When Was the Bible Written?

The Holy Bible, as we know it, is a collection of 66 books that have been classified under two broad divisions: the Old Testament, having 39 books, and the New Testament, having 27 books. If you want to know when the Bible was written, then you should know that the earliest of these books were supposed to have been written about 3500 years ago.

The first five books, viz., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, are believed to have been written by Moses during his sojourn on Mount Sinai, somewhere around 1400 BC. The subsequent books of the Old Testament are accredited to numerous other authors and spread over about 11 centuries.

The 27 books of the New Testament have been written by 10 different authors, the authorship of some of these books being disputed. These books were written between 49 AD and 90 AD.

The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry has enlisted the books of the Holy Bible, further classified by the authors and approximate periods during which they were written. The answer to the titular question cannot be given by citing a single date or era.

The development of the Bible as the Holy Scripture of Christianity has spanned over numerous centuries, as the tabulated representations show below.

• Genesis written by Moses (1445 BC)
• Exodus  written by Moses (1445 - 1405 BC)
• Leviticus  written by Moses (1405 BC)
• Numbers written by Moses (1444 - 1405 BC)
• Deuteronomy  written by Moses (1405 BC)
• Joshua  written by Joshua (1404 - 1390 BC)
• Judges  written by Samuel (1374 - 1129 BC)

• Ruth  written by Samuel (1150? BC)
• First Samuel written by Samuel (1043 - 1011 BC)
• Second Samuel written by Ezra? (1011 - 1004)
• First Kings written by Jeremiah? (971 - 852 BC)
• First Chronicles written by Ezra? (450 - 425 BC)
• Second Chronicles written by Ezra? (450 - 425 BC)
• Ezra written by Ezra (538 - 520 BC)
• Nehemiah written by Nehemiah (445 - 425 BC)
  

Psalms written by

• Sons of Korah wrote Psalms

42, 44-49, 84-85, 87

• Ethan wrote Psalm 89
• Asaph wrote Psalms 50, 73-83
• Heman wrote Psalm 88
• Hezekiah wrote Psalms

120-123, 128-130,132, 134-136

• Solomon wrote Psalms 72, 127

Proverbs written by

• Solomon wrote 1-29  (950 - 700 BC)
• Agur wrote 30  (950 - 700 BC)
• Lemuel wrote 31  (950 - 700 BC)

• Ecclesiastes written by Solomon (935 BC)
• Song of Solomon written by Solomon (965 BC)
• Isaiah written by Isaiah (740 - 680 BC)
  
• Jeremiah written by Jeremiah (627 - 585 BC)
  
• Lamentations written by Jeremiah (586 BC)
  
• Ezekiel written by Ezekiel (593-560 BC)
  
• Daniel written by Daniel (605 - 536 BC)
  
• Hosea written by Hosea (710 BC)
  

• Joel written by Joel (835 BC)
• Amos written by Amos (755 BC)
  
• Obadiah written by Obadiah (840 or 586 BC)
  
• Jonah written by Jonah (760 BC)
  
• Micah written by Micah (700 BC)
  
• Nahum written by Nahum (663 - 612 BC)
  
• Habakkuk written by Habakkuk (607 BC)
  

• Zephaniah written by Zephaniah (625 BC)
• Haggai written by Haggai (520 BC)
• Zechariah written by Zechariah (520 - 518 BC)
• Malachi written by Malachi (450 - 600 BC)

• Matthew written by Matthew (60's)
• Mark written by John, Mark (Late 50's AD
  Early 60's AD)
• Luke written by Luke (60)
• John written by John (Late 80's AD 
  Early 90's AD)
• Acts written by Luke (61 AD)
  
  

• Romans written by Paul (55 AD)
• 1 Corinthians written by Paul (54 AD)
• 2 Corinthians written by Paul (55 AD)
• Galatians written by Paul (49 AD)
• Ephesians written by Paul (60 AD)
• Philippians written by Paul (61 AD)
• Colossians written by Paul (60 AD)
• 1 Thessalonians written by Paul (50 AD - 51 AD)
• 2 Thessalonians written by Paul (50 AD - 51 AD)

• 1 Timothy written by Paul (62 AD)
• 2 Timothy written by Paul (63 AD)
• Titus written by Paul (62 AD)
• Philemon written by Paul (60 AD)
• Hebrews written by (Paul, Apollos, Barnabas...?) (60 AD)
• James written by James, half-brother of Jesus
  (40s AD or 50s AD)

• Peter written by Peter (63 AD)
• Peter written by Peter (63 AD- 64 AD)
• John written by John (Late 80s AD
  Early 90s AD)
• John written by John (Late 80s AD
  Early 90s AD)
• John written by John (Late 80s AD
  Early 90s)
• Jude written by Jude, half-brother of Jesus (60's AD or 70's AD)
• Revelation written by John (Late 80s AD
  Early 90s AD)
  
  

Over the centuries, numerous versions of the Bible have surfaced. Among them, the most popular are the Catholic Bible, the Protestant Bible, The Authorized King James Version, the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version. Let us take voyage back in time and get familiar with the periods when these versions were created.

The Catholic Bible is the original Bible and contains all the original set of books which are believed to have been used by Jesus and His apostles and is the original testament and guide to Christian spirituality.

Therefore, it can be said that the Catholic Bible is the first version, containing all the original books of the Old and New Testament, some of which were later rejected by the Protestant reformers.

The Protestant Bible is no different from the original Catholic Bible. The crux of the debate on Catholic Bible vs Protestant Bible lies in the fact that the Protestant Bible omits some of the books that are included in the Catholic Bible. This is the sole basis of divergence between Catholicism and Protestantism.

During the 1500's, the Old Testament got organized by Protestant leaders as per official canons of Judaism instead of the Septuagint (Greek translation of Jewish Scripture). Those books which were not there in the Jewish Canon were separated and archived as the Apocrypha.

After the mid 1800's, the Apocrypha was dropped from the Protestant Bible as it was considered less important.

The first Bible, regarded as God's own words to mankind, is believed to have been written in 1400 BC. Since then, the Bible has undergone numerous translations and a myriad of versions have resulted thereby. The most popular of these versions is King James' Bible, which was a translation by the Church of England.

The translations began in 1604 and the first edition was concluded and printed in 1611. Forty seven scholars, all members of the Church of England, were employed for translating this Bible and the final publication included a list of morning and evening prayers.

The translators were specifically instructed by King James to make sure that the translated version was in conformity with the theological study of the Christian Church and the Church Governance hierarchy, that was prevalent in the Church of England at that time.

The vision for New International Version Bible came through in 1965. It was a translation of the Bible made by more than a hundred scholars by studying and working on the most reliable Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew texts.

This venture was conceptualized by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals and after numerous years of research and study, an international gathering of scholars took place at Palos Heights, Illinois, to work on a new version in contemporary English.

The proposition of the contemporary version won consensus of a multitude of Christian Clerical heads and a self-governing body, the Committee on Bible Translation, was vested with the onus of the creation of the New International Version Bible in 1966.

The translation and printing of the entire Bible was concluded in 1978 and revisions were introduced to it in 1983.

The new Revised Standard Version was published in 1990, the latest amendment to which was made in June, 2010. This publication is a result of the efforts of the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

It is part of an ongoing process of making the Bible available in the most current English usage prevalent today.

As time changes, the context of religious beliefs and understanding of scripture also changes. Therefore, to keep religion in pace with the times, our scriptures undergo translations and re-inventions.

This enables the common man to balance sprinting in the rat race as well as to hold on to his faith. At this rate, we will see many more versions of our sacred scriptures, designed to reach out to the modern spiritual needs.