But what about Genesis? But this does bring forth the question: how would Moses know all of these things? But the other objections are just as flawed in terms of logic and a failure to pay careful attention to the biblical text. Because we have more support for a written tradition of Genesis, does this mean we take everything in the book at face-value? Proof that Moses wrote the Torah: (Gen - Deut) 1. To move the account from Abraham to Moses would require only four more generations. But to say that the composition, even the origins, of the Pentateuch is to be associated with Moses certainly does not mean he wrote every word. Of course, this question in itself can raise a number of disputes because people have not reached an agreement as to when Moses lived on earth. This formula is introduced by the words elleh toledot and a persons name, This is the account of [name]. These sections indicate the use of oral and/or written sources (see 5:1) for the writing of the book of Genesis. . Nowhere in the Pentateuch is an author named, not Moses or any other person. Listen to the way John uses the word. There are postmosaica in the book of Genesis as well. For other New Testament references see Mark 12:26; John 1:17, 5:46, 7:23. Initially, in his 1780 Introduction to the Old Testament, Eichhorn said that Moses copied previous texts. Jewish and Christian tradition has consistently attributed the writing of Genesis to Moses. Genesis follows humanity through creation and humanitys descent into sin (Genesis 3). In sum then, you can test yourself and others as to whether you know God, or honor God, or love God. Thank you for signing up to receive email newsletters from Answers in Genesis. The five books of Moses are liberally sprinkled with symbolic references to Jesus. . In other words, where did Moses get information on the patriarchs? First, it could be argued that creation happened, and the account was passed down by oral tradition through the centuries, being slowly changed over time, until the Egyptians recorded their version. Others disagreed, pointing to other statements by Ibn Ezra that contradicted Spinoza's conclusion. He saw him as his Son in heaven eternally (John 1:13), and he saw what his Son would be in history when he came. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." (see Leviticus 14:1-32) . 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. Reared by his faithful parents in his earliest days, Moses was eventually brought to the court of Pharaoh. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? Notice this in John 8:57-58. He says, The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed (Galatians 3:8). Jewish leaders asked Jesus a question based on Deuteronomy 25:510 by saying, Teacher, they said, Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him (Matthew 22:24). The attack on the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is nothing less than an attack on the veracity, reliability, and authority of the Word of Almighty God. The Bible begins with these famous words in Genesis 1, laying the foundation for the rest of the Bible. . Terms of Service apply. Consider the following: Exodus 17:14Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it . Both Old Testament and New Testament. None of these passages concern the writing of the book of Genesis. Not only was there a J-document, E-document and D-document, but then it was argued that Leviticus and some other portions of the Pentateuch were the work of Jewish priests, hence the P-documents. After all, the book takes up 50 whole chapters in the Bible, so well briefly summarize some of the major events that take place in the book. First, as this Answers in Genesis article explains, we have documentary witnesses. Salem Media Group. contested questions in biblical scholarship. Other New Testament speakers/writers said the same thing, e.g. Besides using the verses noted by Ibn Ezra, Spinoza offered a few other brief arguments against Mosaic authorship which were easily answered by Christian writers in the following few decades.6. In fact, we have several accounts listed in Genesis. John 7:21-22 - 21 Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. First, we cannot discount supernatural revelation. [1] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, How Do We Know the Bible is True: Volume 1 (Master Books, 2011), p.89. Right from the start it is important to note that the Pentateuch is anonymous. The measure of all true knowing God, honoring God, and loving God is knowing, honoring, and loving Jesus for who he really is. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day., Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.. They were implicitly Deistic or atheistic in their thinking. Genesis, or otherwise known as Bereshith, means in the beginning. In other words, this book talks about the beginning of the world, the beginning of Gods nation of Israel, and the beginning of the story of salvation for all mankind. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it . After all, depending on when Genesis 1 occurred, even by conservative estimates, this would mean that Moses wrote down the events thousands of years after they occurred. In 1802, Johann Vater insisted that Genesis was made from at least 39 fragments. He says, I know it happened, I saw it. They still do not necessarily mean that Moses wrote every word, but they do imply a belief that Moses had an integral connection with the composition of the Pentateuch. For example, John 7:22 and Acts 15:1 refer to Moses giving the doctrine of circumcision. Early man was very intelligent: Cain built a city (Genesis 4:17), six generations later people were making musical instruments and had figured out how to mine ores and make metals (Genesis 4:2122), Noah built a huge boat for his family and thousands of animals to survive a year-long flood, etc.16, Table 2. On the contrary, we embrace it as the word of God in preparation for Messiah Jesus, and as the word of God in the ongoing illumination of the meaning of Jesus and his work. St. Nevertheless, further attacks on the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch began taking hold in France through Jean Astruc, whose book Conjectures about the original memoirs which it appeared that Moses used in composing the Book of Genesis with certain remarks which help clarify these conjectures was published in 1753. Ponder for a moment the implications of saying that the Scriptures witness about Jesus. Jesus shows up often in the Old Testamentnot by that name, and not in the same form as we see Him in the New Testament, but He is there nonetheless. Passages in these five books bear witness to the facts that the Christ would suffer, that the Christ would rise from the dead, that the Christ would enter into His glory, and that repentance for . 2 Thus, there exists abundant witness to the authorship of Moses. He refers to Isaiah 54:13, It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. So the prophets point to how people will come to the Messiah, Jesus. Several other books of the Pentateuch include passages that mention Moses recording events and writing down what God says. 41 I do not receive glory from people. For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me. Jesus Christ was greater than Moses. Internet Explorer is no longer supported. The Old Testament is precious to Christians because its a book about Gods work with Israel in preparation for the Messiah who would come not only to save Israel but to save the world from the power and punishment of sin. Not necessarily. So it is perfectly reasonable to think that Moses wrote Genesis from pre-existing, well-preserved oral tradition and/or written documents from the patriarchs. The Israelites were proud of their history and made sure to spend meticulous efforts on getting every detail right. And today, several variant views of documentary hypothesis exist, but perhaps the most popular is that of Julius Wellhausen proposed in 1895. There is abundant biblical and extra-biblical evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch during the wilderness wanderings after the Jews left their slavery in Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land (about 14451405 BC). Therefore, it is the united testimony of the New Testament that Jesus was the Prophet that Moses said would come. Facts, however, say otherwise. John 1:17; Acts 6:14; 13:39; 15:5; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 2 Corinthians 3:15; Hebrews 10:28. There is no other ancient Hebrew who was more qualified than Moses to write the Pentateuch. This oral version of Genesis goes all the way back to roughly 2000 BC in Mesopotamia. Ibid., p. 6364. So, Who wrote Genesis? Well likely never know with absolute certainty. If you have any questions, please review our. Moses wrote about me, and if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. These postmosaica establish a principle that later inspired editors/redactors can contribute to the writing of the Pentateuch. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Just as "son of" in Hebrew doesn't always mean a literal father-son relationship, so the Hebrew word translated here as "brother" doesn't always mean a literal brother, but can refer more generally to a familial or tribal relative. Also, Moses himself prophesied in Deuteronomy 17:1420 that Israel would have kings. 103:7). Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. This is a good place for this focus because twice in this passage Jesus says that the Old Testament Scriptures are written about him. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Jesus calls Genesis "the book of Moses": a. And there are others that would simply be awkward for Moses to write, which are referred to as amosaica (such as Numbers 12:4). To date, no manuscript evidence of the J-document, E-document, P-document, D-document, or any of the other supposed fragments have ever been discovered. JESUS said, "For had you believed Moses, you would have believed ME: for he wrote of ME. According to the Bible, Moses was the prophet who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt and brought them to the edge of the promised land. In John 7:42, the enemies of Jesus draw attention to the fact that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, referring to Micah 5:2, because they didnt think thats where Jesus was born. A number of objections have been raised by the proponents of the documentary hypothesis. Second, as mentioned in the Answers in Genesis article, not only does the Pentateuch confirm Moses authorship, but the rest of the Bible, including the New Testament does as well. In other words, any Jew or any Gentile will be an heir of Abrahams blessing if he believes in Jesus, the Messiah. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. All of them. In Genesis 14:14 the narrator reports that Abram chased the four ancient Near Eastern kings who kidnapped Lot as far as Dan. This reference to the city of Dan is a postmosaica because this city, earlier called Laish, was not named Dan until the time of the Judges (see Judges 18), and of course the name derived from the tribe of Dan, named after Jacobs son Dan, Abrahams great grandson. Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular. Modern source criticism, because of its late dating of the Genesis sources abandoned this traditional view. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. Would this be a problem for Moses? Genesis 12:6"Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. [3] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, How Do We . Jesus said (to fulfill the Scripture), I thirst (John 19:28=Psalm 69:21). The majority of biblical scholars have attributed the authorship of Genesis to Moses, but this has not gone without contest, especially from documentary hypothesis theorists. God saw Jesus and knew Jesus long before Jesus was on the earth. Of course, there are several ways Moses could have obtained this information: divine revelation, previously written texts passed down through the generations, and/or oral tradition from his ancestors.7 Regardless, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:2021), the books of Moses would be completely true and without error. My thoughts were: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. First, other biblical authors, including Joshua, Ezra, Daniel, and Paul, point squarely to Moses . So it is perfectly reasonable to think that Moses wrote Genesis from pre-existing, well-preserved oral tradition and/or written documents from the . The obituary in no way nullifies the claim that the author wrote the book.18. .1. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. Such a claim is without warrant. Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.". While Ur is an ancient city predating Moses, the reference to Ur of the Chaldeans (see Genesis 11:31) is a postmosaica since the Chaldeans were an Aramaic-speaking tribe that lived in the first millennium BC, long after the death of Moses. So when John says about the Scriptures in 5:39, It is they that bear witness about me, he means that God knew Jesus perfectly and fullyas it were face to faceand that he inspired these Scriptures, and through the Scriptures revealed Jesus. But let's assume for moment that it was referring to the region Dan, where Israelites, who were from the tribe of Dan settled. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Another Scripture says, They will look on him whom they have pierced (John 19:37=Zechariah 12:10). Let's look at eight things about Moses - who he was in the Bible and some details regarding his life. The Tablet Model is based on the Hebrew word toledoth, which appears eleven times in Genesis (Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2) and helps to tie the whole book together as a single history. Astruc claimed that these name changes indicated different sources that Moses used. . The Old Testament is a lesson book for the nations that keeps shedding light on the work of Christ. To answer this question, we need to go to 2 Timothy 3:16. Not only is there abundant biblical witness that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, Moses was fully qualified to write the Pentateuch. And its not at all out of character. Jewish historian Josephus, just after the time of Christ, says: "When Abram heard of their calamity, he was at once afraid for Lot his kinsman, and pitied the Sodomites, his friends and neighbours; and thinking it proper to afford them assistance, he did not delay it, but marched hastily, and the fifth night attacked the Assyrians, near Dan, for that is the name of the other spring of Jordan; and before they could arm themselves, he slew some as they were in their beds, before they could suspect any harm; and others, who were not yet gone to sleep, but were so drunk they could not fight, ran away."20. So the entire Old Testament is precious to Christians, because all Christians are counted by God as true Jewsbeneficiaries of all the promises made to the covenant people. Instead of moving on to chapter 6, I thought we should pause once more in John 5 and focus on something that is massively important for John and the other New Testament writers, namely, the way they viewed the Old Testament Scriptures and how those Scriptures relate to Jesus, and what difference it makes for us. John wrote, No one has ever seen God. The Jews therefore object, and persecute him for it. In the case of Deuteronomy, the author of the obituary of Moses was probably Joshua, a close associate of Moses who was chosen by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land (for Moses was not allowed to because of his disobedience), and who was inspired by God to write the next book in the Old Testament. Share This Verse: We follow Abrahams generations through Joseph and how Israel ended up in Egypt due to a massive famine. In John 1:34, John the Baptist says, I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. In John 3:11, Jesus says, We speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen. John 3:32 says, He bears witness to what he has seen and heard. And John 19:35 says, He who saw it has borne witness.. John 12:3741 is an amazing window onto how Jesus viewed the Jewish Scriptures. 3. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, Bereshit ("In the beginning").Genesis is an account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, and of Israel's ancestors and the . These are stellar confirmations by Jesus that Moses is the true and only writer of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. Hence, we have the Elohim and Jehovah sections (or E and J documents).8 Thus, the first assumption of the documentary hypothesis became established: the use of different divine names means different authors of the text. It is possible that Rachel was already aware of that name (Dan), as it meant "judge," and used it for the son of her handmaiden (Genesis 30:6). . Moses wrote Genesis 4 and 5 to show them that they needed to follow the line of Seth, not the line of Cain. The story is of a spiritual Eden where Adam existed (and then Eve) in eternity past before creation. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.". (3) He wrote or compiled Genesis by using earlier written documents. And studies of non-literate people groups have shown that they have much better memories for maintaining the accuracy of their oral traditions than people groups that rely primarily on written communication to learn and pass on information. They hated me without a cause (John 15:25=Psalm 35:19). No. Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. Logic and sound biblical interpretation say that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis. And there are no ancient Jewish commentaries that mention any of these imaginary documents or their alleged unnamed authors. It is therefore most unreasonable to think that the Genesis patriarchs would not record and pass on the history they had to the next generation. - American Standard Version (1901) The chart below shows that the Pentateuch states that Moses wrote these books: We also have the witness of the rest of the Old Testament: The New Testament is also clear in its testimony: They assumed their conclusion. http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_tradition_bailey.html, http://science.jrank.org/pages/10523/Oral-Traditions-Oral-Traditions-Source-Method-Historical-Construction.html, Noahs Flood: a Historical, Global Catastrophe, Adam by direct divine revelation, so not connected with Adam's name.