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Authorship of the Bible
Man, we’re three weeks in and still addressing caveats… this should serve as a stark illustration of our fallen state, but I digress. This particular issue is both pervasive and insidious. It marks a line of thought that I find to be common both among the secular-minded AND within the body of Messiah – believe it or not.
Essentially, the view holds that, if we cannot rightly attribute authorship, how then can we trust the contents therein? It’s a question that would seem to be fairly logical on the surface, but ultimately ignores the fact that we’re discussing a collection of texts dating as far back as 3400 years in age. The fact that the historicity, tenants, morality and teachings of these texts have been proven to be good and true throughout that entire span of time should be evidence enough for believers, but that has never stopped a detractor.
As an example, the authorship of the Torah has been called into question for some time. You may know it as “the Pentateuch” or some other name, but they all mean the same thing; the Books of Moses – the first five books in your Bible; Genesis (Bereshit), Exodus (Sh’mot), Leviticus (Vayakira), Deuteronomy (D’varim) and Numbers (B’midbar).
The objections to Moses’ authorship are varied, but there does exist compelling evidence supporting the idea that these texts did, in fact originate with Moses. If you are so inclined, I highly recommend viewing Patterns of Evidence: the Moses Controversy.
Another example of such criticism comes at the book of Isaiah. The claim is that there is an apparent change in authorship beginning at Chapter 40 and this supposition is based on a change in writing style and form. While I do not deny that such is the case, I do take umbrage with the so-called conclusion. Straight up, “that dog don’t hunt“.
Let me explain…
I have written a fair amount of material in my lifetime. If one were to look at material I generated in my twenties and compare it with something I’ve written recently, they may conclude that the authors are different. Why? Because I’ve grown and changed. Likewise, I’d be my bottom dollar that Isaiah – a prophet for some eighty-six years, changed a bit over that time as well.
Does that prove that He did write the latter portions of the book of Isaiah (or any of it for that matter)? Nope. Not even “kind-of” – nor does it prove that he didn’t… repeat after me:
The absence of evidence, is not evidence
My point here is simple; a change in writing style is not, in and of itself, sufficient evidence to decry authorship. Moreover, the hand that held the quill regarding any of the biblical texts is not what’s at issue – the validity of the message is. A perfect illustration of this was recently addressed in a dialogue by Dr. Michael Heiser. Consider the following:
First, let me say that the idea being put forth here is eminently reasonable. Note however, that what he postulates in no way indicts the text as being inauthentic… only that the common perception of authorship is very limited in scope. Surely you can see that whether or not Ezekiel’s was the hand by which the book was written; if those writings accurately reflect what he said and taught, then ascribing the book to him is both correct and appropriate.
We could go on, but it isn’t my purpose to go through every argument for or against the authorship of the scriptures. My purpose is to illustrate that when you really dig into these topics, you’ll find that the critical view – the ones we seem to hear about most frequently – are far from the only views held. We also discover that there is evidence…
As a final illustration, I have even come across theologians who discredit the authorship and timing of Daniel because – get this – “his prophecies are too accurate“. The reasoning goes that the text is too accurate to historic events and, therefore they must have been penned after the events they claim to have foretold. Theologians hold this view?! What’s more, they’ve even taught this in seminaries?!
Remember my last article? Starting to get the picture?
In the end, authorship is a big deal for many people, and I do not begrudge this one bit. In fact, I contend that asking such questions is good and right – but only if one is willing to actually seek out the answers. Failure to do so indicates that one is not simply questioning for the purpose of actual understanding – they’re just being antagonistic.
To them, I offer the following advice;
The world has more than enough antagonists – you’re contributing nothing.
Knock it off.
In the end, regardless of how much, or how little research you personally do into such issues, you’re going to find that that it will ultimately land back at the issue of faith. Whether or not Moses actually penned Genesis (or any other author & book) isn’t what’s most important – what truly matters is whether or not it is the Word of the Living God.
Spoiler alert; it is.
As a very important “aside”; Passover begins next Friday! It is, without a doubt, my favorite of the Mo’edim (Appointed Times) and I contend that every believer, regardless of lineage or culture, should get intimately familiar with its observance… For those interested in conducting a Seder, I posted a Messianic Haggadah here on this site in 2020. Feel free to utilize this if you like, though there are certainly other variations available.
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As a second “aside”, I have stated on numerous occasions that the Lord often speaks to me through some strange means – music being prominent among them. For some reason, I have an ear and a memory for music and lyrics, so even songs I’ve not heard in decades are rather easily recalled.
I know when it’s God who’s running my internal radio station though, because he tends to pull things out that require some “dust” to be blown off of them… The past week or so, this has happened again – and honestly, I thought this was just “me” and blew it off ~ but when the Spirit wants me to get something, he can be quite persistent.
So without further delay, here’s what I “got” that won’t leave me alone:
I feel that the Lord is about to do something. What that is, I do not know, nor do I care to speculate. I am however, fully prepared to be awed and yet unsurprised by His greatness.
Maybe next time we can move on to some actual meat and potatoes. Thanks for bearing with me.
Until next time,
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You