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1. Did Moses Write the Pentateuch?

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Who Wrote That?
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14Chapter 1Did Moses Write the Pentateuch?The Pentateuch is the first five books of the He-brew Bible as well as of the Christian Old Testament. The designation “Pen-tateuch” derives from Greek penta (five) plus teûchos (vessel, in the sense of a case for scrolls). These five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They are also collectively called the Torah. Until the late nineteenth century, the consensus view of biblical scholars was that Moses wrote these first five books of the Bible. The Church father Jerome (ad 340–427), however, suggested that Ezra the Priest wrote the Pentateuch in the fifth century bc based on notes made by Moses. Since the sixth century ad, doubts have been expressed about whether Moses was the author of all the Penta-teuch. But it was only in the mid- seventeenth century that the first relatively systematic discussion of the issue appeared. By the late nineteenth century, the scholarly consensus began to turn against Moses being the author of any part of it. Yet in the Bible are references to the Pentateuch’s being “the book [sephar] of Moses” (Ezra 6:18 and Neh. 13:1) and to Moses’s knowing how to write (Exod. 17:14, 24:4, 34:27–28; Num. 33:2). It would then seem to require an explanation for the rejection of Mosaic authorship that is now the standard view in the scholarship.
© 2020 Cornell University Press, Ithaca

14Chapter 1Did Moses Write the Pentateuch?The Pentateuch is the first five books of the He-brew Bible as well as of the Christian Old Testament. The designation “Pen-tateuch” derives from Greek penta (five) plus teûchos (vessel, in the sense of a case for scrolls). These five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They are also collectively called the Torah. Until the late nineteenth century, the consensus view of biblical scholars was that Moses wrote these first five books of the Bible. The Church father Jerome (ad 340–427), however, suggested that Ezra the Priest wrote the Pentateuch in the fifth century bc based on notes made by Moses. Since the sixth century ad, doubts have been expressed about whether Moses was the author of all the Penta-teuch. But it was only in the mid- seventeenth century that the first relatively systematic discussion of the issue appeared. By the late nineteenth century, the scholarly consensus began to turn against Moses being the author of any part of it. Yet in the Bible are references to the Pentateuch’s being “the book [sephar] of Moses” (Ezra 6:18 and Neh. 13:1) and to Moses’s knowing how to write (Exod. 17:14, 24:4, 34:27–28; Num. 33:2). It would then seem to require an explanation for the rejection of Mosaic authorship that is now the standard view in the scholarship.
© 2020 Cornell University Press, Ithaca

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. List of Tables xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. 1. Did Moses Write the Pentateuch? 14
  7. 2. Who Wrote the Analects? 39
  8. 3. Who Wrote the Secret Gospel of Mark? 58
  9. 4. Did Abelard and Heloise Write the Letters Attributed to Them? 75
  10. 5. Who Wrote the Compendium of Chronicles ( Jami al-Tawarik) and the Collection of Letters Attributed to Rashid al-Din? 104
  11. 6. Who Wrote Shakespeare? 126
  12. 7. Who Wrote the Works Attributed to Prince Andrei Kurbskii? 160
  13. 8. How Inauthentic Was James Macpherson’s “Translation” of Ossian? 190
  14. 9. Did Mikhail Sholokhov Write The Quiet Don? 209
  15. Afterword: Lessons Learned 231
  16. Bibliography 241
  17. Index 259
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501749728-004

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. List of Tables xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. 1. Did Moses Write the Pentateuch? 14
  7. 2. Who Wrote the Analects? 39
  8. 3. Who Wrote the Secret Gospel of Mark? 58
  9. 4. Did Abelard and Heloise Write the Letters Attributed to Them? 75
  10. 5. Who Wrote the Compendium of Chronicles ( Jami al-Tawarik) and the Collection of Letters Attributed to Rashid al-Din? 104
  11. 6. Who Wrote Shakespeare? 126
  12. 7. Who Wrote the Works Attributed to Prince Andrei Kurbskii? 160
  13. 8. How Inauthentic Was James Macpherson’s “Translation” of Ossian? 190
  14. 9. Did Mikhail Sholokhov Write The Quiet Don? 209
  15. Afterword: Lessons Learned 231
  16. Bibliography 241
  17. Index 259
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