New Testament

==Dating the New Testament==
{{main|Dating the Bible#Table IV: New Testament}}

===External evidence===
The earliest [[Biblical manuscript|manuscripts]] of New Testament books date from the late second to early third centuries (although see [[Rylands Library Papyrus P52|Papyrus 52]] for a possible exception).{{sfn|Ehrman|2004a|pp=479–480}} These manuscripts place a clear [[Terminus post quem|upper limit]] on the dating of New Testament texts. Explicit references to NT books in extra-biblical documents can push this upper limit down a bit further. [[Irenaeus of Lyon]] names and quotes from most of the books in the New Testament in his book [[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|''Against Heresies'']], written around 180 AD. The [[Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians]], written some time between 110 and [[Polycarp]]'s death in 155–167 AD, quotes or alludes to most New Testament texts. [[Ignatius of Antioch]] wrote letters referencing much of the New Testament. He lived from about 35 AD to 107 AD and is rumored to have been a disciple of the Apostle John. His writings reference the Gospels of John, Matthew, and Luke, as well as Peter, James, and Paul's Epistles. His writing is usually attributed to the end of his lifetime, which places the Gospels as first century writings.

===Internal evidence===
Literary analysis of the New Testament texts themselves can be used to date many of the books of the New Testament to the mid-to-late first century. The earliest works of the New Testament are the letters of the [[Paul the Apostle|Apostle Paul]]. It can be determined that [[First Epistle to the Thessalonians|1 Thessalonians]] is likely the earliest of these letters, written around 52 AD.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=456–466}}