Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament
The Evidence for Early Composition
by Jonathan Bernier
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Pub Date 3 May 2022 | Archive Date 3 Jul 2022
Baker Academic & Brazos Press | Baker Academic
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Description
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.
Advance Praise
“Bernier’s study on the dating of early Christian literature is bold and disruptive in a field that has become complacent on such matters. Bernier’s argument that the bulk of the literature that became the New Testament was written between 40 and 70 CE is notable and impressive, but even more impressive is his transparent style of arguing in such a way that those who agree and disagree will alike find this an invaluable resource. Bernier aims to replace and improve on Robinson, and he has.”—Chris Keith, Centre for the Study of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity, St. Mary’s University; University of Notre Dame Australia
“As anyone who has studied New Testament chronology knows, the dates frequently presented to unsuspecting undergraduates as settled ‘facts’ are often anything but. In Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament, Jonathan Bernier presents a synthetic, comprehensive, and rigorously reasoned case for earlier composition. This book is a major contribution to the study of Christian origins. It not only needs to be read; it needs to be reckoned with.”—Brant Pitre, distinguished research professor of Scripture, Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology
“Jonathan Bernier has written the go-to book on dating the collection of texts now known as the New Testament (and some of the Apostolic Fathers). Bernier provides the first dedicated work on New Testament chronology for the twenty-first century, and it is a resource that I desperately wished for in my earlier years as a student. He combines critical analysis with balanced judgments and communicates technical issues and problems in an easy-to-read, jargon-free way. I found myself surprised, challenged, and better informed. Anyone interested in the emergence of Jesus-movement literature and history must consult this book.”—Isaac T. Soon, assistant professor of religious studies, Crandall University
“Chronology provides us with a window into the history of the earliest followers of Jesus and can help to establish an important piece of the contexts in which the books of the New Testament were written. In this rigorous yet accessible book, Jonathan Bernier presents a compelling case for relatively early dates for the New Testament texts. Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament provides readable, fair, and concise presentations of the central questions, passages, arguments, and debates pertaining to the chronology of the composition of each book of the New Testament. This makes it a fantastic introduction to a key scholarly issue. At the same time, Bernier’s arguments are methodologically grounded and careful, resulting in evidence-based conclusions that are reasonable and responsible. The book is engaging and clear, making it a good resource for students, but it is also the sort of historically and logically rigorous work that will make it a must-read for anyone interested in historical approaches to the New Testament or early Christianity.”—Jordan J. Ryan, assistant professor of New Testament, Wheaton College
“In this carefully argued study, New Testament scholar Jonathan Bernier addresses the deceptively simple but exceedingly complex question of when the texts included in the New Testament—as well as 1 Clement, the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas—were written. Most scholars routinely accept what has become the majority view regarding these dates without themselves engaging the multiple problems that lurk below the surface. Here we find, for the first time in fifty years, a full monograph dedicated to offering the reader a synthetic treatment of the issues involved. Regardless of whether one accepts Bernier’s conclusions, this book is the new must-read volume for anyone who wants to examine the dates of these ancient compositions.”—Anders Runesson, professor of New Testament, University of Oslo
“In Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament Jonathan Bernier offers a much-needed corrective to the tendency for dates assigned to New Testament works to drift further in opposite directions due more to ideological preferences than to evidence, or to be placed in the middle of a possible range as though that were the best way to respond to our uncertainty. With careful attention to the evidence for each work, Bernier makes a strong case for dates that are often earlier than the scholarly consensus. He takes seriously our inability to be certain and precise about dates, never shying away from providing a range that starts astonishingly early or continues well into the second century when the evidence supports it. At the same time he never allows the range of possibilities to hinder arguing for what is likely. Whether by gaining wide acceptance or by prompting well-argued responses, Bernier’s book promises to shake up the scholarly study of the New Testament and some extracanonical Christian works. What Bernier has provided will undoubtedly serve as an impetus to refreshing scholarly conversations for decades to come.”—James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature, Butler University, Indianapolis
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781540961808 |
| PRICE | US$30.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 336 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Brandyn J, Reviewer
My Thoughts:
The Content: I view this book as very well researched and in-depth. The author is consistent in their arguments and does so with minimal bias. There is a great deal of humility shown in the research. The author indicates their knowledge that this book will create an unbalanced amount of research for earlier dates and encourages people who hold a different view to write their arguments. The author tries to stick to their field of study throughout the book.
Who is this book for: This book was rigorous for me. I have a Bachelor's in Biblical Studies and a Masters of Divinity. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. However, I think this book is a helpful resource for a person wanting to study this subject in more depth. I believe that this book would be great for someone researching a specific NT letter (this would mean only reading certain portions and not the whole book).
Questions/Comments: (1) I wish this book went into a bit of detail regarding the importance of the argument. For example, what would an earlier date mean, what would it prove, what would the implications be, would anything about our study of scripture change? However, these questions have little interest to the author. I think these answers could increase the interest in the work. (1.5) I would be interested to know how this would affect commentaries already published, commentaries currently being published, etc. (2) My only noted issue in this book was in the section on dating James. The author chose to accept an author of James to make his argument easier to prove. He spoke of contested authorship elsewhere. Yet he did not entertain a different author in the case of James. The reason appears to be that it helps prove his point that the dates should be earlier than we have previously thought.
Kris L, Reviewer
This an accessible academic book that builds on the previous work of John Robinson in “Redating the New Testament” as a quasi spiritual successor. As such it pretty much treads the same group, with slightly different analysis and opinion on the arguments presented for both an earlier and later compositional date assignment (as well as a providing a benchmark of a nominal middle ground for comparison). For the most part, it doesn’t move the earlier dates much, but it does answer some of the criticisms advanced against it as well as addressing some of the arguments for the later dating. The basic premises is that many of the arguments against are in fact inconclusive (aka non-probative) as best; however, the arguments for the earlier dates typically rest of a more likely than not (for best fit) analysis, so clearing there is room for disagreement. What I found most edifying though was the interconnectedness of all the scriptures that pretty much required everything to move as a block (as everyone more or less agreed on the sequence). I did find his analysis to be clear and persuasive, with a common organization to to each group of text that were examined and would be very interested in any counter arguments that are likely on the horizon.
The method of analysis detailed in the Introduction and it well worth the read so that you understand the approach undertaken. In each chapter, there is a section on synchronization or how the text under consideration is related to other text. The next section is typically contextualization where the author attempts to place the text within the appropriate time periods that make the most sense, while still recognizing that other time periods may not be completely foreclosed by the challenges identified. The next step is to examine what is known of the presumed author, with particular attention to when and where they were active at the proposed time. In the interest of identifying fallacious augmentation (both in previous arguments and in the current analysis), several other data points (or evidentiary scope) are examined; the most come fallacy identified appeared to be an argument from Silence (or the absence of evidence presuming the negation of it). In all, this was a strong book to read if you wish to understand what was happening within the early church, even if you do not access the earlier dates proposed, and it is for that reason I highly recommend this book.
<spoiler>Introduction
Part 1 - The Synoptic Gospels and Acts
- Chapter 1: Synchronization
- Chapter 2 - Contextualization and Authorial Biography
Part 2 - The Johannine Tradition
- Chapter 3 - The Gospel of John
- Chapter 4 - The Epistles of John and Revelation
Part 3 - The Pauline Corpus
- Chapter 5 - Critical Matters in Dating the Pauline Corpus
- Chapter 6 - The Compositional Dates of the Pauline Corpus
Part 4 - Hebrews and the Letters of James, Peter and Jude
- Chapter 7 - Hebrews and James
- Chapter 8 - 1 and 2 Peter and Jude
Part 5 - Early Extracanonical Writings
- Chapter 9 - 1 Clement and the Didache
- Chapter 10 - The Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepard of Hermas
Conclusion
</spoiler>
I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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