One of the first questions we ask when studying a new book of the Bible is: “when was it written?” Here a list of the most likely order in which the books of the Bible were written.
NOTE: These dates are NOT the same as when the events described in in the book took place. AND there are several competing dating schemes. This one makes the most sense to me.
See Biblical History at a glance
Old Testament
| Unknown | Job |
| 1445-1405 BC | Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy |
| 1410-450 BC | Psalms |
| 1405-1385 BC | Joshua |
| c. 1043 BC | Judges |
| c 1030-1010 BC | Ruth |
| 971-965 BC | Solomon |
| 931- 722 BC | 1&2 Samuel |
| 8550-840 BC | Obadiah? |
| 835-796 BC | Joel? |
| c. 775 BC | Jonah |
| c. 750 BC | Amos |
| 750-710 BC | Hosea |
| 735-710 BC | Micah |
| 700-681 BC | Isaiah |
| c 650 BC | Nahum |
| 635-625 BC | Zephaniah |
| 615-605 BC | Habakkuk |
| 590-570 BC | Ezekiel |
| 586 BC | Lamentations |
| 586-570 BC | Jeremiah |
| 561-538 BC | 1&2 Kings |
| 536-530 BC | Daniel |
| c. 520 BC | Haggai |
| 480-470 BC | Zechariah |
| 457-444 BC | Ezra |
| 450-430 BC | 1&2 Chronicles |
| 450-331 BC | Esther |
| 433-424 BC | Malachi |
| 424-400 BC | Nehemiah |
New Testament
| 44-49 AD | James (James was martyred in 62 AD; probably written before Council of Jerusalem in 48-50 AD) |
| 48-50 AD | Galatians (after 1st journey) |
| 50-60 AD | Matthew (some say 80s AD); Mark (some say 65-68 AD) |
| 50-52 AD | 1&2Thessalonians (during 2nd journey) |
| 55-56 AD | 1&2Corinthians (during 3rd journey) |
| 56-57 AD | Romans (during 3rd journey) |
| 60-62 AD | Luke-Acts (before Nero’s persecutions 64 AD & destruction of temple in 70 AD; others argue for 75-85 AD) |
| 60-62 AD | Ephesians; Philippians; Philemon; Colossians (during 1st Roman imprisonment) |
| 62-64 AD | 1Timothy; Titus (after 1st Roman imprisonment) |
| 64-65 AD | 1Peter (as Nero’s persecutions were starting) |
| 65-66 AD | 2Timothy (during 2nd Roman imprisonment) |
| 67-68 AD | 2Peter (as his execution neared) |
| 66-69 AD | Hebrews (earlier if Paul is the author; debated whether before or after 70AD) |
| 68-70 AD | Jude |
| 80-90 AD | John (probably 80-85) |
| 90-95 AD | 1,2,3 John |
| 94-96 AD | Revelation |
Series: Bible Study 101
Where to next?
Maps, charts, reference works, websites & tools
Resources Book of the Bible
Photo used here under Flickr Creative Commons.
(This article has been read 2,267 times plus 29 today.)
