The following table lists the earliest dated manuscripts of all 39 books of the Old Testament, sorted in ascending order by the date assigned according to LDAB[1]. To be consistent with the Hebrew Bible, which consists of 24 books, the twelve minor prophets, including Amos, Habakkuk, Haggai, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Malachi,Micah, Nahum, Obadiah, Zechariah and Zephaniah, are listed as one book. 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah are listed as Kings, Samuel, Chronicles and Ezra, respectively.
All the earliest Old Testament manuscripts, with the exception of Esther, are found near Qumran in the Judaean desert, among other manuscripts. These are commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Great Isaiah Scroll, 1QIsaa, is a 2nd century BC scroll containing all 66 chapters of Isaiah; 4Q41 (4QDeutn) is a first century BC manuscript of Deuteronomy, which contains one of the earliest copies of the Ten Commandments; LDAB 3457 is a 1st century BC scroll containing all twelve minor prophets.
Under “LDAB” are LDAB identifiers and links to detailed metadata info on the Old Testament manuscripts; Under “Image” are links to digital images of the manuscripts at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library[2], unless specified otherwise.
| Book | Date | Century | LDAB | Catalogue | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exodus | BC 275 – 225 | BC03 | 398248 | 4Q17 | 4Q17-1 |
| Leviticus | |||||
| Deuteronomy | BC 250 – 200 | BC03 | 398195 | 4Q46 | 4Q46-1 |
| BC 30 – 1 | BC01 | 398295 | 4Q41 | 4Q41-1 | |
| Samuel | BC 250 – 200 | BC03 | 398381 | 4Q52 | 4Q52-1 |
| BC 99 – 75 | BC01 | 398382 | 4Q53 | 4Q53-1 | |
| Genesis | BC 250 – 150 | BC03 | 397980 | 6Q1 | 6Q1-1 |
| Jeremiah | BC 225 – 175 | BC03 | 398322 | 4Q70 | 4Q70-1 |
| Job | BC 225 – 150 | BC03 | 398196 | 4Q101 | 4Q101-1 |
| Ecclesiastes | BC 175 – 150 | BC02 | 398370 | 4Q109 | 4Q109-1 |
| Psalm | BC 175 – 125 | BC02 | 398337 | 4Q83 | 4Q83-1 |
| Twelve Minor Prophets | BC 175 – 125 | BC02 | 398330 | 4Q76 | 4Q76-1 |
| BC 50 – AD 50 | BC01 | 3457 | 8HevXIIgr | 8Hev1-1 | |
| Isaiah | BC 150 – 125 | BC02 | 641984 | 1QIsaa | 1QIsaa @ Digital Dead Sea Scrolls |
| Kings | BC 150 – 100 | BC02 | 397983 | 6Q4 | 6Q4-1 |
| Numbers | BC 150 – 100 | BC02 | 398253 | 4Q23 | 4Q23-1 |
| Joshua | BC 150 – 50 | BC02 | 398299 | 4Q47 | 4Q47-1 |
| Song of Solomon | BC 150 – AD 69 | BC02 | 398369 | 4Q108 | 4Q108-1 |
| Daniel | BC 125 – 75 | BC02 | 398377 | 4Q116 | 4Q116-1 |
| Ezekiel | BC 99 – 50 | BC01 | 398329 | 4Q75 | 4Q75-1 |
| Ruth | BC 75 – 25 | BC01 | 397958 | 2Q17 | 2Q17-1 |
| Ezra | BC 75 – 25 | BC01 | 398378 | 4Q117 | 4Q117-1 |
| Judges | BC 50 – 25 | BC01 | 397627 | 1Q6 | 1Q6-1 |
| Chronicles | BC 50 – 25 | BC01 | 398379 | 4Q118 | 4Q118-1 |
| Proverbs | BC 50 – AD 30 | BC01 | 398363 | 4Q102 | 4Q102-1 |
| Lamentations | BC 30 – 1 | BC01 | 398372 | 4Q111 | 4Q111-1 |
| Esther | AD 50 – 150 | AD01 | 3080 | Rahlfs 0996 P.Oxy. 4443 |
P.Oxy.4443 @ Oxyrhynchus Online |
References:
- [^1]. Leuven Database of Ancient Books (LDAB). Accessed September 26, 2018. https://www.trismegistos.org/ldab.
- [^2]. Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. Accessed September 26, 2018. http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il
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