HOW OLD IS THE BIBLE?

How old is the Bible? Parts of it are nearly 3000 years old. How old is the Bible? Other parts are 2500 years old. How old is the Bible? The newest part is over 1900 years old. It is one of the oldest written documents of the world.

The first five books of the Bible were written between 1000 B.C. (before Christ) or B.C.E. (before the Common Era) and 500 B.C. Thus Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy comprise some of the oldest Biblical literature.

These five books sometimes are called the Pentateuch, which means the “five scrolls”. They are the fundamental document of Judaism. They comprise the Torah, which means, “The Law”, the Law or Laws of Moses. Torah also can mean the “Teaching”, the fundamental teachings of Judaism.

In addition to the Law, another important group of Biblical books are the Prophets. One of the greatest Prophets was Isaiah who preached and wrote in Jerusalem about 742 B.C.

The second part of Isaiah (chapters 40 – 55) was written around 550 B.C. by an unknown Jewish prophet in Babylonia (modern day Iraq) while the Jews were in exile there from 587 – 538 B.C.

And the third part of Isaiah, chapters 56 – 66) were written in Jerusalem by an unknown prophet sometime after 538 B.C. when the Jews had returned to Judah and Jerusalem. The last prophetic book to be written was Daniel, around 165 B.C. in Jerusalem.

Another important part of the Old Testament is the Writings. These would include Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, the Psalms and others. The Psalms probably date no later than 500 B.C. when they were collected to be the hymnbook of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, rebuilt in 515 B.C.

And in 90 A.D. Jewish leaders in Jamnia, Israel-Palestine, decided that the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament would be “canonical”, which means “official” or “authoritative.”

The first book of the New Testament to be written was Paul’s letter to the Christians in Thessalonica (northeastern Greece) in 50 A.D. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written 65 A.D., 85 A.D., 85 A.D. and 95 A.D. respectively.

And the last book of the New Testament to be written probably was Peter’s Second Letter to the Christians of Asia Minor (Turkey today). That letter may date as late as 110 or 120 A.D. So the New Testament together is at least 1900 years old and the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) together is at least 2200 years old.

Almost miraculously the Bible has survived over 2000 years to be the source of faith, theology, ethics, laws and wisdom for Jewish and Christian people and for Muslims whose Koran draws extensively from the Bible. The Bible is an antique book, yet surprisingly relevant for today’s living.