Who Wrote the Bible, or Why the Controversy About the Authorship of the Book of Books has been going on for centuries

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For many centuries in a row, many people read and learn the Bible, it is considered the most popular book in the whole world. Scientists from all over the world are carefully studying it, they are joined by priests and politicians, historians and many other people who are trying to find an answer to the main question - who, after all, wrote these pages?

The Bible represents sacred scripture not only for Christianity, but also for other well-known world religions. Among other things, it was this book that had a significant impact on book printing, in particular in the West. It is noteworthy that today it is the Bible that is the most bought text all over the world, and the number of translations into other languages totals more than seven hundred.

However, the Bible was and remains a very important source of religious information, but it is still not known exactly how and where it came from. More than two thousand years from the moment of its writing, as well as several centuries of careful research and close attention of scientists and historians, did not help to give an unambiguous and accurate answer to this.

Old Testament and Single Authorship

This text is essentially a Hebrew version of the Bible, which contains the history of the creation of Israel and the rise of its people. In addition, it contains stories about the creation of mankind and the world in general, and is also a collection of laws, attitudes and moral principles, which to this day are the basis of religion in this country.

For almost a millennium, many scholars have agreed that the five parts of the Bible, including Genesis and Exodus, were written and created by the same person. A little later, all these fragments became part of one whole - the text, which today is better known as the Torah or the Pentateuch. Scientists agreed that the author of these texts was the prophet Moses, who is known to everyone for his main achievement, namely, that he saved the Israelites from Egyptian captivity and helped them cross the Red Sea and get to the Promised Land.

However, soon enough, many of those who got acquainted with these texts noted that they contain some facts and events that Moses certainly could not find during his life. For example, his death is described around the end of the Deuteronomium. However, the Talmud, a collection of basic rules for the Jewish community that was written in the third to fifth centuries A. D., soon corrects this error, claiming that Joshua, a follower of Moses, was the author of the text about his death.

Scientists from Yale University, including the author of the famous book "The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis" Joel Baden, argues that such a theory is quite valid. But at the same time, it does not negate the fact that many continue to think that all these five parts of the Bible really could have been written in one hand - by Moses.

Around the 17th century, as the Enlightenment swept across the world, scholars and religious people increasingly began to criticize the theory that Moses might have been the real author of the Bible. At that time, it was noted that, in fact, absolutely anyone could become one. The main argument in favor of this theory was the fact that the Pentateuch is actually a very controversial part of the Bible, the material of which is repeated from section to section, and also contains different points of view and versions of the same events that took place in Israel.

According to Joel Baden, the story of Noah and the Great Flood is a prime example of the actual confusion in the Pentateuch. So, in one part of the Pentateuch it is stated that it is not known exactly how many animals were actually on the ark, while another part of it indicates that Noah collected two from each species. A little later, it is also stated that he collected only about fourteen different representatives of the animal world. A factual error indicating that several people were the author of the Bible at the same time is also considered the fact that in different parts of it the duration of the Great Flood was different: for example, in one place it is indicated that it lasted about forty days, and in another - more one hundred and fifty.

Old Testament multiple authorship theory

Since the Bible contains many errors and various repetitions, modern scholars agreed on the opinion that everything that was written in it was broadcast by people from mouth to mouth. It also clarifies that it could have been written using poetry and prose of that time, where a variety of data and important facts were recorded. It is noted that from about the 7th century BC. different people, and sometimes even entire groups of authors gathered to combine all the knowledge and stories that were told into a single whole. It is believed that for the first time the Bible combined them in itself around the 1st century BC.

This theory assumes that the largest body of texts (Pentateuch), which in science is designated by the symbol "P", could have been written not just by a person, but, perhaps, by a priest or a whole religious community. At the same time, Deuteronomy, denoted by the symbol "D", could belong to a completely different group of people who had nothing to do with the first. Scholars note that there was no connection between them other than the fact that they are aware of the early history of the Jewish people, and also transmit and record the laws and morals of the era of early Israel.

A separate group of scholars also suggests that the third block of materials in the Torah is also divided into two different parts that were created by different people. These "schools" of authors were named according to the designations of the god used in these parts. So, that part of the texts in which Elohim appears is marked with the symbol "E", while the other, which tells about Yahweh, is marked with the symbol "J" in the German manner. However, this theory is subject to fierce criticism and is not accepted by most of the scientific world. Baden notes:.

New Testament and Gospel Authorship

While the Old Testament is entirely devoted to the formation of the Jewish people, and is also a description of the creation of the people of Israel, the New Testament, in turn, is the life story of Jesus from the moment of his birth, first appearance, and until death and the coming resurrection. This story, in fact, laid the foundation for the creation of Christianity as we know it today.

It is noted that more than four decades after the death of Jesus, namely in 70 AD, for the first time it became known about several unique chronicles of his life. At that time, four texts were found describing the chronology of the life of Jesus, but they all remained anonymous, without an author. They became the basis of the modern Bible.

All these four texts were given the names of the most faithful and obedient disciples of Christ, namely Luke, Matthew, Mark and John, who were his closest companions. Thanks to this, these anonymous texts, in fact, began to represent the canonical Gospels - scriptures that, as scientists assumed, were descriptions of the deeds of Jesus, created by eyewitnesses to his life and death, as well as the resurrection.

For a fairly long period of time, virtually all scholars who have ever studied the Bible have agreed that the gospel, in fact, was not written by the people whose authorship we attribute to them. Indeed, at that time all the stories that now formed the basis of the Bible were transmitted orally, and therefore it is not possible to establish the primary source that laid the foundations of the New Testament. In addition, records in the Gospel have also been kept through many generations, and may have been recorded much later than the actual appearance and life of Christ.

Bart Ehrman, Bible scholar and author of Jesus, Interrupted, noted that the names used in the various Gospels do not actually matter. After all, these names were given to them much later and in fact are a kind of additions. It is believed that these names were given to various parts of the New Testament, not so much by its authors, as by those who rewrote, edited and put together. In addition, perhaps the first editors had a hand in this, thus noting authoritative sources that could (or really stood) behind certain fragments of the text.

About half of the New Testament (thirteen parts out of twenty-seven) scholars attributed to the apostle Paul. Little is known about him. According to legends, he was converted to Christianity after he met Jesus on his way to the city of Damascus, after which he decided to write a series of letters, thanks to which this belief later spread throughout the Mediterranean. However, modern scholars attribute to Paul only seven fragments from the New Testament, referring to them such parts as "Galatians", "Philemon", "Romans" and others.

Scholars believe that these portions of the New Testament date back to around 50-60 AD, which automatically makes them some of the earliest evidence of the spread of Christianity. The rest of the epistles that we attribute to Paul may in fact belong to his disciples or followers who used his name to make their stories look more realistic and authentic.

And therefore, to this day, it is not known exactly who was the real author of this scripture, or, perhaps, there were several of them. Who they were, who they were and how they lived are covered with a dark veil of secrecy. And despite the fact that the Bible from time immemorial has been the main book in the life of every Christian and believer, it is likely in the future to become even more important and, quite possibly, scientists will do what they have not been able to achieve to this day, and namely, they will reveal the secret of its true author.

And in continuation of the topic, read also about how artists in their works told stories on biblical themes.