Question about Mosaic authorship.

[bach90]

Hey everyone,

I have a question I've been struggling with over the past month. I certainly believe that the entire Bible is without error and that it is the sole norm and rule of faith. However it's getting tougher and tougher for me to see the Pentateuch as being authored entirely by Moses. Certainly I believe he could have written parts of it, but there are so many differences in the books. The code in Deuteronomy and Exodus differ in some not so minor places at times. Also there are some things which are mentioned in Genesis as being important (the Abrahamic covenant) and creation which are than ignored in the later books (Deutronomy being much more concerned with the covenant with Moses, temple worship, and Jerusalem. Exodus seems completely unconcerned with the temple and Jersualem by contrast). I don't want to be a heretic here, but is it possible to hold the actual authorship of Moses in doubt while still affirming that the Holy Spirit is the true author and that the Scripture has to be taken as authoritative, regardless of who gave us the final copy?

 

[Shane R]

I believe some of the difficulties you see are largely explained by considering purpose and context. For example, Genesis is a stage setter and employs a much wider literary scope than the remainder of the Pentateuch (in essence it is designed to present the threads of Divine foreknowledge and purpose which will be woven together in the NT and consummated in the final pages of the Revelation); whereas Numbers has the most limited scope of the books of the Pentateuch. Exodus is more concerned with a chronological account of the Israelites, whereas Deuteronomy is largely a summary and completes the narrative by relating the death of Moses and the transition to leadership by Joshua.

However, it is clear that at least a small portion of the Pentateuch was penned by another man (for who writes an account of their own death?). Some have proposed that Moses may have had documents at his disposal which aided him in writing portions of the Genesis narrative. I hesitate to make concrete assertions about a text so old, except to assert that it is the word of God by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

 

[DaRev]

It is not only widely accepted that Moses is the writer of the Pentateuch (the Author being God Himself), but also that Joshua wrote what is the conclusion of Deuteronomy partly as an introduction to the book of Joshua. The JEDP redaction theory is not at all accepted by Lutherans.

 

[bach90]

I think most of my concerns lie with The first 4 books as compared to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is clearly concerned with putting Jerusalem and the Temple at the center.

Ex 21:5-6 compared to Deut 15:16 for example, are different in no minor way. There's also the concern of idolatry in Exodus as compared to it being a secondary issue in Genesis. Deut is also pretty insistent that worship take place in a specific way, while in Ex and Num it doesn't necessarily seem like it has to be in a temple. I'm not arguing for the JEDP, I'm just saying it looks like there was some very careful editing done, more so in Deut.

Genesis I would say is a stage setter, but it seems like creation is mentioned in 1-11, the account is then largely ignored throughout the rest of the OT, and it becomes important again in the New, especially for Paul.

 

[DaRev]

Again, purpose and context is key in understanding these writings. Each of the five books have different purposes and different emphases. That in no way reflects on writership.

 

[filosofer]

Genesis I would say is a stage setter, but it seems like creation is mentioned in 1-11, the account is then largely ignored throughout the rest of the OT, and it becomes important again in the New, especially for Paul.

Actually creation is critical in the giving of the Ten Commandments: specifically the 3rd commandment and its much fuller background and support:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

So also, Ex 23:12; 31:13-16; Lev 26:2; Deut 5:12


Thus, this one example shows that the theme of creation permeates the Pentateuch and ties it together. Obviously Jesus continues that and expands that view of creation and Sabbath (i.e. Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8, etc.). And the creation theme is predominant in Psalms and figures into Isaiah’s prophecies and look at the “new creation.”

 

[bach90]

Actually creation is critical in the giving of the Ten Commandments: specifically the 3rd commandment and its much fuller background and support:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

So also, Ex 23:12; 31:13-16; Lev 26:2; Deut 5:12


Thus, this one example shows that the theme of creation permeates the Pentateuch and ties it together. Obviously Jesus continues that and expands that view of creation and Sabbath (i.e. Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8, etc.). And the creation theme is predominant in Psalms and figures into Isaiah’s prophecies and look at the “new creation.”

Didn't even pick up on the creation in the Third Commandment, I've memorized it and prayed it from the SC so any times, didn't even put together that it had to do with creation.

I'm failing to understand the different context between Deut and Ex. Deut is obviously after the Exodus, but it seems to me the Exodus is the law and Deut is essentially a commentary on the law of Exodus. Maybe I'm missing something here?