Lesson 3: Who wrote the Books of the Bible?
In the previous set of lessons we have discovered the various manuscripts that collectively make up the book we know as the Bible. Further, we have examined which manuscripts were accepted into the canon, and which were rejected. It is now time to meet the authors of the various books of the Bible themselves, and learn a little about their backgrounds. Please note that there are sometimes various theories as to who wrote which book, so for the sake of time we will only explore the mainstream interpretations at this point.
Much of the OT was written by a variety of prophets. A prophet claimed his inspiration to write to be from God, either by being directly commanded to take down the words God spoke to him, or by recounting a dream or vision, God had given him. To further understand the large number of inspired writings, it is imperative to understand the story that unfolds within the OT. (1)
The OT begins with the creation of man in the Garden of Eden. It was God who created man. The Garden of Eden is said to have been located is southwest Asia. Not long after being created, man sinned and departed from the role God had designed for him. After being banished from the garden and being punished with the curse of mortality, God devised a way to regain His lost creation: God called the patriarch Abraham and through him He founded the Hebrew Nation. Abraham’s descendants eventually migrated into Egypt.
After about 400 years, they found themselves being mistreated and God called an educated Hebrew by the name of Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into Canaan. Joshua fought for and won the land for the Hebrews, and there the nation grew. It was first governed by judges, who later on--at the people’s request-- were replaced with kings. The first king was King Saul, followed by King David and King Solomon.
The Hebrew Kingdom was divided at the end of King Solomon’s reign. There were a Northern and a Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and retained the name “Israel”. The Southern Kingdom retained the name “Judah”. Now being separated, Israel and Judah were subject to numerous attacks, victories, and defeats. Israel only lasted about 200 years before being conquered by the Assyrian army. Judah fell to the Babylonian Empire 100 years after that.
A small group of survivors returned to their country from Babylon and rebuilt the life and customs, as they knew them.
OT: The Torah
The Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) is traditionally attributed to Moses, even though none of the books specifically names an author. It is estimated that these books were compiled within about 50 years of the Exodus, dating them to about 1300 BC - 1400 BC. Moses was a Hebrew, adopted as an infant by a member of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s household, and properly educated. After committing the murder of an Egyptian slave driver, he escaped and lived as a shepherd, until he was called by God to free his people. Chronicling the founding of the Hebrew nation, its daring escape from Egypt, its covenant with God, a variety of laws and commands regulating every-day life, and also the journey to the Promised Land are the themes of the first five books of the Bible.
