Who Wrote the Bible?

This was the Midterm in Dr. Joshua Madden's Old Testament Course; March 12, 2021

Who wrote the Bible? Those who simply say God imagine the various authors as mere scribes, taking down dictation from God. A close reading of the biblical text itself refutes this, as text criticism shows that the various books have different authors. In many cases, we have a presumed author, based on content, and validated by other ancient texts. While the authors listed in the following charts are the generally accepted authors, the Church does not claim documentary proof.

Some of the authorship issues are unclear. For example, some sources say the writers of the Historical Books are unknown, but I have chosen to list them with the supposed authors. Similarly, I have attributed the Book of Esther to Mordecai, though some sources list the author as unknown. Such issues are mentioned in the footnotes.

The estimated dates given are just that, estimated. Scholars have determined the dates of biblical events by various means, including research into other ancient texts. Even when biblical events can be verified by non-biblical sources, research still needs to be done to determine the proper date. Various cultures had different calendar systems. Coordinating these calendars into one system is not always an exact science. It can be confusing enough for us to think of the “late second century B.C.” meaning roughly the years 220-200 B.C. How much more confusing must it be when comparing a calendar with twelve uneven months, to one with thirteen even months, to one where perhaps “date” is less important than “season”? The estimated dates given here are those generally accepted in current thought. For comparison, today’s date in our calendar is March 12, 2021. In the Jewish calendar, it is 28 Adar 5781. So, when we say Genesis was written by Moses in about 1400 B.C., we would be in roughly the year 2360 in the Jewish calendar – that is, 5781 – 2021 – 1400. This, of course, is only an approximation, since the Gregorian year and the Jewish calendar year are not strictly comparable, but it may be helpful for the reader to realize that Moses was not quite as far away in time from the birth of Jesus than we are today.

To those who would say that assigning any literary genre to the books of the Bible other than “Biblical Literature” or “Inspired Literature,” to do so would be to limit our ability to understand God’s message. The Bible is the story of salvation history; it uses a variety of genres to deliver to us that which God wants us to know.

Finally, my work here is from a Catholic perspective; thus, I discuss the books contained in the Catholic bible, and do not address those which are particular to the Protestant sects.

The Pentateuch
Title	Genesis
Author	Moses
Est. Date	1400 B.C.
Summary	Genesis tells the story of creation, Adam and Eve, and the first sin. It includes the stories of Noah, of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, of Jacob and his sons, and Joseph’s rise in Egypt. It ends with the death of Joseph. It is the beginning of God’s covenants with his people.
Lit Genre	Narrative. Often called Creation Myth, but more properly primeval history.

Title	Exodus
Author	Moses
Est. Date	1400 B.C.
Summary	Exodus tells the story of the Israelites as they move from serving the Pharaoh in slavery to serving God in freedom. Moses leads the people out of Egypt. The Sinai Covenant is entered into.
Lit Genre	Historical narrative, although the later parts of the book set out law.

Title	Leviticus
Author	Moses
Est. Date	1400 B.C.[1]
Summary	Leviticus is a book of laws and blessings, in which all the laws and regulations are given to Moses by God in direct speech.
Lit Genre	Legal. It interrupts the narrative flow of the Pentateuch.

Title	Numbers
Author	Moses
Est. Date	1400 B.C.
Summary	Numbers contains more laws, and also reports two censuses. It begins with the first generation out of Egypt. The second generation then grows up in the wilderness, and finally comes to enter the Land.
Lit Genre	Narrative historical.

Title	Deuteronomy
Author	Moses[2]
Est. Date	1400 B.C.
Summary	In Deuteronomy, Moses looks back, and ahead. It reviews the history of Israel and the laws it must follow, and gives Moses’ vision of its future. It ends with the death of Moses.
Lit Genre	Biographical/Reminiscent Narrative
The Historical Books
Title	Joshua
Author	Joshua[3]
Est. Date	1350 B.C.
Summary	In Joshua, the people enter the Promised Land, but must win and defend it. The land is divided among the Tribes. The Book of Joshua ends with a covenant and renewal ceremony, and the death of Joshua.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	Judges
Author	Unknown[4]
Est. Date	722 B.C.[5]
Summary	Judges covers the time between Joshua and Samuel, a time of moral and political anarchy. It ends with the statement “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	Ruth
Author	Anonymous[6]
Est. Date	10 B.C. –4 B.C.
Summary	Ruth is a love story. It tells of a Gentile woman who, through love of her widowed mother-in-law, leaves her own people and travels to Bethlehem. There she will meet and marry Boaz. Ruth bears a son, O’bed, who becomes the father of Jesse, who is the father of David.
Lit Genre	Romantic Narrative

Title	1 Samuel
Author	Unknown[7]
Est. Date	1000 B.C. – 900 B.C.
Summary	This book tells of the death of the prophet Eli and the birth of Samuel. Eli’s sones lose the right to the priesthood by their misdeeds. The Ark of the Covenant is captured by the Philistines. It also covers the rise and fall of Saul.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	2 Samuel
Author	Unknown[8]
Est. Date	1000 B.C. – 900 B.C.
Summary	This book tells of the reign of David over the united twelve tribes, and ends with David’s exile. It also has a brief Epilogue which details God’s judgment on David’s sin.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	1 Kings
Author	Jeremiah
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	At David’s death, his son Solomon becomes “the most powerful king in Israelite history.”[9] The Temple is rebuilt. Upon Solomon’s death, the Kingdom is again divided into two, with the ten northern tribes of Israel, and the two southern tribes of Judah. God sends prophets to both kingdoms, including Elijah and Elisha to Israel.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	2 Kings
Author	Jeremiah
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	This book covers the fall of the northern kingdom, Israel, and their Assyrian exile. The people begin to intermarry with exiles of other places, and lose their identity as Israelite, becoming known as Samaritans. The southern kingdom, Judah, also falls, and the people suffer the Babylonian exile.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	1 Chronicles[10]
Author	Ezra
Est. Date	400 B.C.
Summary	1 Chronicles is “a retelling of the history of God’s people”[11] from Adam to Solomon.
Lit Genre	Sacred History[12]

Title	2 Chronicles
Author	Ezra
Est. Date	400 B.C.
Summary	2 Chronicles continues this retelling, covering the period from the Kingdom of Judah to the return from Babylon
Lit Genre	Sacred History[13]

Title	Ezra
Author	Ezra[14]
Est. Date	400 B.C.
Summary	The book of Ezra begins at the return from Babylon, and continues through Ezra’s mission to reform and renew the people. The story continues in the next book, Nehemiah.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	Nehemiah
Author	Nehemiah[15]
Est. Date	400 B.C.
Summary	Nehemiah begins with the prelude to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, the renewal of the covenant, and the dedication of the Wall. It ends with an epilogue covering Nehemiah’s return after an absence of several years, when he “finds things in disarray” with Temple practices abandoned, violations of the Sabbath, and intermarriage with Gentiles. The book ends with both the Temple and the moral restoration of the people unfinished.
Lit Genre	Historical Narrative

Title	Tobit
Author	Unknown
Est. Date	225 B.C. – 175 B.C.
Summary	Tobit, which is set in the eighth century B.C., gives us two seemingly disparate problems, the blindness of Tobit and Sarah’s lack of a husband, which have caused each of them to pray for death. The Angel Raphael then appears and guides Tobit’s son, Tobias, on a journey. By the end of the book, Tobias and Sarah are married, and Tobit’s sight has been restored.
Lit Genre	Biblical Novellas[16]

Title	Judith
Author	Unknown
Est. Date	Unknown[17]
Summary	Bergsma gives us this very pithy description: “the story of a Jewish heroine in the period after the Babylonian exile who saved her city by assassinating the general of the besieging Gentile army.”[18] She is not introduced until halfway through the book, and is shown as a virtuous woman who has remained faithful to the Lord even as the city has lost its faith.
Lit Genre	Biblical Novellas

Title	Esther
Author	Unknown[19]
Est. Date	400 B.C.
Summary	The story of Esther, retold every year at the Jewish feast of Purim, is the story of how a Jewish orphan becomes Queen and saves her people from extermination.
Lit Genre	Biblical Novellas

Title	1 Maccabees
Author	Unknown
Est. Date	100 B.C.
Summary	1 Maccabees centers on the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, who encouraged Jews to Hellenize and abandon the covenant. He pillaged the temple, had Jerusalem burned and plundered and decreed the abolition of Judaism. One priestly family revolted. Ultimately, the temple is cleansed and rededicated.
Lit Genre	Historical Literature

Title	2 Maccabees
Author	Unknown
Est. Date	100 B.C.
Summary	2 Maccabees is odd in its structure. It begins with two letters from the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem to the Jewish leadership in Egypt, each urging that a particular feast be celebrated (Hanukkah and Dedication.) It the switches to the author directly addressing the reader, and explaining why and how he compiled the book, stating it is a recap of a five-volume work, and gives the religious significance of the central events of the time period.
Lit Genre	Historical Literature
The Wisdom Literature
Title	Job
Author	Unknown
Est. Date	1400 B.C.
Summary	Job is the story of a just man who remains faithful to God amid trials and tribulations. It begins with a conversation between God and Satan, who posits that Job is faithful to God only because God has been so good to him. God then gives Satan permission to tempt Job.
Lit Genre	Parable[20]

Title	Psalms
Author	David (for 73 of them) and various others
Est. Date	1000 B.C. – 400 B.C.
Summary	Psalms of praise, psalms of pain, psalms of lamentation: this is really a book of prayer in lyric poetry form. Almost half are attributed to David and were likely originally meant to be sung.
Lit Genre	Poetry, Lyrical Poetry

Title	Proverbs
Author	Solomon
Est. Date	900 B.C.
Summary	This collection of short sayings, most of which are attributed to Solomon, are meant to help guide the people in righteous living.
Lit Genre	Wisdom Literature[21]

Title	Ecclesiastes
Author	Solomon
Est. Date	900 B.C.
Summary	This book seeks to orient our minds and hearts to the things of God, which are permanent, and turn us away from the things of the world, which are fleeting.
Lit Genre	Soliloquy[22]

Title	Song of Solomon[23]
Author	Solomon
Est. Date	900 B.C.
Summary	This is a love son. Bergsma gives five interpretations, (1)is an erotic love song of an actual man and wife, (2) an interpretation of love between God and Israel, (3) the love of the Messiah and his people; (4) God and the individual soul, and (5) God and that which is manifested in sacrificial worship, such as the Tabernacle, the Temple, Jerusalem, and the people.[24] Anderson states it is a love story presenting “an ideal image of love that exists between God and human beings.”[25]
Lit Genre	Poetic Literature

Title	Wisdom of Solomon[26]
Author	Solomon
Est. Date	900 B.C.
Summary	This book exhorts us to love that which is righteous, as it will make us grow in wisdom. This, in turn, leads us to everlasting life with God.
Lit Genre	Poetic Literature

Title	Sirach
Author	Sirach
Est. Date	700 B.C.
Summary	This is a book of sayings which urge us to grow in our knowledge of scripture so as to maintain our faith in God.
Lit Genre	Poetic Literature

The Prophetic Literature
Title	Isaiah
Author	Isaiah[27]
Est. Date	700 B.C.
Summary	Isaiah is an important book for Christian theology. Saint Jerome said Isaiah should be considered as an evangelist rather than a Prophet because in this book, all the mysteries of Christ and the church or so clear that you would think it was a history rather than a prophecy.[28]
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature

Title	Jeremiah
Author	Jeremiah
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	Jeremiah begins with his call and commission to prophecy. His prophetic message posits Israel as an unfaithful bride, and sees Lord bringing evil from the North. It includes oracles against kings, false prophets, the people, and the nations. It concludes with judgment on Zedekiah and hope for Jehoiachin.
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature[29]

Title	Lamentations
Author	Jeremiah
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	Limitations opens consists of five laments over the destruction of the temple. The laments are “How Lonely is Zion!” followed by “How angry is the Lord?” Next is the prophet’s complaint, “ I Have Seen Affliction,” followed by “How the Gold Has Grown Dim.” The last lament is a prayer, “Remember What Has Befallen Us!” The laments check the form of dirges which were chanted each year in memory of the destruction of the Temple.
Lit Genre	Poetic Literature[30]

Title	Baruch
Author	Unknown[31]
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	This book covers the repentance of the Exiles, a poem in praise of wisdom, an Oracle of hope and a letter of Jeremiah to the Exiles regarding idolatry.
Lit Genre	Historical, poetic, prophetic, and epistolary[32]
Title	Ezekiel
Author	Ezekiel
Est. Date	570 B.C.
Summary	Ezekiel begins his career as a Prophet after seeing a vision of God. His prophecy prophesy is the total destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel also details the conditions necessary to attain a new covenant.
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature

Title	Daniel
Author	Daniel
Est. Date	150 B.C.
Summary	Daniels apocalyptic literature that aims to remind the people that despite their travails, God is with them
Lit Genre	Apocalyptic

Title	Hosea
Author	Hosea
Est. Date	750 B.C.
Summary	Hosea is the story of a Prophet who takes an unfaithful wife at the direction of the Lord. Hosea continues to love her and take her back even as she continues to send against him. Hosea also stands as a parable of the Lord's relationship with Israel who is the bride unfaithful to God
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature

Title	Joel
Author	Joel
Est. Date	450 B.C.
Summary	Joel describes a plague of locusts on Judah and call for repentance. It looks forward to the coming day of the Lord.
Lit Genre	Apocalyptic Literature

Title	Amos
Author	Amos
Est. Date	760 B.C.
Summary	Amos was a southern Prophet to the northern Kingdom. It contains oracles against the nations, three calls to hear the word of the Lord, three woes on Israel, five visions of judgment, and as an epilogue seeing the Davidic Kingdom restored.
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature

Title	Obadiah
Author	Obadiah
Est. Date	450 B.C.
Summary	In this short book of prophecy, Edom, an enemy of Israel is chastised. the Prophet speaks of the ravaging of Edom and of the unification of Judah and Israel.
Lit Genre	Prophetic Literature
Title	Jonah
Author	Jonah
Est. Date	700 B.C.
Summary	The book of Jonah has less to do with Jonah's one prophecy, the impending doom of Nineveh, than it does with Jonah's relationship with God. When God first tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah refuses. Much of what follows is God nevertheless delivering Jonah to Nineveh to deliver the prophesy. Jonah is a story of God's love for all his people, Gentiles and Jew alike
Lit Genre	Prose Narrative

Title	Micah
Author	Micah[33]
Est. Date	700 B.C.[34]
Summary	Micah, “God’s prosecuting attorney against Israel,”[35] gives us three cycles of oracles of judgment on the leaders of Israel and oracles of salvation. The first and third cycle include a lamentation by the prophet between oracles.
Lit Genre	Epistolatory

Title	Nahum
Author	Nahum
Est. Date	650 B.C.
Summary	Nahum begins with a song then moves on to a prophecy of Nineveh's destruction. “The Prophet rejoices over the impending doom of the despised city of Nineveh”[36] because of its sins. However, Nahum recognizes God is a God of mercy, not vengeance.
Lit Genre	Prophetic narrative

Title	Habakkuk
Author	Habakkuk
Est. Date	600 B.C.
Summary	Habakkuk sees much evil around him and asks why God does nothing about it. God responds that he will send the Babylonians to destroy those who do evil. Afterwards, Habakkuk complains that the more wicked Babylonians judged those of lesser evil. God responds that justice comes to all.
Lit Genre	Prophetic dialogue between the Prophet and God

Title	Zephaniah
Author	Zephaniah
Est. Date	650 B.C.
Summary	Zephaniah writes of the influence of Assyrian worship, by which the Israelites have fallen to worship foreign gods. He foretells destruction and death upon Judah and Jerusalem. He anticipates “the imminent arrival of the ‘day of the Lord,’ which he described as a day of definitive judgment on all the people of the earth, including especially the people of Judah.”[37]
Lit Genre	Prophetic Narrative

Title	Haggai
Author	Haggai
Est. Date	520 B.C.
Summary	Haggai is a postexilic work in which the people are urged to reestablish a purified temple and liturgy. He anticipates the new temple will exceed the magnificence of the previous one
Lit Genre	Prophetic Narrative

Title	Zechariah
Author	Zechariah[38]
Est. Date	520 B.C.
Summary	Zechariah contains 8 visions of future events he looks forward to the restoration of the temple the high priest and the King. The last six chapters, sometimes referred to as “Second Zechariah, speak of the restoration of the Davidic King and Kingdom, and of Jerusalem’s final battle and vindication
Lit Genre	Prophetic Narrative

Title	Malachi
Author	Malachi[39]
Est. Date	430 B.C.
Summary	Malachi is about God's relationship with Israel: God’s love for Israel and Israel's offences against God Malachi tells us that the day of the Lord is coming, but God will send someone to prepare the way. It looks forward to the day of judgment.
Lit Genre	Prophetic Narrative

Bibliography

Alter, Robert. The Art Of Biblical Narrative. Reprint, New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Alter, Robert. The Art Of Biblical Poetry. Reprint, New York: Basic Books, 2011.Anderson, William Angor. Introduction To The Bible. Reprint, Liguori, MO: Liguori, 2012.

Bergsma, John Sietze, and Brant James Pitre. A Catholic Introduction To The Bible. Reprint, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018.

Faley, Roland J. From Genesis To Apocalypse. Reprint, New York: Paulist Press, 2005.

Harris, Stephen L. Understanding The Bible. Reprint, Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1992.

Hayes, John Haralson, and Carl R Holladay. Biblical Exegesis. Reprint, Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

Kranz, Jeffrey. "Who Wrote The Bible? Meet The 35 (Traditional) Authors". Overviewbible, 2021. https://overviewbible.com/authors-who-wrote-bible/.

The Holy Bible, Translated From The Original Tongues Being The First Version Set Forth A.D. 1611 ; Old And New Testaments Revised A.D. 1881-1885 And A.D. 1901. Reprint, San Francisco, Calif.: Ignatius Press, 2006.

[1] The dating of Leviticus is uncertain: does it come before or after Deuteronomy? It is believed to be of the Priestly source, once considered the oldest source, but which is placed by Wellhausen as last of the sources, which would date it to post-exilic time. Anderson states that it “had an extensive period of growth” 922) and did not achieve its present structure until some tike in the Persian period of 538-332 B.C.

[2] Deuteronomy 34, which details Moses’ death, likely has another author.

[3] Some sources say the author is unknown.

[4] At least one source claims it to be Nathaniel, Samuel, and Gad, but that does not appear to be generally accepted.

[5] Bergsma and Pitre date Judges to probably around 722 B.C., but perhaps as late as 587 B.C.

[6] At least one source claims it to be anonymously written, but did not specify why it was anonymous rather than unknown.

[7] At least one source claims it to be Nathaniel, Samuel, and Gad, but that does not appear to be generally accepted.

[8] At least one source claims it to be Nathaniel, Samuel, and Gad, but that does not appear to be generally accepted.

[9] Anderson, 29

[10] Some sources say the author is unknown.

[11] Bergsma and Pitre, 431

[12] Anderson holds that Chronicles “must be read as ‘sacred history,’ which does not have as its purpose to present accurate history in our modern sense but stresses that God is at work in history.” (33)

[13] See footnote 11

[14] Anderson gives the writer as “the Chronicler.” (34)

[15] Anderson also credits this book to “the Chronicler.” (34)

[16] This may be considered as a parable that shows how fidelity to the Lord is rewarded.

[17] Bergsma and Pitre discussed the problem of dating this story on pages 481-482,

[18] Bergsma and Pitre 447

[19] One source gives it as Mordecai.

[20] This may not be a popular description of the literary genre of Job, but unless we want to suggest that God allows bad things to happen to test us, we cannot consider Job to be descriptive of actual events.

[21] These ought not be confused with modern traditional proverbs, which give good general advice, but are rarely longer than a sentence and are not generally geared to our keeping the covenant.

[22] Bergsma and Pitre state “the genre of Ecclesiastes may helpfully be compared to a one-man, one-act play, introduced and concluded by a narrator.” (622)

[23] This book is also known as the Song of Songs.

[24] Bergsma and Pitre 642-645. Anderson sees it is as presenting “the Lord as a lover and human beings as the beloved.” (41)

[25] Anderson 41

[26] Also known as Wisdom. Anderson dates it to about 100 B.C., which would preclude Solomon’s authorship. Bergsma and Pitre refer to it as Wisdom of Solomon and gives credence to Solomon’s authorship at some points in the text, while at other times referring to “the sacred author.”

[27] Anderson states “Most commentators recognize that the book of Isaiah is not the work of a single author but of a number of writers.” (43)

[28] Bergsma and Pitre 722

[29] Jeremiah combines “history, biography, oracles, prayers, poems and exhortations.” (Anderson, 43

[30] Bergsma and Pitre call it “a self-consciously literary work.” (816)

[31] Anderson says “it is most likely a compilation of works written by at least three different authors.” (44)

[32] Bergsma and Pitre, 827

[33] Bergsma and Pitre state that most scholars agree that Micah wrote the early chapters, but the authorship of later chapters is uncertain. (924)

[34] As Bergsma and Pitre point out, later chapters, if written by another, would have been written later. (924)

[35] Bergsma and Pitre, 924

[36] Anderson, 46

[37] Bergsma and Pitre 933

[38] Chapters 9-14 may have been written by Zechariah sometime after the first eight chapters. Alternatively, they may have a different author