Professor Bart Ehrman says he gives: ‘a very, very brief description of each book of the New Testament, the kind of thing you can say without taking another breath. It seems like this might be useful for anyone who just wants to know what each book is and, very roughy, what it is about. Dates are sometimes relatively secure, others are guestimates. In terms of my naming of authors: Some books are anonymous but traditionally assigned to someone; others are written by unknown authors claiming to be someone else; others are actually written by people who claim to be who they were!

The New Testament: Book by Book

Matthew.
Written in 80-85 CE. Author: anonymous; traditionally ascribed to Matthew, the tax collector disciple of Jesus.
An account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that stresses he is the Jewish messiah sent from the Jewish God to the Jewish people in…