When were the twenty-seven New Testament documents originally written? Conservative scholars argue between AD 48–95.
The New Testament is one of the most reliable ancient texts due to the sheer number of extant manuscripts, the extra-biblical references by early church fathers and other sources, historical reference points, archaeological and epigraphical data points, and internal resonance within the corpus itself.
But when were these New Testament documents originally written?
The New Testament comes in three major segments with the following time frames:
- The Gospels (plus Acts): written between AD 40s–60s (Synoptics 40s–60s; Acts 60s–70s; John in the 90s)
- The Pauline Epistles: written between AD 48–61
- The General Epistles (plus Revelation): written between AD 40s–90s
Acts of the Apostles and Revelation don’t fit neatly into those categories. Acts is more like a first-century biography than anything else in the New Testament, and Revelation, while part of the apocalypse genre, could be grouped with the General Epistles.
Below you will find the books in both canonical order and chronological order with dates that conservative scholars assigned to them.
My data comes from my own study, general conservative consensus (in some cases), intertextual evidence, and commentaries. Dr. Fred Long particularly influenced my dates and comments during my studies at Asbury Theological Seminary (fall of 2009).
Dates for NT Books in Canonical Order
| Book | Date | Comments |
| Matthew | AD 60s | Eusebius comments that Matthew wrote his Gospel while Peter and Paul were in Rome |
| Mark | AD 40s–60s | N/A |
| Luke | AD 55–62 | Acts was written just after AD 62; 2 Timothy and Clement both reference Paul being set free and on trial again after the two-year imprisonment in Acts 28 |
| John | AD 90s | The “P52 Fragment” of John dates to AD 95–125 |
| Acts of the Apostles | AD 60s–70s | Acts was written just after AD 62; 2 Timothy and Clement both reference Paul being set free and on trial again after the two-year stint in Acts 28 |
| Romans | AD 55–59 | N. T. Wright, Romans in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), 396. |
| 1 Corinthians | AD 55 | Correlated to Paul’s missionary trips |
| 2 Corinthians | AD 56 | Correlated to Paul’s missionary trips |
| Galatians | AD 48–49 | Possibly AD 49, depends on when the Jerusalem council happened (Acts 15) |
| Ephesians | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (Act 28:16–31) |
| Philippians | AD 57–59 | Written from Caesarea |
| Colossians | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (Act 28:16–31) |
| 1 Thessalonians | AD 51 | During Paul’s second missionary journey while at Corinth |
| 2 Thessalonians | AD 51 | During Paul’s second missionary journey while at Corinth; six months after 1 Thessalonians was written; Silas and Timothy probably rejoined Paul at Corinth and related further questions that they had about the sequence of eschatological events |
| 1 Timothy | AD 63–67 | In AD 62 after Paul’s release from two-year imprisonment (Acts 28:16–31) |
| 2 Timothy | AD 63–67 | After Titus was written, while Paul awaited his trial in Rome (2 Timothy 4:6, 9–18) |
| Titus | AD 63–67 | After 1 Timothy was written |
| Philemon | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (Act 28:16–31) |
| Hebrews | AD 40s–60s | The Jerusalem temple appears to still be standing due to present tense verbs in Hebrews 7–9 |
| James | AD 48 | |
| 1 Peter | AD 63 or earlier | Before Peter was martyred in AD 64–66 (2 Peter 1:14) |
| 2 Peter | AD 63 or earlier | Before Peter was martyred in AD 64–66 (2 Peter 1:14) |
| 1 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| 2 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| 3 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| Jude | AD 50s–60s | Eusebius cites Hegesippus, who refers to the grandsons of Jude, who lived during the reign of Emperor Domitian (AD 81–96) in Eusebius Hist. Eccl. 3.19.1—3.20.7. So Jude himself may have already died by this time |
| Revelation | AD 68–95 | Depending on whether after Nero’s death or toward the end of Domitian’s reign |
Subscribe to HIM Publications here to get long-form discipleship content delivered to your inbox each week.
Dates for NT Books in Chronological Order
The New Testament books below are listed in chronological order using dates on the latter end of the spectrum.
| Book | Date | Comments |
| Galatians | AD 48 | Possibly AD 49, depending on when the Jerusalem council happened (Acts 15) |
| James | AD 48 | |
| Mark | AD 40s–60s | N/A |
| Hebrews | AD 40s–60s | The Jerusalem temple appears to still be standing due to present tense verbs in Hebrews 7–9 |
| 1 Thessalonians | AD 51 | During Paul’s second missionary journey while at Corinth |
| 2 Thessalonians | AD 51 | During Paul’s second missionary journey while at Corinth; six months after 1 Thessalonians was written; Silas and Timothy probably rejoined Paul at Corinth and related further questions that they had about the sequence of eschatological events |
| 1 Corinthians | AD 55 | Correlated to Paul’s missionary trips |
| Romans | AD 55–59 | N. T. Wright, Romans in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), 396. |
| Luke | AD 55–62 | Acts was written just after AD 62; 2 Timothy and Clement both reference Paul being set free and on trial again after the two-year stint in Acts 28 |
| 2 Corinthians | AD 56 | Correlated to Paul’s missionary trips |
| Philippians | AD 57–59 | Written from Caesarea |
| Jude | AD 50s–60s | Eusebius cites Hegesippus, who refers to the grandsons of Jude, who lived during the reign of Emperor Domitian (AD 81–96) in Eusebius Hist. Eccl. 3.19.1—3.20.7. So Jude himself may have already died by this time |
| Ephesians | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (Act 28:16–31) |
| Colossians | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment of Act 28:16–31 |
| Philemon | AD 60–61 | During Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (Act 28:16–31) |
| Matthew | AD 60s | Eusebius comments that Matthew wrote his Gospel while Peter and Paul were in Rome |
| Acts of the Apostles | AD 60s–70s | Acts was written just after AD 62; 2 Timothy and Clement both reference Paul being set free and on trial again after the two-year stint in Acts 28 |
| 1 Peter | AD 63 or earlier | Before Peter was martyred in AD 64–66 (2 Peter 1:14) |
| 2 Peter | AD 63 or earlier | Before Peter was martyred in AD 64–66 (2 Peter 1:14) |
| Titus | AD 63–67 | After 1 Timothy was written |
| 1 Timothy | AD 63–67 | In AD 62 after Paul’s release from two-year imprisonment (Acts 28:16–31) |
| 2 Timothy | AD 63–67 | After Titus was written, while Paul awaited his trial in Rome (2 Timothy 4:6, 9–18) |
| Revelation | AD 68–95 | Depending on whether after Nero’s death or toward the end of Domitian’s reign |
| 1 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| 2 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| 3 John | AD 70s–90s | N/A |
| John | AD 90s | The “P52 Fragment” of John dates to AD 95–125 |
Subscribe to HIM Publications here to get long-form discipleship content delivered to your inbox each week.
Thanks that helps a lot!