Who Wrote the Bible?

Answer 1

Who Wrote the Bible? A Question of Faith and Scholarship

The question of who wrote the Bible is complex, with answers rooted in both faith and historical scholarship. Traditionally, the Bible is viewed as the divinely inspired word of God, transcribed by various human authors. However, modern biblical scholarship presents a more intricate picture of the Bible's origins, suggesting a long and evolving process of composition and compilation by numerous authors and editors over centuries.

The Theological Perspective: Divine Inspiration

From a theological standpoint, particularly within Christian and Jewish traditions, God is considered the ultimate author of the Bible. This belief is rooted in the concept of divine inspiration, where the Holy Spirit guided the human writers to record God's message. The Bible itself contains verses that allude to this, such as 2 Timothy 3:16, which states that "All Scripture is God-breathed." In this view, the human authors were the instruments through which God communicated His divine will and teachings.

The Scholarly Perspective: A Collaborative Effort Over Time

Modern biblical scholarship, employing historical and literary analysis, concludes that the books of the Bible were not written by single authors in one sitting. Instead, they are the product of a long and complex process of oral tradition, writing, editing, and compilation by various individuals and communities. Many of the books are considered anonymous, as the authors did not identify themselves in the text.

The Old Testament: A Tapestry of Voices

The authorship of the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, is particularly multifaceted.

The Torah (The First Five Books): Traditionally, the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—are attributed to Moses. However, scholarly analysis has identified different writing styles, vocabularies, and theological viewpoints within these books. This has led to the development of the Documentary Hypothesis, which posits that the Torah is a compilation of at least four different sources, written by various authors and later woven together by editors. These sources are:

1. The Yahwist (J): Characterized by its use of the name Yahweh for God.
2. The Elohist (E): Uses the name Elohim for God.
3. The Deuteronomist (D): Primarily found in the Book of Deuteronomy.
4. The Priestly (P): Contains legal and ritualistic texts.

The Prophets: The prophetic books are named after the prophets to whom the messages are attributed, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. While it is believed that these figures delivered the core messages, scholars suggest that their disciples and later followers likely played a role in compiling, editing, and expanding these texts.

The Writings: This section includes a diverse collection of books, including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and others. While King David is traditionally associated with the Psalms and King Solomon with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, scholarship indicates that these books are anthologies of works by many different authors over a long period.

The New Testament: Accounts of Jesus and the Early Church

The New Testament, written primarily in Koine Greek, also reflects a process of authorship and compilation.

The Gospels: The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are traditionally attributed to the apostles Matthew and John, Mark the companion of Peter, and Luke the companion of Paul. However, the majority of modern scholars believe that the Gospels were written anonymously in the late first century and were attributed to these figures later in the second century to lend them authority. The authors of the Gospels likely drew upon oral traditions and possibly other written sources about the life and teachings of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) share a significant amount of material, leading scholars to believe that Matthew and Luke used Mark's Gospel and a hypothetical source of sayings known as the Q source as primary references.

The Pauline Epistles: A significant portion of the New Testament consists of letters, or epistles, attributed to the Apostle Paul. There is a broad consensus among scholars that Paul wrote some of these letters, known as the "undisputed" epistles, which include Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. The authorship of other epistles attributed to Paul, such as Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians, is debated, with some scholars suggesting they were written by his followers. The "Pastoral Epistles" (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) are widely considered by scholars to have been written by a later author in Paul's name.

Other Books: The remaining books of the New Testament, including Acts of the Apostles, the general epistles (James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude), and the Book of Revelation, are also the subject of scholarly debate regarding their authorship. For instance, the Book of Revelation is attributed to a figure named John, but it is uncertain if this is the Apostle John or another individual.

The question of who wrote the Bible does not have a simple answer. It is a collection of texts with a rich and complex history. While faith traditions emphasize divine authorship and the role of inspired individuals, historical and literary scholarship reveals a collaborative and evolving process of writing and editing that spanned many centuries.

Answer 2

The Hebrew Bible was written by the prophets named in each of the books. The Torah was God's teaching, written by Moses (Deuteronomy 31), who also wrote Job. Joshua wrote his book. Samuel wrote his book, Judges, and Ruth. Jeremiah wrote his book, Lamentations, and Kings. Isaiah and Ezekiel each wrote their book, as did the Twelve Minor Prophets, and Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra also wrote Chronicles. Solomon wrote the Song of Songs, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Mordecai and Esther wrote the book of Esther. King David wrote the Psalms.

The above information, with further detail, is provided in the Talmud, Bava Bathra 14.

Answer 3

The New Testament passage of II Timothy 3:16 states that "All Scripture is inspired (or God-breathed)." This is primarily referring to the Old Testament but also informs our understanding of the New Testament. Over 40 men (led by God) wrote the words of the Bible (about 30 in the Old Testament and 10 in the New Testament). The books of the Old Testament were written over hundreds of years and were recognized as a whole around the time of Jesus. He quotes from the Old Testament (earlier called the Hebrew Bible) as authoritative. The New Testament was affirmed (canonized) by the 5th century though the books were treated as authoritative as early as the second century.