Pauline epistles To answer this question, it is first necessary to establish which of the epistles attributed to Paul he actually did write, since the pseudo-Pauline epistles would certainly have been written after his death. Fr. Raymond E. Brown, a member of the Vatican's Roman Pontifical Biblical Commission, has expressed his belief that, of the thirteen epistles which say that they were written by Paul, critical scholars have reached a near consensus that only seven are Paul's: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon and Romans.

However, A.Q. Morton goes further, having carried out a computer analysis of the epistles attributed to Paul, and found that only Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and Philemoncontain exactly the same writing style as Galatians. Thus, Morton also rules out 1 Thessalonians and Philippians. This is significant, because one specific theme is present in Galatians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, suggesting they were written close in time and for the same purpose.
According to tradition, supported by the much later Acts of the Apostles, the epistles called Galatians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians were written in the fifties of the first century CE. However, internal evidence from the epistles themselves suggests that they were actually written at the time of the great famine of 44-48 CE. If 1 Thessaloniansand Philippians were actually written by Paul, then a date in the forties or fifties is certainly possible. Since Philemon was in the form of a will, it would have been written last of the genuine Pauline epistles - probably in the sixties according to tradition, or at least after the time of the famine.

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus are called the 'Pastorals' because they reflect the pastoral concerns of the Church during the second century CE. It is reported that over 90 per cent of biblical scholars accept that these epistles were of late origin. Thus they can be dated to the first decades of the second century.

The remainder of the epistles of the Pauline school are believed to have been written in the second half of the first century.

Hebrews Hebrews is not really an epistle and may even have been a sermon. It is regarded as using quite elegant Greek, but the theology is relatively primitive, meaning that it must have been one of the earliest of the epistles. Most scholars would date Hebrews to the fifties or earlier.

Other epistles The Epistle of James is believed to have been written in layers, with the oldest layer dating from pre-Christian Judaism.

First John was written following a split in the Johannine community shortly after John's Gospel was written early in the second century, with 2 John and 3 John following soon afterwards.

It is unclear when First Peter was written, probably late in the first century. Second Peter copies much material from the Epistle of Jude, which self-identifies as an epistle of the second century, so 2 Peter is believed to have been written late in the first half of the second century.

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