Who wrote the first five books of the bible?

Answer 1

Moses is credited for Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy which are called the Pentetuch.

These books cover creation to his own death at the end of Deuteronomy. It's been suggested that another person, who took over the spiritual leadership of the Israelites, completed Deuteronomy.

There is no evidence to prove the Bible's holiness -- It's a book of myths, used to control the masses.

Answer 2

We can be certain that Moses was not the author of these books in their final form. It is certainly possible that he wrote things that were included in it. But the books as they now stand are ABOUT Moses in the third person, and to suggest the ending was added after he died is just an ad-hoc suggestion, with no evidence in either change of style or anything else, to explain away the inconvenient fact that the end of Deueteronomy indicates not only that Moses has died but that a significant amount of time had passed.

Genesis 12:6 is perhaps the most obvious evidence for a later date - when it was written, the Canaanites were no longer in the land! Genesis 36 has a list of later Edomite kings that also betrays the author's knowledge of kings having reigned over Israel. There are indications of knowledge of the exile too.

Most scholars conclude that the Pentateuch was put together from earlier sources. See http://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/bible/ot/pentateuch.htm for relevant links on that topic.

Answer 3

There are generally held to be several authors of the Pentateuch. The general consensus puts the number at 5, or at least 5 main traditions (following Wellhausen). This is called the "Documentary Hypothesis."

The DH holds that there are four discernible traditions. The earliest, the Elohist (E), is so named for its author's tendency to refer to god as "Elohim."

The second, the Yahwist (J), is named after his tendency to refer to God by the tetragrammaton, (YHWH), even before the revelation of the divine name at Sinai.

The third, the Deuteronomist (D), is named after his familiarity with the deuteronic Law, something lacking in his earlier counterparts.

The final major author is called the Priestly source, since it is primarily concerned with priestly regulations and behavior.

There is a final source, called the Redactor. The redactor is the individual who joined and editted the other four sources.

Answer 4

Within the Pentateuch itself, one can read numerous times how Moses wrote the law of God.

“Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah” (Exodus 24:4).

“Jehovah said unto Moses, ‘Write thou these words...’ ” (Exodus 34:27).

“Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of Jehovah” (Numbers 33:2).

“Moses wrote this law and delivered it unto the priests...” (Deuteronomy 31:9).

Bible writers throughout the Old Testament credited Moses with writing the Pentateuch (also known as the Torah or “the Law”). A plain statement of this commonly held conviction is expressed in Joshua 8:32: “There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he [Moses—EL/ZS] had written” (NIV, emp. added). Notice also that 2 Chronicles 34:14 states: “Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the law of Jehovah given by Moses” (emp. added; cf. Ezra 3:2; 6:18, Nehemiah 13:1, and Malachi 4:4). As Josh McDowell noted in his book, More Evidence that Demands a Verdict, these verses “refer to an actual written ‘law of Moses,’ not simply an oral tradition” (1975, pp. 93-94). [NOTE: The Hebrew Bible was not divided like our modern English Old Testament. It consisted of three divisions: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (cf. Luke 24:44). It contained the same “books” we have today; it was just divided differently. Genesis through Deuteronomy was considered one unit, and thus frequently was called “the Law” or “the Book” (2 Chronicles 25:4; cf. Mark 12:26). Even a casual perusal of its individual components will confirm that each book presupposes the one that precedes it. Without Genesis, Exodus reads like a book begun midway; without Exodus, Leviticus is a mystery; and so on. They were not intended to be five separate volumes in a common category, but rather, are five divisions of the same book. Hence, the singular references: “the Law” or “the Book.”]

The New Testament writers also showed no hesitation in affirming that Moses wrote the Pentateuch. John wrote: “The law was given through Moses” (John 1:17). Luke recorded of the resurrected Jesus: “And beginning from Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them [His disciples—EL/ZS] in all the scriptures the things concerning himself ‘ (Luke 24:27). Referring to the Jewish practice of publicly reading the Law, James affirmed Mosaic authorship: “For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (Acts 15:21). With this Paul concurred, saying, “For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them’ ” (Romans 10:5, NKJV, emp. added; cf. Leviticus 18:5). In 2 Corinthians 3:15, Paul also wrote: “Moses is read.” The phrase “Moses is read” is a clear example of the figure of speech known as metonymy (where one thing is put for another) [see Dungan, 1888, pp. 273-275]. Today, we may ask if someone has read Shakespeare, Homer, or Virgil, by which we mean to ask if he or she has read the writings of these men. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, one reads where Abraham spoke to the rich man concerning his five brothers saying, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). Were Moses and the Old Testament prophets still on Earth in the first century? No. The meaning is that the rich man’s brothers had the writings of Moses and the prophets.

Answer 5

God used Moses for the task of writting the Pentateuch or the first five books of the O.T.

And the Apostle Paul wrote the book of love...oh,yeah (1Corinthians)

Answer 6

Read "Who Wrote the Bible" by Richard Elliott Friedman.
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Answer 7

Most people say Moses. In Genesis 5 though, when it says something along the lines of "This is the book of the geneology of Adam", the original Hebrew phrase actually means that it was a book Adam was writing (his own book). So there's two theories.

Answer 8

Moses, except for the last little part at the end where it talks about him going to the top of Mount Sinai to die, that was likely done by Joshua who took his place.

Answer 9

I don't know, I wasn't there. If you knew the person's name, would that change anything? You aren't going to meet someone who's been gone for hundreds of years. So the only picture you have of the person is a name and writing he is credited with.

Answer 10

Isn't it funny that the same people who would consider you crazy and have you committed for hearing voices, believe the load they read in"THE BOOK" The same people would call you a liar and a whore if you claimed to have been knocked up by ? Hypocrites !