History
1 Maccabees
A sober Jewish chronicle of the revolt against Antiochus IV — the desecration of the temple, the rising under Mattathias and Judas Maccabeus, and the rededication that Hanukkah remembers.
c. 100 BC, covering events of 175–134 BC · Judaea; preserved in Greek, composed in Hebrew
History
2 Maccabees
c. 124 BC, covering events of 180–161 BC · Composed in Greek, probably at Alexandria or Jerusalem
Manuscripts
Aleppo Codex
c. AD 930 · Israel Museum, Jerusalem
History
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 43a
compiled 3rd–6th c. AD · Babylonia
Manuscripts
Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah
c. 2nd century BC (Baruch); Epistle of Jeremiah c. 300–100 BC · Composed in Judaea or the diaspora; a Greek fragment of the Epistle of Jeremiah was found at Qumran Cave 7 (7Q2)
Archaeology
Behistun Inscription
c. 520 BC · Mount Behistun, western Iran
Archaeology
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
c. 825 BC · Nimrud, Iraq
Archaeology
Bullae of Gemariah & Jucal
late 7th – early 6th c. BC · City of David, Jerusalem
Archaeology
Caiaphas Ossuary
1st century AD · Peace Forest, southern Jerusalem
Manuscripts
Chester Beatty Papyrus P46 (Pauline Epistles)
c. AD 175-225 · Egypt
History
Clement of Rome (1 Clement)
c. AD 96 · Rome
Manuscripts
Codex Alexandrinus
5th c. AD · British Library, London
Manuscripts
Codex Sinaiticus
c. AD 330-360 · St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
Manuscripts
Codex Vaticanus
c. AD 325-350 · Vatican Library, Rome
Councils & Creeds
Council of Chalcedon
5th century · Chalcedon (near Constantinople)
Councils & Creeds
Council of Ephesus
5th century · Ephesus
Councils & Creeds
Council of Jerusalem
1st century · Jerusalem
Councils & Creeds
Council of Trent
16th century · Trent (Trento), Italy
Science
Crucified Man of Givat ha-Mivtar (Yehohanan)
c. AD 7-66 · northern Jerusalem
Archaeology
Cyrus Cylinder
c. 539 BC · Babylon (modern Iraq)
Prophecy
Cyrus Named in Isaiah
prophecy c. 700 BC; fulfillment 539 BC · Babylon / Persia
Archaeology
Erastus Inscription (Corinth)
mid-1st century AD · Corinth, Greece
Councils & Creeds
First Council of Constantinople
4th century · Constantinople
Councils & Creeds
First Council of Nicaea
4th century · Nicaea (modern İznik, Türkiye)
Councils & Creeds
First Vatican Council
19th century · Rome
Archaeology
Gallio Inscription (Delphi)
AD 51–52 · Delphi, Greece
Manuscripts
Gospel of Judas
composition c. AD 130-170; surviving copy 3rd-4th c. · Codex Tchacos, Middle Egypt
Manuscripts
Gospel of Mary
composition early-mid 2nd c.; surviving Coptic copy 5th c. · Berlin Codex (Papyrus Berolinensis 8502)
Manuscripts
Gospel of Thomas
Coptic copy 4th c.; composition debated (mid 2nd c. most likely) · Found at Nag Hammadi
Manuscripts
Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ)
c. 125 BC · Qumran, Cave 1, near the Dead Sea
Study Tools
Greek & Hebrew Word Study
In-App Tool
Archaeology
Hezekiah's Royal Seal Impression
c. 727-698 BC · Ophel, Jerusalem
History
Ignatius of Antioch (Seven Letters)
c. AD 107 · Antioch to Rome
History
Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies)
c. AD 180 · Lyon (Roman Gaul)
Archaeology
Jehoiachin Ration Tablets
c. 592 BC · Babylon
Sects & Movements
Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Society)
1870s – present · Pittsburgh / Brooklyn / Warwick, NY
Archaeology
Jerusalem (Babylonian) Chronicle, ABC 5
c. 594 BC · Babylon (now British Museum)
Science
John 19:34 — Blood and Water from Jesus' Side
1st century AD (described); 20th-century medical analysis · —
History
John of Damascus (c. 675–749)
c. AD 675–749 · Damascus / Mar Sabas, Palestine
History
Josephus on Jesus and James
c. AD 93-94 · Rome (Antiquities of the Jews)
History
Justin Martyr (First Apology & Dialogue with Trypho)
c. AD 150-160 · Rome
History
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 108
c. AD 160 · Rome
Archaeology
Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls
late 7th c. BC · Jerusalem
Archaeology
Khirbet Qeiyafa Fortress & Ostracon
c. 1000 BC · Elah Valley, Israel
Archaeology
Lachish Reliefs
c. 700 BC · Nineveh (palace of Sennacherib)
History
Lucian of Samosata
c. AD 165 · Roman Syria / Greece
Archaeology
Magdala Stone
1st century AD (pre-AD 70) · Magdala, west shore of Sea of Galilee
History
Mara bar Serapion on the "Wise King"
c. AD 70-200 · Syria
Archaeology
Merneptah Stele
c. 1207 BC · Thebes, Egypt
Archaeology
Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone)
c. 840 BC · Dhiban, Jordan
Science
Mitochondrial Eve
Modern genetics · Global (mtDNA studies)
Sects & Movements
Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
1820 – present · Palmyra, NY → Nauvoo, IL → Salt Lake City, UT
Archaeology
Mount Ebal Curse Tablet
disputed: Late Bronze – Iron II · Mount Ebal, West Bank
Archaeology
Nabonidus Chronicle & the Fall of Babylon
6th century BC · Babylon
Manuscripts
Nag Hammadi Library
composed 2nd-3rd c.; copies 4th c. · Upper Egypt (near Nag Hammadi)
Archaeology
Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet
c. 595 BC · Sippar, Babylon (modern Iraq)
Manuscripts
Papyrus P52 (Rylands Library Papyrus)
c. AD 100-150 · Egypt
Manuscripts
Papyrus P66 (Bodmer II)
c. AD 200 · Bodmer Library, Geneva
Manuscripts
Papyrus P75 (Bodmer XIV-XV)
c. AD 175-225 · Egypt
History
Philo of Alexandria on Pontius Pilate
c. AD 40s · Alexandria, Egypt
History
Pliny the Younger to Trajan (Epistles 10.96)
c. AD 112 · Bithynia (modern Turkey)
Archaeology
Politarch Inscription (Thessalonica)
2nd c. BC – 3rd c. AD · Thessalonica, Greece
History
Polycarp of Smyrna
c. AD 69-155 · Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey)
Archaeology
Pontius Pilate Ring
1st century AD · Herodium, near Bethlehem
Archaeology
Pool of Bethesda
1st century AD · near St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem
Archaeology
Pool of Siloam
1st century AD · City of David, Jerusalem
Prophecy
Prophecy: Daniel's Seventy Weeks
prophesied c. 538 BC; key fulfillment c. AD 30 · Babylon (written); Jerusalem (fulfilled)
Prophecy
Prophecy: The Destruction of Nineveh
prophesied c. 660-630 BC; fulfilled 612 BC · Nineveh (modern Mosul, Iraq)
Prophecy
Prophecy: The End of Edom
prophesied c. 6th century BC; fulfilled by 1st century BC · Edom / Petra (Jordan)
Prophecy
Prophecy: The Fall of Tyre
prophesied c. 586 BC; fulfilled 332 BC · Tyre, Lebanon
Prophecy
Prophecy: The Messiah's Birthplace (Bethlehem)
prophesied c. 700 BC; fulfilled c. 5 BC · Bethlehem
Prophecy
Prophecy: The Permanent Desolation of Babylon
prophesied c. 700-580 BC; fulfilled gradually · Babylon (modern Iraq)
Councils & Creeds
Reformation Confessions (Overview)
16th–17th century · Europe & British Isles
Archaeology
Royal Steward (Shebna) Inscription
late 8th c. BC · Silwan, Jerusalem
Councils & Creeds
Second Council of Constantinople
6th century · Constantinople
Councils & Creeds
Second Council of Nicaea
8th century · Nicaea
Councils & Creeds
Second Vatican Council
20th century · Rome
Archaeology
Sennacherib's Prism (Taylor Prism)
c. 691 BC · Nineveh (modern Mosul, Iraq)
Archaeology
Siloam Inscription & Hezekiah's Tunnel
c. 701 BC · City of David, Jerusalem
Manuscripts
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus / The Wisdom of Ben Sira)
c. 190–175 BC (Hebrew); Greek translation c. 132 BC · Jerusalem; Hebrew fragments from Qumran Cave 2 and Masada, medieval Hebrew copies from the Cairo Geniza
History
Suetonius on "Chrestus"
c. AD 121 · Rome (Life of Claudius 25.4)
Archaeology
Synagogue at Capernaum
1st-century basalt foundations; 4th-century limestone superstructure · Capernaum, north shore of the Sea of Galilee
History
Tacitus, Annals 15.44
c. AD 116 · Rome
Archaeology
Tel Dan Stele — "House of David"
9th century BC · Tel Dan, northern Israel
History
Tertullian, De Spectaculis 30
c. AD 200 · Carthage
Councils & Creeds
The Apostles' Creed
Early church · Rome (Old Roman Creed)
Councils & Creeds
The Athanasian Creed
5th–6th century (Western) · Latin West
Manuscripts
The Book of Enoch Manuscripts
c. 300 BC – 1st century AD (composition); manuscripts 3rd century BC – 15th century AD · Qumran (Aramaic fragments), Egypt (Greek fragments), Ethiopia (Ge'ez complete manuscripts)
Manuscripts
The Book of Giants
c. 2nd century BC · Qumran Caves 1, 2, 4 and 6; later reused by the Manichaeans in Central Asia
Manuscripts
The Book of Jubilees
c. 160–150 BC · Composed in Judaea; Hebrew fragments from Qumran caves 1, 2, 3, 4 and 11; complete text preserved in Ge'ez
Manuscripts
The Book of Tobit
c. 225–175 BC · Composed in the eastern diaspora; Aramaic and Hebrew fragments from Qumran Cave 4
History
The Case for the Resurrection — Execution, Early Accounts, Empty Tomb, Eyewitnesses
AD 30–100 (events and earliest sources) · Jerusalem
Councils & Creeds
The Chalcedonian Definition
5th century · Chalcedon
Manuscripts
The Community Rule (1QS)
c. 100 BC · Qumran Cave 1, with ten further copies from Cave 4
History
The Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran
c. 250 BC – AD 68 · Qumran, north-western shore of the Dead Sea, Judaea
History
The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)
late 1st century · Syria (probable origin)
Manuscripts
The Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen)
c. 1st century BC · Qumran Cave 1
Councils & Creeds
The Great Schism (1054)
11th century · Rome & Constantinople
History
The Guards' Report (Matthew 28:11-15)
c. AD 30 (event); written c. AD 60-80 · Jerusalem
Sects & Movements
The Historicity of Muhammad: Sources, Manuscripts, and Scholarly Debate
7th–9th Centuries AD · Arabia, the Levant, and the early Islamic world
Councils & Creeds
The Nicene Creed
4th century · Nicaea (325) & Constantinople (381)
Archaeology
The Pilate Stone
1st century AD · Caesarea Maritima, Israel
Manuscripts
The Prayer of Manasseh
c. 2nd–1st century BC · Composed in Greek; preserved in the Septuagint Odes, the Didascalia and the Vulgate appendix
Archaeology
The Sea of Galilee Boat ("Jesus Boat")
c. 50 BC – AD 50 · Ginosar, Sea of Galilee
Manuscripts
The Septuagint (LXX)
translated c. 250-150 BC · Alexandria, Egypt
Manuscripts
The Temple Scroll, 4QMMT and the Thanksgiving Hymns
c. 2nd century BC – 1st century AD · Qumran Caves 4 and 11
Manuscripts
The War Scroll (1QM)
c. 1st century BC · Qumran Cave 1, with fragments from Cave 4
Archaeology
Theodotus Synagogue Inscription
1st century AD (pre-70) · Jerusalem (City of David)
Councils & Creeds
Third Council of Constantinople
7th century · Constantinople
History
Toledot Yeshu (Jewish Polemical Tradition)
oral traditions early; texts compiled medieval (c. 6th-10th c.) · Jewish diaspora
Archaeology
Where was Jesus crucified? Golgotha, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Garden Tomb
1st century AD · Jerusalem
Science
Y-Chromosomal Adam (Genetic Adam)
Modern genetics · Global (Y-chromosome studies)