Timeline of the Books of the New Testament

Podcast Episodes: 2.21 on.

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Introduction to the Timeline

This is a timeline and table of the New Testament books. Many early church fathers regarded some books as canon that did not make into the final cut. I have included them in my table below, preceded with a cloud symbol ☁. Read this in conjunction with my page on the early church fathers.

The dates cited are the broadest accepted by scholars. The dates of many books are disputed. Notes on the authenticity of books are according to modern scholarship.

Most of the documents in the New Testament are letters. Those books that are not letters are shown in bold like this.

The Table and Timeline

Date	Book	Notes
45–52	1 Thessalonians	Authentic letter of Paul. Written in Corinth or Athens. Dating uncertain. Radical letter.
54–56	Galatians	Authentic letter of Paul. Written in Ephesus? Radical letter.
54–55	1 Corinthians	Authentic letter of Paul. Written in Ephesus. Radical letter.
55	2 Corinthians	Authentic letter of Paul. Combination of two letters. Written in Macedonia. Radical letter.
56–57	Romans	Authentic letter of Paul. Written in Corinth or Ephesus. Radical letter.
57–59/60–64	Philemon	Authentic letter of Paul. Imprisonment letter. Not sure if Paul imprisoned in Caesarea or Rome. Radical letter.
60–64	Philippians	Authentic letter of Paul. Imprisonment letter written in Rome. Radical letter.
60–115	Hebrews	Anonymous. Traditionally attributed to Paul, but that is unlikely. Challenged in the West.
64–72	Gospel of Mark	Anonymous. Traditionally attributed to Mark, companion of Peter.
70–100	Revelation to John	Traditionally attributed to the author of the gospel and the letters of John. Challenged in the East.
70–100	1 Peter	Claims to have been written by the disciple Peter.
70–130	☁ Barnabas	Anonymous. Attributed to a companion of Paul. Rejected in the East.
70–140	☁ 1 Clement	Anonymous. Widely regarded as by Clement, bishop of Rome.
80–100 or 60–64	Colossians	Disputed letter of Paul. No consensus on authorship or date. Imprisonment letter written in Rome? Conservative letter.
80–100 or 52	2 Thessalonians	Disputed letter of Paul. No consensus on authorship or date. Conservative letter.
80–100 or 60–64	Ephesians	Disputed letter of Paul. No consensus on date. Imprisonment letter written in Rome? Conservative letter.
80–100	Titus	Inauthentic letter of Paul. Pastoral reactionary.
80–100	1 Timothy	Inauthentic letter of Paul. Pastoral reactionary.
80–100	2 Timothy	Inauthentic letter of Paul. Pastoral reactionary.
80–120	James	Traditionally attributed to Jesus' brother James. Challenged in the East.
85–100	Gospel of Matthew	Anonymous. Traditionally attributed to Jesus' disciple Matthew.
85–120	Gospel of Luke	Anonymous. Traditionally attributed to Luke, a companion of Paul.
85–120	Acts of the Apostles	Consensus it was written by the author of Luke.
80–120	☁ Didache	Anonymous. Book of church order. Often regarded as canon by early fathers.
90–110	Gospel of John	Traditionally attributed to John, Jesus' beloved disciple.
90–110/50–60	Jude	Traditionally attributed to Jesus' brother Jude. Challenged in the East. No consensus on date.
100–110	1 John	Anonymous. The West held it to be by the author of the gospel of John. The East held it to be written by a different person, John the Elder.
100	2 John	Anonymous. The West held it to be by the author of the gospel of John. Challenged in the East.
100–150	3 John	Anonymous. The West held it to be by the author of the gospel of John. Challenged in the East.
100–160	☁ Shepherd of Hermas	Supposed author is the slave Hermas. Often regarded as canon by early fathers.
110–115	☁ Letters of Ignatius	Bishop of Antioch. Student of John.
125–150	2 Peter	Supposed author is the disciple Peter. Challenged in the East. Consensus it is the latest book in the NT.

Earliest Literary and Physical Evidence

Here I give the earliest evidence we have for each book. Evidence consists of two forms.

First, citations of a book or letter by an early church father. Hear all about them in my episode 2.21 Battle for the New Testament I: Earliest Times. There are seven earliest attestors:

Clement of Rome (85-100)
Polycarp (100-155)
Marcion (140-160)
Justin Martyr (150-165)
Irenaeus (150-200)
Clement of Alexandria (180-215)
Origen (200-250)
Eusebius (310-340)

Second, physical evidence we have in the form of papyri. Almost all the earliest physical evidence for books and letters comes from scraps of papyri, for which I give dates. There are a few exceptions. In those cases, the earliest manuscript evidence we have is that of great Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest complete New Testament. This is dated to 325–360. For more on that, listen to my episode 2.17 Recovering the Bible: A Century of Revelations.

Table of Earliest Evidence

Date	Book	Author of Earliest Citation	Date of Earliest Manuscript
45–52	1 Thessalonians	Marcion	175–225
54–56	Galatians	Marcion	175–225
54–55	1 Corinthians	Marcion	175–225
55	2 Corinthians	Marcion	175–225
56–57	Romans	Marcion	175–225
57–59/60–64	Philemon	Marcion	175–225
60–64	Philippians	Marcion	175–225
60–115	Hebrews	Clement	175–225
64–72	Gospel of Mark	Irenaeus	150–250
70–100	Revelation	Justin Martyr	150–200
70–100	1 Peter	Polycarp	300
70–100/80–130	☁ Barnabas	Clement of Alexandria	Sinaticus
70–140	☁ 1 Clement	Eusebius	?
80–100/60–64	Colossians	Marcion	175–225
80–100/52	2 Thessalonians	Marcion	200–225
80–100/60–64	Ephesians	Irenaeus	175–225
80–100	Titus	Irenaeus	200
80–100	1 Timothy	Irenaeus	300
80–100	2 Timothy	Irenaeus	Sinaticus
80–120	James	Origen	200–225
85–100	Gospel of Matthew	Irenaeus	150–250
85–120	Gospel of Luke	Justin Martyr	175–250
85–120	Acts of the Apostles	Irenaeus	200–225
80–120	☁ Didache	Eusebius	300–400
90–110	Gospel of John	Irenaeus	125
90–110/50–60	Jude	Clement of Alexandria	300
100–110	1 John	Polycarp	200–225
100	2 John	Irenaeus	Sinaticus
100–150	3 John	Irenaeus	Sinaticus
100–160	☁ Shepherd of Hermas	Tertullian	Sinaticus
110–115	☁ Letters of Ignatius	Polycarp	?
125–150	2 Peter	Origen	300–400