | Judges | Samuel/Unknown | 1500-1000 BC | 1400-900 BC |
8 | Ruth | Unknown | 1100-1000 BC | 1050-900 BC |
9 | 1 Samuel | Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Jeremiah, Unknown | 1000-700 BC | 1000-500 BC |
10 | 2 Samuel | Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Jeremiah, Unknown | 1000-700 BC | 1000-500 BC |
19 | Psalms | David, Asaph, et al | 1600-400 BC | 1600-400 BC |
22 | Song of Solomon | Solomon | 1000-950 BC | 1000-900 BC |
20 | Proverbs | Solomon, Agur/Hezekiah, Lemuel | 1000-700 BC | 1000-700 BC |
18 | Job | Unknown | 2000-1500 BC | 1000-500 BC |
21 | Ecclesiastes | Solomon | 950-900 BC | 950-900 BC |
31 | Obadiah | Obadiah | Prophetic | 900-550 BC |
29 | Joel | Joel | Prophetic | 850-600 BC |
32 | Jonah | Jonah | 800-750 BC | 800-750 BC |
30 | Amos | Amos | Prophetic | 800-725 BC |
28 | Hosea | Hosea | Prophetic | 750-700 BC |
33 | Micah | Micah | Prophetic | 750-700 BC |
23 | Isaiah | Isaiah and compiler | 700-500 BC | 700-500 BC |
34 | Nahum | Nahum | Prophetic | 650-600 BC |
35 | Habakkuk | Habakkuk | Prophetic | 650-600 BC |
36 | Zephaniah | Zephaniah | Prophetic | 650-600 BC |
11 | 1 Kings | Jeremiah/Unknown | 950 BC-850 BC | 650-570 BC |
12 | 2 Kings | Jeremiah/Unknown | 855 BC-560 BC | 650-570 BC |
24 | Jeremiah | Jeremiah and compiler | Prophetic | 600-550 BC |
26 | Ezekiel | Ezekiel | Prophetic | 600-550 BC |
25 | Lamentations | Jeremiah/Zedakiah/Unknown | 600-550 BC | 600-500 BC |
38 | Zechariah | Zechariah | Prophetic | 550-500 BC |
27 | Daniel | Daniel | Prophetic | 550-500 BC |
37 | Haggai | Haggai | Prophetic | 550-500 BC |
17 | Esther | Unknown | 500-400 BC | 500-300 BC |
15 | Ezra | Ezra | 500-400 BC | 450-400 BC |
16 | Nehemiah | Nehemiah | 450-400 BC | 450-400 BC |
39 | Malachi | Malachi | Prophetic | 450-400 BC |
13 | 1 Chronicles | Ezra | 4000-400 BC | 450-400 BC |
14 | 2 Chronicles | Ezra | 4000-400 BC | 450-400 BC |
59 | James | James the Just | 40-50 AD | 40-50 AD |
40 | Matthew | Matthew | 10 BC-30 AD | 40-65 AD |
41 | Mark | Mark, Peter | 10 BC-30 AD | 45-53 AD |
48 | Galatians | Paul | 47-55 AD | 47-55 AD |
52 | 1 Thessalonians | Paul | 50-55 AD | 50-55 AD |
53 | 2 Thessalonians | Paul | 50-55 AD | 50-55 AD |
45 | Romans | Paul | 54-57 AD | 54-57 AD |
42 | Luke | Luke | 10 BC-30 AD | 60-64 AD |
46 | 1 Corinthians | Paul | 50-60 AD | 54-56 AD |
47 | 2 Corinthians | Paul | 50-60 AD | 50-55 AD |
44 | Acts | Luke | 30-65 AD | 60-64 AD |
49 | Ephesians | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
50 | Philippians | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
51 | Colossians | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
54 | 1 Timothy | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
57 | Philemon | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
60 | 1 Peter | Peter | 60-65 AD | 60-65 AD |
56 | Titus | Paul | 60-65 AD | 60-67 AD |
55 | 2 Timothy | Paul | 65-70 AD | 62-67 AD |
58 | Hebrews | Apollos(?) | 65-70 AD | 65-70 AD |
61 | 2 Peter | Peter | 65-70 AD | 65-70 AD |
65 | Jude | Jude | 65-70 AD | 65-70 AD |
43 | John | John | 10 BC-30 AD | 60-96 AD |
62 | 1 John | John | 90-95 AD | 90-95 AD |
63 | 2 John | John | 90-95 AD | 90-95 AD |
64 | 3 John | John | 90-95 AD | 90-95 AD |
66 | Revelation | John | Prophetic | 90-100 AD |
Oooh. Thank you. I have been working on a supernatural history of earth, and these authorship ranges are the most consistent and flexible/generous I have found. I'll be using this a lot. Bless you.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Daniel!
DeleteFYI. I just updated it again to move the writing of Job to a later date based on information from Dr. Michael Heiser. It sounds to me like Job is about the patriarchal period, but written at a much later date and in a style that was intended to evoke an ancient feel without making it too difficult to comprehend by contemporary readers. Alternatively, it could be a later adaptation of an earlier work with some of the archaic language left unchanged.
Dating the authorship is very tricky and imprecise, but it is clear that the generally tighter, more recent dating trend was ideological. It was critical for both Enlightenment scholars and the Catholic Church, for example, to date the Book of Daniel to as close to AD 1 as possible without being ridiculous.
DeleteThis list is fat more reasonable, although even with Heiser's dating, I could see Job being inspired by more ancient source material. In any case I love the style of that book, possibly because of its unique pastiche.