Timeline of
Old Testament Preservation

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Who did God use to preserve his words found in the Old Testament? Below is a list of individuals and groups who faithfully protected and passed down to future generations the text of the Old Testament. Dates from Adam to the Great Assembly are B.C. while those starting with the New Testament preservation period are in A.D.

Adam to the
Biblical Patriarchs

3969 - 3039
Adam

3282 - 2313
Methuselah

2913 - 1963
Noah

2411 - 1811
Shem

Biblical Patriarchs
to Joseph

1960 - 1785
Abraham

1860 - 1680
Isaac

1800 - 1653
Jacob

1709 - 1599
Joseph

Moses to the
Great Assembly

1525 - 1405
Moses

1405 - 515
Aaronic Priesthood

586 - 189 B.C.
Ezra and the Great Assembly

What is the Great Assembly?

The Great Assembly (Great Synagogue) is a collection of 120 priests and Levites begun by Ezra the prophet. The assembly aided Ezra in collecting, reviewing, editing and ultimately canonizing the Old Testament text we are familiar with today. After the prophet's death, the assembly remained the highest Jewish religious authority in Judea for more than 100 years.

Preservation in the
New Testament period

189 B.C. - 26 A.D.
Simon the Just to Jesus Christ

20 B.C. - 20 A.D.
Hillel I

20 - 70 A.D.
Rabban Gamaliel I

50 - 70
Rabbi Johanan b. Zakkai

The Tannaim

(Preserved by scholars from Hillel I
to the completion of the Mishnah)

50 - 140 A.D.
Jabneh Academy

70 - 80
Rabbi Johanan b. Zakkai

80 - 115
Rabban Gamaliel II

115 - 135
Simeon b. Gamaliel II

140 - 170
Usha Academy
Simeon b. Gamaliel II

170 - 220
Beit She'Arim Academy
Rabbi Simeon Judah Ha-Nasi

220 - 250
Sepphoris Academy
Rabbi Hanina b. Hama

The Amoraim

250 - 375
Tiberian Academy

780 - 930
Tiberian Academy

930 - 1488
Sephardi to Soncino

Old Testament
Preservation by Printing

1488
Soncino Old Testament
(based on German manuscripts)

1494 - 1495
Brescia Old Testament
(based on German manuscripts)

1516 - 1517
1st Pratensis Rabbinic Bible

1524 - 1525
2nd Chayyim Rabbinic Bible (Basel)

1546 - 1548
Venice printing #2

1568
Venice printing #3

1616 - 1619
Basel printing #1

1618 - 1619
Basel printing #2
Johan Buxtorf the Elder

1699
Jablonski Hebraica

1720
Johann Heinrich Michaelis Hebraica
(based on Jablonski and Erfurt manuscripts)

1724 - 1725
Amsterdam printing

1839
Biblia Hebraica

1860 - 1866
Warsaw printing

1869
S. Baer, Eclectic "Masoretic"
(Basis of the Jewish Publication Society
of America Version (JPSA))

1905 - 1906
Biblia Hebraica 1
Rudolph Kittel

1908
Christian D. Ginsburg
British and Foreign Bible Society

1912
Biblia Hebraica 2
Rudolph Kitte

1926
Christian D. Ginsburg

1937
Biblia Hebraica 3
P. Kahle

1958
Norman H. Snaith

1966
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
(based on the Aleppo
Codex from 900 - 950 A.D.)

1967
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
(P. Kahle, based on Codex
Leningradensis, 1008 A.D.)

1976
Jay P. Green, The Interlinear Bible,
3 Volumes (based on 1866 British and
Foreign Bible Society)


Recommended Articles
At What Age Was Adam Created?
The Fascinating Life of Moses!
Should the Bible Matter?
King James Bible Translation Errors
Wars in the Bible Timeline
Life of King David Timeline
Why Are There So Many Bibles?
Important Old Testament People

Bible Timelines
Biblical Patriarchs
Jacob and Joseph Timeline
Flow of Old Testament History
Flow of New Testament History
New Testament Timeline
Attacks on Jerusalem in History
Greatest New Testament Events!
New Testament High Priests
Who Preserved the Old Testament?
Herod the Great's Kingdom


References
Adapted from
Holy Bible, a Faithful Version
pages 5, 6, 25, 26, 29, 180
and Chronology IV