Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition

Provocatively argues that most of the New Testament was originally composed before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, offering a revised view of how quickly early Christians produced what became the seminal texts for their new movement.

This paradigm-shifting study is the first book-length investigation into the compositional dates of the New Testament to be published in over 40 years. It argues that, with the notable exception of the undisputed Pauline Epistles, most New Testament texts were composed 20 to 30 years earlier than is typically supposed by contemporary biblical scholars. What emerges is a revised view of how quickly early Christians produced what became the seminal texts for their new movement.

This paradigm-shifting study is the first book-length investigation into the compositional dates of the New Testament to be published in over forty years. It argues that, with the notable exception of the undisputed Pauline Epistles, most New Testament texts were composed twenty to thirty years earlier than is typically supposed by contemporary biblical scholars. What emerges is a revised view of how quickly early Christians produced what became the seminal texts for their new movement