Dating the Bible

The oldest Hebrew Bible writings that are still here today, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were written in about the 2nd century BCE. The oldest writing that has no pieces missing is a Greek translation called the Septuagint. It is from the 4th century - the Codex Sinaiticus. The oldest parts of the Masoretic Text, which is where we get modern Hebrew Bibles, are from the 9th century.^[1] Almost no biblical writing was written at the same time as the events it talks about.^[2] Most of the writings about Jesus Christ were written long after he lived, some of them hundreds of years after.

1. ↑ Evans, Craig A. (October 2008). "Introduction". In Evans, Craig A.; Tov, Emanuel (eds.). Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective. Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology. Baker Academic (published 2008). ISBN 9781585588145. Retrieved May 16, 2015. The oldest Masoretic manuscripts date from the late ninth century CE (e.g., Codex Cairensis [C] on the Prophets).
2. ↑ Bernstein 1996, p. 134