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Chronology of Jewish literature


On this page, you will find a chronological overview of Jewish literature, which means Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts related to the Jewish cult. No attempt has been made to include the five first books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) or the majority of the Psalms, because it is impossible to reconstruct the history of their composition. For similar reasons, the Scrolls of the Dead Sea have been left out. Most of the texts are included in the Bible, but some non-Biblical Jewish literature (e.g., the Enochite literature) has also been included. Many texts contain later interpolations.

Green Included in the Jewish and Protestant Bible
Grey Deuterocanonical: recognized by Catholics
Yellow Enochite literature
Pink Other

Psalm 29, 68 Canaanitic?
Psalm 110 Davidic?
Proverbs Tenth century Oldest part of collection
c.930 Sheshonq's campaign Sheshonq's stela
853 Battle of Qarqar Kurkh stela
c.845 Independence of Moab Mesha stela
c.820 Jehu pays tribute to Assyria Black obelisk
Amos
c.760-750
Hosea c.730
c.724 Fall of Samaria ABC 1
Micah 6-7 c.720
Isaiah c.720 = Isaiah 1-39
701 Fall of Lachish; siege of Jerusalem Lachish reliefs
Ruth c.700
Nahum c.640
Zephaniah c.630
Deuteronomistic History [1] c.620 First stage
612 Fall of Nineveh ABC 3
Psalm 2, 20, 21, 72 Pre-exilic
Habakkuk 604-600
597 First capture of Jerusalem ABC 5
Jeremiah 600-586
Joel c.600-586? Alternative date: c. 400
586 Fall of Jerusalem; Exile
Ezekiel After 586
Lamentations After 586
Obadiah After 586
Micah 1 After 586
Deuteronomistic History [1] c.550 Addition (2 Kings 23-25)
Jehoiachin in Babylonia ANET 308
Second Isaiah 545-540 = Isaiah 40-55
539 Fall of Babylon; end of Exile Cyrus Cylinder
Psalm 126, 137 Post-exilic
Micah 2-5 [2] Post-exilic Collection of prophecies
Third Isaiah c.530 = Isaiah 56-66
Maleachi [3] c.470
Haggai [3] c.450
Zechariah, part 1 c.450 = Zechariah 1-13
c.450 Rebuilding of the Temple [3]
Proverbs Fifth century Youngest part of collection
Joel? c.400 Alternative date: c.600-586
Job Fourth century
Esther Fourth century Chapters added in c.80
Jonah
Fourth century
Chronicles Fourth century
Ezra-Nehemiah after 336 a.k.a. 2 Esdras
332 Alexander the Great
Song of Songs After 332
Zechariah, part 2 After 332 = Zechariah 9-14
Epistle of Jeremiah c.325
Astronomical Book Third century = 1 Enoch 72-82
Ecclesiastes Third century
Book of Watchers 225-175 = 1 Enoch 1-36
Tobit c.200
202-195 Fifth Syrian War
Jesus Sirach c.180 Original, Hebrew version
Epistle of Enoch c.175 = 1 Enoch 91-108
Jubilees c.175
175-164 Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Daniel 165 Chapters added in c.100?
Death of Isaiah c.165
Book of Dream Visions 165-160 = 1 Enoch 83-90
Baruch 163-162 a.k.a. 1 Baruch
Judith c.150
Book of Giants Second century
3 Ezra c.125 a.k.a. 1 Esdras
Jesus Sirach 117 Greek translation
Letter of Aristeas c.110
Prayer of Manasseh 150-50
1 Maccabees c.100
2 Maccabees c.100
Additions to Daniel c.100?
Additions to Esther 80
63 Romans take Jerusalem
3 Maccabees First century
Book of Similitudes First century = 1 Enoch 37-71
Psalms of Solomon c.45
40-4 BCE King Herod the Great
6 CE Annexation by the Romans
Assumption of Moses c.25
2 ("Slavonic") Enoch c.25
Wisdom 37-41
70 Destruction of the Temple
4 Ezra after 70
Flavius Josephus 75-100
4 Maccabees c.100
2 ("Syriac") Baruch 100-117
3 ("Greek") Baruch c.150
Note 1:
The Deuteronomistic History is the collection Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings.

Note 2:
For the date of Micah 2-5 (a collection of prophecies dated to late pre-exilic, exilic, and early-post-exilic times), see J. Wagenaar, Judgement and Salvation: The Composition and Redaction of Micah 2-5 (2001 Leiden)

Note 3:
For the date of Haggai, Zechariah, and the rebuilding of the Temple, see Diana Edelman, The Origins of the 'Second' Temple (2005)
© Jona Lendering for
Livius.Org, 2007
Revision: 3 January 2007
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