The Bible was written over a long span, from about 1400 BC to about AD 100. More specifically, its Old Testament was composed roughly from 1400 to 400 BC, and its New Testament was written roughly from AD 45 to AD 100.
Overall timeframe
When asking when the Bible was written, it helps to treat it as a collection rather than a single book written at one moment. The Bible is a library of 66 books in two testaments. Across that collection, the writing stretches across roughly fifteen centuries before the books were gathered into one collection. The broad date range given for the Bible’s writing is from about 1400 BC to about AD 100.
Old Testament dates
The Old Testament portion of the Bible is dated roughly from 1400 to 400 BC. This means that the Old Testament writings come from the earlier part of the overall span, and they represent several centuries of composition. The date range is described as approximate (“roughly”), indicating an estimate rather than a claim to an exact year-by-year timeline for every book.
New Testament dates
The New Testament portion of the Bible is dated to the second half of the first century AD, with the evidence summarized as roughly AD 45–100. This places New Testament writing toward the end of the Bible’s overall writing period. Like the Old Testament dates, these figures are given as approximate, providing a useful frame for when the New Testament books were written without asserting a single date for the whole collection.
Authors and languages
The Bible as a whole was written by about 40 authors over some 1,500 years. This long timespan and multiple-author origin is part of why the question “When was the Bible written?” is best answered with a range rather than a single date. The writings were produced in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, which corresponds to the Bible’s status as a multi-book collection written across many centuries.
A gathered collection
The Bible’s books were written across roughly fifteen centuries before being gathered into one collection. This note clarifies that the act of writing the books and the act of having them together as “the Bible” are not the same thing. The writing happened over a long period (about 1400 BC to about AD 100), and the books later came to be held together as a single library of 66 books in two testaments.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Old Testament written?
The Old Testament was composed roughly from about 1400 to 400 BC.
When was the New Testament written?
The New Testament was written in the second half of the first century AD, roughly from AD 45 to AD 100.
How long did it take to write the Bible?
The Bible as a whole was written over roughly 1,500 years, spanning about 1400 BC to about AD 100.
How many authors wrote the Bible?
About 40 authors wrote the Bible as a whole across that roughly 1,500-year period.
What is the Bible, in terms of its composition?
The Bible is a library of 66 books in two testaments, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and gathered into one collection after the books were written across roughly fifteen centuries.