The books Protestant canon Each bar shows when a book was written. The longer the bar, the less scholars agree on the date.
By date written Canonical order By author By language
Date written →
1000 BCE 800 600 400 200 0 100 CE
Book Author
The Law
The five books of Moses — from creation to the edge of the promised land. Jews call it the Torah.
Genesis Moses · debated c. 950–500 BCE Exodus Moses · debated c. 900–500 BCE Numbers Moses · debated c. 700–500 BCE History
Israel's story on the land — conquest, judges, kings, exile, and the return from it.
Joshua Joshua · debated c. 700–550 BCE Ruth Anonymous c. 550–450 BCE Ezra Ezra · debated c. 400–350 BCE Nehemiah Nehemiah · debated c. 400–350 BCE Poetry & Wisdom
Songs, proverbs and hard questions — praise, and honest arguments about suffering.
Psalms David and many c. 1000–430 BCE Proverbs Solomon and others c. 700–400 BCE Prophets
Voices sent to warn, judge and comfort Israel across its kings, its exile and its return.
Jonah Anonymous c. 780–400 BCE Isaiah Isaiah · 2–3 hands c. 740–500 BCE Daniel Daniel · debated c. 550–165 BCE Gospels & Acts
The life of Jesus told four ways, and the story of the first church that followed.
Mark Mark, per Papias c. 65–75 CE John John · Johannine c. 90–110 CE Letters
Letters to the first churches — most of them Paul's — teaching, settling disputes and encouraging.
James James · debated c. 45–90 CE Jude Jude · debated c. 50–100 CE Romans Paul · undisputed c. 57 CE Titus Paul · disputed c. 62–100 CE 2 Peter Peter · disputed c. 90–120 CE 1 John John · Johannine c. 90–110 CE 2 John John · Johannine c. 90–110 CE 3 John John · Johannine c. 90–110 CE Revelation
A single book of visions that closes the New Testament.
Bar length = how wide the dating range is.
Colour shows the language a book was first written in — green for Hebrew, orange for Greek — with magenta where the author or date is genuinely disputed. The dates are approximate : scholars differ, and the app never picks a side.