Books Of The Bible Written By Paul

by Don Hite

There are 13 books in the New Testament attributed to being written by or dictated to scribes by Paul (Saul) of Tarsus.

Nearly HALF of the New Testament books were written by Paul and the Book of Acts written by Luke was mostly about Paul.

Since most of the New Testament is written by or about Paul nearly everyone is familiar with him and his writing although some may not be aware of that fact. With this in mind I have complied a listing of them below as a reference:

Romans - 57 AD
1 Corinthians - 56 AD
2 Corinthians - 57 AD
Galatians - 53 AD
Ephesians - 60 AD
Philippians - 61 AD
Colossians - 63 AD
1 Thessalonians - 50 AD
2 Thessalonians - 51 AD
1 Timothy - 67 AD
2 Timothy - 67 AD
Titus - 70 AD
Philemon - 63 AD

Note: Paul’s books above are listed in the order in which they appear in the New Testament along with their estimated date of completion:

The list can also be broken down into four types of writings listed below:

The Epistles (Also known as the Pauline Epistles): Romans, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians.

The Pastoral Epistles: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Ephesians.

The letters: Colossians and 2 Thessalonians.

The Prison Epistles (Written while Paul was in prison in Rome): Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians

Note: The New Testament book Hebrews is thought by some biblical scholars to have been written by Paul most likely because of its close resemblance to his book Romans and the fact that it was written in Paul’s native Greek language.

However it was most likely not written by or dictated to a scribe by Paul. On the other hand in older versions of the King James Bible before 1800 the book was called The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. Because the writer does not identify himself as Paul - As was Paul’s custom - it is not known who the author was and therefore remains anonymous.

Some biblical scholars have suggested that the book was written by Luke based on a sermon Paul gave. Others have suggested Barnabas wrote it because he was a Levite and was knowledgeable on the subject.

Martin Luther suggested that Apollos who was a companion of Paul was the author. Still others say that Priscilla the wife of Aquila is the author.

The writer of the book may never be known but we can be assured that it is the word of God.