When Was the Bible Written and Compiled?
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The Bible is the most famous and bestselling book of all time — no other book comes anywhere close. With such popularity, our culture has certain ideas about Scripture, both factual and not. Most people have a copy of the Bible in their home, but fewer read and study it. We are more likely to be influenced by the popular culture and media than actual personal experience with the text.
As people begin to engage with the Scripture, they might have to combat a modern assumption (sometimes explicitly expressed) that a bunch of old European guys sat in a room and wrote the Bible, making it up for religious control or some other corrupt reason. Many wonder who wrote the Bible and when, one question of legitimacy.
We can’t go into all the details in one article, but let’s take a deeper look into when and how the Bible was written and compiled to give us a more complex and inspiring view of the collection of books written by dozens of diverse authors over 1,500 years.
When Was the Old Testament Written?
The whole Bible isn’t one book; it’s a library of 66 books written by authors over 1,500 years, most of them men of color and a Middle Eastern culture, not European. Writing and canonization didn’t happen at once but as a result of an amazing process over time.
For the Old Testament, the writing began as early as 1400 BC and finished around 400 BC. The process varied. Much of the earlier works began as oral tradition (as most ancient books did), developing from different genres and purposes. The earliest books include Job and the first five books, what we call the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
Many scholars believe Job is the oldest book, probably written during the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). The poetic dialogue about suffering and God’s love shows an ancient worldview before Israel’s development but consistent with God’s revelation about himself.
The first five books, traditionally attributed to Moses, were probably written after Israel’s exodus from Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land (1440 BC). These books give account of God’s creation through to his covenants with Abraham and Israel. These first five books became the foundation of all Jewish religious life.
Next, historical books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel were written, going over Israel’s battles for the promised land, the period of deliverers known as judges, and the first kings. During the time of Israel’s kings, different genres like poetry and wisdom literature emerged. David and Solomon wrote much of Psalms and Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon expressed wisdom around love and the meaning of life. Psalms ended up spanning centuries, including songs of worship from Moses and Asaph.
Israel and Judah split, and peoples and kings rebelled against God and his covenant. From the 8th to the 5th centuries BC, the prophetic literature became more pronounced. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others wrote God’s messages down, warning Israel, Judah, and other nations of God’s judgment for their sin and oppression. They also offered hope and the promise of restoration from God’s love. These writings dominated the latter time of Israel and Judah, although Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah also cover some history.
1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles were probably compiled later (perhaps during the Babylonian exile) from ancient texts, royal scribes and prophets, to cover the broad history of the monarchs to the exile to Babylon.
The final Old Testament book, Malachi, was written around 430 BC. While Jewish history and some writing continued, no other true prophetic messages happened before the New Testament. Malachi becomes the final book in the canon of what we call the Old Testament. The Old Testament contains a revelation of God’s plan, preserved through God’s protection and careful diligence by Jewish scribes and prophets.
When Was the Old Testament Canon Established?
While the books of the Old Testament are God-inspired, the full idea of canonization came much later, a necessary adaptation to the Jewish historical context. The writings began around 1500 BC, but the final canonization didn’t happen until around 200 BC.
The first real canonization occurred with what the Jews called the Torah, the first five books of Moses. Containing the covenants and details of the Law all Israel was to follow, this became the initial form of absolute written authority. Moses wrote the first five books to be a treatise and foundation of sorts, so Israel treated it as such. By the time of Joshua, Moses’ writings were already considered Scripture (Joshua 1:8).
As Israel’s history continued, more writings happened, as detailed above. Many were written for various purposes. They wrote down history and God’s messages through the prophets. However, by the time of Josiah, Judah recognized some collection of Scripture (2 Kings 22).
The prophetic books, beginning with Isaiah, gained recognition as God’s messages to Israel and Judah. While the words were resisted originally, much of what they said regarding God’s judgment to Assyrian and Babylonian exiles actually happened, legitimizing their ministries. During this period, Jewish religious leaders also started regarding wisdom and poetic literature as authoritative due to their connection with David as a model king and basis for a growing Messianic prophecy.
By the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (5th century BC), the Law and Prophets had authoritative status as Scripture. Many scholars believe a reshaping and collection of Hebrew Scriptures happened along with a renewed hope as the Jews returned to Jerusalem and their Promised Land, reestablishing a scribe and priest class to preserve the original texts and God’s messages.
Still, while many texts were considered essential, the development of the Septuagint finalized the canonization of the Old Testament. As most Jews no longer spoke or read Hebrew primarily by the 2nd century BC, and a majority of God’s people were dispersed throughout the Greek and Roman empires, a group of scholars in Alexandria decided to translate the Hebrew texts into Greek, the common language even through the days of the early church. In addition, a majority of Jews didn’t worship at Jerusalem but in synagogues in major cities thousands of miles apart. Having a Greek translation in a set collection made logical sense, necessary for the Jews to continue to keep the commandments and be a holy people.
The Septuagint canon remained in flux over time, but by the first century AD, in Jesus’ and the apostolic time, most Jewish communities recognized this fixed canon of Scripture containing the Law, the Prophets, and the writings, what we would consider the Old Testament. The Jewish council of Jamnia affirmed this collection in AD 90, although discussions and arguments regarding extra and other books continue to this day.
The first century Jews and Jesus would have considered the Septuagint the complete revelation of God, and an idea of canon accepted as normal. This Septuagint, however, was in some ways incomplete. It promised a future king-priest, a supernatural Messiah. In this context, Jesus arrived.
When Was the New Testament Written?
With the Septuagint and a Hebrew canon in place, Jesus came, died, and was resurrected. Thus, the church was birthed. The New Testament writings, like much of the Hebrew Scriptures, were written to people for encouragement and explanation, to fulfill the Great Commission, to make disciples and teach them all Jesus said (Matthew 28:19-20). Since the Jews were fairly literate, and the Roman world allowed for safe and easy written communication, the apostles started recording and teaching through letters and books.
The earliest New Testament writings were letters from leaders to churches. Around AD 50, Paul wrote Galatians, addressing controversies. Over the next 15 years, he wrote more to the churches he planted and other believers, from Corinth to Rome, repeating his doctrine, encouraging believers, and correcting church behavior. In some cases, he wrote so they could read apostolic doctrine publicly and repeatedly. He also wrote to church leaders like Titus and Timothy.
At the same time, apostles spoke the Gospel — the life and work of Jesus. They began writing down these stories about Christ with Mark, a companion of Peter, around AD 55. Matthew and Luke followed a few years later. Luke, one of Paul’s traveling companions, wrote his Gospel and Acts as a two-part record and documentation of Jesus and the growing church.
John’s Gospel came later, around AD 90, which gave a more theological perspective, likely filling in details not present in the previous three. John and Peter also wrote letters to churches. Finally, John wrote a prophetic book, the apocalyptic Revelation, from a vivid vision from Jesus about his future return. John wrote this around AD 95 while on exile on Patmos, persecuted for sharing the Gospel.
By the end of the first century, all New Testament books had been written, and the early church started sharing these documents to disciple and teach Christians how to live the new covenant life. Not long after, the second century church discussed a new canonization.
When Was the New Testament Canon Established?
The early church had an example of canonization, the Hebrew Septuagint, which Christians already believed was a spiritually authoritative text. Jesus and the apostles taught from those Hebrew texts as God’s Word. As the apostles died, the next generation started talking about canonizing a New Testament for two connected reasons. First, it was to pass down what they considered apostolic doctrine from Jesus, the founder and finisher of the faith. Second, it was to guard against all the heresies and divisions during the development of Christian doctrine.
The canonization process began early, in the second century, and had three main criteria for inclusion: apostolic doctrine, apostolic authorship or connection, and universal use by the church. Apostolic doctrine meant how the original, main disciples passed on Jesus’ teaching, anointed by the Spirit to do so. That meant it must be written by an apostle or someone associated with one (like Mark and Luke). Finally, the testimony of the diverse and far-reaching church was crucial. Did every church from every corner of the world agree this writing was God-breathed and essential for doctrine and discipleship? Then it was considered for canonization.
By the late first century, all four Gospels held authority across Christian communities. Soon after, Paul’s letters also gained immediate acceptance, beginning with the churches he planted and then the broader church. Peter even referred to Paul’s letters as Scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16, an early sign these writings were considered spiritual authority.
In the second century, church leaders like Irenaeus and Clement confirmed and listed a core group of books, including the Gospels, Acts, and most of what we now consider the New Testament. By AD 200, the Muratorian Fragment listed 22 of our modern 27 books as canon. There was some debate regarding Hebrews and James, specifically, but the church widely accepted the books we now have as the New Testament.
The church rejected many writings like the Gnostic texts and books claiming to be written by an apostle that weren’t.
By AD 367, Athanasius listed all 27 books in his Easter letter, regarding their universal acceptance as canon, which was a time before Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion and developed Catholicism. Later councils of Hippo (AD 393) and Carthage (AD 397) confirmed this list as well.
While some Bibles contain more books, whether the Apocrypha or others, those 66 books remain universally accepted across the world’s Christians as Spirit-inspired, authoritative writings useful for producing Jesus disciples and guarding against heresy.
Peace.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Clark Young
