(2) The Old Testament was primarily written in Hebrew. But it does have a few portions that were composed in Arabic. Why so? In 587 B.C. as God had announced earlier, the Jews were taken captives into Babylon. It was during that exile in Babylon, the Jewish people learnt the Aramaic language. That’s why certain sections of Bible written after the Babylonian exile – some portions of the prophetic Book of Daniel (Dan 2:4 – 7:28) and the Book of Ezra (Ezra 4:8 – 6:18; 7:12-26) are in Aramaic. The rest of the Old Testament books are entirely in Hebrew. Many of the Old Testament books themselves have information on who wrote them. This is very true in particular of the Old Testament’s prophetic books. And regarding those books that do not directly identify who wrote them, traditional Jewish beliefs help us determine their authorships. Now let us commence our study.
(3) It has been the traditional Jewish belief that Moses authored the first five books of the Old Testament – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Jewish people call the compilation of these five books as Torah, a Hebrew word that means teaching. They also refer to it as the Mosaic Law. There are a few Biblical attestations that Moses must have been the one who wrote these five books (See Exodus 17:14, Deut 31:9). Moses’ lifetime was from 1525 – 1405 B.C. And we know that he was used extensively by God only during the last 40 years of his life. So the first five books of the Old Testament must have been written by Moses during the period between 1445 – 1405 B.C. So it was then the history of the Old Testament began. But some might pose the question – Why did God take such a long time to start writing the Bible? Because the times of Adam were from 3958 B.C., Noah lived from 2902 B.C., and Abraham from 1950 B.C., and Jacob, the father of Israelites died in 1643 B.C. Let us take a moment and reflect. Neither did Noah, nor Abraham or Jacob have a book called Bible in their hands. They had been hearing the word of God only through angels (See Genesis 6:3, 22:11-13, 32:1). That being so, why did God suddenly start establishing a written record from the times of Moses? What we need to pay attention is the fact that, until the times of Moses, God had been conversing with only certain individuals. But starting from the times of Moses, we see that God chooses the people of the nation of Israel as his own and begins a relationship with them. Since the Israelites were millions in number, it would have been difficult to reveal His messages to each of them individually. That’s why He starts recording His laws in written form from that time. Thus the word of God started getting recorded in written form from the times of Moses. We also need to pay attention to another pattern. As the word of God started being recorded in the written form from the times of Moses, we simultaneously see in the Bible that the habit of angels delivering God’s messages gradually reduces. In present times, not only the Old Testament, but the New Testament also has been completed and thus the Divine Plan of God is available in its entirety in written form for mankind to read. That’s why God has completely ceased delivering messages to Man via angels. So whoever wants to seek the true God in present times needs to seek the Holy Bible indeed!
(4) Moses was born in 1525 B.C. And if he had indeed written the first five books of the Old Testament, some inquisitive minds might raise the question, how he was able to write Man’s history that had started many centuries before in 3958 B.C. It could be explained that this was very much possible for him because he essentially wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And such an explanation would be sufficient. But still there are other clues of how God could have guided Moses’ writings. First of all, Adamic history might have been passed on over generations by word of mouth among the Jewish people. Moreover many since Adam might have recorded their histories even in written form. We see in the Bible that the people of those times were able to write (See Genesis 28:19). With the help of such records, Moses would have been able to know the history of those times. As a matter of fact, it’s remarkable that many Jewish traditional books like the Book of Adam and the Book of Jacob have been discovered recently. Of course, the authenticity of these books is an open question. But they serve as a proof that written records were kept during those times. It’s vital for us to understand the main difference between such traditional Jewish books and the books of the Bible. For instance, a traditional Jewish book like the Book of Enoch might have actually been written by Enoch himself. But ultimately it is just a book written by Enoch – an ordinary man – and hence erroneous/error-prone. It was not God writing that book through Enoch. But the books of the Bible were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So they reflect divine wisdom and hence are priceless treasures. So it’s not wrong to study traditional Jewish books sometimes to get a better idea on traditional Jewish intricacies. But we should never consider those books written under the influence of mere human wisdom as equivalent to the divinely inspired books of the Holy Bible.
(5) The next book in the Old Testament is the Book of Joshua. It’s a traditional Jewish belief that it was written by Joshua himself. Joshua 24:26 serves as a witness to that belief – ‘Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God.’ We saw earlier that Moses died in 1405 B.C. The year of Joshua’s death was 1374 B.C. Joshua must have written his book only after the death of Moses. So the period when that book was recorded must be between 1405 – 1374 B.C. The next book of the Old Testament is the Book of the Judges. The authorship of this book is not clear. But traditionally Jews have believed that it was written by the prophet Samuel. So that book must have been recorded during the lifetime of Samuel, i.e. between 1060 – 1000 B.C. Moreover, Samuel is considered as the author of the next three books of the Old Testament as well, them being the Book of Ruth, 1 Samuel & 2 Samuel. So those books also must have been written during the same timeframe. Another thing to be noted is that there is only one book titled Samuel in the Hebrew manuscripts. Just as a matter of convenience, translators split up the single Book of Samuel into 1 & 2 Samuel when they were translating it into Greek during the 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. and that has become the norm in Biblical editions of almost all other languages including English. As a matter of fact, 1 & 2 Kings, the next twin books of the Bible were actually bundled along with 1 & 2 Samuel as a single book in the Hebrew manuscripts. So essentially it was those Greek translators of the 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. who had split up that one book into 4 books (1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings) as a matter of convenience. The books of 1 & 2 Kings record the history of about 400 years. Essentially they document the history from David’s last days (around 1000 B.C.) till the end of the Babylonian captivity of King Jehoiachin (562 B.C). The traditional Jewish book of Mishnah says that prophet Jeremiah wrote the Book of Kings. This is possible indeed because essentially the works of prophet Jeremiah started in 628 B.C. and thus he lived during the end times of the Kings. So he and later his disciples might have jointly written the books of 1 & 2 Kings. So how were they able to write about the history of 400 years before them? The Bible answers that question with reasonable clarity. It says that separate annals had been kept recorded on each of the individual kings (See 1 Kings 11:41, 14:29, 2 Kings 1:18). Thus, using those annals, Jeremiah and his disciples could have easily written the books of the Kings during the timeframe of 628 – 562 B.C.
(6) The next dual-volume books of the Old Testament – 1 & 2 Chronicles – are also a single book in the original Hebrew manuscripts. They too were split up into two as 1 & 2 Chronicles by the Greek translators of the 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. for convenience purposes. The traditional Jewish belief has been that prophet Ezra wrote these books. Even these two books predominantly deal with the chronicles of Kings. Since Ezra lived around 450 B.C. these books must also have been written around that time. Likewise, Ezra was also the author of the Old Testament Book of Ezra. So he must have written that book too around that period. It’s not clear who authored the Book of Nehemiah, the next book in the Old Testament. It’s said that Nehemiah wrote some parts of the book and Ezra wrote the other parts. No matter what might have been, since both Nehemiah and Ezra lived essentially around 450 B.C., this book must have been written around that time indeed. Esther, the next book in the Old Testament was written after the days of the reign of Ahasuerus began (KJV Esther 1:1). This Ahasuerus was a Persian king. His rule lasted from 486 – 465 B.C. Therefore the Book of Esther must have been written during that period. Traditional Jewish belief holds that Mordecai authored this book.
(7) The authorship of the Book of Job is not clear. But the traditional Judaic text of the Talmud says that Moses essentially wrote that book. So it must have been written during the lifetime of Moses i.e between 1445 – 1405 B.C. Next are the Psalms. Many people, including David authored Psalms. Seventy-three of the Psalms themselves explicitly declare David as their author. He could have written many more of them as well. Apart from him, a lot of others including Asaph (Psa 50, 73), Sons of Korah (Psa 42, 44), Solomon (Psa 72, 127), Heman (Psa 88), Ethan (Psa 89) wrote many of the Psalms. Why, even Moses has authored one (Psa 90). What we need to understand is that the Book of Psalms is a compilation of psalms written by various men of God over different time periods starting from the times of Moses i.e. 1445 B.C. Experts say that this compilation work could have lasted even until 450 B.C. The next book of the Bible is the Proverbs. The Bible states that King Solomon authored the first 29 chapters of the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1, 10:1). But it was the men of Hezekiah who compiled the proverbs uttered by Solomon (See Proverbs 25:1). So the Proverbs were spoken during the times of Solomon i.e. 970 – 930 B.C. and passed on by word of mouth over the times till they were compiled and recorded during the period of Hezekiah. King Hezekiah became coregent of Judah with Ahaz in 729 B.C, became a sole ruler after the death of Ahaz in 716 B.C and ruled till 687 B.C. Thus, much of the Book of Proverbs must have been recorded in writing between 729 – 687 B.C. The 30th chapter of Proverbs was written by a man named Agur (See Proverbs 30:1). And the 31st chapter declares that it has ‘the sayings of King Lemuel – an inspired utterance his mother taught him.’ (See Proverbs 31:1). To our surprise, there has never been any Jewish king named Lemuel. So who exactly was this Lemuel? And who was his mother? The name Lemuel means ‘belonging to God’ (Strong’s No: 03927). So it’s been said that this Lemuel was Solomon indeed and that the mother who gave him this teaching was David’s wife Bathsheba. As a matter of fact, it’s supposed by some that the 31st chapter of Proverbs is actually the counsel of Bathsheba on how to be a good king, delivered to Solomon who had been indulging in worldly pleasures of women and wine during the end of his reign.
(8) It’s mentioned that the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes was a son of David and a king in Jerusalem. Traditional Jewish belief holds that this is essentially Solomon. That might be right. But all the kings in Jerusalem proudly used to call themselves as sons of David. So this book could have been written by any one of those kings, ranging from Solomon till Zedekiah. The reign of Solomon began in 970 B.C., whereas Zedekiah’s rule came to an end in 587 B.C. So the Book of Ecclesiastes was written by a king who ruled in Jerusalem between 970 – 587 B.C. Even that being the case, since this book talks a lot about wisdom and as Solomon was the king who received wisdom, there is high probability that he was indeed the author. Moving further, there is an opinion that Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon. The first verse of this book could be translated either as “Solomon’s Song of Songs” or as “Song of Songs for Solomon”. So there is some confusion regarding whether Solomon wrote them or rather his court’s poets wrote them for him. Regardless, it’s certain that this book was written during the reign of Solomon (970 – 930 B.C.). The Book of Isaiah was indeed authored by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied sometime between 730 – 680 B.C. So that book must have been written around that time. Likewise the Book of Jeremiah was indeed written by the prophet Jeremiah. Since 628 – 562 B.C. was the period when Jeremiah prophesied, that book must have been recorded around that time. The same prophet Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations in memory of the magnitude of the destruction that came upon Jerusalem through the Babylonians in 587 B.C. The Book of Ezekiel must have been written by the prophet Ezekiel during the times of his prophetic life i.e. around 593 – 570 B.C. Likewise the Book of Daniel was authored by the prophet Daniel during 606 – 537 B.C. The Book of Hosea was written around the years between 775 – 715 B.C. by prophet Hosea, who used to prophesy in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Book of Joel was written by prophet Joel. But it’s rather difficult to figure out the time period of Joel’s life. But at least it’s known that this book was written during the times of the kings after Solomon (930 – 587 B.C.). Prophet Amos wrote the prophetic Book of Amos around 750 – 760 B.C.
(9) In an earlier issue of Grace (See Grace – Blossom 02: Mar ’08) we had studied that the Book of Obadiah might have been written by prophet Obadiah after Babylon had captured Judah in 587 B.C. And we also might remember seeing in an issue of Scripture Study that the prophetic Book of Jonah must have been recorded by Jonah around 794 – 754 B.C. (See Scripture Study – Blossom 06: July ’10, Para 02). Next, the prophetic Book of Micah was written by prophet Micah during 750 – 687 B.C. And prophet Nahum wrote the prophetic Book of Nahum around 663 – 612 B.C. Even as we know that prophet Habakkuk to be the author of the Book of Habakkuk, it has not been possible to determine the period of its writing. This book prophesies the forthcoming Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. So at least that helps us to figure out that this book must have been written before 587 B.C., the year the Babylonian captivity of Judah began. We studied about the book of Habakkuk in an issue of Grace (See Grace – Blossom 05: July ’08, Para 04). The prophetic Book of Zephaniah was written by prophet Zephaniah during 640 – 623 B.C. (See Grace – Blossom 13: Mar ’09, Para 01). And prophet Haggai authored the prophetic Book of Haggai in 520 B.C. (See Grace – Blossom 07: Sep ’08, Para 03). And between 520 – 450 B.C., the Book of Zechariah was written by prophet Zechariah. The last book of the Old Testament is the Book of Malachi. In an issue of Scripture Study, we might remember studying that this book must have been written either by a prophet named Malachi or by Ezra or Mordecai or some other prophet – if Malachi had just been a title (See Scripture Study – Blossom 03: Apr ’10, Para’s 01, 02). Thus, the Old Testament which Moses began to write in around 1445 B.C. came to its completion after about a thousand years later, around 420 B.C. That is a staggering amount of time indeed! Then for about 400 years after its completion, there was to be no word from God to mankind. Because, as we know, the New Testament of the Bible, began to form only after 33 A.D, the year of Christ’s crucifixion.
(10) Thus, the Old Testament was scripted by God across a span of about a thousand years by means of various individuals. That being the case, when were these different books compiled into one and declared as being exclusively divine? Why do we raise that question? Because the Old Testament used by the Roman Catholic Church has apocryphal books other than these. So how could we conclude that those books aren’t divine? The answer is simple. The apocryphal books added to the Roman Catholic Church’s Old Testament were all written after the Book of Malachi. But according to Jewish tradition, they were not considered divine. Many traditional Jewish texts including the 132 B.C. book of Ecclesiasticus and the Talmud clarify this fact with no room for doubt. Even till today those books have not been included in the Old Testament that is used by the Jews. Historically, the Jews had finalized what books would be part of the Jewish Biblical canon well before the First Advent of Christ. And those are the canonized texts that form the 39 books of the present-day Old Testament that we use. But why is it necessary for us to accept only those books that were canonized by Jews who themselves were just human beings? Let us pay attention to Paul’s statement – ‘What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. (Rom 3:1,2). Yes, according to God’s plan, His words were entrusted to the Jews indeed. The divine plan was that only through them the word of God would reach the Christians. Therefore, it becomes clear that we are to accept the Jewish classification regarding the canonization of Old Testament scriptures. Even Jesus Christ bore witness to this. How so? The Old Testament prevalent among the Jews during the times of Jesus Christ i.e. the first century constituted three sections. Those were –
- The first five books of the Old Testament – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – that were collectively called the ‘Mosaic Law’ or the ‘Torah’.
- The next section called the ‘Prophets’ constituted these books –
1. The books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings which were together known as the Books of the Former Prophets.
2. The Books of the Latter Prophets comprising the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Books of the Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi).
- The last section was called the ‘Writings’. The books in this section were – Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and 1 & 2 Chronicles.
Thus, the Jewish people have been dividing the Old Testament into these three sections, since the times before Jesus, during the lifetime of Jesus and even till today. At no point of time in history have they included any of the apocryphal books – those that have found a place in the Roman Catholic Bible – into these three sections. That being the case, the following words of Jesus confirm that only the books of these three sections should be considered as the words of God – “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44). In this verse, Jesus classifies the Old 
testament into three sections the same way the Jewish people did. Since the first book of the ‘Writings’ section was the Psalms, the Jews called that section as ‘Psalms’ as well, in popular talk of that time. Thus, it’s strikingly befitting that Jesus describes the Old Testament mentioning the same sections – the Psalms, the Prophets and the Law of Moses – that the Jews used. Moreover the Old Testament in present-day Bibles has its books arranged sequentially from Genesis till Malachi. As we had seen earlier, this is essentially the order used by the Greek translators of the 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. As per the order found in the ancient Hebrew Old Testament, the books were arranged starting with the Torah, continuing with the texts of the Prophets and ending with the books of the Writings section. Accordingly, the Genesis was the first book of the Old Testament, with its last books being the last of the Writings – 1 & 2 Chronicles. Jesus too supports essentially that order, how so – ‘Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.’ (Luke 11:50, 51). Have you ever wondered why Jesus here says ‘from Abel to Zechariah’? The reason is straightforward when we explore it. Abel is murdered in the Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament as per the Jewish ordering (Genesis 4th chapter). And Zechariah is killed in the last book in that Jewish order – the Chronicles (2 Chronicles 24:20,21). That’s why Jesus says that, that generation would be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that had been shed from the first till the last book of the Old Testament as per the Jewish order. What a beautiful explanation this is! Let us thank God. Thus Jesus supports the Jewish people’s three-section classification of the Old Testament scriptures and their ordering. And most importantly he endorses that only the books canonized by the Jews should be considered divine. Thus it’s confirmed that only the 39 books from Genesis till Malachi (or from Genesis till Chronicles as per the ancient Jewish order) are the books that contain the words of God. It also becomes clear that neither the apocryphal books of the Roman Catholic Church nor other Jewish traditional texts are God’s word.
(11) Finally many ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, including the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered around 1946/47 A.D., have proven without doubt that the Old Testament has been preserved well over the times. Scholars agree on this. Some have a different question. They enquire that how the Old Testament can be considered as the word of God as it was written by various men across a span of different time periods. They ask ‘Couldn’t God have used just one man? Wouldn’t it have been more uniform then?’ Such people are not able to understand the glory of God’s wisdom. If God had actually written the whole Bible through just one man, a majority of the people, yielding to natural human tendencies, would have ended up glorifying that sole human author instead of or more than God. But since God used many men to write the Bible, not any individual could gain personal credit. Moreover, though the Bible was written by various individuals who lived in different times, it never contradicts itself in any place. And that firmly establishes that only God could have scripted this Book. Man could not have succeeded in such a project as often books written by one human author have internal contradictions, let alone by different authors of varied times. There was a sea of difference between Prophet Amos who herded sheep & King Solomon who reigned over riches. But the Holy Spirit was the common denominator that granted divine wisdom to both and made them as one of the authors of the Old Testament and amazingly all of it fits in with no contradictions. Truly, divine wisdom is magnificent!
Appendix:
Books of the Old Testament
Listed In Chronological Order (Based on Time Period of Authorship)
|
Old Testament Books |
Time of Authorship |
Author |
|
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy |
1445 – 1405 B.C. |
Moses |
|
Job |
1445 – 1405 B.C. |
Moses |
|
Joshua |
1405 – 1374 B.C. |
Joshua |
|
Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel |
1060 – 1000 B.C. |
Samuel |
|
1 & 2 Kings |
628 – 562 B.C. |
Jeremiah |
|
Ecclesiastes |
970 – 587 B.C. |
One of the kings from Solomon till Zedekiah. High probability of Solomon being the author. |
|
Song of Solomon |
970 – 930 B.C. |
Solomon or his court poets |
|
Joel |
930 – 587 B.C. |
Prophet Joel |
|
Jonah |
794 – 754 B.C. |
Prophet Jonah |
|
Hosea |
775 – 715 B.C. |
Prophet Hosea |
|
Amos |
750 – 760 B.C. |
Prophet Amos |
|
Micah |
750 – 687 B.C. |
Prophet Micah |
|
Isaiah |
730 – 680 B.C. |
Prophet Isaiah |
|
Proverbs |
729 – 687 B.C. |
Spoken by Solomon (Chapters 1 – 29), Agur (Chapter 30) and Lemuel’s mother (Chapter 31) and compiled by the men of Hezekiah. |
|
Nahum |
663 – 612 B.C. |
Prophet Nahum |
|
Zephaniah |
640 – 623 B.C. |
Prophet Zephaniah |
|
Jeremiah |
628 – 562 B.C. |
Prophet Jeremiah |
|
Daniel |
606 – 537 B.C. |
Prophet Daniel |
|
Ezekiel |
593 – 570 B.C. |
Prophet Ezekiel |
|
Habakkuk |
Before 587 B.C. |
Prophet Habakkuk |
|
Obadiah |
Before 587 B.C. |
Prophet Obadiah |
|
Lamentations |
Before 587 B.C. |
Prophet Jeremiah |
|
Haggai |
520 B.C. |
Prophet Haggai |
|
Zechariah |
520 – 450 B.C. |
Zechariah |
|
Esther |
486 – 465 B.C. |
Mordecai |
|
1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra |
Around 450 B.C. |
Ezra |
|
Nehemiah |
Around 450 B.C. |
Ezra (or) Nehemiah |
|
Psalms |
Recorded since the times of Moses i.e. 1445 B.C. and completed around 450 B.C. |
Many including David, Moses, Asaph, Sons of Korah, Solomon, Heman and Ethan. |
|
Malachi |
445 – 420 B.C. |
Malachi (or) Ezra (or) Mordecai (or) some other prophet |