![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Joshua-Schachterle-Bart-Ehrman-Author-1-1.png\" "\\"Joshua")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by <\/a>Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Professor | Scholar<\/p>\n Author | Professor | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: September 6th, 2023\n \nDate written: September 6th, 2023<\/p>\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n Do we really know who wrote Genesis? <\/strong>Scholars and theologians have long contemplated this question.<\/p>\n The first book of the Hebrew Bible is filled with stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but do we know who wrote these tales? The composition of Genesis is shrouded in mystery, and its significance cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n So, let’s dig deeper into the origins of Genesis to unlock the secrets of this ancient text.<\/p>\n The book of Genesis<\/span><\/a> is the first book of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible<\/a>. This includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Tradition says that<\/span> Moses<\/span> wrote these five books. Can we prove that? Actually, the scholarly consensus is that Moses didn\u2019t write any of these books<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Scholar Charles Aaron Jr. gives more information on that in this book<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moses may not even have existed, although we\u2019ll leave that for another article.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead, most scholars agree that three separate authors were involved in creating the Book of Genesis. It may make more sense to say that three distinct literary traditions are involved in the writing of Genesis. <\/span><\/p>\n This is why, for example, many stories in Genesis are told more than once and differently.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Before discussing the sources of Genesis<\/a>, we must first understand that Israel was divided into two kingdoms in the 10th century BCE: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The sources of Genesis we will examine are related to one of these kingdoms.<\/strong><\/p>\n Judah was the kingdom of King David and his son Solomon.<\/em> Thus, sources from that region orient much of what they write, in Genesis and elsewhere, toward the eventual reign of David. Judah was conquered by Babylonia (in modern-day Iraq) in 597 BCE. Thus began a 70-year exile in Babylon for the Judahites. They were eventually allowed to return and rebuild, however.<\/span><\/p>\n Israel had different traditions and a foundational king named Jeroboam.<\/em> Unlike Judah, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians and never rebuilt. Eventually, Judah took over both kingdoms, and the whole land was renamed Israel.<\/p>\n Now that we have a grasp on the impact of those two kingdoms on Genesis traditions, let us examine our three sources.<\/p>\n NOW AVAILABLE! <\/p>\n In The Beginning\u2122 – History, Legend, & Myth in Genesis<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n In Part One of Bart’s new “How Scholars Read the Bible” Series, dive into the stories of the first book of the Bible from a historical perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> Scholars call the first source the Yahwist source because it refers to God as \u201cYahweh.\u201d Scholars usually abbreviate this source as \u201cJ\u201d because the German transliteration of Yahweh begins with a J. I\u2019ll use that abbreviation for the rest of this article. J was written in Judah and contributed the lion\u2019s share of material in Genesis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n One of the ways scholars distinguish different sources in Genesis is that the various traditions called God by different names. Other names are changed between sources as well. For example, in the J source in Exodus, the Israelites conquered a people called the Canaanites. In another source we\u2019ll discuss below, those people are called Amorites. J refers to the mountain where Moses receives the law as Sinai, while another source calls it Horeb.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n According to Joel Baden<\/a>, J was written in the land of Judah and J contributes the lion\u2019s share of material in Genesis.<\/p>\n While we don\u2019t know the exact dates when J was written, scholars generally put its creation between the 10th and 9th<\/strong> centuries BCE.<\/strong> By the way, this puts it centuries later than Moses was supposed to have lived.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We know that J wrote most of Genesis, including 2\u201316, 18\u201322, 24\u201334, 38, and 49. Remember when I said Genesis told the same stories more than once? This starts from the very beginning of the book.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, Genesis 1 gives an account of God\u2019s creation of the world and everything in it.<\/em> This happens in six days. But J didn\u2019t write Genesis 1. J\u2019s version of the creation begins in Genesis 2 and differs from Genesis 1.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n For instance, Genesis 1 says God created humans but doesn\u2019t say how. Adam and Eve appear at God\u2019s insistence. But in Genesis 2, God forms a man (Hebrew: <\/span>Adam<\/span>) from the dust of the earth and breathes life into him. Later, he takes a rib from Adam and forms Eve.<\/span><\/p>\n Because they represent two different traditions which were later put together in Genesis.<\/strong><\/p>\n J writes the story of Adam and Eve\u2019s temptation by the serpent in the garden and their subsequent expulsion. He also wrote the story of Noah, the Tower of Babel, and Abraham. These are, of course, foundational myths for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.<\/span><\/p>\n So, since J contributes the most material, what are the other sources, and what did they contribute to Genesis?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Scholars call a second source for Genesis Elohist, abbreviated as \u201cE\u201d since this source calls God \u201cElohim.\u201d E contributes much less to Genesis than J, although E contributes far more to the book of Exodus. E was written in the 9<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE in the northern kingdom of Israel, emphasizing northern place names and heroes like Joshua.<\/span><\/p>\n We first see E\u2019s handiwork in Genesis 20, which is part of the continuing story of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. As I said before, E doesn\u2019t contribute nearly as much material to the Pentateuch until the book of Exodus.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The third source for Genesis is the Priestly source or \u201cP.\u201d It\u2019s called Priestly because its main concerns are rules for priests involving ceremonies and cultic regulations. It was probably written sometime between the 6<\/span>th<\/span> and 5<\/span>th<\/span> centuries BCE. The earliest layer of this tradition was likely written in Judah. <\/span><\/p>\n Most of this source was written during the Babylonian exile, focusing on establishing traditions and genealogies to remind the exiles of their identity and origins.<\/p>\n P contributes to the first creation story in Genesis 1. P also writes Adam\u2019s genealogy in Genesis 5 and the genealogy of Shem in Genesis 11, which leads up to Abraham. In addition, P contributes Abraham\u2019s covenant with God and a few other stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\n NOW AVAILABLE! <\/p>\n In The Beginning\u2122 – History, Legend, & Myth in Genesis<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n In Part One of Bart’s new “How Scholars Read the Bible” Series, dive into the stories of the first book of the Bible from a historical perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> What is the main message of Genesis? There are so many messages in this long book that choosing one is overwhelming. Principally, Genesis shows the power and sovereignty of the God of Israel. It is also the founding story of the Jewish people, <\/strong>making it hugely important for Christians and Muslims as well.<\/span><\/p>\n When we ask who wrote Genesis, there are two possible objections to finding an answer. The first is that traditions going back centuries attribute the book to<\/span> Moses<\/span><\/a>. Some may feel challenged by the notion that this faith tradition cannot be historically verified.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The other is an age-old question: so what? When was Genesis written and why does it matter? Why does it matter who wrote the Book of Genesis? As a historian, I can\u2019t address the faith question. People of faith have to wrestle with that on their own, <\/strong>just as Jacob does in Genesis 32.<\/span><\/p>\n However, I\u2019d like to address the \u201cso what?\u201d question, as it applies to a lot of historical work on the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n The Bible is one of the most influential books of all time.<\/strong> If you believe in the Bible as a source of spiritual truth, its significance is immense. However, even if you don\u2019t believe in this, you can\u2019t ignore the influence the Bible has had on the world for centuries.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n For both religious and non-religious people, it\u2019s essential to understand some things about the Bible, including Genesis. By understanding the historical context in which it was written, we can appreciate the authors\u2019 intentions and make valid interpretations for our own context.<\/span><\/p>\n Related -> Who Wrote the Bible?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Who Wrote Genesis? Unlocking the Secrets Written by Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D Author | Professor | Scholar Author | Professor | BE Contributor Verified! See our editorial guidelines Verified! See our guidelines Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":" Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p><\/div>![\"Who](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Who-wrote-Genesis.png\" "\\"Who")
<\/span><\/p>\nMoses & Genesis <\/h2>\n
Places of Composition<\/h2>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/In-the-Beginning-Online-Course-by-Dr-Bart-Ehrman-768x576-1.png\" "\\"In")
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\nYahwist (J Source)<\/h3>\n
Yawist Source Dates <\/h4>\n
Why would one book give two such different accounts? <\/h4>\n
Elohist (E Source)<\/h3>\n
![\"who](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/who-wrote-the-book-of-Genesis.png\" "\\"who")
<\/span><\/p>\nPriestly (P Source)<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\nClosing Thoughts About Who Wrote Genesis <\/h2>\n
Why We Should Care?<\/h3>\n
Who Wrote Genesis? Unlocking the Secrets<\/h2><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>Moses & Genesis <\/h2><\/div>