What is Dating the Bible?
The oldest [[Hebrew Bible]] writings that are still here today, the [[Dead Sea scrolls|Dead Sea Scrolls,]] were written in about the [[2nd century BC]]E. The oldest writing that has no pieces missing is a [[Greek language|Greek]] translation called the [[Septuagint]]. It is from the [[4th century]] - the [[Codex Sinaiticus]]. The oldest parts of the [[Masoretic Text]], which is where we get modern [[Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bibles]], are from the [[9th century]].<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Evans | first1 = Craig A. | author-link1 = Craig A. Evans | chapter = Introduction | editor1-last = Evans | editor1-first = Craig A. | editor1-link = Craig A. Evans | editor2-last = Tov | editor2-first = Emanuel | editor2-link = Emanuel Tov | title = Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wfwq-9gaZFcC | series = Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology | date = October 2008 | publisher = Baker Academic | publication-date = 2008 | isbn = 9781585588145 | access-date = May 16, 2015 | quote = The oldest Masoretic manuscripts date from the late ninth century CE (e.g., Codex Cairensis [C] on the Prophets). }} </ref> Almost no biblical writing was written at the same time as the events it talks about.<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|1996|p=134}}</ref> Most of the writings about [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] were written long after he lived, some of them hundreds of years after. == Table I: Chronological overview of the Hebrew Bible == These tables show the [[chronology]] (order) of the Bible and when in history they were written. Much of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament may have been put together in the [[5th century BC]]E. {{sfn|Berquist|2007|p=3–4}} Most of the [[New Testament]] books were written in the second half of the 1st century CE.