Who
Wrote The Bible?
The word
Bible comes from a Latin form of the Greek word Biblia which means
"little
books." The Bible refers to the collection of 66 books from
different
authors compiled to make up what we refer to today as "The Holy
Bible".
Thirty-nine of the original books kept by ancient Israel in Hebrew are
the ones we know today as The Old Testament.
The last section of the Bible known familiarly as The New Testament is
comprised of 27 books or letters written in Greek. The Greek
used
was not formal Greek but the conversational Greek used at the time of
the
Apostles.
Forty men shared
in the writing of the Bible over a span of about 1,600 years from the
time
of Moses to the last book written by John. The last book of
the Old
Testament, Malachi, was written about 443 B.C. The first book
of
the New Testament, Matthew, was written about 40 A.D. leaving a 500
year
gap between the Old and New Testament books.
Below is a table showing when each book was written, where, by whom and
the time frame covered. This is in order of when each book was written.
[The symbol “a.” means after,
“b.” means before and
“c.” means
circa or about.]
|
Book |
|
Writer |
|
Date
Completed |
|
Time
Covered |
|
Place
Written |
|
Genesis |
|
Moses |
|
1513 |
|
"In the Wilderness
beginning" to 1657 B.C. |
|
Wilderness |
|
Exodus |
|
Moses |
|
1512 |
|
1657-1512 |
|
Wilderness |
|
Leviticus |
|
Moses |
|
1512 |
|
1 month
[1512] |
|
Wilderness |
|
Job |
|
Moses |
|
c. 1473 |
|
Over 140 years
between 1657 and 1473 |
|
Wilderness |
|
Numbers |
|
Moses |
|
1473 |
|
1512-1473 |
|
Wilderness / Plains
of Moab |
|
Deuteronomy |
|
Moses |
|
1473 |
|
2 months
[1473] |
|
Plains of
Moab |
|
Joshua |
|
Joshua |
|
c. 1450 |
|
1473– c.
1450 |
|
Canaan |
|
Judges |
|
Samuel |
|
c. 1100 |
|
c. 1450– c.
1120 |
|
Israel |
|
Ruth |
|
Samuel |
|
c. 1090 |
|
11 years of Judges'
rule |
|
Israel |
|
1
Samuel |
|
Samuel; Gad;
Nathan |
|
c. 1078 |
|
c. 1180-1078 |
|
Israel |
|
2
Samuel |
|
Gad; Nathan |
|
c. 1040 |
|
1077–c.
1040 |
|
Israel |
|
Song
of Solomon |
|
Solomon |
|
c. 1020 |
|
* |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Ecclesiastes |
|
Solomon |
|
b. 1000 |
|
* |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Jonah |
|
Jonah |
|
c. 844 |
|
* |
|
* |
|
Joel |
|
Joel |
|
c. 820 (?) |
|
* |
|
Judah |
|
Amos |
|
Amos |
|
c. 804 |
|
* |
|
Judah |
|
Hosea |
|
Hosea |
|
a. 745 |
|
b. 804– a.
745 |
|
Samaria
(District) |
|
Isaiah |
|
Isaiah |
|
a. 732 |
|
c. 778– a.
732 |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Micah |
|
Micah |
|
b. 717 |
|
c. 777-717 |
|
Judah |
|
Proverbs |
|
Solomon; Agur;
Lemuel |
|
c. 717 |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Zephaniah |
|
Zephaniah |
|
Zephaniah |
|
b. 648 |
|
* |
|
Judah |
|
Nahum |
|
Nahum |
|
b. 632 |
|
* |
|
Judah |
|
Habakkuk |
|
Habakkuk |
|
c. 628 (?) |
|
* |
|
Judah |
|
Lamentations |
|
Jeremiah |
|
607 |
|
* |
|
Nr.
Jerusalem |
|
Obadiah |
|
Obadiah |
|
c. 607 |
|
* |
|
* |
|
Ezekiel |
|
Ezekiel |
|
c. 591 |
|
613–c.
591 |
|
Babylon |
|
1
and 2 Kings |
|
Jeremiah |
|
580 |
|
c. 1040-580 |
|
Judah/Egypt |
|
Jeremiah |
|
Jeremiah |
|
580 |
|
647-580 |
|
Judah/Egypt |
|
Daniel |
|
Daniel |
|
c. 536 |
|
618–c.
536 |
|
Babylon |
|
Haggai |
|
Haggai |
|
520 |
|
112 days
(520) |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Zechariah |
|
Zechariah |
|
518 |
|
520-518 |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Esther |
|
Mordecai |
|
c. 475 |
|
493–c.
475 |
|
Shushan,
Elam |
|
1
and 2 Chronicles |
|
Ezra |
|
c. 460 |
|
After 1 Chronicles
9:44, 1077-537 |
|
Jerusalem
(?) |
|
Ezra |
|
Ezra |
|
c. 460 |
|
537–c.
467 |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Psalms |
|
David and
others |
|
c. 460 |
|
* |
|
* |
|
Nehemiah |
|
Nehemiah |
|
a. 443 |
|
456–a.
443 |
|
Jerusalem |
|
a.
443 |
|
Malachi |
|
a. 443 |
|
* |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Matthew |
|
Matthew |
|
c. 41 |
|
2 B.C.– 33
A.D. |
|
Palestine |
|
1
Thessalonians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 50 |
|
* |
|
Corinth |
|
2
Thessalonians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 51 |
|
* |
|
Corinth |
|
Galatians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 50-52 |
|
* |
|
Corinth or Syr.
Antioch |
|
1
Corinthians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 55 |
|
* |
|
Ephesus |
|
2
Corinthians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 55 |
|
* |
|
Macedonia |
|
Romans |
|
Paul |
|
c. 56 |
|
* |
|
Corinth |
|
Luke |
|
Luke |
|
c. 56-58 |
|
3 B.C.– 34
AD. |
|
Caesarea |
|
Ephesians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 60-61 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Colossians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 60-61 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Philemon |
|
Paul |
|
c. 60-61 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Philippians |
|
Paul |
|
c. 60-61 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Hebrews |
|
Paul |
|
c. 61 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Acts |
|
Luke |
|
c. 61 |
|
34–c. 62
AD. |
|
Caesarea |
|
James |
|
James (Jesus'
brother) |
|
b. 62 |
|
* |
|
Jerusalem |
|
Mark |
|
Mark |
|
c. 60-65 |
|
30-34AD. |
|
Rome |
|
1
Timothy |
|
Paul |
|
c. 61-64 |
|
* |
|
Macedonia |
|
Titus |
|
Paul |
|
c. 61-64 |
|
* |
|
Macedonia
(?) |
|
1
Peter |
|
Peter |
|
c. 62-64 |
|
* |
|
Babylon |
|
2
Peter |
|
Peter |
|
c. 64 |
|
* |
|
Babylon? |
|
2
Timothy |
|
Paul |
|
c. 65 |
|
* |
|
Rome |
|
Jude |
|
Jude (Jesus'
brother) |
|
c. 65 |
|
* |
|
Palestine
(?) |
|
Revelation |
|
Apostle John |
|
c. 96 |
|
* |
|
Patmos |
|
John |
|
Apostle John |
|
c. 98 |
|
After prologue, 30-34
AD. |
|
Ephesus, or
near |
|
1
John |
|
Apostle John |
|
c. 98 |
|
* |
|
Ephesus, or
near |
|
2
John |
|
Apostle John |
|
c. 98 |
|
* |
|
Ephesus, or
near |
|
3
John |
|
Apostle John |
|
c. 98 |
|
* |
|
Ephesus, or
near |
|
