So if Moses wrote the first few books of the old testament, who told Moses?

Question

Was it stories passed on through generations, or God? Does the Bible say, adn you think after spending 40 days with God on Mt. Sinai Moses would have had some answers for us, like the world isn't flat for instance.

Answer 1

I don't know if it says if it was passed down through the generations, but some of Genesis sure sounds that way. My guess is that it was.

Then of course Moses lived through much of what he wrote about so he knew it from personal experience.

And lastly, of course God spoke to him directly about other things he wrote, such as the sanctuary system, the 10 Commandments & the Mosaic law.

Does the Bible say the earth is flat? I haven't read that. I know church leaders said it in the Dark Ages when they weren't reading the Bible or allowing others to. It's OK to disagree with them....many things they did were ungodly.

Answer 2

Moses was not an actual historical person, he is a mythical hero character in Jewish history, like Abraham , Joshua and David.

The first 5 books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) are traditionally attributed to "Moses" but was obviously assembled by many people over many generations. Well, obvious to academic biblical scholars who study the Bible like any other ancient document. Do you really think Moses wrote about his own death?

The number "40" is used a lot in the Bible. (40 days and nights for Noahs' rain, Moses spent 40 days in the wilderness with God, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness with Satan) It is just a turn of phrase, vernacular, an exaggeration and means "a long time"

The "Documentary Hypothesis" is widely accepted by Biblical scholars and suggests that there are at least 4 main sources for the various bible stories, known as the "J" (Jahweh) "E" (Elohim), "P" (Priestly) and "D" (Deuteronomist). Each of these has a particular religious and political spin or slant, and the same stories are told but with different outcomes. We know this because of scientific analysis of the documents, the language and dialect used, anachronisms, etc. which are techniques used on all ancient documents, like the Iliad by Homer. In particular comparing the same stories side by side and looking for the similarities and differences.

"101 Myths of the Bible", by Gary Greenburg is an easy read, and does a good job of de-mythologizing the Old Testament, especially the creation and hero myths of the first few books of the OT. It shows how most of the stories were borrowed from, or heavily influenced by Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian mythology. They adapted stories for their evolving monotheistic beliefs, and gave human heroes the roles played by the gods in the other cultures myths. These were all dominant civilizations with detailed founding myths long before the Israelites became organized into a recognizable distinct group, around 1300 BCE.

http://ggreenberg.tripod.com/101m/101-78-ten%20comm.htm

Answer 3

God there is sice begining thus knows everything. When God said to Moses walk up the mountain, the Lord talked with Moses and he just heared Him.
When Moses come back He had with him an object with the mandaments, that the proper God Wrote.

Answer 4

The Pentateuch was written by Moses, although it is evident that he used several documentary sources from which he compiled the book of Genesis, beside a divine revelation to him. It is also evident that scribes and copyists have left their traces upon the Pentateuch as we have it today; for example, the explanation of Moses’ supposed death (Deut. 34: 5-12) was surely added by a later hand. But latter-day revelation confirms that Moses was the author of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (1 Ne. 5: 10-11; cf. 2 Ne. 3: 17; Moses 1: 40-41).

Answer 5

Your last line....
(Job 26:7) He is stretching out the north over the empty place, Hanging the earth upon nothing;

(Job 26:10) He has described a circle upon the face of the waters, To where light ends in darkness.

Nothing about a flat earth here.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17) All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.

Answer 6

GOD spoke to MOses and we are it's beneficiary. We were told very early that the world was round. Where have you been? It was written in the BIBLE if you are reading it you would know. Have a great day.
Eds

Edit... JonJon has an anger issue, doesn't he? I am sorry that he can't control it.
Beach Baby, I am sorry that you don't believe whaT YOU READ. But, I do. The Inspired writings are just that.
Eds

Answer 7

Tucking...I do not think Moses wrote the first few books of the Bible and I believe that is the current scholarly thought process on it. At the most, someone may have written it from what Moses told them. I believe what Moses knew about the past was probably past down from generation to generation.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Answer 8

God gave Moses all the information he needed in order to write the stories of Genesis, and he was actually around for all the stuff in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, all he needed was laws and instructions to write down, which came from God, otherwise he had all the other information from direct participation in the events. So, in conclusion it was all from God.

Answer 9

God did. However, Genesis is vague enough to have been passed down, since there was the flood and all that. But it had to be God because why would Moses make all o these laws when his people hated him for it?

Answer 10

You have to understand that when "Moses" led the Jews out of Egypt he was 80 years old!

The reason why he "wandered" around in the desert searching for the Promised land for another 40 years is because he was "senile" at the time - otherwise he would have found it much sooner!

The rest is history!