Pentateuch

Pippa

Hello

Can anyone tell me who wrote the Pentateuch? I'd be interested to hear.

Pippa

snowbird

Hello and welcome, Pippa.

Pentateuch - first 5 books of Moses.

Moses?

Sylvia

Moses is SAID to have written the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible); however, one need only read it to KNOW that Moses did not write the Pentateuch. Moses is written about (in the third person) in those books. So when you hear the phrase "the five books of Moses," know that the five books (actually four of them; Moses is not in Genesis) are "about" Moses and not "by" Moses. Who actually wrote the books, no one knows.

--Inkie

Pippa

Thanks Sylvia and Inkie

I would be interested to know if JWs as a society believe that Moses himself wrote the Pentateuch. Or indeed if all the books of the bible are authored by whomsoever they are attributed to.

Thanks for the welcome.

Pippa

startingovernow

Yes, JWs are taught that Moses wrote the 1st 5 books of the Bible. They are taught to doubt any teaching other than what the Society says is true, so millions of JWs have never looked into the Documentary Hypothesis.

Farkel

If Moses wrote the last chapter of Deuteronomy, he was not only the most arrogant SOB who ever lived, he was a psychic!

That chapter does everything but call Moses the greatest human being who has ever lived. It tells us how wondrously "humble" Moses was! If Moses was so "humble", why did he nearly break his arm patting himself on the back? Deuteronomy also describes Moses' death and burial in the past tense!

The fact that not only the Pentateuch but MOST Bible books (including the gospels) write about their "authors" in the third person and that fact that most Bible books do NOT identify any author, makes it nearly impossible to determine who wrote what.

Think what you want, but I immediately suspect the veracity of ANY book whose author refuses to identify himself and remain anonymous.

Farkel

BurnTheShips

Think what you want, but I immediately suspect the veracity of ANY book whose author refuses to identify himself and remain anonymous.

Ditto Farkel's posts!

BTS

Narkissos

The WT actually admits that Moses did not write the end of Deuteronomy (e.g. All Scripture is inspired... p. 36: "The closing verses were added after Moses’ death, most likely by Joshua or by Eleazar the high priest."). They also posit earlier "documents" (11 of them, according the The Watchtower 3/15, 1960 p. 165) for the stories referring to pre-Mosaic times...

They have dealt with the "Documentary Hypothesis" a number of times (e.g. Awake! 2/22, 1972), usually in "strawman" fashion and using arguments and quotes from Evangelical and Jewish critics of the DH.

The DH has certainly been losing ground among (especially European) scholars in the last 30 years or so. What most Bible apologists do not realise though, is that it is not a "back to Moses" move, but on the contrary that it brings the datation down. The classical DH posited a Yahwist as early as the 10th century BC; most current datations situate the writing period between the 7th and 4th century BC (apart from a few poetical fragments which may be much earlier).

Farkel

:The classical DH posited a Yahwist as early as the 10th century BC; most current datations situate the writing period between the 7th and 4th century BC (apart from a few poetical fragments which may be much earlier).

Yep. Many scholars think the Pentateuch was written just after the Israelites were released from their 70 years of captivity, which would put it in the time frame you mentioned. Much of what was written was ascribed to ancient Jews who wanted to "create" a Jewish history to make them look much more important and significant in history than they actually were, e.g. the Abrahamic "promise", all the "battles" against overwhelming odds, miracles, blah, blah, blah.

Farkel

PrimateDave

There were most likely about five different writers who lived at different times that contributed to what ultimately became the Pentateuch. They are referred to as the Jahvist, Elohist, Priestly, Deuteronomist, and Redactor (editor). The scholarship behind the study of the Biblical text makes for some fascinating reading. I highly recommend Richard Friedman's book Who Wrote the Bible?

Some of the books contain stories from multiple authors. Take for example the first chapters in Genesis. Chapter 1 was written by a Priestly writer whose main concern was the establishment of the Sabbath. God, referred to as Elohim in the text, worked to make the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, thus establishing the Sabbath. In the following account of the creation of Adam starting in chapter 2 verse 4b, the Jahvist writer referred to God by the name Yahweh. A few chapters later the flood account represents the work of at least three authors, the Priestly, the Jahvist, and the Redactor. (See this thread for more information: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/175954/1/Noah-is-impossible)

A couple of the authors may be known. It is generally accepted that Jeremiah or someone close to him was the Deuteronomist. The Redactor may very well have been Ezra, who also may have been responsible for assembling the texts into the books that we know today. Don't just take my word for it. Check out Mr. Friedman's book. The WTS made a reference to it once, but they did so in an intellectually dishonest way. They couldn't refute the Documentary Hypothesis on a point by point basis, so they took some reference made by Friedman out of context in an effort to make him look foolish.

Pentateuch

Share this