Who Wrote Genesis?

Traditionally, the first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; known together as the Pentateuch or "five-volumed book" - are ascribed to being authored by Moses, the great deliverer of the law.[1]

Scholarship in more recent centuries has raised questions about the authorship of the books of the Pentateuch. Proposed as one theory is that Pentateuch was handed down as an oral tradition - started by Moses, but not compiled into a written form until several hundred years after the death of Moses. A theoretical candidate as the actual "writer" of Genesis under this scheme is Ezra, a Jewish priest who led the people out of exile and back to Jerusalem around the year 450 B.C., some 1,000 years or so after the death of Moses. (Ezra's story is told in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament).

In the early 1800s, German scholar Julius Wellhausen developed a theory that the Pentateuch was compiled from four sources of oral tradition and/or written material, known as J, for Yahwehist source (spelled with a "J" in the original German of Wellhausen's theory); P, for Priestly; E, for Elohist; and D, for Deuteronomist.

Close reading of the actual Scriptures themselves, however, shows that the original, traditional theory - that of Mosaic authorship - is correct. In repeated references in both the Old and New Testament, we read accounts to the fact that Moses wrote the works. In the Pentateuch itself, we read that Moses was instructed to write down the words of the law and accounts of certain events. As an example, in Exodus 24:4-7, after a lengthy narrative in which the 10 Commandments and numerous other laws are given, we are informed by the text that Moses wrote down the laws that were spoken by the Lord. Moses then builds an altar and prepares a sacrifice. After gathering all of the people together, Moses reads to them the words from the book of the covenant - which he had just written. Several years later, Joshua, Moses' protégé and eventual successor, is instructed by God in Joshua 1:7-8 to meditate upon the book of the law provided by Moses so that Joshua would not turn away from God, but would stay focused on God's law and therefore prosper. Clearly then, by the time that Joshua has taken the position of leadership of the children of Israel, immediately after the death of Moses, a written book already existed, suggesting that Moses must have written it himself. There are also many passages that attest to Mosaic authorship in the New Testament. Perhaps the two clearest Biblical statements about who wrote the Pentatauch come from the fourth Gospel. In John 1:45, Philip tells Nathaniel that he has found the one "Moses wrote about." In John 5:46-47, Jesus states that Moses wrote about Him. There are numerous other references throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. While it is possible that small segments of the Pentateuch were later additions, perhaps by Ezra or another writer - such as the final verses of Deuteronomy in which Moses' death is recorded -- Scripture clearly indicates that the bulk of the five books did indeed come from the hand of Moses, as inspired by God.

[1] "Genesis introduction." In King James Version Study Bible. Edited by Kenneth Baker. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. p. 2