Who wrote the Bible, when was it written? Here are all the facts

The Bible remains one of the best selling books in the world and as the book from which most of the tenets of Christianity are derived it remains one of the most important books in the world. In some places it is dangerous to own a book, in other places it is freely distributed and read in the open air.

Such an important book certainly has a great history, and in this article we will look at who wrote the Bible, when it was written or compiled, and other facts you should know about the rich history of the Bible.

Who wrote the Bible?

The Simplest Answer for Authorship of the Bible According to the religious teaching of the Bible, God has inspired various vessels over the years to write various books of the Bible as they were kept. However, when you look at history, the evidence becomes more detailed and the story less simple. A quick difference between these two views of who wrote the Bible is that the second work, while the first simply states that the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses with internal cues and writing styles in deciding who wrote the books.

Whichever path one chooses, it is clear that a number of people have contributed to the authorship of the Bible. Most Christian scholars agree that the Bible had 40 main actors. Some further state that 30 of these key players worked on the Old Testament while 10 worked on the New Testament. Another thing to note about the authorship of the Bible is the fact that some books had more than one author or contributor and it was difficult to discern the various other minor contributors who were equally important in the writing of the sacred text.

As mentioned above, Moses is commonly referred to as. Distinguished principal author of the first five books of the Bible called the Torah. He undoubtedly had much help, but most people agreed that it lay at his feet that the duty of collecting and compiling genealogies, narratives, and laws fell. It is therefore not surprising that the Jewish people often refer to the books as the five books of Moses.

Another popularly agreed contributor to the Old Testament is David, who is considered the primary author of the Psalms. King Solomon, his son, is said to have written the books of wisdom – Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Also included in the Old Testament are books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, which are named after the major and minor prophets who wrote, or at least said, most of the words. The distinction is necessary because most of the messages of the prophets were not given in writing, but were either spoken in person or shouted out on street corners. These messages were later written down, sometimes by the prophets themselves, sometimes by their scribes.

The following is a more concise list of authors said to have written books of the Old Testament:

  • Amos: Amos
  • Daniel: Daniel
  • David: Psalms
  • Ezekiel: Ezekiel
  • Ezra: Ezra
  • Habakkuk: Habakkuk
  • Haggai: Haggai
  • Hosea: Hosea
  • Isaiah: Isaiah
  • Jeremiah: 1st and 2nd Kings, Lamentations, Jeremiah
  • Joel: Joel
  • Jonah: Jonah
  • Joshua: Joshua
  • Malachi: Malachi
  • Micah: Micah
  • Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
  • Nahum: Nahum
  • Nehemiah: Nehemiah
  • Obadiah: Obadiah
  • Samuel: 1st and 2nd Samuel (presumably Ruth and Richter also wrote)
  • Solomon: Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Song of Solomon (also called Song of Solomon)
  • Zechariah: Zechariah
  • Zephaniah: Zephaniah

In the New Testament, instead, there is a compilation of stories, epistles, and teachings centered on the early churches. The books of Luke and Acts are said to have been written by a physician named Luke, who had traveled with the apostle Paul.

Apostle Paul himself wrote a number of letters to the early churches and they are in Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and possibly recorded in the Book of Hebrews. Apostle Peter also wrote the books of 1 and 2 Peter. Other New Testament authors and the books they wrote are:

  • James: James
  • John: Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation
  • Jew: Jew
  • Luke: Gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles
  • Mark: Gospel of Mark
  • Matthew: Gospel of Matthew
  • Paul: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
  • Peter: 1st and 2nd Peter

When was the Bible written?

The Bible was written over a period of time. This is not surprising given that the contributors lived at different times. Moses lived between 1500 B.C. and 1300 B.C. 500 BC, and his account of events occurring earlier than his time has been a subject of debate, since writing did not exist in early societies. However, the accounts are believed to have been passed on orally. All of these clues point to the earliest writings in the Bible being around 1400 B.C. Chr.

From the beginning the writings in the Old Testament span over thousands of years. The Old Testament prophet Malachi is said to have lived around 450 BC. wrote his own book. After him, no writings were included in the Bible for about 500 years. The New Testament was then written in the last half of the first century AD. The last book of the Bible written by Apostle John is believed to have been written around AD 95.

You May Also Like