# Fundamentalists beliefs about authorship of the Old Testament? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248 "2006-05-03T16:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/1 "2006-05-03T16:17:56Z")
Please help me keep this in GQ as I am looking for a factual answer about the generally held beliefs of fundamentalists who interpret the Bible literally. I am not looking to discuss challenges to those beliefs. Genesis describes events that occurred before man was on the earth. AFAIK even fundamentalists do not believe that there are any documents written directly by God, except for maybe the 10 commandments. If one is to believe that the writing of Genesis is literally true, then where does one believe that it materialized from? No one existed to document the creation of heaven and earth. AFAIK Adam did not keep a diary. So who is thought to have written all of this with such authority? On a related note, what is fundamentalist belief about how antedeluvian histories survived the flood? ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/2 "2006-05-03T16:34:56Z")
Fundamentalists believe in the Mosiac authorship of the Pentateuch (IOW, Moses wrote Genesis). As for where this information came from, I’m guessing most have never thought about it but would give a flip “Moses was directly inspired by God” answer. This is a good summary. [http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr\_tora.htm](http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_tora.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/3 "2006-05-03T16:36:03Z")
I believe most biblical literalists and orthodox jews believe that the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deutronomy) were written down by Moses, under divine inspiration from the Big Guy himself. So the early history of the antediluvian world is no problem. God told Moses what to write, and Moses wrote it. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/4 "2006-05-03T17:03:45Z")
Orthodox Jews believe the Five Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were dictated, word-for-word, letter-for-letter, by G-d to Moses. We believe that the other OT books were written by various prophets and scholars. The prophetic books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi) were written by prophecy, which means that the prophet had a communication from G-d, but the actual words are his personal interpretation of that. And the remaining writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles) were the thoughts of ordinary people but divinely inspired. Maccabees, which I believe Christians consider to be part of the OT, is not considered divine scripture by Jews. More details can be found in [this series of Staff Reports](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbible1.html). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/5 "2006-05-03T17:19:22Z")
As I understand it, the following are what is commonly held true: Moses wrote the **Pentateuch** (AKA Torah) at God’s dictation. Except the last eight verse of Deuteronomy, on which there’s mixed views: Orthodox Jews, following the Rabbis, believe that Moses himself wrote those verses in tears, as God told him what would be his own end; Conservative Christians hold that Joshua appended them to close out the account of Moses. Joshua was written by its eponym, except again for the closing verses recounting his death, which were the work of Aaron’s grandson Phinehas, again for the purpose of closing out an account of someone’s life and work. Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two books of the Chronicles were supposedly the work of Ezra. The books of the prophets were again the work of the eponymous prophets: Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel, etc. – except Jeremiah, which was compiled from Jeremiah’s teachings by his secretary Baruch, who added the narrative portions. Lamentations was the work of Jeremiah. The Psalms were collected by King David, who wrote the ones ascribed to him and collected the others ascribed to other writers. Likewise Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs were the work of King Solomon, in the case of Proverbs acting partially as writer and partially as collector of previous collections, after the example of his father with the Psalms. I was unable quickly to uncover any assertion of traditional authorship for Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Esther, or Job, though I am sure there are such assertions. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/6 "2006-05-03T17:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Maccabees, which I believe Christians consider to be part of the OT, is not considered divine scripture by Jews. More details can be found in [this series of Staff Reports](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbible1.html). [/QUOTE] Just to clarify, I believe the catholic church recognizes Maccabees as part of the bible, but most protestants do not. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fundamentalists-beliefs-about-authorship-of-the-old-testament/355248/7 "2006-05-03T17:33:34Z")
Poly, that Staff Report series really spells it all out, but in the interest of having all the answers in the same thread, and keeping them accurate (at least in the opinion of Orthodox Judaism): > [@](#): > > Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two books of the Chronicles were supposedly the work of Ezra. Chronicles was only partially written by Ezra, and was probably completed by Nehemiah. > [@](#): > > The books of the prophets were again the work of the eponymous prophets: Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel, etc. – except Jeremiah, which was compiled from Jeremiah’s teachings by his secretary Baruch, who added the narrative portions. Jeremiah was written by Jeremiah himself, not Baruch. Isaiah, on the other hand, was compiled from Isaiah’s known prophecies by scholars working for the court of King Hezekiah. Ezekiel, likewise, was compiled by the Men of the Great Assembly (the main gathering of Jewish scholars, including several prophets, following the return from Babylonian exile), and the twelve minor prophets were bound together by them as well. > [@](#): > > Likewise Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs were the work of King Solomon Solomon’s words, compiled into writing by the scholars of Hezekiah’s court. > [@](#): > > I was unable quickly to uncover any assertion of traditional authorship for Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Esther, or Job Job - Moses Judges, Ruth, I Samuel until Samuel’s death - Samuel Samuel I following Samuel’s death and Samuel II - the prophets Nathan and Gad Kings I and II - Jeremiah Esther - The Men of the Great Assembly, most likely working from text by Mordecai, who was a member.