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IV. When Were These Books Written?

While there are some academic disagreements on some of the dating and chronological ordering of chapters within the Qur’an and books within the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the dates below will be relevant as we compare the texts throughout this book.

Also, if you are using this resource digitally, you should find that the books and chapters here are hyperlinked to an online resource that you can use to read more comprehensively than the short verses I provide within this book.

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) from around 1445 B.C. through 331 B.C.

·      TaNaKh

o   (T) Torah/Pentateuch/Law

o   (N) Nevi’im/Prophets

o   (K) Ketuvim/Additional Writings

·      How do Muslims and Christians often refer to the Hebrew Bible?

o   In the Qur’an, the references are simply to “Torah”      

o   In the Christian Bible, the Tanakh is simply referred to as the “Old Testament” but the books are often shared in a different order and are known by their anglicized names (which will be used within this book for familiarity with English-speakers).

·      Torah (The Pentateuch/Law)

1)    Bereshit (Genesis): 1445-1405 B.C.

2)    Shemot (Exodus): 1445-1405 B.C.

3)    Vayikra (Leviticus): 1445-1405 B.C.

4)    Bamidbar (Numbers): 1445-1405 B.C.

5)    Devarim (Deuteronomy): 1445-1405 B.C.

·      Nevi'im (Prophets)

1)    Yehoshua (Joshua): 1405-1385 B.C.

2)    Shoftim (Judges): ca.1043 B.C.

3)    Shmuel I (I Samuel): 931-722 B.C.

4)    Shmuel II (II Samuel): 931-722 B.C.

5)    Melachim I (I Kings): 561-538 B.C.

6)    Melachim II (II Kings): 561-538 B.C.

7)    Yeshayahu (Isaiah): 700-681 B.C.

8)   Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah): 586-570 B.C.

9)    Yechezkel (Ezekiel): 590-570 B.C.

10) Hoshea (Hosea): 750-710 B.C.

11)  Yoel (Joel): 835-796 B.C.

12) Amos: ca.750 B.C.

13) Ovadiah (Obadiah): 850-840 B.C.

14) Yonah (Jonah): ca.775 B.C.

15) Michah (Micah): 735-710 B.C.

16) Nachum (Nahum): ca. 650 B.C.

17) Chavakuk (Habakkuk): 615-605 B.C.

18) Tzefaniah (Zephaniah): 635-625 B.C.

19) Chaggai (Haggai): ca. 520 B.C.

20)  Zechariah: 480-470 B.C.

21) Malachi: 433-424 B.C.

·       Ketuvim (Scriptures)

1)    Tehillim (Psalms): 1410-450 B.C.

2)    Mishlei (Proverbs): ca. 971-686 B.C.

3)    Iyov (Job): unknown

4)    Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs): 971-965 B.C.

5)    Rut (Ruth): ca.1030-1010 B.C.

6)    Eichah (Lamentations): ca. 586 B.C.

7)    Kohelet (Ecclesiastes): 940-931 B.C.

8)   Esther: 450-331 B.C.

9)    Daniel: 536-530 B.C.

10) Ezra: 457-444 B.C.

11)  Nechemiah (Nehemiah): 424-400 B.C.

12) Divrei Hayamim I (Chronicles I): 450-430 B.C.

13) Divrei Hayamim II (Chronicles II): 450-430 B.C.

·      The New Testament (27 books) portion of the Christian Bible was written from 44-95 A.D. The Christian Bible also includes all 39 books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).

o   How do Muslims often refer to the Christian Bible?

§  In the Qur’an, the references are simply to “Injeel”, or Gospel

§  Most people simply refer to the Christian Bible as the “Bible.”

1.     Matthew: after 70 A.D.

2.    Mark: 64-70 A.D.

3.    Luke: 62-90 A.D.

4.    John: 90-110 A.D.

5.    Acts: 62-90 A.D.

6.    Romans: 56-57 A.D.

7.     1 Corinthians: 55 A.D.

8.    2 Corinthians: 55-56 A.D.

9.    Galatians: 49-50 A.D.

10. Ephesians: 60-62 A.D.

11.  Philippians: 60-62 A.D.

12.  Colossians: 60-62 A.D.

13.  1 Thessalonians: 51 A.D.

14.  2 Thessalonians:51-52 A.D.

15.  1 Timothy: 62-64 A.D.

16.  2 Timothy: 66-67 A.D.

17.  Titus: 62-64 A.D.

18. Philemon: 60-62 A.D.

19.  Hebrews: 67-69 A.D.

20. James: 44-49 A.D.

21.  1 Peter: 64-65 A.D.

22. 2 Peter: 67-68 A.D.

23. 1 John: 90-95 A.D.

24. 2 John: 90-95 A.D.

25. 3 John: 90-95 A.D.

26. Jude: 68-70 A.D.

27. Revelation: 94-96 A.D.

Note: Dates for the Hebrew and Christian Bible books are sourced from here (www.gty.org/library/questions/QA176/when-were-the-bible-books-written ) but there are many other resources with very close dating as well.

·      The Qur'an was written from 610-632 B.C.

o   Makkai (Meccan) Surahs (Chapters) – 610-622 A.D.

§  These surahs were revealed while Muhammad was living in Mecca.

§  Surahs: (in traditional chronological order, about 86 out of 114) 96, 68, 73, 74, 1, 111, 81, 87, 92, 89,93, 94, 103, 100, 108, 102, 107, 109, 105, 113, 114, 112, 53, 80, 97, 91, 85, 95, 106, 101, 75, 104, 77, 50, 90, 86, 54, 38, 7, 72, 36, 25, 35, 19, 20, 56, 26, 27, 28, 17, 10, 11, 12, 15, 6, 37, 31, 34, 39, 40, 41, 4.

o    Madani (Medinan) Surahs (Chapters) – 622-632 A.D.

§  These surahs were revealed while Muhammad was living in Medina.

§  Surahs: (about 28 out of 114) 2, 8, 3, 33, 60, 4, 99, 57, 47, 13, 55, 76, 65, 98, 59, 110, 24, 22, 63, 58, 49, 66, 61, 62, 64, 48, 9, 5.

o   Sometimes the Qur’an is referred to as the “Koran” by English-speakers.

o   Every surah (chapter) has an Arabic name.  For simplicity in this book’s references, I will use the number of the surah (chapter).

o   Here are some helpful resources for seeing the traditional revelation order of the Surahs: www.tanzil.net/docs/revelation_order and www.islamonline.net/en/makkan-and-madinan-revelations

Questions to Consider:

·      Why is it important to understand when something was written?

·      When Christians compare their 27 New Testament books with the 39 books of the Jewish Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) should they see consistency?

·      How have you seen the Christian New Testament compare to the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament)? What prophecies have you seen from the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament) be fulfilled in the Christian New Testament? What prophecies do you believe to not yet be fulfilled?

·      Since the Qur’an was written 500+ years after the Injeel (Gospels, New Testament) and 1,000-2,000+ years after the Taurat (Torah, Hebrew Bible), should we expect to see consistency? What similarities and differences have you previously noted between these books? What differences have you seen?

·      What prophecies have you seen written in the Jewish Tanakh and Christian New Testament that are fulfilled in the Qur’an?

·      If we see differences between these ancient books, how do we know which ones to believe?

·      What was the purpose of prophecies in the Tanakh, Bible, and Qur’an? How important are prophecies and prophets in these books? Should these prophecies be seen to be fulfilled over time? What prophecies have you seen that connect these three works? If these books are not connected by prophecy, does that fact undermine their reliability?

·      What are the characteristics we are told to look for in prophets? If the prophets within these books do not line up with these characteristics, how should that affect our understanding and life application of their teachings?