Who wrote most of the Old Testament?

Answer 1

Moses was a big contributor to The Bible in the Old Testament. He wrote all the books up until you come to Joshua which is after Deuteronomy. Joshua may have written Joshua. Judges is unknown and it is said that Samuel wrote Ruth along with 1st and 2nd Samuel. 1st & 2nd Kings along with both Chronicles books are by Unknown authors. Ezra is said to have been written by Ezra according to Jewish tradition. Nehemiah is also uncertain. Esther and Job have uncertain origins as well; Psalms has been said to have been written by David but this is not proven.

Solomon gets credit for a large portion of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

The name of the prophetic books (Isaiah to Malachi) is said to be the author. Again, not proven.

Answer 2

The Old Testament was written by multiple authors over many centuries, including Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. The exact authorship of many books is still debated among scholars due to its complex literary history.

Answer 3

Ultimately, above the human authors, the Bible was 'written' by God. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible was "breathed out" by God. God inspired the human authors of the Bible so that whilst using their own writing styles and personalities, they still recorded what God wanted to be revealed of him. The Bible was not dictated from God, but it was entirely inspired by Him. Humanly speaking, the Bible was written by approximately 40 men (no women it seems as the gender roles in those days was very different from now))of diverse backgrounds over the course of 1500 years. Isaiah was a prophet, Ezra was a priest, Matthew was a tax-collector, John was a fisherman, Paul was a tentmaker, Moses was a shepherd. Despite being penned by different authors independently over 15 centuries, the Bible does not contradict itself, suggesting that a higher power was the inspiration for the words. The authors all present different perspectives, but they all proclaim the same one true God, and the same one way of salvation-Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Few of the books of the Bible specifically name their author. Here are the books of the Bible along with the name of who is most assumed by Biblical scholars to be the author, along with the approximate date of authorship: Old Testament

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy = Moses- 1400 B.C.

Joshua = Joshua - 1350 B.C.

Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel = Samuel / Nathan / Gad- 1000 - 900 B.C.

1 Kings, 2 Kings = Jeremiah - 600 B.C.

1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah = Ezra - 450 B.C.

Esther = Mordecai - 400 B.C.

Job = Moses - 1400 B.C. (although this is uncertain)

Psalms = several different authors, mostly David - 1000 - 400 B.C.

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon = Solomon - 900 B.C.

Isaiah = Isaiah - 700 B.C.

Jeremiah, Lamentations = Jeremiah - 600 B.C.

Ezekiel = Ezekiel - 550 B.C.

Daniel = Daniel - 550 B.C.

Hosea = Hosea - 750 B.C.

Joel = Joel - 850 B.C.

Amos = Amos - 750 B.C.

Obadiah = Obadiah - 600 B.C.

Jonah = Jonah - 700 B.C.

Micah = Micah - 700 B.C.

Nahum = Nahum - 650 B.C.

Habakkuk = Habakkuk - 600 B.C.

Zephaniah = Zephaniah - 650 B.C.

Haggai = Haggai - 520 B.C.

Zechariah = Zechariah - 500 B.C.

Malachi = Malachi - 430 B.C. The New Testament

Matthew = Matthew - A.D. 55 (one of Jesus' 12 disciples - the Tax Collector. Matthew would have been skilled in shorthand taught to all tax collectors by the Romans. Hence most of Jesus' sayings and the Sermon on the Mount is found in this account )

Mark = John Mark - A.D. 50 (one of the followers of Jesus - but not one of the 12. He was likely to have been the young man who ran away naked at the arrest of Jesus).

Luke = Luke - A.D. 60 (a doctor and friend of Paul - see below. Luke accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys and was commissioned by someone called Theophilus to write a full account of Jesus' life and ministry. As a doctor his account highlights healings and forgiveness. He wroote a second book - The Acts of the Apostles - see below.) John = John - A.D. 90 (one of the 12 disciples - Jesus' closest disciple and the only one to stay by his side at the crucifixion. he is also credited with writing 3 letters and Revelation - see below.)

Acts = Luke - A.D. 65

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon = Paul - A.D. 50-70 (a pharisee and former attacker of the Christian faith, Paul became converted on the road to Damascus from when he became the great evangelist, helping to spread the Christian message across the then known world.)

Hebrews = unknown, best guesses are Paul, Luke, or Barnabas - 65 A.D. James = James - A.D. 45

1 Peter, 2 Peter = Peter - A.D. 60

1 John, 2 John, 3 John = John - A.D. 90

Jude = Jude - A.D. 60

Revelation = John - A.D. 90

Answer 4

---- ---- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings, 1st Chronicles, 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

----

Answer 5

The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were written anonymously, although later attributed to Moses. The anonymous authors are now known as the Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist and the Priestly Source.

Answer 6

It was written by at least 28 people if we take tradition into account. More than likely, the number was significantly higher if we take into account the fact that most likely some of the books were compiled by numerous authors using other sources (Kings & Chronicles for example). Chronicles alone may have had dozens of writers and contributors and this is consistent with what the bible says about itself (Chronicles lists 19 outside sources). Additionally, many of the books in the OT are anonymous, so we just don't know for sure, although Moses probably wrote more material than any other individual. Ultimately, there is one author; The Ancient Israelite community. The Old Testament is a record of God's revelation to this people group and a record of their response to and interaction with God, a point emphasized in the genealogies of the first 9 chapters of Chronicles. The whole community was important, because it was the community that for whatever reason, God had chose to reveal Himself to.

Answer 7

Moses Tradition says that Moses contributed the five books of the Pentateuch. However the books themselves do not appear to have been written by Moses, in spite of two passages that assert Mosaic authorship, and there are many contrary indications internal to the books. Few modern scholars would now accept this view.

The Deuteronomist

Many scholars believe that an anonymous seventh-century BCE author, now known as the Deuteronomist, or 'D' source, wrote Deuteronomy and contributed substantially to the initial development of the remainder of the Pentateuch. He also wrote the 'Deuteronomic History' - Books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. The Deuteronomic History forms a closely integrated block of text, written in the same style as Deuteronomy and in the same relatively modern version of the Hebrew language. So, from a scholarly point of view, the Deuteronomist was definitely the most prolific author of the Old Testament.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-pentateuch-explained
http://christianity.answers.com/theology/moses-in-history-and-tradition

Answer 8

Moses wrote the five books of the Torah, as stated in Deuteronomy 31:24. This is a greater number of books than anyone else wrote. Though there is more than one opinion as to when Job lived, a tradition credits Moses with that book too.

See also:

debunking the JEPD documentary hypothesis

What is the history of the Jewish Bible

Answer 9

The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) is traditionally thought to have been written by Moses during the putative Exodus from Egypt. Most biblical scholars say that these books were actually written by several anonymous authors over the course of the first millennium BCE. The Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are largely attributed to anonymous sources now known as the Yahwist (J Source), the Elohist (E Source) and the Priestly Source (P Source). The Book of Deuteronomy is attributed to an anonymous source now known as the Deuteronomist.

The Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings) is also attributed to the Deuteronomist.
1 and 2 Chronicles were written anonymously, so the source is now known as the Chronicler.

Most of the Psalms are traditionally thought to have been written by King David, but few modern scholars would now accept this attribution. They were compiled during the period following the Babylonian Exile, with some psalms written during the same period and some psalms containing material from the monarchic period. Some of the psalms even appear to have been based on earlier Egyptian versions.

The Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon are traditionally thought to have been written by King Solomon, but this is clearly not the case. We do not know who wrote them. but Ecclesiastes contains a reference to the 'Preacher' as its author, and Song of Solomon is an erotic love story about a farm girl and her lover, a shepherd.

The first 39 chapters of the Book of Isaiah were written by Isaiah, son of Amoz, but the remaining chapters, added much later, were written by anonymous sources now known as Second Isaiah and Third Isaiah.

The Books of Daniel and Esther are traditionally attributed to the chief characters of those books, Daniel and Esther respectively, but the books were actually written anonymously centuries after the events they purportedly portray.

Most of the books of the later prophets were probably written by the prophets to whom they were attributed.

Answer 10

See also:

Refuting Bible-criticism

The books of the Jewish Bible, sometimes called the Old Testament, had the following authors:

The Torah (the Five Books of Moses):According to tradition, the Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12) in 1312 BCE. Moses taught it to the people (Exodus ch.34), and put it in writing before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24) in 1272 BCE. (See: more about Moses)
Nevi'im (the Prophets):

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, etc. Judges was written by Samuel, and Kings was written by Jeremiah. The prophetic books were written in the time of the prophets, from the 1200s BCE (Joshua) to the mid-300s BCE (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

See: More about Samuel, and see: How many Isaiahs?

Ketuvim (the Writings):

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the Writings were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Ruth was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon; and Esther was written by Mordecai andEsther. The Writings were written between 900 BCE (Ruth) to the mid-300s BCE (Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).
Concerning Job, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written.

Hebrew Bible Canon:

Our tradition is that from the time of the First Destruction, God's presence was no longer felt as clearly as before (see Deuteronomy 31:17-18). In addition, exile is not conducive to prophecy (Mechilta, parshat Bo). At that time, the last of the prophets realized that prophecy would soon cease; and that the dispersal of the Jewish people, plus the almost continuous tribulations from the First Destruction onward, made it imperative to seal the canon of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Sages of the time, including the last living prophets, convened a special synod for a couple of decades, which was called the Men of the Great Assembly (Mishna, Avot ch.1). This group, who functioned around 340 BCE, composed the blessings and the basic prayers of the siddur (prayerbook) and the early portions of the Passover Haggadah, made many of the Rabbinical decrees, and (most importantly) sealed the canon of the Tanakh. It was they, for example, who set the twelve Minor Prophets as (halakhically) a single book, and who set the books of the Tanakh in their traditional order (see Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). It was the Men of the Great Assembly whom Esther had to approach when she felt that the Divinely inspired Scroll of Esther should be included in the canon (see Talmud, Megilla 7a).
Since the sealing of the Tanakh, no Jewish sage has ever claimed prophecy.

Order of the Tanakh's books:
The Hebrew Bible is in chronological order: first the five books of the Torah, since they were given before any of the other prophetic books. Then Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings in that order, since that is chronological. Ruth (and others) could be before Kings, but we keep the Prophets and Writings separate.
After Kings, we have Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which is in chronological order. All three of them lived well after the kings had already started.
The Twelve Minor Prophets, who also lived during the latter part of the era of the Kings, are gathered together in a single book of their own.
Then we have the Writings. Psalms, Proverbs and Job are together since they (and none of the other books) are a specific type of poetry ("Taamei Emet", with special trope).
The Five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Eichah, Kohellet, Esther) are together, in the order in which they're read in the synagogue.
Finally, the books of Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles were written in the end of the prophetic period.

Importance of the Tanakh:

The Tanakh is important because it tells the history of the ancient Israelites, as well as giving us the teachings of the Israelite prophets and kings, and the laws, ethics and beliefs of the Jewish religion.Our tradition is that the Hebrew Bible is from God (Exodus 24:12), given to us to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism. It crystallized, strengthened and codified our beliefs; insured our awareness and knowledge of our identity and history; and provided powerful impetus to be ethical.
It made us stand in awe of God, while also providing optimism and comfort through the prophecies of redemption. It inspired us to strive for holiness and informed us how to pray and to approach God's presence.
And it set detailed laws, practices and traditions for the Jewish people forever.

See also:

Jewish history timeline

How is the Hebrew Bible presented?

How was the Torah written?