Canon of the Old Testament

See the article on the canon for the general idea of how the "official list of books in the Old Testament" developed from TNK and LXX.

The Chronological order is approximately by the date of the topical material in the book. The book of Jonah, for example, tells a story that would have taken place in the 8th century BC but almost certainly was composed after the exile.

The Composition order is only very roughly indicative of when the books (or the material in them) might have been begun. Scholars disagree endlessly over when composition may have begun and when the final edition may have been completed.

X - Do a timeline ...

Exile: The time of the Babylonian Captivity (587-520 BC).

Biblical order	Topic	Composition	Genre	LXX
00Click on the sort symbols above to sort the table by the values in that column.
01Genesis	0117th BC	03 11th BC to 6th BC	Torah	TNK
02Exodus	02Exodus	0411th BC to 6th BC	Torah	TNK
03Leviticus	04Exodus	0113th BC to 6th BC	Torah	TNK
04Numbers	05Exodus	0213th BC to 6th BC	Torah	TNK
05Deuteronomy	06Exodus	056th BC to 3rd BC?	Torah	TNK
06Joshua	07Judges		History	TNK
07Judges	08Judges		History	TNK
09Ruth	09Judges		History	TNK
091 Samuel	11Kings		History	TNK
102 Samuel	12Kings		History	TNK
111 Kings	13Kings		History	TNK
122 Kings	14Kings		History	TNK
131 Chronicles	15Kings		History	TNK
142 Chronicles	16Kings		History	TNK
15Ezra	36Post-exilic		History	TNK
16Nehemiah	37Post-exilic		History	TNK
17Tobit	23		History	LXX
18Judith	10		History	LXX
19Esther	405th-3rd BC		History	TNK
201 Maccabees	4563 BC		History	LXX
212 Maccabees	4663 BC		History	LXX
22Job	35		Wisdom	TNK
23Psalms	3--		Wisdom	TNK
24Proverbs	33Post-exilic		Wisdom	TNK
25Ecclesiastes	413rd BC		Wisdom	TNK
26Song of Songs	34Post-exilic		Wisdom	TNK
27Wisdom	441st BC		Wisdom	LXX
28Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)	432nd BC		Wisdom	LXX
29Isaiah	188th & 6th-5th BC		Prophecy	TNK
30Jeremiah	26Pre-exilic		Prophecy	TNK
31Lamentations	28587 BC		Prophecy	TNK
32Baruch	29587 BC	Post-exilic	Prophecy	LXX
33Ezekiel	27Pre-exilic		Prophecy	TNK
34Daniel	422nd BC		Prophecy	LXX & TNK
35Hosea	198th BC		Prophecy	TNK
36Joel	385th-4th BC		Prophecy	TNK
37Amos	178th BC		Prophecy	TNK
38Obadiah	395th-4th BC		Prophecy	TNK
39Jonah	228th BC		Prophecy	TNK
40Micah	208th BC		Prophecy	TNK
41Nahum	217th BC		Prophecy	TNK
42Habakkuk	257th BC		Prophecy	TNK
43Zephaniah	247th BC		Prophecy	TNK
44Haggai	306th BC		Prophecy	TNK
45Zechariah	316th BC		Prophecy	TNK
46Malachi	326th BC		Prophecy	TNK

Links

• "Canon of the OT and the NT."