Who Wrote the Bible’s First Five Books?
Moses? I don’t think so!
The first five books of the Old Testament — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy — , also known as the Pentateuch, are often referred to as the “Books of Moses”. But who actually wrote them? One thing we can be absolutely sure about is that it wasn’t Moses!
Leaving aside the distinct possibility that Moses is a figure from myth rather than history, there are many reasons why the books could not have been the work of a single person. Knowledge gained over the centuries that has been gleaned from intense textual analysis and investigation of source material makes it abundantly clear that the books were written over a period of time that was vastly greater than the lifetime of a single writer, even if we accept the absurdly long lifespans accorded to many figures in the Old Testament.
The actual dates of composition of the various parts of each book are matters of controversy, but it certainly appears that the earliest elements, in their written form, are no older than 930 BC and the youngest are as late as the 6th century BC. The final assembly of the five books almost certainly took place in the 5th century BC.
The obvious conclusion is that the books had multiple authors, and that applies within each book as opposed to stating that each book was…