Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

My understanding is that authorship of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, also referred to as the Pentateuch) has been ascribed from a scholarly standpoint to Moses since at least the period AD 200 - 500, and went unchallenged until the Enlightenment began, late in the seventeenth century.

This identification was based upon multiple passages in the books (such as Exodus 17:14, Numbers 33:1-2, and Deuteronomy 31:9) that refer to words that Moses specifically recorded, or that he was directed by God to record; Moses' prominent role in four of the five books (with the exception of Genesis); and the way in which Moses' roles as both liberator and lawgiver unified the narrative of the books.

There is also a credible "chain of custody" of the books (from Moses to Joshua to the elders to the prophets to Ezra (in connection with the Babylonian exile) to the rabbis), which led to references to Moses' authorship throughout the Old Testament (Joshua 1:7-8; 1 Kings 2:3; Ezra 6:18; Daniel 9:11-13), as well as words recorded as having been spoken by God Himself (Malachi 4:4). 

In addition, Jesus (as recorded in the gospels) spoke of Moses as the author (Luke 16:29; John 5:46-47), as did Paul (Romans 10:5).

March 18 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report