Who Authored the Book of Genesis?

The age-long Hebrew and Christian position is that Moses, guided by the Spirit of God, wrote Genesis. The book closes approximately three hundred years before Moses was born. Moses could have received his information only by direct revelation from God or from historical records to which he has access that had been handed down from his forefathers.

We can read what Jesus said about Moses in Luke and John.

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

“Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” (John 7:19)

Every year there are being dug up in Egypt and Israel evidences of writing in Moses’ day and of the historical truth of what is recorded in the Pentateuch. Moses was educated in the palace of Pharaoh and “was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), which included the literary profession. Moses did make use of writing (Exodus 34:27; Numbers 17:2; Deuteronomy 6:9; 24:1, 3; Joshua 8:32).

No doubt the creation story was written long before, maybe by Abraham or Noah, or Enoch, the grandson of Adam (Genesis 4:17). Who knows? Writing was in common use before the days of Abraham. In Ur, as in every important city in Babylonia, the libraries contained thousands of books, dictionaries, grammars, reference works, encyclopedias, and works on mathematics, astronomy, geography, religion, and politics. No doubt Abraham had received traditions or records from Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 6:10), about the story of Creation, the Fall of humanity, and of the flood. Abraham lived in a society of culture, books, and libraries. He no doubt made careful and accurate copies of all that happened to him and of the promises God had made to him. He put it down on clay tablets in the cuneiform writing (the alphabet of the Babylonians) to be handed down in the annals of the nation he was founding.

Blessings and joy in Christ Jesus,

Tony

Tony Marino
Senior Pastor/Evangelist
World Christian Ministries

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