Earliest known date attached to four Gospels

[Andrew Gabriel Roth]

Shlama Akhi Larry,

I should also point out that reliable Eastern and Western traditions put Matthew's death in the year 60 CE in Ethiopia. Furthermore, Rabbi Gamaliel (yes Paul's teacher) had written a parody of Matthew' Gospel, possibly a rough draft of what would later become known as the Toldot Yeshu, no later than the year 73. Such was a recent discovery of Talmudic mss that miraculously escaped destruction, as was reported widely in June of 2003. One can only assume it would take several years for Matthew's writings to spread to the point where a tacher of Gamaliel's stature felt the need to refute them, so the traditional death date of Matthew works very well in this timeline. I pesonally believe Matthew wrote even earlier than this, prior to the trip to Ethiopia that would later claim his life. Quotes of his Gospel from James and Paul make tie it from the mid 40s to early 50s at the latest.

Gamaliel's original work has not survived, but the references to it are authentic and close enough to the time period to be highly credible. Hope this helps!