New Testament · book 40
Matthew
What tradition claims
Matthew the apostle (tax collector)
AD 50 – AD 65
Critical scholarship
AD 75 – AD 90
The gap
Claimed start: AD 50Gap: 168 yearsEarliest MS: AD 225today
Earliest manuscript: Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty I)
Earliest complete copy
Claimed start: AD 50Gap: 293 yearsEarliest MS: AD 350today
Earliest manuscript: Codex Sinaiticus
Notes
Tradition (Papias via Eusebius) ascribes a Hebrew/Aramaic Matthew to the apostle. The Greek Matthew we have is dependent on Mark, almost certainly written after the destruction of the Temple (AD 70) — the standard scholarly date is 80-90.
All witnesses on file (4)
- Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty I) · AD 200 – AD 250 (~AD 225)
- Codex Washingtonianus · AD 350 – AD 450 (~AD 400)
- Codex Bezae · AD 380 – AD 420 (~AD 400)
- Curetonian Gospels (Old Syriac) · AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450)