Chronology and Locations of the Writing of Acts and Paul’s Letters
and of Key Individuals and Events Mentioned in them
Rick Aschmann

See Map.

Last updated:

19-May-2022 at 15:14

(See History.)

(biblechronology.net/WherePaulsLettersWereWritten.html)

1. Introduction

2. The Chronological Chart

3. The Map

4. The dating of other books of the New Testament

1. Introduction

For the letters explicitly attributed to Paul the apostle (a.k.a. Saul of Tarsus) it is almost always possible to determine where they were written (except Titus) and when they were written based on information provided in the letters themselves. I also include the date of writing of Acts, which was written by Luke, and I often mention Luke’s involvement, since he was a key player in Paul’s life and ministry, and his biographer.

In the chart below the names of letters (and other books of the New Testament) and their places of writing are in red and dates and major time periods are in green. The thick horizontal green lines mark the beginnings and ends of Paul’s Missionary Journeys and his Journey to Rome, as well as his three imprisonments (One in Caesarea and two in Rome).

I will also often highlight individuals who are mentioned in Paul’s letters, in boldface, especially those mentioned in more than one context in the life of Paul. For those I have chosen to highlight I have included all references to these individuals in Paul’s letters, and also nearly all occurrences in the relevant part of Acts.[1]

Coauthors of Paul’s letters are listed in column 3 in boldface. These are always mentioned at the very beginning of each letter. Except for 1 Corinthians, coauthored by Sosthenes (see below), only Timothy (6 letters) and Silvanus (Silas) (2 letters) are coauthors with Paul.

(Sometimes a coauthor seems to have had little or no actual part in the writing, but was more in the role of someone who affirmed what Paul had written, since Paul often writes the entire letter in first person singular as if there is no coauthor. For instance, in 1 Corinthians Sosthenes is listed as the coauthor, but is never referred to again, and Paul uses “I” or “me” very often throughout the book. The times he uses “we” or “us” it is clear that he is either including his readers or some other clearly identified leader like Apollos or Barnabas in the “we” or “us”, never Sosthenes. On the other hand, in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, which were coauthored by Timothy and Silvanus (Silas), Paul treats them as genuine coauthors, so that “we” and “us” are the rule, “I” is very rare and “me” never occurs. The other letters will be somewhere in between.)

I also include some important events mentioned in Paul’s letters (some only mentioned there). I have also included a few events in Acts or in other New Testament books that are not mentioned directly in Paul’s letters, but which are helpful in providing a context or general chronology for those that are. These are indicated with a grey background.

2. The Chronological Chart

Letter, Time
Period,
or Key Event

Where
Written or
Occurred

Date,
coauthor
if any, etc.[2]

Evidence for where and when a letter was written, as well as events that
occurred before and after to show the context in which it was written,
or events described in Paul’s letters

External
References

References in
Paul’s Letters

Conversion of Saul (Paul)

Road to
Damascus

35?

Saul is converted on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus after hearing the voice of Jesus. (He is always called Saul in Acts up until Acts 13:9; see below at First Missionary Journey.) According to Galatians 2:1 his conversion occurred 14 years before the Council in Jerusalem mentioned in Acts 15, which probably occurred in early 49 (see below).

Acts 9:1-22

Gal. 1:15-16

Saul in Arabia

Arabia

(We are given no other details about why or exactly where, nor how much time he spent there.)

Gal. 1:17

Saul returns
to Damascus

Damascus

Baker’s New Testament Commentary and other commentators suggest that the sojourn in Arabia occurred between verses 22 and 23, taking the phrase “After many days had gone by” to indicate the interval in Arabia. Different commentators think he spent more time in Arabia, or more in Damascus, but we do not know.

Gal. 1:17

Saul flees from
Damascus

38?

Saul is forced to flee the city because the Jews conspired to kill him, and he was let down in a basket from a window in the wall. Galatians makes clear that this was 3 years after his conversion. 2 Corinthians informs us that Damascus at this time was held by the Nabatean king Aretas IV Philopatris, who reigned from 9 B.C. to 40 A.D., and that the Jews apparently appealed to Aretas’s governor (ethnarch, ἐθνάρχης), who tried to arrest Saul.

Acts 9:23-25

2 Cor. 11:32-33

Gal. 1:18

Saul returns
to Jerusalem

Jerusalem

He is initially rejected by the disciples out of fear, but after Barnabas introduces him to some of the apostles he is accepted. (Galatians clarifies that the only apostles that Saul met then were actually Cephas (Peter) and “James the Lord’s brother”.) He also preaches boldly throughout the city.

Acts 9:26-28

Gal. 1:18-20

Saul spends
5 years at
home in Tarsus

Tarsus

38?-43

Because of further death threats he is sent home to Tarsus in Cilicia. (This time period was calculated indirectly from all of the other figures given here.)

We are told nothing about what Paul did during this long period of time, but some indirect evidence suggests that he continued to evangelize boldly, as he always did, from his conversion on, and even that he planted several churches during this time. We are told that Paul and Silas, after leaving Antioch at the beginning of the Second Missionary Journey around late 49, “went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (Acts 15:41). However, on the First Missionary Journey Paul and Barnabas had not travelled through Cilicia or the part of Syria north of Antioch, so they did not plant those churches then. It is quite probable that Paul had planted one or more churches in Tarsus while he was living there, and perhaps in nearby places as well, and many of the commentators agree.

(These “believers in…Syria and Cilicia” are also mentioned in Acts 15:23 as some who would receive the report from the Jerusalem council, and in fact are specified as including Gentiles, suggesting that Paul had begun to follow even this early his mandate to evangelize the Gentiles. This mandate is recorded in Acts 22:11 and 26:17. However, some of these churches may have been founded later from the church in Antioch.)

Acts 9:29-30

(Acts 15:41)

Gal. 1:21

Start of
Antioch church

Antioch
(in Syria)

43?

Jewish believers fleeing from persecution evangelize Gentiles in Antioch, forming the first multiethnic church that we hear about. (But see previous line.)

Acts 11:19-21

Barnabas sent
from Jerusalem

”

Barnabas[3] takes the leadership there.

Acts 11:22-24

Barnabas
brings Paul
from Tarsus

”

43-44

“So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.”

Acts 11:25-26

Gal. 1:21

Paul’s
celestial
vision

Antioch??

43-44?

Saul (Paul) has a marvellous vision of heaven in which he “heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter”, which he writes about 14 years later in 2 Corinthians, written probably in Fall 57. If we subtract 14 from 57 we find that this would have occurred in 43, which would put it during Paul’s first year of teaching with Barnabas in the church in Antioch described in Acts 11:26. (See my New Testament chronology page.) However, some commentators would associate it with the trance mentioned by Paul in Acts 22:17, which occurred in Jerusalem, and the time frame would permit this if it occurred during the famine relief visit in 44. However, this assumes that Paul is talking about this visit to Jerusalem in Acts 22:17, whereas it seems more natural to me to assume it occurred on the earlier visit in 38 (3 years after his conversion) mentioned in Acts 9:26-30 and Galatians 1:18-19. (Search for Acts 22:17 on this page to see arguments for and against this theory.)

2 Cor. 12:2-4

Collection
for Judea
famine and
Jerusalem visit

Antioch,
Jerusalem

Barnabas and Saul visit Jerusalem with a collection for the famine there.

Acts 11:27-30

Death of James

Jerusalem

The Apostle James is killed by Herod (Agrippa I), and is never mentioned after this in Acts or in any of the New Testament letters. Every mention of James after this is to James the Lord’s brother.

Acts 12:1-2

Miraculous escape of Peter, first mention of John Mark (Acts 12:12).

Acts 12:3-19

Death of Herod (Agrippa I).

Acts 12:19-24

Barnabas and Saul return home to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.

Acts 12:25

First

Missionary

Journey

Cyprus,
Pamphylia

Time
unknown

Barnabas and Saul set out on their First Missionary Journey into Cyprus (Barnabas’s home province, Acts 4:36) and Asia Minor, taking John (Mark) (Acts 13:5) with them. However, John (Mark) abandons them in Pamphylia and returns to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), which becomes an issue later on.

Acts 13:1-12

Up to this point Luke has always called Paul “Saul”, but in Acts 13:9 Luke says: “Then Saul, who was also called Paul…”, after which he switches entirely to calling him “Paul”, with no further explanation. According to Baker’s New Testament Commentary the name Paul, Greek Παῦλος, is a loan word from Latin “paulus” which means “the little one”, perhaps a nickname like “shorty” indicating his stature. Apparently not just Luke but everyone else, including Paul himself in his letters, uses this name from here on, except when Paul is recounting his conversion in Acts 22:7,13 and 26:14.

Acts 13:9

Also, up until now Luke has always said “Barnabas and Saul”, never “Saul and Barnabas”, but from Acts 13:42 on he usually says “Paul and Barnabas”, seldom “Barnabas and Paul”, suggesting that the leadership has shifted from Barnabas to Paul.

Acts 13:42

Galatia

Paul and Barnabas plant the churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. (See more about these under the writing of Galatians below.) This would evidently be when Paul first met a very young Timothy in Lystra, where he likely came to Jesus through Paul’s witness. (See more at the writing of 1 Timothy below.) They suffer serious opposition and persecution during this time, which Paul refers to a few years later in Gal. 4:13-14 and some 20 years later in 2 Tim. 3:10-11.

Acts 13:12-52

Acts 14

Gal. 4:13-14

2 Tim. 3:10-11

Problem about
circumcision

Antioch
(in Syria)

Early 49?

Paul and Barnabas are involved in a sharp dispute with some Jews from Judea who said that believers must be circumcised to be saved. The church sends them to Jerusalem to a council.

Acts 15:1-3

Council in
Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Early 49?

This was the first church council, and Paul and Barnabas attended from Antioch. See also the comment on Galatians 2:1-10 in the discussion of the date of writing of Galatians below. James (the brother of Jesus) and the apostles Simon Peter (Cephas) and John confirmed that they should not put a heavy yoke on the Gentiles.

Acts 15:4-35

Gal. 2:1-10

(The apostle John is never mentioned again in Acts or anywhere else in Paul’s letters. The only place he is mentioned after this is several times in the book of Revelation. He is not even mentioned in the three letters that John wrote, except in the titles of these letters. The writer of 3 John calls himself simply “the elder”.)

(3 John 1,
Rev. 1:1,4,9,
22:8)

Galatians 2:1-3 is the earliest mention of Titus, who surprisingly is never mentioned by name in Acts, though other important disciples and companions of Paul, like Timothy, figure largely there.[4] Thus the only information we have about him is found in Paul’s letters. He does not appear again for another 8 years, when he is mentioned repeatedly in 2 Corinthians (see multiple references in the year 57 below). He was evidently a Greek, possibly from Antioch, and was apparently never circumcised (as this passage shows), unlike Timothy (Acts 16:3).

Gal. 2:1-3

This event is also the earliest mention of Silas (called Silvanus in Paul’s letters and in 1 Peter 5:12), not yet as a companion of Paul, but as one of two delegates sent by the council from Jerusalem to Antioch with the results of the council. They apparently return to Jerusalem as stated in Acts 15:33, but Silas reappears in Antioch a few months later as Paul’s companion on his Second Missionary Journey.[5]

Acts 15:22,
27,32,(33,34)

Visit of Peter
to Antioch

Antioch

49??

Peter visits Antioch, acts hypocritically with respect to the principles resolved in the Council in Jerusalem (and which had already been established in part in Acts 11:1-18), because of the arrival of some brothers from James (the brother of Jesus) in Jerusalem, and leads many other Jews astray, including Barnabas, but is confronted by Paul. This event is only mentioned in Galatians. Most commentators take the natural sequence of events in Galatians and place this event after the Council in Jerusalem. It looks a bit like what happened in Acts 15:1-3, but is clearly a distinct event. I have placed it here, since it seems to follow naturally after the account in Galatians of the Council in Jerusalem, and would not likely have been separated from it by the Second Missionary Journey. In any case it occurred before the writing of Galatians, which probably occurred during the Second Missionary Journey.

Gal. 2:11-14

Start of
Second
Missionary
Journey

Antioch
(in Syria)

Late 49?

Paul and Barnabas prepare to leave again on a Second Missionary Journey, but have a serious disagreement about whether to take along his cousin John Mark, who had abandoned them in the middle of the First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:13), and part company. Barnabas and John Mark set out for Cyprus, whereas Paul sets out for Syria, accompanied this time by Silas.

Acts 15:36-40

(However, this rift between Paul and Barnabas and John Mark turns out not to have been permanent: Barnabas is mentioned several times in Paul’s letters (see endnote 3), always positively, and John Mark is similarly mentioned quite positively, in Colossians 4:10 as someone to be welcomed, in 2 Timothy 4:11 as someone useful to Paul for ministry, and in Philemon 24 as being Paul’s fellow worker and sending greetings to Philemon.)

(John Mark was apparently Peter’s companion later on, as is suggested in 1 Peter 5:13, and early tradition, likely reliable, says that he wrote the Gospel of Mark from Rome based on material provided by Peter.)

(1 Peter 5:13)

Syria and Cilicia

They go “through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches”. See the discussion above at 38?-43.

Acts 15:41

Derbe &
Lystra

Timothy joins them in Lystra (his hometown) and is circumcised. Paul had probably met him several years earlier on his First Missionary Journey (see above).

Acts 16:1-3

Iconium &
Antioch
(in Pisidia)?

They travel from town to town, strengthening the churches. (The only other churches we know to have existed in the area then were those in Iconium and Antioch.)

Acts 16:4-5

Phrygia
& Mysia

They continue travelling, but the Holy Spirit forbids them to preach the word in the province of Asia.

Acts 16:6-8

Troas

Paul receives the “Macedonian call”.

Acts 16:9

Luke apparently meets Paul and his companions in Troas (possibly for the first time), joins their group from that point on, as evidenced by his suddenly beginning to use the pronoun “we” and its corresponding Greek verb forms, and travels with them to Philippi. (See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.)

Acts 16:10-11

Philippi

Lydia is converted, Paul’s first convert in Europe[6], and they are invited to stay at her house, the beginnings of the church in Philippi.

Acts 16:12-15

Paul and Silas are arrested, beaten, and imprisoned in Philippi (mentioned indirectly in 2 Cor. 11:23,25), the jailer and his family believe, and Paul and Silas are released. (Their companions Timothy and Luke are not arrested with them.) As a result of these events, the very important church here was evidently effectively planted then (Php. 4:15-16), even though they had only been there a short time, and left immediately after this. (Acts 16:12,39-40)

Acts 16:16‑40

1 Thess. 2:2

Php. 4:15-16

(2 Cor. 11:23,25)

(Luke may have remained in Philippi for the next 9 years, until April 58, since the next time he travels with Paul they leave from Philippi. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.)

(Acts 20:5-6)

Thessalonica

Paul and Silas plant the church in Thessalonica.

Acts 17:1‑9

1 Thess. 1:4‑2:16, 3:4

Berea

Paul and Silas are forced to leave Thessalonica (for Berea).

Acts 17:10-13

1 Thess. 2:17

Athens

Paul reaches Athens, waits for Silas and Timothy.

Acts 17:14‑34

(1 Thess. 3:1)

Silas and Timothy arrive in Athens.

(1 Thess. 3:1)

Timothy is immediately sent back to Thessalonica to see how the church is doing and to strengthen and encourage them.

1 Thess. 3:1‑5

Silas evidently also leaves Paul in Athens, since he is not with him when he leaves Athens, to also go to Macedonia, though apparently not to join Timothy, since they apparently do not travel together at all. Baker’s New Testament Commentary suggests that he might have been sent to Philippi, on a mission similar to Timothy’s.

(Acts 18:1,5)

Corinth

50, January

Paul moves on to Corinth and meets Aquila and Priscilla, who had recently come from Rome because of the expulsion of the Jews by Roman emperor Claudius, which some external evidence suggests occurred in 49, which fits perfectly into the time frame.

Acts 18:1‑4

Galatians

Corinth?

50?

Date of writing: Galatians 2:1-10 is almost certainly (in my opinion, weighing all the evidence) talking about the Council in Jerusalem, which probably occurred in early 49 (see above). If so, then this book must have been written sometime after that, and as several commentators have stated, including Baker’s New Testament Commentary and the New Bible Dictionary, Paul’s comment in Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…” suggests that it was not long after his first visit to them. A majority of commentators, including Baker’s New Testament Commentary, interpret the phrase “at first” in Gal. 4:13 to mean that he had already visited them twice.

Baker’s New Testament Commentary further says, “It may well have been written, therefore, on the second missionary journey, at Corinth, before the arrival of Timothy and Silas. This would explain the omission of greetings from these two men, both of whom occupied a special place in the hearts and memories of the south Galatian churches (Acts 15:40; Acts 16:1-3). Contrast Gal. 1:1-2, where these two names are omitted, with 1 Th. 1:1; 2 Th. 1:1, which mention both, the probable reason for the omission and the inclusion being that when Galatians was composed Timothy and Silas were still absent, but when the letters to the Thessalonians were written these two fellow-workers had arrived in Corinth and were again in Paul’s company.”

I think these arguments make sense, so I have tentatively placed the writing of Galatians here.[7]

Gal. 1:1-2

Gal. 1:6

Gal. 2:1-10

Gal. 4:13

This is the earliest mention of Titus, and one of the few mentions of Barnabas outside of Acts. See the Council in Jerusalem above.

Other events and time spans mentioned in Galatians from the year 35 to the year 49 can be seen above and on my New Testament chronology page.

Galatia was not a city, but a Roman province (shown in green on the map below). The only places we know of that Paul visited in this province were Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, all in the far south of the province, and he apparently visited these cities on all three of his Missionary Journeys. Evidently this letter was intended to be circulated among all of these churches.

Gal. 2:1-3

Gal. 2:2,9,13

Corinth

Silas arrives in Corinth from Macedonia before Timothy does.

Acts 18:5

(1 Thess. 3:6)

Timothy arrives in Corinth from Thessalonica in Macedonia.

Acts 18:5

1 Thess. 3:6‑10

1 Thessalonians

Corinth

50
Timothy
& Silvanus
(Silas)

Paul immediately writes 1 Thessalonians, with Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy’s help. The book itself makes it clear that it was written in this context, since it details almost all of Paul’s itinerary in Europe up to this point, as can be seen in the rightmost column for the events above. This allows us to cross-reference it with Acts. It is this cross-referencing that makes it clear that the letter was written from Corinth, immediately after the arrival of Timothy (and Silas).

1 Thess. 1:1, 3:6

Corinth

Paul plants the church in Corinth,

Acts 18:1-8

1 Cor. 3:6a

with the important collaboration of Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy,

2 Cor. 1:19

and baptizes Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue,

Acts 18:8

1 Cor. 1:14

Gaius (of Corinth), who will be his host for 3 months 7 years later when he writes Romans,

Rom. 16:23,

1 Cor. 1:14

and the household of Stephanas,

1 Cor. 1:16

who were the very first converts in Corinth. Stephanas later visited him in Ephesus before he wrote 1 Corinthians.

1 Cor. 16:15-18

(See below twice at Winter 57-58 for more on Gaius.)

2 Thessalonians

Corinth

50-51
Timothy
& Silvanus
(Silas)

It is clear that this book was also written during Paul’s stay in Corinth, based on 2 Thess. 1:1 and the subject matter, but after 1 Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2:15).

2 Thess. 1:1

(This is the last information we have about Silas / Silvanus travelling with Paul. He may have returned to Antioch, his home church, since he apparently does not accompany Paul when he leaves Corinth. He is mentioned one more time by Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:19 in 57 (as Silvanus), but only looking back at this period, as seen above. Peter later refers to a Silvanus in 1 Peter 5:12 as the coauthor of the letter, who may have been the same person.)

1 Peter 5:12

Corinth

Paul remains in Corinth for more than 1½ years, establishing the church there.

Acts 18:11

1 Cor. 3:6a

Fall 51

Final legal attack on Paul by the Jews before the proconsul Gallio. It ends with Sosthenes the synagogue ruler being beaten by his fellow Jews. He may later have become a believer and been the same Sosthenes who coauthored 1 Corinthians with Paul 6 years later.

Acts 18:12-17

End of
Second
Missionary
Journey

Ephesus

Late 51?

Paul leaves Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila and goes to Ephesus, ministering briefly and leaving Priscilla and Aquila there. They probably began the planting of the church that met in their home (mentioned 5½ years later by Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:19) as early as this, though Paul would not rejoin them to help expand the work until 2 or 3 years later.[8]

Acts 18:18-20

It was presumably at this time that Epenetus was converted, since Paul calls him “my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in [the province of] Asia”[9] in Romans 16:5, immediately after he greets Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila in verses 3-5. All 3 of them evidently moved to Rome later, before Paul wrote the book of Romans in winter 57-58, 6 years later.

Romans 16:5

Antioch

Late 51?

Paul leaves Ephesus and returns to Antioch, apparently alone,[10] completing the Second Missionary Journey.

Acts 18:21-22

In Antioch

Antioch

Late 51?-
Early 54?

“After spending some time there…” Paul continues to minister in Antioch some 2 years.

(This 2-year figure for Paul’s stay in Antioch is not provided in the text of Acts. Instead, I calculated it from both ends, from the two known dates of Gallio in 51 and Porcius Festus in 60, both known from extra-biblical sources and shown in lavender on the New Testament chronology page), and then using other clues in the text to work towards the middle. Thus, the date of the end of the Second Missionary Journey depends on when Gallio was proconsul in Achaia in mid-51, whereas the start of the Third Missionary Journey depends on when Porcius Festus became procurator of Judea in mid-60, and is then calculated back to early 54 by using all of the other figures provided in the text of Acts.[11] (For both of these dates see Chronology of the Early Church.) Another evidence of the reliability of the Bible is that all of these figures fit nicely into the time available.)

Acts 18:23a

Start of
Third
Missionary
Journey

Antioch

Early 54?

“…he departed…” Paul leaves Antioch to begin his Third Missionary Journey, apparently alone, which was unusual, or else his companions are simply not mentioned.¹⁰

Acts 18:23b

Galatia &
Phrygia

“…and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples”. The only places we know of where there were believers in Galatia were Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia, where Paul planted churches on his First Missionary Journey and visited on his Second Missionary Journey and again here.

As for where in Phrygia there were believers, this is not clear. On the Second Missionary Journey around 49 he and Silas travelled through Phrygia (Acts 16:6), probably the northern part since they were headed for Mysia, but there is no record of them doing any evangelism there, in fact the verse says that the Holy Spirit had forbidden them to speak in the province of Asia, of which Phrygia formed a part. The cities of Colossae and Laodicea were part of Phrygia, but the evidence suggests that Paul had never met any of the believers there, and it seems likely that the churches there had not yet been planted (see Colossians below). Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium were sometimes considered part of Phrygia, which the Romans had split between the provinces of Asia and Galatia, and it seems likely that the believers in one or both of these towns are the ones referred to.

Acts 18:23c

(Ephesus)

Apollos arrives in Ephesus; Priscilla and Aquila correct his doctrine.

Acts 18:24-26

(Corinth)

Apollos arrives in Corinth and greatly helps the believers. Thus when Paul says “I planted the seed” in 1 Cor. 3:6 he is referring to Paul’s 1½ years in Corinth in 50 and 51, and when he says “Apollos watered it” he is referring to this period of time when Apollos was in Corinth. (Apollos and Paul had evidently not yet met at this point, since Paul will only arrive in Ephesus after Apollos left. See comments in Spring 57 below.)

Acts 18:27-
19:1a

1 Cor. 3:6b

Ephesus

Mid 54?

Paul arrives in Ephesus at some time during Apollos’s time in Corinth, and he will stay there for 3 years (Acts 20:31), continuing the work of planting a church there that was started by Priscilla and Aquila. They are not mentioned here or again in Acts, but are clearly still there and working with Paul, as 1 Corinthians 16:19 suggests (see more below at 1 Corinthians).[12] (For more details about this time period, see my New Testament chronology page.)

Acts 19:1-20

Acts 20:31

It is not clear where Timothy has been since Paul left Corinth some 3 years earlier. He was not listed as Paul’s companion then, which would seem to suggest that he remained in Corinth after Paul left. However, he now appears in Ephesus, since he is available for Paul to send to Macedonia in early 57 in Acts 19:22. He might have come from Corinth and joined Paul in Ephesus at some point after Paul arrived there. Or it is possible that he had returned home to Lystra in Galatia, and that Paul picked him up there on his way through. However, Coneybeare and Howson think he never left Paul.¹⁰

(Acts 19:22)

(earlier letter
to the
Corinthians)

Ephesus??

1 Corinthians was not Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: there was an earlier letter about which we know very little. It may have been written during this time.

1 Cor. 5:9‑10

(earlier letter
from the
Corinthians)

(Corinth)

56??

The Corinthians had also written an earlier letter to Paul, probably after the preceding, raising various questions, which he answers starting in chapter 7. Answers to specific questions are introduced by the phrase “Now concerning…” (in the ESV), in 1 Cor. 7:1, 7:25, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, and 16:12. It was almost certainly written during Paul’s stay in Ephesus, since he would not likely have waited 3 years to answer their important questions.

1 Cor. 7:1

Ephesus

Sometime before the writing of 1 Corinthians, Paul is visited in Ephesus by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus from the church in Corinth, and is encouraged and refreshed by them. Stephanas was one of the few people that Paul had baptized during his initial stay in Corinth in 50-51. They could have brought the letter from the Corinthians to Paul.

1 Cor. 16:15-18,

1:14

Early 57?

Paul’s initial plans (as expressed in 2 Cor. 1:15‑2:4) were to visit Corinth first after leaving Ephesus, but he changes his mind before writing 1 Corinthians, because of the problems in the church in Corinth, and decides to visit Macedonia first, but to write them a letter (1 Corinthians) first to address the problems. This new plan is expressed in 1 Cor. 16:6‑8 and in Acts 19:21.

Acts 19:21

2 Cor. 1:15‑2:4

1 Cor. 16:6‑8

Paul sends Timothy and Erastus ahead to Macedonia, with the intention that they continue on to Corinth if possible, as he makes clear in two places in 1 Corinthians, their purpose in Corinth being “to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17), and perhaps they were also to take the time to encourage and exhort the churches in Macedonia. However, since Timothy is still in Macedonia at the writing of 2 Corinthians a few months later, and since Paul found it necessary to send Titus to Corinth in the meantime (see below), it seems probable that they never got there.

Acts 19:22

1 Cor. 4:17

1 Cor. 16:10-11

Paul “himself stayed in [the province of] Asia for a while” (Acts 19:22), specifically planning to stay until Pentecost (1 Cor. 16:8).

1 Cor. 16:8

1 Corinthians

Ephesus

Spring
57?

Sosthenes[13]

Paul writes 1 Corinthians from Ephesus before Pentecost, planning to spend the winter in Corinth. I believe that this is the letter later referred to in 2 Corinthians, though others have assumed an intermediate letter that was even more severe than 1 Corinthians!

1 Cor. 1:1

1 Cor. 16:6‑8

2 Cor. 2:3‑4, 7:8,12

Apparently Apollos is back in Ephesus from his time of “watering the seed” in Corinth (see above), and evidently he and Paul first meet here at some point during Paul’s 3-year stay in Ephesus. According to 1 Cor. 16:12, Paul had wanted to send him back to Corinth “with the other brothers” who were taking this letter, but it was not convenient, and he would come “when he has opportunity”. (Among the Corinthians factions had developed around Paul and Apollos and others like Cephas (Peter), as various passages in the book show, but clearly Paul and Apollos feel no rivalry and are in perfect unity.)

1 Cor. 16:12
(1:12, 3:4-9,22, 4:6)

This letter includes the only confirmation that Jesus appeared separately to Cephas (Peter) after the resurrection, told very briefly in Luke 24:34.

1 Cor. 15:5

It also contains the only indication that Jesus appeared to his own brother James after the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:7

This letter also includes one of the few mentions of Barnabas outside Acts, where Paul says, “is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?”, as distinguished from others like Cephas (Peter).

1 Cor. 9:5-6

(Simon Peter has figured largely in Acts and in two of Paul’s letters, Galatians and 1 Corinthians. The only other time he is mentioned in the latter part of the New Testament is as the writer of 1 and 2 Peter.)

(1 Peter 1:1)

(2 Peter 1:1)

Aquila and Prisca (Priscilla) are still living in Ephesus,[14] having presumably lived there for the last 5½ years, since around late 51. They were mentioned once in the interim, around early 54, in Acts 18:24-26. Paul says that they and “the church [that meets] in their house” send greetings, which is clearly not the entire Christian church in Ephesus at the time, since the very next verse says “All the brothers [and sisters] send you greetings” (ESV). This might suggest that there were multiple full churches.[15] Whether this was more of a Bible study or an official church congregation is unclear. (Similar questions arise in Romans 16:5, Colossians 4:15, and Philemon 2.)

1 Cor. 16:19

Ephesus

At some point after writing 1 Corinthians Paul apparently sends Titus to visit Corinth to see how his letter was received, expecting to meet him later in Troas (see below). This is only the second time Titus appears in the record, after the Council in Jerusalem 8 years earlier.

(2 Cor. 2:12‑13,
7:5‑8, 7:13-15)

Riot in Ephesus

May-June
57?

The event that brings about Paul’s departure from Ephesus is a major riot that occurs by idol worshippers against the Christians. Gaius and Aristarchus, described as “Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel” are with Paul during the riot, and are seized and dragged along by the crowd.

Acts 19:23-41

“hardships we
suffered in the
province of
Asia”

Ephesus?

(probably
54-57)

This riot could have been the “hardships we suffered in the province of Asia” that Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 1:8‑10, though this is just one possibility. (As Baker’s New Testament Commentary and a number of other commentators point out, Paul’s friends kept him relatively safe during the riot, so it seems unlikely that he “despaired even of life”.) It could just as easily have been an event that is not related by Luke in Acts, as explained in “(Other hardships Paul suffered at some point)” below.

2 Cor. 1:8‑10

May-June
57?

Paul leaves Ephesus for Macedonia, presumably at Pentecost (unless the riot prompted him to leave earlier, which is unclear). Acts 20:1 makes it sound like he was alone, but from 2 Cor. 7:5‑7 we know that he was not alone, because of the first person plural Greek verb forms and pronouns used (“we”, “us”, “ours”). Who was with him? It was not Luke, who would not rejoin Paul’s party until April 58 when they leave Philippi (see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded). Nor was it Timothy or Erastus, who had been sent ahead to Macedonia (Acts 19:22). Coneybeare and Howson, page 479 suggest that it was probably Tychicus and Trophimus, since they are with him later in Corinth (Acts 20:4) and were both from the province of Asia, Trophimus specifically from Ephesus (Acts 21:29) and Tychicus probably so. John Phillips also proposes this, and it seems quite likely.

Acts 20:1-2

(1 Cor. 16:8)

(2 Cor. 7:5‑7)

Troas

He passes through Troas, expecting to find Titus there with news of his visit to Corinth, and apparently plans to stay there a while, but when he does not find Titus there, he hurries on to Macedonia.

2 Cor. 2:12‑13

Macedonia

He arrives in Macedonia (city not specified), and finds Titus there with good news from Corinth.

Acts 20:2

2 Cor. 7:5‑8, 7:13‑15

(Other hardships
Paul suffered at
some point)

(all before
writing 2
Corinthians
in Fall 57)

Here Paul gives a long list of things he suffered at some point in his ministry, and a number of these things are not related at all by Luke in Acts, so we know that Acts is an incomplete narrative. Specifically, Luke only mentions one imprisonment (Acts 16:23-40) before Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, but evidently there were more; Luke mentions no cases of the Jews’ 39 lashes, and only one case of a beating of any kind (Acts 16:22-23); and the only shipwreck Luke mentions is in Acts 27, 3 years after writing 2 Corinthians, so he was evidently shipwrecked at least 4 times! These things could have happened at various times since his conversion some 22 years earlier, some even in the 5 years he spent in Tarsus from 38?-43, but we simply do not know.

(Acts 16:22-40)

2 Cor. 11:23-27

2 Corinthians

Macedonia
(city not
specified)

Fall 57?
Timothy

Carriers:

Titus

(8:16-17)

& 2 others

(8:18-19,22,

12:18)

Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia, after experiencing more severe trials there. He apparently sends Titus back to Corinth with the letter, and also to get things moving for the collection for Judea. Two other brothers accompanied him, who are not named. The first of these, described in 2 Cor. 8:18-19 as a famous preacher and companion of Paul, may have been Luke (who may have lived in Philippi from Late 49 until April 58; see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded), but if so he returned to Macedonia before Paul went there to spend the winter, since he does not travel again with Paul until April 58. However, it could just as easily have been someone else. (See biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/8-18.htm, especially Jamieson-Fausset-Brown.) See also endnote 4. The second is similarly unknown; various opinions can be seen at biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/8-22.htm.

2 Cor. 2:13, 7:5,
8:6, 8:16‑24,
12:18

Corinth

Winter
57-58?

Paul arrives in Corinth in Achaia, stays 3 months, and receives from them the collection for Judea.

Acts 20:2‑3

1 Cor. 16:1‑7

2 Cor. 8‑9

He is the guest of Gaius (of Corinth), whom he had baptized there 7 years earlier. (See more below at the writing of Romans.)

Rom. 16:23

(1 Cor. 1:14)

This was Paul’s third visit to Corinth. The first visit was clearly his 1½-years stay (2 Cor. 18:11) in 50-51, because that was when the church was planted, but when the second one occurred is not known. The second visit was apparently a painful one, since Paul wanted to avoid “another painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1) before writing 2 Corinthians. Some (e.g. the New Bible Dictionary and Baker’s New Testament Commentary) have suggested that this first painful visit was after writing 1 Corinthians, but this would be hard to fit into the tight time frame of the year 57. Others (e.g. Expositor’s Greek Testament) suggest that it was during Paul’s 3-year stay in Ephesus in 54-57.)

2 Cor. 12:14, 13:1,
2:1

Romans

Corinth

Winter

57-58?

Carrier:

Phoebe?
(Rom.
16:1‑2)

Amanuensis
or personal
secretary:
Tertius
(Rom.
16:22)

Paul writes Romans from Corinth. This is suggested by the following facts:

1. Paul asks the Roman Christians to give Phoebe a good reception. She was from the church in Cenchreae, a town near Corinth. This letter may have been delivered by her.

Romans 16:1‑2

2. The Gaius in Corinth whom Paul had baptized is likely the same Gaius who provided hospitality to Paul and many others mentioned in Romans (or, following translations like the ESV: “Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church”, some commentators think that “the whole church” in Corinth met at his house). He seems to be a native of Corinth whom Paul met there, and who remained there for at least the next 7 years. In this case he would not be the same as Gaius the Macedonian who was with Paul in Ephesus in Acts 19:29. Nor would he be the same as Gaius of Derbe who was actually with Paul in Corinth in Acts 20:4 at the same time that Paul would have been staying with this Gaius, or at least was there at the end of Paul’s time in Corinth, because he then left Corinth with Paul (Acts 20:4-5), whereas this Gaius apparently stayed.

Romans 16:23

1 Cor. 1:14

(One other Gaius is mentioned in the New Testament, as the addressee of the book of 3 John, but it is impossible to know if he is to be identified with any of the Gaiuses associated with Paul.)

(3 John 1)

3. Erastus, the “city treasurer” (ESV) or “city’s director of public works” (NIV) (ὁ οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως) mentioned in Romans 16:23, is likely the same Erastus that Paul will leave behind in Corinth 10 years later (2 Tim. 4:20). He is also likely mentioned in the Erastus Inscription (with pictures here), found in Corinth in 1929.[16] (I personally doubt that he was the same Erastus as mentioned in Acts 19:22 as being Paul’s helper who was sent from Ephesus to Macedonia, since he would have been an important official in Corinth.)

Romans 16:23

2 Tim. 4:20

4. Timothy and Sosipater are with Paul as he writes, and Timothy and Sopater (similar though not identical name, but evidently the same person) accompanied Paul to Jerusalem right at the end of his Third Missionary Journey, soon after his departure from Corinth.

Acts 20:4

Romans 16:21

5. He expects to visit Rome after he delivers the collection for Judea from the Macedonian and Achaian churches, after which he plans to go to Spain. This clearly puts the date at the end of the Third Missionary Journey.

Acts 19:21

Romans 15:23‑29

Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila are evidently now living in Rome again, having moved back there in the last few months, since they were still in Ephesus at the writing of 1 Corinthians in Spring 57, and Paul greets them and “the church [that meets] in their house”. Roman Emperor Claudius died in 54 (see NT Chronology expanded), so presumably his expulsion decree was no longer in force, and Rome may have been their hometown (or at least Priscilla’s, since Acts 18:2 says Aquila was from Pontus).

Romans 16:3-5

Early 58

Paul leaves Corinth. “Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.”

Acts 20:3b‑4

Troas

The others go on ahead to wait at Troas.

Acts 20:5

Philippi

Paul returns to Macedonia (Philippi) alone.

Acts 20:(3b),(6)

End of
Third
Missionary
Journey

Troas

58, April

He leaves Philippi (after Unleavened Bread), accompanied again by Luke, who had not travelled with him since Late 49, and who may have remained in Philippi during the intervening 9 years. Luke may have remained with him for the rest of his life. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded. They arrive in Troas, where they meet the brothers who had gone on ahead. They stay there 7 days.

Acts 20:5-6

Paul raises Eutychus the last day of his visit.

Acts 20:7-12

Travel to Miletus

Acts 20:13-16

Miletus

Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders

Acts 20:17-38

Travel to Jerusalem

Acts 20:1-14

Jerusalem

58, May-
June

They arrive in Jerusalem, probably by Pentecost. This completes the Third Missionary Journey. (It is not stated how many made the entire trip from Troas to Jerusalem, but at least Paul, Luke, Trophimus, and Aristarchus did, since we hear about these later. Baker’s New Testament Commentary suggests that “The seven men [mentioned in Acts 20:4], delegates from various churches [who were sending money for the church in Jerusalem], accompanied Paul to protect him from physical harm. Their numbers also safeguarded the money they were bringing to the Jerusalem church.” Thus it is probable that the entire group made the trip, 9 in all.)

Acts 21:15

(Acts 20:16)

Jerusalem

They visit James and the elders of the Jerusalem church and give a report. This is the last mention of James in Acts or any of the letters except in James, the letter he wrote, and Jude, the letter his brother wrote. Tradition suggests that he was martyred not too many years after this, perhaps as early as 62. (Apparently by this point the apostles are no longer an important part of the leadership in Jerusalem, even though at the Council in Jerusalem 9 years earlier mentioned in Acts 15 they definitely are. They are never mentioned again after Acts 16:4, shortly after the Council. Perhaps many have moved elsewhere or possibly even died.)

Acts 21:17-19

(James 1:1)

(Jude 1)

The leaders suggest a plan for Paul to improve his reputation among the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, which Paul follows.

Acts 21:20-26

Paul is arrested in Jerusalem (as a result of a misunderstanding concerning Trophimus). After various turmoils the decision is made to move him to Caesarea for his own safety.

Acts 21:17-23:30

Imprisonment
in Caesarea

Caesarea

Summer 58-
Summer 60

Paul is imprisoned for 2 years in Caesarea. The second “we” section of Acts ends with Acts 21:25 (21:18 is the last usage of “we” or “us” or their corresponding verb forms, but Luke was clearly there for the rest of the meeting), but this does not prove that Luke left him at this point, simply that he had no occasion to use a first-person plural pronoun or verb again until chapter 27. The great detail of the intervening chapters suggests to me that he was present. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.

Acts 23:31-

26:32

Journey to Rome

Summer 60-
January 61

Paul is sent to Rome by ship, again accompanied by Luke (see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded) and by Aristarchus (Acts 27:2), who may have stayed with them since leaving Corinth in Early 58. They are shipwrecked on the way.

Acts 27:1-

28:16

Start of First
Roman
Imprisonment

Rome

January 61

Paul arrives in Rome, where he will be imprisoned for 2 years, his First Roman Imprisonment. The four letters written during this time are commonly called the Prison Epistles. (He was also in prison when he wrote 2 Timothy, but it is not normally included in this group, forming instead a part of the Pastoral Epistles.)

Acts 28:16-31

Ephesians

Rome

61-63

Carrier:

Tychicus

(Eph.

6:21-22)

Paul is in prison, which makes Rome the likely place of writing. It makes no mention of Paul’s imminent death, suggesting the first imprisonment. Tradition concurs with this.

A few manuscripts, including some of the oldest, omit “in Ephesus,” but the vast majority includes this phrase, and the claim that it was not sent to Ephesus seems to have been started by the heretic Marcion. The problem with this idea is that the Greek seems to require an expressed location:

…

τοῖς

ἁγίοις

τοῖς

οὖσιν

[ἐν

Ἐφέσῳ]

καὶ

πιστοῖς

ἐν

Χριστῷ

Ἰησοῦ·

…

to the

saints

the
(ones)

who are

[in

Ephesus]

and /
also

faithful (ones)
/ believers

Christ

Jesus:

…

If “in Ephesus” was not in the original it would leave the phrase “to the saints who are” incomplete! The footnote in the ESV suggests that the phrase that follows would complete it: “to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus,” and the Greek certainly allows this, but it seems an odd thing to say. Which saints who are also faithful? All of them? It still seems incomplete. And it is unlike the salutation in any other letter Paul wrote, and Paul is clearly the author (1:1, 3:1), something no one has disputed, except some liberal scholars since the 19^th century. So I am convinced that it was indeed addressed to the saints in Ephesus.

However, the lack of any personal comments, again something all of Paul’s other letters have, and the fact that Paul writes as if he had not met at least some of his readers but had only heard about them (1:15) and they about him (3:2), makes it probable that it was intended to be circulated among various churches near Ephesus, including Colossae and Laodicea and probably also Hierapolis,[17] after the Ephesians had read it, like the letter to the Galatians. In fact, it is quite possible that this is “the letter from Laodicea” (i.e. the letter that would come to them by way of Laodicea) referred to in Col. 4:16.

Ephesians 3:1,
4:1, 6:20

Philippians

Rome

Late 62-
Early 63
Timothy

Carrier: Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25, 4:18)

Paul is in prison (1:7,13,14,17), but expects to be released soon (2:24). This clearly places it as written from Rome in late 62 or early 63. He hopes to send Timothy to them soon (2:19-23), though evidently later than Epaphroditus who carried the letter.

Php. 1:1

Php. 2:25, 4:18

Php. 2:19-23

Colossians,
Philemon

Rome

Late 62-
Early 63
Timothy

Carriers:

Onesimus
(Phm.
10‑21,
Col. 4:9)
& Tychicus
(Col. 4:7-8).

These two letters were evidently written at the same time, and delivered together to Colossae, the first to the church in general, and the second personally to Philemon, and to Apphia and Archippus, probably members of his family, most commentators assuming them to be his wife and son, the latter also mentioned in Colossians 4:17; the letter is also addressed to “the church (or perhaps Bible study; see 1 Corinthians above) [that meets] in your (singular, i.e. Philemon’s) house” (Philemon was the owner and head of the family). The letters were delivered by Philemon’s runaway slave Onesimus, who had run away to Rome, and there met Paul and became a Christian, and by Tychicus (though he is not mentioned in Philemon, so it is possible that Onesimus delivered Philemon personally and privately). The two letters mention a number of the same people. Paul is in prison (Col. 4:3,10,18, Phm. 9,13,23), but expects to be released soon (Phm. 22). This clearly places these letters as written from Rome in late 62 or early 63, around the same time as Philippians.

Col. 1:1-2

Col. 4:17

Phm. 1

Phm. 2

Phm. 10

Paul did not apparently plant the churches in Colossae and Laodicea, nor had he apparently ever visited them (Col. 1:4,7-9, 2:1), though he would probably have passed through both cities around 54 on his Third Missionary Journey, since both were on the main road from Antioch in Pisidia to Ephesus. Those churches, and apparently a third one in nearby Hierapolis,[18] were apparently planted by Paul’s colleague Epaphras (Col. 1:7-8, 4:12-13, Phm. 23), who was apparently from Colossae (Col. 4:12). When they were planted is unknown, but it was probably after Paul passed through there, which would explain why he hadn’t met the believers. It may have been shortly after that: the New Bible Dictionary suggests that it was during Paul’s 3-year stay at Ephesus from 54 to 57. Thus Epaphras may have been sent by Paul and the Ephesian church back to his home area to evangelize and plant these churches. However, by the time these letters were written he was a prisoner in Rome along with Paul, as stated in Philemon 23, though we are not given any further information. He is not mentioned outside these two letters.

Col. 1:7-8, 4:12-13,
Phm. 23

But Paul clearly knows Philemon and his family (Phm. 1-2,7,17,22), had evidently led him to the Lord (Phm. 19), and had worked together with him (Phm. 1,17), perhaps in Ephesus or in Rome.

Phm. 1-2,7,17,19,
22

The letter to the Colossians was also intended to be read by the church in Laodicea, and a letter he sent to Laodicea was to be read also in Colossae (Col. 4:15-16). This is either a lost letter, or quite possibly it was the letter to the Ephesians (see discussion above). One interesting thing that makes this more likely in my mind is that both Colossians and Ephesians were delivered by Tychicus. If this is true, then all four of the Prison Epistles would have been written in late 62 or early 63.

Luke is mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as being with Paul at this time and sending greetings, confirming the evidence of Acts. (See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.) John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, is also mentioned in Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24 as being with Paul and sending greetings.

Col. 4:10,14

Phm. 24

A certain Demas is mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as sending greetings, and is called Paul’s “fellow worker” in Philemon 24, in the same category as Luke, John Mark, and Aristarchus, and other important figures throughout Paul’s letters. The only other time he is mentioned is in 2 Timothy 4:10 some 5 years later, where he proves to be a disappointment to Paul, being described as “in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica”.

Col. 4:14

Phm. 24

2 Tim. 4:10

Aristarchus is also mentioned in Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24 as sending greetings, and is called Paul’s “fellow worker” in Philemon 24 and “fellow prisoner” in Colossians 4:10, suggesting that he was imprisoned after their arrival in Rome, though we have no particulars, and are told no more about him after this. We have seen him several times before as Paul’s companion, starting with the end of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus in 57. He marks a notable contrast to Demas, since he was evidently willing to go to prison for the sake of the gospel.

Col. 4:10

Phm. 24

End of First
Roman
Imprisonment

Rome

Early 63

Paul is evidently released from prison, since Luke suggests in Acts 28:30 that he was released after a 2-year imprisonment.

(Acts 28:30)

Acts
(written by
Luke)

63?

This is obviously the earliest possible time for the writing of the book of Acts, because of Acts 28:30. The simple fact that the book ends at this point suggests that the book was written soon after, explaining why Luke omits the remainder of Paul’s life, even though he probably remained with him until the end, as is evidenced by the fact that he is with Paul at the writing of 2 Timothy (2 Tim. 4:11). Further evidence is found here: carm.org/the-bible/when-was-the-book-of-acts-written.

Various
locations

Paul’s travels after this point are difficult to follow, but see Paul’s Life After his First Imprisonment. The letters he wrote from this point on are known as the Pastoral Epistles, since he sent them to pastors rather than churches.

1 Timothy

Macedonia

64-66?

Written to Timothy, his long-time disciple. Paul is not in prison, but is evidently in Macedonia (1:3), having recently left Timothy in Ephesus. This is evidently later than the events in Acts, so it falls in the years between his two imprisonments.

1 Tim. 1:2

1 Tim. 1:3

Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example…”, in 2 Timothy 2:22: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness…”, and in 1 Timothy 5:1-2: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” These all suggest that Timothy was still quite a young pastor when he received these two letters.

So how old was Timothy? We don’t know, but he wasn’t all that young as we use that term nowadays! Suppose as an estimate we say that he was around 20 years old when he began traveling with Paul around Late 49 in Acts 16:1-3; then when he first became a Christian on the First Missionary Journey in Acts 14, which was probably sometime between 45 and 48, he would have been between 15 and 19 years old. This is close to some traditional estimates.[19] In that case he would have been between 35 and 38 years old when Paul wrote 1 Timothy, and between 39 and 40 years old when Paul wrote 2 Timothy! But as the article cited in the footnote above explains, the Greek word νεότης /neˈotēs/ “youth” used in 1 Timothy 4:12, (and the related words used in the other two verses) refers to someone between 30 and 40 years old, which was fairly young in that time period for a pastor like Timothy. So we see that he couldn’t have been any older than our estimate of 20 years old above when he began traveling with Paul!

Paul is similarly described as a “young man” νεανίας /neaˈnias/ when he first appears in Acts 7:58 around the year 35. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says that this word is used “of men between twenty-four and forty years of age”. However, adulthood generally was considered to start around age 30, so if he was, at the youngest, 30 years old in the year 35, then he would have been 44 years old in the year 49 when Timothy began traveling with him, and would have been 59 to 61 years old when he wrote 1 Timothy, so Paul would never have been “young” during the time Timothy knew him, and always had the intrinsic authority of an older man for Timothy.

1 Tim. 4:12

1 Tim. 5:1

2 Tim. 2:22

Titus

64-66?

Written to Titus, his long-time disciple. Paul is not in prison, having recently left Titus in Crete (1:5) to organize things, and is making plans to spend the winter in Nicopolis (3:12), but it is not known where he is when he writes the letter. Again this is later than the events in Acts, so it falls in the years between his two imprisonments.

Titus 1:1

Titus 1:5

Titus 3:12

Several things seem to suggest that Titus’s assignment in Crete was not permanent: first that Paul summons him to winter with him at Nicopolis (3:12), after Paul sends either Artemas (only mentioned here) or Tychicus who is well known in other contexts to replace him, and second that Paul later sends him to Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10). However, church tradition (which must be taken with a grain of salt) suggests instead that these travels were temporary, and that he returned to Crete and remained there until his death.

Titus 3:12

2 Tim. 4:10

In Titus we have the last reference to Apollos (3:13), whose ministry had been so important in Corinth. He apparently was in Crete along with an otherwise unknown lawyer Zenas. He may just have been visiting, or he may have been helping Titus in the churches there and was now ready to move on. Either way Paul again heartily endorses him.

Titus 3:13

2 Timothy

Rome

67-68?

Written to Timothy, his long-time disciple. Paul is again in prison (1:8, 2:9), his Second Roman Imprisonment, and expects to die soon (4:6-8), which makes it clear that this was written during his final imprisonment in Rome, during the persecution under Nero, probably near the end of Nero’s life. His only companion at this time is Luke (4:11).

Apparently Timothy is still in Ephesus, as various things in the letter suggest (1:15-18, 4:19). We know nothing about his later life except that Paul asks him to come to him in Rome (4:9) because he has no companions left except Luke. Paul asks him to bring John Mark with him (4:11), so apparently he is also in Ephesus at this time. 4:12 suggests that perhaps Paul sent Tychicus from Rome to replace him (as he may have done with Titus, as mentioned above). However, again church tradition (for what it is worth) suggests that he remained in Ephesus until his death.

2 Tim. 1:1

Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila have evidently moved back to Ephesus from Rome, where we last saw them 10 years earlier, and Paul greets them.

2 Tim. 4:19

We also get a last glimpse of Trophimus, whom Paul recently left sick in Miletus, and of Erastus of Corinth, mentioned in Romans 16:23 10 years earlier, whom Paul recently left in Corinth.

2 Tim. 4:20

2 Timothy is the only place where Onesiphorus is mentioned, even though he had been of great service both in Ephesus during Timothy’s pastorate there, and possibly as early as Paul’s time there over 10 years before (2 Tim. 1:18) and recently to Paul in Rome (2 Tim. 1:16-17), though he has now returned to Ephesus, and Paul greets him and his family there (2 Tim. 4:19).

(Many[20] have claimed that Onesiphorus must be dead at this time, since Paul only sends greetings to his household rather than to him in 2 Tim. 4:19, and only prays for his household rather than for him in 2 Tim. 1:16, whereas when he does pray for Onesiphorus himself in 2 Tim. 1:18 he seems to be praying for his eternal salvation. This is claimed by some to be support for prayers for the dead, but neither this claim nor the claim that he was dead are accepted by many who believe the Bible, including myself.)

2 Tim. 1:16-18, 4:19

The last glimpse we get of Timothy in the New Testament seems to be at the end of the book of Hebrews, whose author is unknown, where we are informed that “our brother Timothy has been released”. Nowhere in Acts or Paul’s letters are we told that Timothy was imprisoned, so it seems likely that Hebrews was written after 2 Timothy, and that Timothy was imprisoned and released after the writing of 2 Timothy.

Heb. 13:23

3. The Map

The links in the map above are not clickable. The first link is simply this page; the second link can be clicked on here: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RomanEmpire_117.svg.

* In Acts 27:27 Luke says that, as their storm-driven ship approached land at Malta (in some versions Melita), “we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea”. However, this could not possibly have been the Adriatic Sea as we now understand it, the “body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula”, but was clearly much farther south, as the track of the Journey to Rome in the map above shows. However, the NIV footnote for this verse says, “In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy”, and this is confirmed by the article by F. F. Bruce on the Sea of Adria in the New Bible Dictionary:

“Adria. The ‘sea of Adria’ (Acts 27:27), across which the ship of the Alexandrian grain fleet, which was taking Paul to Italy, drifted in a W direction for 14 days, was the Central Mediterranean, including the Ionian Sea (cf. Strabo, Geog. 2. 5. 20; Jos. Vita 15; Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 25. 3; Ptolemy, Geog. 3. 4. 1; 15. 1). It is to be distinguished from the gulf of Adria (cf. the town of Adria or Hadria N of the Po), which is known to us as the Adriatic Sea.”

This web page also confirms that this area was considered part of the Adriatic Sea at that time: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriatic_Sea#Name.

4. The dating of other books of the New Testament

Why have I not included in the chart above or in the New Testament chronology page the dates when the 4 gospels were written, or those of the New Testament letters by other writers (often called the “General Epistles”) or the book of Revelation? The short answer to that is that the dating of those books is much less clear than the dating of Paul’s letters or the book of Acts. The one exception is Revelation, which I have shown at the bottom of my main Bible chronology chart as being written about the year 95, based on the fact that “a number of ancient authors, such as Irenaeus and Eusebius…state categorically that the book was written in the time of [emperor] Domitian” (New Bible Dictionary).

However, the rest of the books are much harder to date, and in fact there is wild disagreement even among conservative, Bible-believing authorities about their dating. However, I will list what evidence there actually is, that seems to be generally agreed upon by them:

• Mark and Luke: Of the four gospels, Mark was written first, because both Matthew and Luke used large parts of Mark, but Mark does not seem to have used any material from Matthew or Luke.[21] There is extensive evidence[22] that Mark was written by the John Mark mentioned in Acts and in Paul’s letters, as discussed in the chart above, with a great deal of input from Peter, whose companion he was in Rome (“Babylon”; see 1 Peter 5:13). One fascinating piece of evidence that it was written from Rome is that Mark 15:21 says, “And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.” The only other place in the New Testament that a Rufus is mentioned is in Romans 16:13, where Paul greets him, indicating that he was a believer living in Rome and well known to Paul around the years 57-58. Rufus was not a common name, and most authorities believe that the same person is referred to. This suggests that Mark’s initial audience was the church in Rome, who would have known Alexander and Rufus, but perhaps not their father. As to when it was written, the book would have been written before Luke, which in turn must have been written before Acts, which was its sequel and was probably written in 63 A.D. after Paul’s release from prison. We know that Mark was living in Rome not long before that and was Paul’s “fellow worker” during that time, based on Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24. How much earlier than this Mark was written is unclear.

• Matthew: We have already established that Mark and Luke were not written later than about 63 A.D. In all three of these books Jesus clearly prophesies the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-2, Luke 21:5-6), which occurred in 70 A.D., so this shows that Matthew could not have been written much later than the other two.

• John: There is a broad range of opinions about when John was written. It does not include the prophecy of the destruction of the temple, and John lived to nearly the end of the century, so many have suggested that it was written toward the end of his life. However, there is one very interesting evidence that suggests otherwise: in John 5:2 it says, “Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.” The pool, which was located just north of the temple mount, or at least the surrounding colonnades, could not have avoided the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D., but John uses the present tense for both. Daniel B. Wallace makes an excellent case that this requires us to assume that John was written before 70 A.D. Even so, it seems likely that it was written after the other gospels because of the intentionally distinct subject matter (see A Bird’s Eye View of Jesus’ Ministry).

• 1 and 2 Peter: Peter probably died around 64 A.D., so this letter must have been written before that, almost certainly from Rome (“Babylon”, 1 Peter 5:13), after both his and Mark’s moves to Rome. However, the dates of these are unknown.

For the rest of the books of the New Testament (Hebrews, James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude) the evidence for date of writing is even more meager, though authorship is fairly clear except for Hebrews.