The Early Christians: Christians, Jews or Both?

Dating the New Testament

Dating the New Testament is not a linear process, but instead it involves exploring possibilities first and then gradually narrowing down those possibilities as the evidence is weighed. The first step generally is to establish a range of possible dates. Ask the question, “What is the earliest this text could have been written?” and “What is the latest?” Use other works to help to narrow the possibilities. For example, if Irenaeus quotes from a New Testament book around 180 CE, then we know that that book must have been written before 180.

Once you have established the earliest and latest possible dates, you can narrow the historical context in which a book was written. In the case of the first century, after determining a dating range, you can identify what emperor was ruling, what Roman administration would have been used, and whether a region was governed as a province, a client kingdom, or an independent territory. You can identify how the text fits in with other early Christian writings. Eventually, through this process of identifying historical patterns and placing texts within a historical context, you can develop a timeline that shows which questions and controversies became prominent during different periods of early Christianity.

Once a dating range is established, you may closely read the text for named people, places, travel, political officials, historical events, references to the passage of time, church problems and apparent historical circumstances. Correlate those internal clues with external evidence. Internal evidence consists of clues within the book itself. External evidence consists of information from any source outside the text, including other New Testament books, early Christian sources, Jewish and Roman writings, archaeological sources, inscriptions, coins, or other physical evidence. For example, Acts 18 describes Paul’s appearance before Gallio, and the Gallio inscription discovered in the early twentieth century helps scholars to date Gallio’s proconsulship more securely and therefore narrow the time frame of Paul’s hearing before Gallio.

Another important step is to compare the text with other writings. Does Matthew appear to use Mark? Does Acts follow Luke? Does 2 Peter appear to know Paul’s letters as a collection? Answering these questions helps establish relative chronology. Once these questions are answered, you can begin to infer that Text A probably came before Text B even if you can’t determine an exact year.

After the text has been compared with other writings, consider early church tradition and the book’s early reception. What did Irenaeus, Papias and Eusebius or other early Christian writers say about the text? When does the book first appear to be quoted, named or circulated? For example, in the early second century, Papias, bishop of Hierapolis wrote that: “Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatever he remembered…” Papias’ work is lost but it is quoted by Eusebius of Caesaria in Ecclesiastical History. This suggests by the early second century, Mark’s Gospel was likely already circulating, and the tradition associating Peter with Mark was already known at this time.

Finally, consider any archaeological or material evidence if it is relevant. Inscriptions, papyri, coins and excavated sites can confirm dates, titles, political offices, geography and historical setting. For example, beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing in the twentieth century, a group of European archaeologists uncovered two adjacent pools, separated by a central wall, creating five covered colonnades (porticoes) in the Old City of Jerusalem. John 5:2 also described this unique layout. This discovery helped to demonstrate that the Gospel accurately described a real location in first century Jerusalem. The excavation does not date John’s Gospel, but it does provide evidence that the author had accurate knowledge of pre-70 Jerusalem.

In general, dating a New Testament book involves bringing together several different kinds of evidence. Scholars study the document’s internal evidence for references to time, people, places, church problems and historical circumstances. They compare the text with other writings within the New Testament and other ancient writings to determine how it relates to them and where it fits within the development of early Christian literature. They then compare those internal clues with external evidence, asking whether historical references can be correlated to independently dated people, places or events. They also consider what early Christian writers say about the book, when it first appears to be quoted or mentioned, and whether archaeological or material evidence sheds light on its historical setting or possible date.