Whom was Moses writing for in Genesis?

Answer 1

Biblical tradition says that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis, presumably for the Israelites whom he led on the Exodus out of Egypt, although there are anachronisms that can only be explained by a later date of authorship.

However, the strong consensus of biblical scholars is that there never was an Exodus out of Egypt as described in The Bible. Without the Exodus, there was no Moses and we have to ask who really wrote the Book of Genesis before we can say to whom it was written.

Biblical scholars say Genesis was written over a period of centuries during the final millennium BCE, by three major sources, with some input by other sources. Each source had his own reasons for writing his contribution, and his own audience.

Writing around the eighth or ninth century BCE, the anonymous source now known as the Elohist recorded traditions for the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. Writing around the same time, or a little earlier, the anonymous source now known as the Yahwist recorded traditions for the people of the southern kingdom of Judah. The two documents were redacted and combined into a single book shortly after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BCE. The Priestly author added to this document during the Babylonian Exile, to suit the theological and political needs of his own time. The Priestly source wrote for the Jews of the Exile and of post-Exilic Judah.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/theology/moses-in-history-and-tradition

Answer 2

The Torah, including the book of Genesis, was written for the Israelites (Exodus ch.24, Deuteronomy ch.31).