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History of the Bible

The Bible: Approximate Dates When The Books Were Written

BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
BOOK PROBABLE DATE
Genesis c.1250-1200 B.C.
Exodus c.1250-1200 B.C.
Leviticus c.1250-1200 B.C.
Numbers c.1250-1200 B.C.
Deuteronomy c.1250-1200 B.C.
Joshua c.1200 B.C.
Judges c.1200 B.C.
Ruth c.1000 B.C.
1st Samuel c.700 B.C.
2nd Samuel c.700 B.C.
1st Kings c.600 B.C.
2nd Kings c.600 B.C.
1st Chronicles c.350 B.C.
2nd Chronicles c.350 B.C.
Ezra c.400 B.C.
Nehemiah c.400 B.C.
Tobit c.200 B.C.
Judith c.150 B.C.
Esther c.300 B.C.
1st Maccabees c.100 B.C.
2nd Maccabees c.125 B.C.
Job c.500 B.C.
Psalms c.500 B.C.
Proverbs c.450 B.C.
Ecclesiastes c.300 B.C.
Song of Songs c.450 B.C.
Wisdom c.100 B.C.
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) c.180 B.C.
Isaiah c.700 B.C.
Jermiah c.585 B.C.
Lamentations c.550 B.C.
Baruch c.550 B.C.
Ezekiel c.590 B.C.
Daniel c.165 B.C.
Hosea c.750 B.C.
Joel c.400 B.C.
Amos c.750 B.C.
Obadiah c.500 B.C.
Jonah c.450 B.C.
Micah c.740 B.C.
Nahum c.612 B.C.
Habakkuk c.600 B.C.
Zephaniah c.620 B.C.
Haggai c.520 B.C.
Zechariah c.520 B.C.
Malachi c.450 B.C.

BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
BOOK DATE
Matthew c.40-60
Mark c.45-60
Luke 57-60
John c.40-65
Acts 57-62
Romans 57
1 Corinthians 55
2 Corinthians 56
Galatians 56
Ephesians 58
Philippians 58
Colossians 58
1 Thessalonians early 50
2 Thessalonians 50-51
1 Timothy 55
2 Timothy 58
Titus 57
Philemon 58
Hebrews c.67
James 40's
1 Peter 65
2 Peter 61-62
1 John 57-62
2 John 57-62
3 John 57-62
Jude 61-62
Revelation 68-70

Source of dates of New Testament: John A. T. Robinson, "Redating The New Testament" 1976.

 

THE BIBLE

500 BC: Roughly the time of completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up the 39 Books of the Old Testament.

200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39 Old Testament Books and the 14 Apocrypha Books.

100 AD: Completion of All Original Greek Manuscripts which make up the 27 Books of the New Testament.

390 AD: Jerome's Latin Vulgate Manuscripts Produced which contain All 80 Books (39 Old Test. + 14 Apocrypha + 27 New Test; though the Apocrypha was a cut and paste effort upon pressure by the church, and not by Jerome’s choice (he did not believe the apocryphal books were canonical.).

397 AD: Athanasius heads a council to canonize the Bible as Protestants have it today. 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books without the Apocryphal books.

500 AD: Scriptures have been translated into Over 500 Languages.

600 AD: Latin was the only language allowed for the translation of the Scriptures.

1384 AD: Wycliffe is the first person to produce a hand-written manuscript copy of the complete Bible; All 80 Books; though his translation was from the Latin Vulgate and not from the Greek or Hebrew MSS.

1455 AD: Gutenberg invents the printing press; Books may now be mass-produced instead of individually hand-written. The first book ever printed is Gutenberg's Bible in Latin.

1516 AD: Erasmus produces a Greek/Latin parallel New Testament.

1522 AD: Martin Luther's translates the New Testament Scriptures into German.

1525 AD: William Tyndale's New Testament translated from the Greek MSS; This is the first New Testament to be printed in the English language on the printing press.  Tyndale did not finish translating the Old Testament.

1535 AD: Myles Coverdale's Bible; The first complete Bible to be printed in the English Language (80 Books: Old Testament and New Testament including the Apocryphal books which are non-canonical).

1537 AD: Matthews Bible; The second complete Bible to be printed in English. Done by John "Thomas Matthew" Rogers (80 Books).

1539 AD: The "Great Bible" printed; The first English language Bible to be authorized for public use (80 Books).

1560 AD: The Geneva Bible Printed; The First English Language Bible to add numbered verses to each chapter (80 Books).

1568 AD: The Bishops Bible Printed; The Bible of which the King James was a revision (80 Books, as well as a 20% cut and paste from the Geneva Bible).

1609 AD: The Douay Old Testament is added to the Rheimes New Testament of 1582 (Catholic translation) making the first complete English Catholic Bible; It was translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 Books).

1609 AD: The first printing of the King James Bible; originally with All 80 Books.

1611 AD: The King James Bible revised and printed; all 80 Books. The Apocrypha was Officially Removed in 1885 Leaving Only 66 Books.

1782 AD: Robert Aitken's Bible; The first English language Bible (a King James Version without Apocrypha) to be Printed in America.

1791 AD: Isaac Collins and Isaiah Thomas respectively produce the first Family Bible and First Illustrated Bible printed in America. Both were King James Versions, with All 80 Books.

1808 AD: Jane Aitken's Bible (Daughter of Robert Aitken); The First Bible to be printed by a Woman.

1833 AD: Noah Webster's Bible; After Producing his Famous Dictionary, Webster Printed his Own Revision of the King James Bible.

1841 AD: English Hexapla New Testament; an Early Textual Comparison showing the Greek and 6 Famous English Translations in Parallel Columns. (This is an excellent reference Bible)

1846 AD: The Illuminated Bible; The most lavishly illustrated Bible printed in America. A King James Version, with All 80 Books.

1885 AD: The "Revised Version" Bible; The First Major English Revision of the King James Bible.

1901 AD: The "American Standard Version"; The First Major American Revision of the King James Bible.

1971 AD: The "New American Standard Bible" (NASB) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation" of the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew texts.

1973 AD: The "New International Version" (NIV) is published as a "Modern and Accurate Phrase for Phrase English Translation" of the Bible. (However its accuracy is very much disputed in many places and is often found wanting as a reliable translation.  It is categorized as a dynamic equivalent.)

1982 AD: The "New King James Version" (NKJV) is published as a "Modern English Version maintaining the original style of the King James."  


Origins of the earliest scriptures