When were the books of the Bible written?

[Justin Z]

I am having major trouble finding accurate information as to when the various books of the Bible were written. One website, for example, stated that Moses wrote the five books of the Torah between 1450 and 1410 BC (not too shabby job pinning down that date, wonder how they came to that conclusion). Does anyone have a general idea of what actual biblical scholars hold to be the approximate dates that the various groups of books in the Bible were written?

Thanks for your help.

~Justin

[Julian]

Yes, much is known about this topic. I am not sure what you would search for, however. As for books, I suggest that you look to 'Who Wrote the Bible' by Friedman which deals with the Torah.

Daniel can be placed decisively in the later half of the 160s BCE and Maccabees after the Hasmoneans came into power.

BTW, no serious scholar believes that Moses wrote the Torah. If you see a claim like that I suggest that you stop reading that materiel.

Julian

[rickP]

Here's a good start at straightdope.com:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbible1.html

[Justin Z]

BTW, no serious scholar believes that Moses wrote the Torah. If you see a claim like that I suggest that you stop reading that materiel.
I laughed out loud. I'm no serious student of the Bible by any means, but I went to a Jesuit High School at least. ;)

~Justin

[Justin Z]

RickP -

AWESOME source. I appreciate you linking it for me.

~Justin

[Equinox]

Also be sure to check out www.earlychristianwritings.com
and www.earlyjewishwritings.com

They contain a discussion of the different scholars views on the dates of writing. I'd especially compare this with the straight dope link, since that dates things a little closer to the fundamentalist dates than the scholars think. One place where this shows on the SD link is in the discussion of the Pauline epistles - SD makes it sound like paul wrote ephesians, and scarcely mentions the well known forgery of the pastorals. Perhaps the most glaring error in the SD link is to suggest that peter actually wrote second peter, which virtually no scholar believes.

I bet you'd also enjoy this class on tape:

http://www.teach12.com/ttc/assets/coursedescriptions/656.asp

Enjoy!

[Justin Z]

Hey thanks Equinox. I had only looked at the very first page of the StraightDope site so far, about the Pentateuch. I will definitely check out the other site you gave.

I appreciate the info a lot. Although I'll certainly benefit from it, it's not for my own self-edification. I was talking to a friend about various contradictions and other questionable things in the Bible and asked her if she knew when it was written. Her response was something along the lines of, "You mean the actual, original copy? I have no idea." I got one of these on my face :devil3: and thought I'd enlighten her a little bit, since she seemed to be under the impression it came to us intact as one piece! I appreciate everyone's help!

~Justin

[Joan of Bark]

The famous legal code of Hammurabi, often cited as a source for the laws of the Torah, declared that chopping off a man's hand was suitable punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. The Torah says the punishment must be proportionate to the crime.

While I enjoyed reading the Straight Dope's take on the Torah, I almost gagged on this statement. The Torah dictates the death penalty for a whole bunch of crimes, including cursing your parents, taking the lord's name in vain, adultery ... and working on the sabbath!

[PopeInTheWoods]

Yeah, Joan, the SD wrapup of the Torah was a bit overstated. "There is hardly a work of art or writing in the western world that does not build from the five books or use images or phrases from them." :confused: What were Plato, Homer and Thucydides, chopped liver?

Andy

[S.C.Carlson]

What were Plato, Homer and Thucydides, chopped liver?

They're foie gras.