KNOWING THE BIBLE
Read and pray: "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and turned away from evil." (Job 1:1)
A. The Old Testament
The Pentateuch of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – was written by Moses. Moses was raised in the palace. He was a scholar, politician, and military leader. According to the world, he was also a religious leader. The Pentateuch was written by him on Mount Sinai, in the wilderness.
The book of Joshua was written by Joshua. He was a military and political leader. He wrote most of his book in Canaan, and a small portion in the plains of Moab.
There is much controversy concerning the authorship of the book of Judges, and it is difficult to verify. However, many authorities have stated that it was written by Samuel.
The book of Ruth is connected, in terms of time and history, to the preceding book of Judges and to the books of Samuel that follow. Therefore, it is very likely that it was written by Samuel.
The first twenty-four chapters of 1 Samuel were probably written by Samuel. Chapter twenty-five, verse one, says that Samuel died. Therefore, from chapter twenty-five of 1 Samuel and throughout the book of 2 Samuel, they certainly were not written by him.
The first book of Chronicles 29:29 says that concerning the acts of David, there were not only the records of Samuel, but also the chronicles of the prophets Nathan and Gad. Bible scholars concluded from this verse that the records in the books of Samuel, after his death, must have been continued by the prophets Nathan and Gad.
Why was 2 Samuel given that name, although it was not written by Samuel? This is because those two books form a single historical group. Therefore, the author or authors continued to write, from chapter twenty-five of 1 Samuel to the end of 2 Samuel.
Furthermore, in the original Hebrew Old Testament, the two books of Samuel constituted a single book and not two. It was only when the Old Testament was translated into Greek, in the Septuagint, that Samuel was divided into first and second books, because it was too lengthy and difficult to be contained in a single scroll.
Samuel was a Nazirite consecrated to God. He became a priest, and also a judge and a prophet. Moreover, he introduced kingship. It is certain that his book was written in Canaan. Nathan and Gad were prophets. It is certain that their records were written in Canaan.
The books of 1 and 2 Kings were a single book in the Hebrew Old Testament. They were also divided by the Septuagint. It is difficult for Bible scholars to assert who wrote the books of Kings, but some believe it was Jeremiah.
The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were also a single book in the Hebrew Old Testament. They too were divided by the Septuagint. Many authorities generally affirm that this book was written by Ezra. If we compare the end of Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra, we will see that the style, grammar, and sentences are very similar and must have been composed by the same author. Therefore, it has been affirmed that Chronicles was written by Ezra.
The book of Ezra was surely written by Ezra. He was a very skilled scribe and priest. He knew very well the laws of God and, therefore, was also a teacher of the law. His books were written in Jerusalem.
The book of Nehemiah was certainly written by Nehemiah. Ezra was a descendant of Levi, the tribe of priests. Nehemiah was a descendant of Judah, the tribe of kings. One took care of religion and the other of politics. At that time, the Persian Empire treated Judea as a province, and Nehemiah became the governor of Judea. His book was also written in Jerusalem.
It is difficult to affirm the authorship of the book of Esther. Probably Mordecai was the author, because in 9:20 and 23 it is mentioned that Mordecai wrote those events. He was someone who loved God and loved the Jews. If this book was written by him, it was written in the Gentile city of Susa.
There is a greater controversy concerning the authorship of the book of Job. The events recorded in this book occurred before the time of Moses and may have been contemporary with Abraham, about two thousand years before Christ. Some say it was written by Elihu and others say that probably Moses was the author.
Among the psalms, there are some that do not mention the author, but the authorship of most of them is identified. Among the one hundred and fifty psalms, at least seventy-three are clearly identified as Psalms of David. Besides these, there are others that, although they do not contain the author’s name, were clearly written by David. Therefore, David wrote the greatest number of psalms, almost one hundred.
Besides David, others wrote psalms, such as: Asaph, Heman, Ethan, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and Moses. Therefore, at least seven authors are clearly identified. The sons of Korah most likely refer to more than one person, since it is in the plural in the manuscripts. All the psalms of these authors were probably written in the land of Israel.
David was first a shepherd and then a king. Several of his psalms were written while he was being persecuted in the wilderness. Some were written when he reigned in the palace.
As for Asaph, Heman, and Ethan, we do not have much clarity. They may have been ordinary people. The sons of Korah were descendants of Korah. Bible scholars admit that this Korah is the one recorded in Numbers 16, as the leader of the rebellion against God.
However, from the descendants of this rebel arose people who were so godly and who loved God. They did not want to publicize their own names; rather, they preferred to show the greatness of the grace of God, acknowledging that they were descendants of the one who had rebelled against God.
Most of the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon. There are some words of Agur and Lemuel. Therefore, Proverbs was written by at least three people. Solomon was the most glorious and wise king in the history of mankind. All his books were written in Jerusalem. Agur may have been an ordinary person and Lemuel was a king.
Enjoy more:
Hymn – "I’m happy, my Father up in heaven speaks of His love"
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