Old Testament · book 2
Exodus
What tradition claims
Moses
1450 BC – 1400 BC
Critical scholarship
700 BC – 450 BC
The gap
Claimed start: 1450 BCGap: 1,300 yearsEarliest MS: 125 BCtoday
Earliest manuscript: Nash Papyrus
Earliest complete copy
Claimed start: 1450 BCGap: 2,433 yearsEarliest MS: 1008today
Earliest manuscript: Leningrad Codex
Notes
Same authorship tradition as Genesis. The Nash Papyrus (~125 BCE) preserves the Decalogue. The Ketef Hinnom amulets (~625 BCE) preserve the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6) — the only directly attested pre-exilic biblical text.
All witnesses on file (1)
- Nash Papyrus · 150 BC – 100 BC (~125 BC)