{{Short description|Modern scholarly approaches to biblical authorship and textual composition}} {{About|modern scholarly approaches to the composition of the biblical texts|traditional teachings|Biblical inspiration}} {{Use American English|date=January 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Authorship of the Bible}} {{Bible-related|AD}} The [[books of the Bible]] represent the culmination of intricate literary processes spanning multiple generations, with numerous unnamed scribes, compilers, and revisers contributing layers of material over extended periods, contrasting sharply with traditional attributions to singular prophetic or apostolic figures.<ref>{{harvnb|Rabin|2006|p=113}}</ref>
Contemporary biblical studies reveals how these texts evolved from [[oral tradition|communal oral performance]] through sophisticated [[Scribe|scribal workshops]] of the [[Second Temple period|Second Temple era]], subsequently transmitted via manuscript copying networks, transformed by [[printing press|print technology]], and refined through modern [[textual criticism|scholarly editions]].
Archaeological discoveries including the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] alongside extensive documentation of textual variation, encompassing hundreds of thousands of divergent readings preserved in manuscript collections worldwide, illuminate a dynamic, fluid compositional landscape where discrete literary fragments coalesced into comprehensive biblical books.
==Divine authorship== {{See also|Biblical inspiration|Prophet}} The [[rabbi]]s of the [[Babylonian Talmud]] state in a [[midrash]] (homiletical interpretation) that God wrote the [[Torah]] in heaven in letters of black fire on parchment of white fire before the world was created, and that Moses received it by divine dictation.{{sfn|Heschel|2005|pp=539–540 & 546}} The early [[Church Fathers]] agreed that the scriptures were inspired or dictated by God, but not on which writings were scriptural: as a result, the [[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Roman Catholic]] churches treat some books (the [[Deuterocanonical books]] or [[Apocrypha]]) as inspired, but the [[Protestant]] tradition does not.{{sfn|Olson|2016|pp=90–91}}
In the 20th century, the vast majority of Catholic and Protestant theologians moved away from the divine dictation model and emphasized the role of the human authors.{{sfn|Olson|2016|pp=92–95}} Many conservative scholars now accept, for example, that the [[Book of Isaiah]] has multiple authors and that [[2 Corinthians]] is two letters joined.{{sfn|Olson|2016|p=95}} Nevertheless, both ''[[Dei Filius]]'', the [[First Vatican Council]]'s ''Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith'', and ''[[Dei verbum]]'', the [[Second Vatican Council]]'s ''Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation'', retain the form of wording which states that the scriptures "have God as their author",<ref>First Vatican Council, [https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm Decrees of the First Vatican Council]: Session 3: Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, 2:7, ''papalencyclicals.net'', accessed on 2 September 2025</ref><ref name=dv>Holy See, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html ''Dei verbum'': Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation'], paragraph 11, published on 18 November 1965, accessed on 2 September 2025</ref> with the latter text adding that{{quote|In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted.<ref name=dv />}}
== Historical authorship == Modern scholarship recognizes that biblical texts typically emerged through complex processes involving multiple unknown authors, editors, and redactors working across centuries, rather than single-author composition. These anonymous scribes and compilers, distinct from the traditionally attributed prophets and figures like [[Moses]], [[Isaiah]], or [[David]], worked to combine earlier sources, add editorial layers, and facilitate [[oral tradition|communal transmission]], with most books showing evidence of this collaborative process rather than composition by the famous biblical personalities to whom they are traditionally ascribed.{{Sfn|Schniedewind|2004|pp=7 & 18–19}}
Historical authorship and textual transmission progressed from [[oral tradition]] and [[scribe|scribal]] copying to print standardization and modern [[critical edition]]s that underwrite contemporary American English Bibles such as the [[New International Version]] and [[English Standard Version]]. [[Textual criticism|Textual critics]] document hundreds of thousands of non-spelling [[Textual variants in the New Testament|variant readings]] (500k+ in 2020) across roughly six thousand [[Greek New Testament]] manuscripts and thousands of [[Hebrew Bible]] witnesses.<ref>Crossway, "Preface to the English Standard Version," https://www.esv.org/preface/</ref><ref>Biblica, "How does the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) handle textual criticism for the NIV?," https://www.biblica.com/resources/bible-faqs/how-does-the-committee-on-bible-translation-cbt-handle-textual-criticism-for-the-niv/</ref><ref>Peter J. Gurry, "The Number of Variants in the Greek New Testament: A Proposed Estimate," ''New Testament Studies'' 62.1 (2016): 97–121, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0028688515000314</ref><ref>Bodleian Libraries, "Bodleian manuscripts on the New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room," 15 Oct 2021, https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/theconveyor/bodleian-manuscripts-on-the-new-testament-virtual-manuscript-room/</ref><ref>Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, "Novum Testamentum Graece (NA28)," https://www.die-bibel.de/en/novum-testamentum-graece-nestle-aland</ref><ref>Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, "Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ)," https://www.die-bibel.de/en/biblia-hebraica-quinta-bhq</ref>
Many differences are orthographic or word order, yet a substantial set comprises added, omitted, or relocated lines, verses, and longer passages. Notable examples include the [[Mark 16#Longer ending|longer ending of Mark 16:9–20]], the [[Jesus and the woman taken in adultery|pericope adulterae]] in [[John 7]][[John 8|:53–8:11]], the [[Comma Johanneum]] in [[First Epistle of John|1 John 5:7–8]], and shorter or longer readings such as [[Gospel of Luke|Luke 22:43–44 and 23:34a]].<ref>Bruce M. Metzger, ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'', 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994), entries on Mark 16:9–20, John 7:53–8:11, 1 John 5:7–8, Luke 22:43–44, Luke 23:34a</ref> The [[Hebrew Bible]] shows comparable phenomena, including the shorter Greek form of [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] relative to the [[Masoretic Text]], divergences in [[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel 17–18]], and readings such as [[Book of Deuteronomy#Israel–Judah_division|Deuteronomy 32:8]] supported by the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].<ref>Emanuel Tov, "Exegetical Notes on the Hebrew Vorlage of the Septuagint of Jeremiah," 1999, p. 2, https://www.emanueltov.info/docs/papers/22.exeg-notes.1999.pdf</ref><ref>Emanuel Tov, "The Composition of 1 Samuel 16–18 in Light of the Septuagint," 1999, https://www.emanueltov.info/docs/papers/23.1%20Sam17.1999.pdf</ref><ref>Michael S. Heiser, "Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God," ''Bibliotheca Sacra'' 158 (2001): 52–74, https://thedivinecouncil.com/DT32BibSac.pdf</ref>
=== Ancient scribal practices === Biblical writings moved from oral performance to written artifacts produced by professional [[scribe]]s during the Second Temple period (c. 6th century BCE–1st century CE), using ruled columns on [[papyrus]] or animal skin [[parchment]] and [[vellum]]. [[Discoveries in the Judaean Desert|The Judean Desert corpus]] (c. 3rd century BCE–2nd century CE) shows standardized technical routines, including pricking and ruling, column width conventions, orthographic choices, and correction practices such as erasure, interlinear insertion, and marginal annotation.<ref>Emanuel Tov, "The Copying of a Biblical Scroll," open-access offprint, esp. pp. 1–3, https://www.emanueltov.info/docs/papers/09.copying.2008.pdf?v=1.0.</ref><ref>Emanuel Tov, ''Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert'' (Leiden, Brill, 2004), open-access author PDF, https://www.emanueltov.info/docs/books/scribal-practices1.publ.books.pdf?v=1.0.</ref> Hebrew biblical scrolls from the Judean Desert (c. 3rd century BCE–2nd century CE) were written overwhelmingly on parchment, with only a small minority on papyrus, and they display paratext features such as [[Qere and Ketiv|ketiv qere]] and proto-Masoretic diacritic guidance that later culminated in full Tiberian systems (c. 7th–10th centuries CE).<ref>Tov, "The Copying of a Biblical Scroll," pp. 1–2.</ref> Early Greek Christian manuscripts (c. 2nd–4th centuries CE) exhibit [[nomina sacra]] and rapid transition to the codex format, which functioned as material signals of scriptural status and reading use.<ref>Larry W. Hurtado, "The Codex and Early Christians, Clarification and Corrections," 2014, https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/the-codex-and-early-christians-clarification-corrections/.</ref><ref>British Library, "The beginnings of the Codex," 2015, https://www.bl.uk/stories/blogs/posts/the-beginnings-of-the-codex.</ref>
Copying followed exemplars with local error control. Scribes counted lines or checked column totals, compared exemplar and copy visually, and annotated corrections inline or in margins. Colophons in some traditions recorded scribe, place, and date, and the Masorah later recorded variant readings and accents as a meta-textual quality system.<ref>Tov, ''Scribal Practices and Approaches'', chs. 2–5.</ref> Redaction and compilation produced larger literary units. Tradents combined sources, inserted headings and transitional sentences, harmonized parallels, and excerpted anthologies such as psalm and prophetic collections. The resulting textual families are described in the standard typology used by Hebrew Bible textual critics, with proto-Masoretic, pre-Samaritan, texts close to the Hebrew hyparchetype behind the [[Septuagint]], and non-aligned forms all attested at Qumran.<ref>Emanuel Tov, ''Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible'', 3rd ed. (Minneapolis, Fortress, 2012), esp. pp. 106–132; open access catalog record at Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/textualcriticism0000tove.</ref><ref>Eugene Ulrich, ''The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants'' (Leiden, Brill, 2010), open access PDF, https://archive.org/download/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls/61301866-The-Biblical-Qumran-Scrolls-Eugene-Charles-Ulrich.pdf.</ref>
=== Early textual traditions and the codex revolution === {{See also|Development of the Old Testament canon|Development of the New Testament canon}} Transmission proceeded through distinct textual traditions across multiple centuries. The Hebrew stream crystallized as the [[Masoretic Text]] with [[Tiberian vocalization]], accents, and masoretic notes (c. 7th–10th centuries CE). Ancient versions attest earlier textual states and exegetical translation strategies, including the Greek [[Septuagint]] (c. 3rd century BCE–2nd century CE), the Aramaic [[Targum]]s (c. 1st–8th centuries CE), the [[Peshitta]] (c. 2nd–5th centuries CE), the Latin [[Vulgate]] (c. 382–405 CE), and the [[Coptic versions of the Bible|Coptic]] translations (c. 3rd–7th centuries CE). Surveys of early Christian translation activity appear at [[Early translations of the New Testament]]. For the later history of vernaculars see [[Bible translations]] and [[Modern English Bible translations]].
The shift from scroll to [[codex]] altered production and use during the first through fourth centuries CE. Literary rolls remained common in the wider Greco-Roman world into the fourth century, yet the surviving Christian evidence shows a strong preference for codices by the second and third centuries, especially for writings treated as scripture.<ref>British Library, "The beginnings of the Codex," https://www.bl.uk/stories/blogs/posts/the-beginnings-of-the-codex.</ref><ref>Hurtado, "The Codex and Early Christians," https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/the-codex-and-early-christians-clarification-corrections/.</ref> This format enabled binding of multiple works, durable reuse, and dense cross-referencing. Major [[parchment]] codices from the fourth and fifth centuries CE preserve extensive biblical corpora, including [[Codex Sinaiticus]] (c. 330–360 CE), [[Codex Vaticanus]] (c. 300–325 CE), and [[Codex Alexandrinus]] (c. 400–440 CE). [[Canon tables|Eusebian canon tables]] (c. 320s CE) and later chapter systems simplified navigation, and the modern reference system with [[Chapters and verses of the Bible]].
=== Printing revolution and critical editions === The [[printing press]] moved transmission from manuscript to mass production and then to critical standardization. The [[Complutensian Polyglot Bible]] contains the [[editio princeps]] of the [[Septuagint]] and the first printed [[Greek New Testament]], with the New Testament colophon dated 10 January 1514, although publication lagged until papal approval and market conditions allowed broader release.<ref>Harvard Divinity School Library, "The First Polyglot Bible," https://library.hds.harvard.edu/exhibits/incomparable-treasure/complutensian-polyglot.</ref> [[Erasmus]] issued the first published Greek New Testament in 1516, which quickly shaped scholarly and vernacular work.<ref>UCLA Clark Library, "Novum Instrumentum omne," description of the 1516 Froben edition and its publication history, https://clarklibrary.ucla.edu/collections/tudor/chrzanowski/title-list/1516b/.</ref> [[Robert Estienne]] introduced verse numbers for the New Testament in his 1551 Greek-Latin edition, a reference technology adopted across languages and later extended to full Bibles.<ref>Tyndale House, "Where did verse numbers come from," 2018, https://tyndalehouse.com/2018/11/16/chapter-and-verse/.</ref>
=== Modern critical scholarship === Modern critical baselines are [[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]] and [[Biblia Hebraica Quinta]] on the Hebrew side and [[Novum Testamentum Graece]] (NA28) with the [[United Bible Societies|UBS]] Greek New Testament (UBS5) on the Greek side, each with a selective [[critical apparatus]] that documents major variants and witnesses.<ref name="auto">Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, "Biblia Hebraica Quinta," https://www.die-bibel.de/en/biblia-hebraica-quinta-bhq.</ref><ref>Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, "Novum Testamentum Graece, NA28," https://www.die-bibel.de/en/novum-testamentum-graece-nestle-aland.</ref> The mainstream scholarly consensus on [[New Testament textual criticism]] methodology has been established with the comprehensive handbooks by [[Kurt Aland|Kurt]] and [[Barbara Aland]]'s ''The Text of the New Testament'', along with [[Bruce M. Metzger]] and [[Bart D. Ehrman]]'s ''The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration''.<ref>Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, ''The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism'' (Grand Rapids and Leiden, Eerdmans and Brill, 1987, rev. 1995); publisher page, https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802840981/the-text-of-the-new-testament/.</ref><ref>Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman, ''The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration'', 4th ed. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005); OUP page, https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/the-text-of-the-new-testament-9780197636152.</ref>
==== Dead Sea Scrolls, composition and combination evidence ==== [[Qumran]] yielded twenty-one [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] manuscripts. Two came from [[List of manuscripts from Qumran Cave 1|Cave 1]], eighteen from [[List of manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4|Cave 4]], and one from [[List of manuscripts from Qumran Cave 5|Cave 5]]. A further copy of Isaiah was discovered south of Qumran at [[Wadi Murabba'at]], bringing the [[Judean Desert]] total to twenty-two.<ref>Emanuel Tov, "The Text of Isaiah at Qumran," offprint statement "no less than twenty-one copies," https://www.emanueltov.info/docs/papers/05.isaiah.2008.pdf?v=1.0.</ref><ref>Donald W. Parry, "Chiasmus in the Text of Isaiah, MT Isaiah versus the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa)," BYU Studies 59 suppl. (2020), p. 108, open-access PDF, "twenty-one copies in the Qumran caves, plus one at Wadi Murabbaʿat," https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/parry/2022-10-11/05_byus_59.sup_donald_w._parry_chiasmus_in_the_text_of_isaiah_2020_107-127.pdf.</ref> The [[Great Isaiah Scroll]] 1QIsaa preserves all sixty-six chapters across fifty-four columns and is physically bisected at roughly chapters 33–34, a feature sometimes used to discuss internal book divisions, yet the fragmentary Cave 4 witnesses span passages from both early and late chapters, so a simple first-half versus second-half count is not meaningful.<ref>Israel Museum, "Digital Dead Sea Scrolls, Great Isaiah Scroll," descriptive page noting 54 columns and full 66 chapters, https://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah.</ref><ref>Jesper Høgenhaven, "The Book of Isaiah at Qumran," in C. B. Hays, ed., ''The Cambridge Companion to the Book of Isaiah'' (Cambridge, 2024), chap. 5, summary page, https://resolve.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-the-book-of-isaiah/book-of-isaiah-at-qumran/093B8E8A1EE04CEC1F0E44EBCB79BC92.</ref> The number and distribution of Isaiah witnesses at Qumran, together with [[pesher]] commentaries, indicate intensive community use and an open textual environment consistent with broader Judean Desert pluriformity described by Tov and Ulrich.<ref>Tov, ''Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible'', pp. 106–132.</ref><ref>Ulrich, ''The Biblical Qumran Scrolls'', passim.</ref>
Evidence for combining previously separate prophetic writings into larger scrolls is direct. Multiple Qumran copies of the [[Book of the Twelve]] are transmitted as single scrolls that already combine the twelve [[Minor Prophets]]. Outside Qumran, the Greek [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever|Minor Prophets Scroll]] 8HevXIIgr from [[Nahal Hever]] transmits the Twelve in one Greek scroll and preserves book order data used in composition research.<ref>Israel Antiquities Authority, Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, "8Hev Minor Prophets," manuscript entry with images, https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/8Hev1-1.</ref><ref>Philippe Guillaume, "The Unlikely Malachi–Jonah Sequence (4QXIIa)," ''Journal of Hebrew Scriptures'' 7 (2007), open-access PDF, https://jhsonline.org/index.php/jhs/article/download/5643/4696/12675.</ref> The existence of single-scroll Twelve manuscripts, alongside multiple Isaiah copies with overlapping coverage across early and late chapters, documents a scribal practice in which smaller units could be copied and later combined into larger literary wholes.
==== Medieval to modern texts ==== {{See also|Bible translations|Early translations of the New Testament|Modern English Bible translations}} The [[Complutensian Polyglot Bible|Complutensian]] and [[Erasmus]] editions initiated a print era in which multicolumn comparison and editorial notes became normal. Verse numbering by [[Robert Estienne|Estienne]] created a fixed reference grid for quick reference. Modern [[textual criticism|critical]] projects continue that workflow by documenting variants across witnesses in a controlled apparatus.
Today's biblical scholars and translators rely on carefully maintained reference editions that serve as the foundation for academic study and modern Bible translations. The [[Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft]] (German Bible Society) publishes two of the most important critical editions: the [[Biblia Hebraica Quinta|BHQ]] for the Hebrew Bible (with completion expected by 2032) and the [[Novum Testamentum Graece|NA28]] for the Greek New Testament, which forms the basis for the [[United Bible Societies|UBS6]] text (2025).<ref name="auto"/><ref>Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, "NA28," https://www.die-bibel.de/en/novum-testamentum-graece-nestle-aland.</ref> These represent centuries of scholarly work comparing thousands of ancient manuscripts, providing translators and researchers reliable reconstructions of the original biblical texts.
==Hebrew Bible== The [[Hebrew Bible]], or Tanakh, is the collection of scriptures making up the Bible used by [[Judaism]]. The same books, in a slightly different order, also make up the Protestant version of the [[Old Testament]]. The order used here follows the divisions used in Jewish Bibles.
Most of the Hebrew Bible was written between the late 8th century BCE and early 6th century BCE. Biblical texts were written by [[Scribe#Judaism|scribes]] ([[Hebrew]]: {{Lang|he-Latn|[[sofer]]}}), the literate class of bureaucrats in a mostly non-literate, oral culture. The question of biblical authorship was not important until [[Hellenization]] in the 4th century BCE, long after most biblical books had been written. [[Ancient Greeks]] believed that a text's authority depended on its author, and Jewish tradition was pressured to identify authors for its writings.{{Sfn|Schniedewind|2004|pp=7 & 18–19}}
===Torah=== {{main|Composition of the Torah}} [[File:Torah and jad.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Sefer Torah]]]]
The first division of the Jewish Bible is the [[Torah]], meaning {{gloss|Instruction}} or {{gloss|Law}}. In scholarly literature, it is frequently called by its Greek name, the Pentateuch ({{gloss|five scrolls}}). It is the group of five books made up of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[Leviticus]], [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]], and [[Deuteronomy]] and stands first in all versions of the Christian Old Testament.
In [[Judaism|Jewish]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] tradition authorship of the Torah is attributed to [[Moses]]. The Torah itself attributes certain sections to [[Mosaic authorship]].{{NoteTag|See Exodus 17:14, 24:4, 34:28; Numbers 33:2; and Deuteronomy 31:9, 31:22.{{Sfn|Schmid|Schröter|2021|p=43}}}} In later biblical texts, such as [[Daniel 9]]:11 and [[Ezra 3]]:2, it is called the "[[Law of Moses|Torah of Moses]]".{{Sfn|Schmid|Schröter|2021|p=44}} According to [[Rabbinic tradition]], the five books of the Torah were written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy which describe his death.{{Sfn|Jacobs|1995|p=375}}
Moses would have lived in the [[2nd millennium BCE]], before the development of [[Hebrew writing]]. Scholars date the Torah to the [[1st millennium BCE]]. The Torah may, however, incorporate older [[oral tradition]]s, such as proverbs, stories, and songs.{{Sfn|Schmid|Schröter|2021|p=44}} Most Jews and Christians believed in Mosaic authorship until the 17th century. Today, the majority of scholars agree that the Pentateuch does not have a single author and that its composition took place over centuries.{{Sfn|McDermott|2002|p=21}}
====Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers==== The rise of [[historical criticism]] in the 19th century led scholars to conclude that multiple authors wrote the Pentateuch over a long period. By the mid-20th century, the [[documentary hypothesis]] had gained nearly universal consensus among scholars.{{Sfn|Wenham|1996|p=3}} According to the documentary hypothesis, the Pentateuch was created by combining four originally independent documents. The [[Jahwist]] source ({{circa|10th|9th century BCE}}) and the [[Elohist]] source ({{circa|8th century BCE}}) were the first to be combined into one document. In the 7th century BCE, the [[Deuteronomist]] produced Deuteronomy, which was later added to the combined document. In the [[post-exilic period]], the Pentateuch reached its final form with the addition of the [[Priestly source]] ({{circa|5th century BCE}}).{{Sfn|Schniedewind|2004|p=10}}{{Sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=9}}
The consensus around the documentary hypothesis began to break down in the 1970s,{{Sfn|Wenham|1996|p=3}} and this approach has since seen various revisions.{{Sfn|Van Seters|1997|p=16}} While the identification of distinctive Deuteronomistic and Priestly theologies and vocabularies remains widespread, they are used to form new approaches suggesting that the books were combined gradually over time by the slow accumulation of "fragments" of text, or that a basic text was "supplemented" by later authors/editors.{{Sfn|Van Seters|2004|pp=74–79}} At the same time there has been a tendency to bring the origins of the Pentateuch further forward in time, and the most recent proposals place it in 5th century BCE [[Yehud Medinata|Judah under the Persian empire]].{{Sfn|Ska|2006|pp=217ff}}
====Deuteronomy==== {{See also|Deuteronomist#Deuteronomistic history}} Deuteronomy is treated separately from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Its place in the documentary hypothesis is anomalous, as it, unlike the other four, consists of a single "source". The process of its formation probably took several hundred years, from the 8th century to the 6th,{{Sfn|Miller|1990|pp=2–3}} and its authors have been variously identified as prophetic circles (because the concerns of Deuteronomy mirror those of the prophets, especially [[Hosea]]), Levitical priestly circles (because it stresses the role of the [[Levites]]), and wisdom and scribal circles (because it esteems wisdom, and because the treaty-form in which it is written would be best known to [[scribes]]).{{Sfn|Miller|1990|pp=5–8}} Deuteronomy was later used as the introduction to the comprehensive history of Israel written in the early part of the 6th century, and later still it was detached from the history and used to round off the Pentateuch.{{Sfn|Van Seters|2004|p=93}}
===Prophets=== {{Main|Nevi'im}}
====Former prophets==== {{See also|Book of Joshua#Composition|Book of Judges#Composition|Books of Samuel#Composition|Books of Kings#Composition}} The Former Prophets (נביאים ראשונים, ''Nevi'im Rishonim''), make up the first part of the second division of the Hebrew Bible, the [[Nevi'im]], which translates as "Prophets". In Christian Bibles the [[Book of Ruth]], which belongs in the final section of the Hebrew Bible, is inserted between Judges and Samuel.
According to Jewish tradition dating from at least the 2nd century CE, the [[Book of Joshua]] was by [[Joshua]], the [[Book of Judges]] and the [[Books of Samuel]] were by the prophet [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] (with some passages by the prophets [[Gad (Bible prophet)|Gad]] and [[Nathan (Prophet)|Nathan]]), while the two [[Books of Kings]] were by [[Jeremiah]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |last2=Graham |first2=Matt Patrick |date=1998 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4 |page=57 |language=en}}</ref> Since 1943 most scholars have accepted [[Martin Noth]]'s argument that Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings make up a single work, the so-called "[[Deuteronomistic history]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knoppers |first=Gary N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoHhPAKgETkC&q=Reconsidering |title=Reconsidering Israel and Judah: Recent Studies on the Deuteronomistic History |date=2000 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-037-8 |language=en}}</ref> Noth believed that the history was the work of a single author writing in the time of the [[Babylonian exile]] (586–539 BCE). This author/editor took as his starting point an early version of the book of Deuteronomy, which had already been composed during the reign of [[Josiah]] (last quarter of the 7th century), selecting, editing and composing it to produce a coherent work.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Römer |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjfJHpNXUusC&q=Le+spectre+nominal.+Des+noms+de+mati%C3%A8res+aux+noms+d%E2%80%99abstractions |title=Le spectre nominal. Des noms de matières aux noms d'abstractions |date=2000 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-429-0858-1 |page=119 |language=fr}}</ref> [[Frank Moore Cross]] later proposed that an earlier version of the history was composed in Jerusalem in Josiah's time; this first version, Dtr1, was then revised and expanded to create Noth's second edition, or Dtr2. Still later scholars have discovered further layers and further author-editors.<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |last=Eynikel |first=Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fl9dYJH_xUYC&q=The+reform+of+King+Josiah+and+the+composition+of+the+deuteronomistic+history |title=The Reform of King Josiah and the Composition of the Deuteronomistic History |date=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-10266-8 |pages=14ff |language=en}}</ref> In the 1990s some scholars began to question the existence of a Deuteronomistic history<ref name="books.google.com"/> and the question of the origin of these books continues to be debated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Römer |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjfJHpNXUusC&q=Le+spectre+nominal.+Des+noms+de+mati%C3%A8res+aux+noms+d%E2%80%99abstractions |title=Le spectre nominal. Des noms de matières aux noms d'abstractions |date=2000 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-429-0858-1 |pages=120ff |language=fr}}</ref>
====Latter prophets==== [[File:1QIsa b.jpg|thumb|right|A fragment of the Book of Isaiah found among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]]]
=====Isaiah===== {{main|Book of Isaiah#Composition}} Modern scholars divide the [[Book of Isaiah]] into three parts, each with a different origin:<ref name="Boadt">{{Cite book|title=Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction| author-link=Lawrence Boadt | first=Lawrence|last=Boadt |year=1984 | publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=978-0-8091-2631-6}}</ref> [[Proto-Isaiah|"First Isaiah"]], chapters 1–39, containing the words of the historical 8th century BCE prophet [[Isaiah]] and later expansions by his disciples;<ref name="CSB">{{cite web | title = Introduction to the Book of Isaiah | access-date =29 April 2007 | url = http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/0 | publisher = United States Conference of Catholic Bishops }}</ref> "[[Deutero-Isaiah]]" (chapters 40–55), by an anonymous Jewish author in Babylon near the end of the [[Babylonian captivity]];<ref name="Boadt" />{{rp|418}} and [[Book of Isaiah#Trito-Isaiah (Isaiah 56-66)|"Trito-Isaiah"]] (chapters 56–66), by anonymous disciples of Deutero-Isaiah in Jerusalem immediately after the return from Babylon<ref name="Boadt" />{{rp|444}} (although some scholars suggest that chapters 55–66 were written by Deutero-Isaiah after the fall of Babylon).<ref name="Kugel 561">Kugel, p. 561</ref> This orderly sequence of pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic material is somewhat misleading, as some scholars note that significant editing appears to have taken place in all three parts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6P9YEd9lXeAC&q=Blenkinsopp+A+history+of+prophecy+in+Israel |title=A History of Prophecy in Israel |date=1996 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25639-5 |page=183 |language=en}}</ref>
=====Jeremiah===== {{Main|Book of Jeremiah#Composition}} [[Jeremiah]] lived in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE. The [[Book of Jeremiah]] presents [[Baruch ben Neriah]] as the prophet's companion who writes his words on several occasions, and there has accordingly been much speculation that Baruch could have composed an early edition of the book.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |last2=Graham |first2=Matt Patrick |date=1998 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4 |page=83 |language=en}}</ref> In the early 20th century [[Sigmund Mowinckel]] identified three types of material in the book, Jeremiah 1–25 (Type A) being the words of Jeremiah himself, the biographic prose material (Type B) by an admirer writing c. 580–480 BCE, and the remainder (Type C) from later periods.<ref name="books.google.com.au">{{Cite book |last=Mangano |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsF4sUJJd6YC&q=Old+Testament+Introduction++Mark+Mangano |title=Old Testament Introduction |date=2005 |publisher=College Press |isbn=978-0-89900-896-7 |page=471 |language=en}}</ref> There has been considerable debate over Mowinckel's ideas, notably the extent of the Jeremiah material and the role of Baruch, who may have been the author of the Type B material.<ref name="books.google.com.au"/> It is generally agreed that the book has strong connections with the [[Deuteronomist]]ic layers from the Former Prophets, recapitulating in modern terms the traditional idea that Jeremiah wrote both his own book and the Books of Kings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |last2=Graham |first2=Matt Patrick |date=1998 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4 |page=85 |language=en}}</ref>
=====Ezekiel===== {{main|Book of Ezekiel#Composition}} The [[Book of Ezekiel]] describes itself as the words of [[Ezekiel]] ben-Buzi, a priest living in exile in the city of [[Babylon]] between 593 and 571 BCE.<ref name=":0" /> The various manuscripts, however, differ markedly from each other, and it is clear that the book has been subjected to extensive editing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6P9YEd9lXeAC&q=A+history+of+prophecy+in+Israel |title=A History of Prophecy in Israel |date=1996 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25639-5 |pages=166–168 |language=en}}</ref> While Ezekiel himself may have been responsible for some of this revision, there is general agreement that the book as we have it today is the product of a highly educated priestly circle that owed allegiance to the historical Ezekiel and was closely associated with the Temple.<ref name=":0" />
=====Minor Prophets or Book of the Twelve ===== {{See also|Book of Hosea|Book of Joel|Book of Amos|Book of Obadiah|Book of Jonah|Book of Micah|Book of Nahum|Book of Habakkuk|Book of Zephaniah|Book of Haggai|Book of Zechariah|Book of Malachi}} The [[Minor Prophets]] are one book in the Hebrew Bible, and many (though not all) modern scholars agree that the Book of the Twelve underwent a process of editing which resulted in a coherent collection.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Redditt |first1=Paul L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKBTfJiaElMC&q=Thematic+threads+in+the+Book+of+the+Twelve |title=Thematic Threads in the Book of the Twelve |last2=Schart |first2=Aaron |date=2003 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017594-3 |pages=1–3 |language=en}}</ref> This process is believed to have reached its final form in the [[Jerusalem during the Achaemenid period|Persian period]] (538–332 BCE), although there is disagreement over whether this was early or late.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Redditt |first1=Paul L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKBTfJiaElMC&q=Thematic+threads+in+the+Book+of+the+Twelve |title=Thematic Threads in the Book of the Twelve |last2=Schart |first2=Aaron |date=2003 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017594-3 |page=9 |language=en}}</ref> For the individual books, scholars usually assume that there exists an original core of prophetic tradition which can be attributed to the figure after whom the book is named.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Floyd |first=Michael H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iJRqa-5HTj0C&dq=Minor+prophets%2C+Part+2++By+Michael+H.+Floyd&pg=PA497 |title=Minor Prophets |date=2000 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-4452-1 |page=9 |language=en}}</ref> The noteworthy exception is the [[Book of Jonah]], an anonymous work containing no prophetic oracles, probably composed in the [[Jerusalem during the Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] period (332–167 BCE).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUb7EDXODOwC&dq=Katharine+Dell+Shaping+Book+Jonah&pg=PA85 |title=After the Exile: Essays in Honour of Rex Mason |last2=Reimer |first2=David James |date=1996 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-524-3 |pages=86–89 |language=en}}</ref>
===Writings=== {{see also|Ketuvim}} [[File:1795-William-Blake-Naomi-entreating-Ruth-Orpah.jpg|thumb|200px|Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab by [[William Blake]], 1795]]
====Psalms==== {{Main|Psalms#Composition}}
While a number of the [[Psalms]] bear headings which seem to identify their authors, these are probably the result of the need to find a significant identification in tradition.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uf8cSMSffmMC&q=Psalms+James+Luther+Mays |title=Psalms |date=1994 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23747-9 |page=12 |language=en}}</ref> The individual psalms come from widely different periods: "some ... presuppose a reigning king and an established cult in the Temple; others clearly presuppose and mention the events of the Exile."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/psalms/ |first1=Henry|last1=Wansbrough|title="The Prayers of the Psalter" ("written for the seventh annual course for monks and nuns during the Easter Vacation at St Benet's Hall, Oxford, at the instigation of the Union of Monastic Superiors and in particular of Sister Zoe, the Prioress of Turvey") |access-date=17 October 2010 |archive-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228123314/http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/psalms/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
====Job==== {{Main|Book of Job#Composition}} The unknown author of the [[Book of Job]] is unlikely to have written earlier than the 6th century BCE, and the cumulative evidence suggests a post-Exilic date.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N9F1hkMuN0gC&q=date |title=The Book of Job: A Commentary |date=1985-05-01 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-22218-5 |pages=40–43 |language=en}}</ref> It contains some 1,000 lines, of which about 750 form the original core.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whybray |first=Roger Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9xnnKrEEUAC&q=Wisdom:+the+collected+articles+Whybray |title=Wisdom: The Collected Articles of Norman Whybray |date=2005 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=978-0-7546-3917-6 |page=181 |language=en}}</ref>
====Proverbs==== {{Main|Book of Proverbs#Authorship}} The [[Book of Proverbs]] consists of several collections taken from various sources.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crenshaw |first=James L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKpWNrkO8dEC&q=Old+Testament+wisdom:+an+introduction++By+James+L.+Crenshaw |title=Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction |date=2010 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23459-1 |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> Chapters 10:1–22:16 are probably the oldest section, with chapters 1–9 being composed as a prologue – there is some question whether this happened before or after the Exile (587 BCE). The remaining collections are probably later, with the book reaching its final form around the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snell |first=Daniel C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DJXeEjpshgC&q=Twice-told+Proverbs+and+the+composition+of+the+book+of+Proverbs |title=Twice-told Proverbs and the Composition of the Book of Proverbs |date=1993 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-0-931464-66-9 |page=8 |language=en}}</ref>
====Ruth==== {{Main|Book of Ruth#Authorship and date}} The [[Talmud]] refers to [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] as the author of [[Book of Ruth|Ruth]], but this conflicts with several details inside the book.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hubbard |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJQvoHg91QkC&q=Hubbard,+Robert+L.+(1989).+Book+of+Ruth |title=The Book of Ruth |date=1988 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2526-1 |page=23 |language=en}}</ref> It has been proposed that the anonymous author was a woman, or if a man then one who took women's issues seriously.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2-q2JrzXqDAC&dq=%22the+book+of+ruth%22+bible+%22female+author%22&pg=PA34| title = The Feminist Companion to the Bible | author= [[Athalya Brenner|Brenner, Athalya]] |author2=[[Carole R. Fontaine|Fontaine, Carole R.]] |name-list-style=amp | publisher= [[Sheffield Academic Press]]| page=34| year = 1999 | access-date =30 December 2007 | isbn=978-1-85075-978-2}}</ref> The book is largely a unity, although the genealogy of David appears to be a later addition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Korpel |first=Marjo Christina Annette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eeCSyiTV_QgC&q=Date&pg=PA240 |title=The Structure of the Book of Ruth |date=2001 |publisher=Van Gorcum |isbn=978-90-232-3657-3 |page=224 |language=en}}</ref>
====Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)==== {{Main|Song of Songs#Authorship}} The [[Song of Songs]] was traditionally attributed to [[Solomon]], but modern scholars date it around the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bloch |first1=Ariel A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_sUl5TN1oIC&q=The+Song+of+songs:+a+new+translation+with+an+introduction+and+commentary |title=The Song of Songs: A New Translation with an Introduction and Commentary |last2=Bloch |first2=Chana |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21330-2 |pages=21–27 |language=en}}</ref> Scholars still debate whether it is a single unified work (and therefore from a single author), or more in the nature of an anthology.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Exum |first=J. Cheryl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mLKBcC5ND30C&q=Song+of+songs:+a+commentary |title=Song of Songs: A Commentary |date=2005 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-22190-4 |pages=33–37 |language=en}}</ref>
====Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes==== {{Main|Book of Ecclesiastes#Authorship and historical context}} The [[Book of Ecclesiastes]] is usually dated to the mid-3rd century BCE. A provenance in Jerusalem is considered likely. The book's claim of [[Solomon]] as author is a literary fiction; the author also identifies himself as "Qoheleth", a word of obscure meaning which critics have understood variously as a personal name, a ''nom de plume'', an acronym, and a function; a final self-identification is as "shepherd", a title usually implying royalty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crenshaw |first=James L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKpWNrkO8dEC&q=Old+Testament+wisdom:+an+introduction++By+James+L.+Crenshaw |title=Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction |date=2010 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23459-1 |pages=144–145 |language=en}}</ref>
====Lamentations==== {{Main|Book of Lamentations#Authorship}} [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]] is assigned by tradition to the [[Prophet]] [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]]; linguistic and theological evidence point to its origin as a distinct book in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, with the contents having their origin in special mourning observances in Exilic and post-Exilic Jewish communities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerstenberger |first=Erhard S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhNUmZ_EofEC&q=Psalms,+Part+2,+and+Lamentations++By+Erhard+Gerstenberger |title=Psalms, Part 2, and Lamentations |date=2001 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-0488-4 |pages=467–468 |language=en|quote=for linguistic and theological reasons, point to a time of origin for Lamentations as a distinct book only in the third or second century B.C.E.}}</ref>
====Esther==== {{Main|Book of Esther#Authorship and date}} The [[Book of Esther]] was composed in the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE among the Jews of the eastern diaspora. The genre of the book is the novella or short story, and it draws on the themes of wisdom literature; its sources are still unresolved.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |pages=329–330 |language=en}}</ref>
====Daniel==== {{Main|Book of Daniel#Dating and content}} The [[Book of Daniel]] presents itself as the work of a prophet named [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]] who lived during the 6th century BCE; the overwhelming majority of modern scholars date it to the 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=VanderKam |first1=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBMXnB4CRpUC&q=Vanderkam+and+Flint |title=The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity |last2=Flint |first2=Peter |date=2005 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-08468-2 |page=137 |language=en}}</ref> The author, writing in the time of the Maccabees to assure his fellow-Jews that their persecution by the Syrians would come to an end and see them victorious, seems to have constructed his book around the legendary Daniel mentioned in Ezekiel, a figure ranked with Noah and Job for his wisdom and righteousness.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alter |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4hYlvzWui8C&q=Book+of+daniel |title=The Literary Guide to the Bible |last2=Kermode |first2=Frank |date=1990 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-87531-9 |page=345 |language=en}}</ref>
====Ezra–Nehemiah==== {{Main|Book of Ezra#Structure, composition and date|Book of Nehemiah#Composition and date}} The [[Book of Ezra]] and the [[Book of Nehemiah]] were originally one work, [[Ezra–Nehemiah]]. H.G.M Williamson (1987) proposed three basic stages leading to the final work: (1) composition of the various lists and Persian documents, which he accepts as authentic and therefore the earliest parts of the book; (2) composition of the "Ezra memoir" and "Nehemiah memoir", about 400 BCE; and (3) composition of Ezra 1–6 as the final editor's introduction to the combined earlier texts, about 300 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Throntveit |first=Mark A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VI1bMiMXLs0C&q=Ezra-Nehemiah++By+Mark+A.+Throntveit |title=Ezra-Nehemiah |date=1992 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23744-8 |pages=9–10 |language=en}}</ref> Lester Grabbe (2003) puts the combination of the two texts Ezra and Nehemiah, with some final editing, somewhat later, in the Ptolemaic period, c. 300–200 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |pages=313–314 |language=en}}</ref> [[Israel Finkelstein]] has argued that the core of Ezra–Nehemiah probably dates to the Persian period but was very likely augmented in the [[Hasmonean Judea|Hasmonean era]] (2nd–1st centuries BCE).<ref name="Finkelstein">Finkelstein, Israel. ''Hasmonean Realities behind Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives''. Society of Biblical Literature, 2018. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5jxq51. Accessed 3 January 2026.</ref>
====Chronicles==== {{Main|Book of Chronicles#Authorship and composition}} [[Book of Chronicles|Chronicles]] is an anonymous work from Levitical circles in Jerusalem, probably composed in the late 4th century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKenzie |first1=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |last2=Graham |first2=Matt Patrick |date=1998 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4 |page=210 |language=en}}</ref> Although the book is divided into two parts (1st and 2nd Chronicles), the majority of studies propose a single underlying text with lengthy later additions and amendments to underline certain interests such as the cult or the priesthood.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |page=267 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Finkelstein" />
==Deuterocanonicals/Biblical apocrypha== {{see also|Development of the Old Testament canon|Deuterocanonical books|Biblical Apocrypha}} [[File:Tobias and the Archangel Raphael returning with the Fish - after Adam Elsheimer - 17th c. - Wikidata Q26706729.jpg|thumb|right|Tobias, Raphael and the fish ([[Pieter Lastman]]: illustration to the [[Book of Tobias]])]] The Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches include some or all of the following books in their Bibles.
===Additions to Daniel=== {{Main|Prayer of Azariah#Texts and Origin}} The Greek text of the Book of Daniel [[Additions to Daniel|contains additions]] not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic version. All are anonymous. The [[Prayer of Azariah]] (one of Daniel's companions) was probably composed around 169/8–165/4, when [[Antiochus IV]] was oppressing the Jews. The [[Song of the Three Holy Children]] (i.e., the three thrown into the furnace) may have been composed by priestly circles in Jerusalem. [[Susanna (Book of Daniel)|Susanna]] may have been composed around 170–130 BCE in the context of the Hellenisation struggle. [[Bel and the Dragon]] is difficult to date, but the late 6th century BCE is possible.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |pages=803–806 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Amy-Jill|last=Levine|editor-first4=Pheme|editor-last4=Perkins|editor-first1=Michael David|editor-last1=Coogan|editor-first2=Marc Zvi|editor-last2=Brettler|editor-first3=Carol Ann|editor-last3=Newsom|title=The new Oxford annotated Bible : New Revised Standard Version : with the Apocrypha : an ecumenical study Bible|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|page=1552|edition=4th|isbn=978-0-19-528955-8|quote=Perhaps composed as early as the Persian period (539–333 BCE)|oclc=457160381|chapter=Bel and the Dragon}}</ref>
===1 & 2 Esdras=== {{Main|1 Esdras#Author and criticism|2 Esdras#Author and criticism}} [[Jerome]]'s translation of the Bible into Latin (the [[Vulgate]]) contained four books of Esdras (i.e. [[Ezra]]); Jerome's 1 and 2 Esdras were eventually renamed [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]] and [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]]; the remaining books each moved up two places in most versions, but the numbering system remains highly confused. The present [[1 Esdras]] takes material from the [[Book of Chronicles]] and the [[Book of Ezra]], but ignores [[Nehemiah]] entirely; it was probably composed in the period 200–100 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |page=308 |language=en}}</ref> [[2 Esdras]] has no connection with the other Esdras books beyond taking Ezra as its central character. It was probably written soon after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE.
===Book of Baruch=== The author of the [[Book of Baruch]] is traditionally held to be [[Baruch ben Neriah|Baruch]] the companion of [[Jeremiah]], but this is considered unlikely. Some scholars propose that it was written during or shortly after the period of the [[Maccabees]].<ref>P. P. Saydon, "Baruch" by revised by T. Hanlon, in A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. [[Reginald C. Fuller]], Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers, 1953, 1975, §504h.</ref>
===1, 2, 3, and 4 Maccabees=== {{Main|1 Maccabees#Authorship and date|2 Maccabees#Author|3 Maccabees#Authorship and historicity|4 Maccabees#Authorship and criticism}} The anonymous author of [[1 Maccabees]] was an educated Jew and a serious historian; a date around 100 BCE is most likely.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |pages=807–808 |language=en}}</ref> [[2 Maccabees]] is a revised and condensed version of a work by an otherwise unknown author called Jason of Cyrene, plus passages by the anonymous editor who made the condensation (called "the Epitomist"). Jason most probably wrote in the mid to late 2nd century BCE, and the Epitomist before 63 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |pages=831–832 |language=en}}</ref> [[3 Maccabees]] concerns itself with the Jewish community in Egypt a half-century before the revolt, suggesting that the author was an Egyptian Jew, and probably a native of Alexandria. A date of c. 100–75 BCE is "very probable".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |page=866 |language=en}}</ref> [[4 Maccabees]] was probably composed in the middle half of the 1st century CE, by a Jew living in Syria or Asia Minor.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |page=888 |language=en}}</ref>
===Letter of Jeremiah=== {{Main|Letter of Jeremiah#Author}} The [[Letter of Jeremiah]] is not by Jeremiah; the author apparently appropriated the name of the prophet to lend authority to his composition. Nor is it by Jeremiah's secretary [[Baruch ben Neriah|Baruch]], although it appears as the last chapter of Baruch in the Catholic Bible and the KJV. Internal evidence points to a date around 317 BCE, with the author possibly a Jew in Palestine addressing [[Jewish diaspora|Jews of the diaspora]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mills |first1=Watson E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=Mercer+Bible+Dictionary |title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible |last2=Bullard |first2=Roger Aubrey |last3=McKnight |first3=Edgar V. |date=1990 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-373-7 |page=438 |language=en}}</ref>
===Prayer of Manasseh=== The [[Prayer of Manasseh]] presents itself as a prayer from the wicked, but now penitent, king [[Manasseh of Judah|Manasseh]] (or Manassas) from his exile in Babylon. The actual author is unknown, and the date of composition is probably the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mills |first1=Watson E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=Mercer+Bible+Dictionary |title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible |last2=Bullard |first2=Roger Aubrey |last3=McKnight |first3=Edgar V. |date=1990 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-373-7 |page=544 |language=en}}</ref>
===Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon=== {{Main|Wisdom of Sirach#Author|Wisdom of Solomon#Composition}} [[Wisdom of Sirach|Sirach]] names its author as [[Ben Sira|Joshua ben Sirach]]. He was probably a scribe, offering instruction to the youth of Jerusalem. His grandson's preface to the Greek translation helps date the work to the first quarter of the 2nd century BCE, probably between 196 BCE and the beginning of the oppression of the Jews by [[Antiochus IV]], who reigned 175–164 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |page=667 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Wisdom of Solomon]] is unlikely to be earlier than the 2nd century BCE, and probably dates from 100 to 50 BCE. Its self-attribution to [[Solomon]] was questioned even in the medieval period, and it shows affinities with the Egyptian Jewish community and with [[Pharisee]] teachings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |pages=650–653 |language=en}}</ref>
===Additions to Esther=== {{Main|Book of Esther#Additions to Esther}} The [[Book of Esther]] itself was composed probably around 400 BCE by Jews living in the eastern provinces of the Persian empire and reached its final form by the 2nd century BCE; concerns over the legitimacy of certain passages in the Hebrew text led to the identification of the [[additions to Esther]] in the Greek translation of Esther of the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |page=325 |language=en}}</ref>
===Tobit=== {{Main|Book of Tobit#Date of composition}} [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]] is set in the 8th century BCE and is named after its central character, a pious Jew in exile. The generally recognised date of composition is the early 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |last2=Muddiman |first2=John |date=2001 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |page=627 |language=en}}</ref>
===Judith=== The [[Book of Judith]] is set in Israel in the time of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Assyria. It has strong Persian elements, which suggests a 4th-century BCE date; it also has strong parallels with the [[Hasmonean]] period, which suggests a 2nd-century date. It is typically labeled [[Pharisaic]], but an origin in [[Sadducee]] circles has also been suggested.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mills |first1=Watson E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=Mercer+Bible+Dictionary |title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible |last2=Bullard |first2=Roger Aubrey |last3=McKnight |first3=Edgar V. |date=1990 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-373-7 |page=482 |language=en}}</ref>
===Additional Psalms=== {{Main|Psalms#Other psalms}} The canonical [[Psalms]] contains 150 entries. [[Psalm 151]] is found in most Greek translations, and the Hebrew version was found among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soggin |first=J. Alberto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mqSNsKXnHQgC&q=Psalm+151 |title=Introduction to the Old Testament |date=1989 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-22156-0 |page=424 |language=en}}</ref> [[Psalms 152–155]] are part of the Syriac [[Peshitta]] Bible, some of which were found at [[Qumran]].
==New Testament== {{see also|Development of the New Testament canon}} [[File:Rubens apostle Matthias grt.jpg|right|thumb|''De evangelist Matteüs'' by [[Rubens]]]]
===Gospels and Acts=== The gospels (and Acts) are anonymous, in that none of them provide the name of the author within their text.<ref name="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.</ref> John might be considered something of an exception, because the author is referred to as "the disciple Jesus loved", a member of Jesus' inner circle.<ref name="Harris John">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–10</ref>
Many scholars argue that the Gospels were written by anonymous figures rather than the disciples traditionally associated with them. [[Justin Martyr]] in his ''[[First Apology of Justin Martyr|First Apology]]'' explicitly refers to the apostles as "uneducated" or "illiterate" (Acts 4:13), which has led scholars to question their ability to write the sophisticated Greek texts of the New Testament. [[Bart Ehrman]], a leading New Testament scholar, supports this view, explaining that the socio-economic background of Jesus' disciples—many of whom were fishermen or peasants—makes it unlikely that they could have authored these works.<ref name="Ehrman 2016">{{Cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |title=Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior |date=2016 |publisher=HarperOne |isbn=978-0062285201}}</ref> Ehrman also notes that literacy rates in first-century Palestine were extremely low, particularly in rural areas like Galilee, where most of the disciples lived.<ref name="Ehrman 2016"/> This is further supported by Catherine Hezser's research on Jewish literacy in Roman Palestine, which highlights the rarity of literacy among common people during this period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hezser |first=Catherine |title=Jewish Literacy in Roman Palestine |date=2001 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3161475467}}</ref> Therefore, it is widely accepted among scholars that the Gospels were likely written by anonymous authors rather than the disciples themselves.
There is general agreement among scholars that the [[Synoptic Gospels]] ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]]) show a high level of cross-reference. The most common explanation, the [[two-source hypothesis]], is that Mark was written first and that the authors of Matthew and Luke relied on Mark and the hypothetical [[Q document|Q source]], though hypotheses that posit use of Matthew by Luke or vice versa without Q are increasing in popularity.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Runesson|first=Anders|title=Jesus, New Testament, Christian Origins|date=2021|publisher=Eerdmans|isbn=9780802868923}}</ref> Scholars agree that the [[Gospel of John]] was written last, using a different tradition and body of testimony. In addition, most scholars agree that the author of Luke also wrote the [[Acts of the Apostles]], making [[Luke–Acts]] two halves of a single work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/mark.html |title=Early Christian Writings: Gospel of Mark |access-date=15 January 2008 |last=Peter |first=Kirby |date=2001–2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080115192938/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/mark.html| archive-date= 15 January 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Achtemeier |first=Paul J. |encyclopedia=The Anchor Bible Dictionary |title=The Gospel of Mark |year=1992 |publisher=Doubleday |volume=4 |location=New York, New York |isbn=0-385-19362-9 |page=545 }}</ref><ref>M.G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996, c1897), "Luke, Gospel According To"</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Meier | first = John P. | author-link = John P. Meier | title = A Marginal Jew | publisher = Doubleday | year = 1991 | location = New York, New York | volume = 2 | pages = 955–56 | isbn = 0-385-46993-4 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Helms | first = Randel | title = Who Wrote the Gospels? | publisher = Millennium Press | year = 1997 | location = Altadena, California | page = 8| isbn = 0-9655047-2-7 }}</ref>
====Mark==== According to tradition and early church fathers, first attested by [[Papias of Hierapolis]], the author is [[Mark the Evangelist]], the companion of the [[apostle Peter]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |pages=277–278 |language=en}}</ref> Theissen writes that the gospel appears to rely on several underlying sources, varying in form and in theology, which tells against the tradition that the gospel was based on Peter's preaching, while Elder argues that Mark is an oral work involving both a speaker and a writer who composed the text, which coheres with the patristic testimony.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elder |first=Nicholas |title=Gospel Media |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2024 |isbn=9780802879219 |pages=366–68}}</ref><ref name="TM1998 Mark">Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). pp. 24–27.</ref> Various elements within the gospel, including the importance of the authority of Peter and the broadness of the basic theology, suggest that the author wrote in Syria or Palestine for a non-Jewish Christian community which had earlier absorbed the influence of pre-Pauline beliefs and then developed them further independent of Paul.<ref>Jens Schroter, ''Gospel of Mark'', in Aune, p. 278</ref>
====Matthew==== Early Christian tradition, first attested by [[Papias of Hierapolis]], held that the [[apostle Matthew]], the tax-collector and disciple of Jesus, had written a Gospel in "Hebrew" ([[Aramaic]], the language of Judea).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |page=298 |language=en}}</ref> Modern scholars interpret the tradition to mean that Papias, writing about 125–150 CE, believed that Matthew had made a collection of the sayings of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |pages=301–302 |language=en}}</ref> Aune argues Papias's description does not correspond well with the [[Gospel of Matthew]] as it was written in Greek and depends on Mark and [[Q document|Q]], is not a collection of sayings, and is unlikely to have been written by an eyewitness.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |page=302 |language=en}}</ref><ref>"Matthew, Gospel acc. to St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref> One theory is that Matthew produced a Semitic work and secondly a recension of that work in Greek; [[Josephus]] also claimed to write a translation of an Aramaic version of ''[[The Jewish War]],'' though both the extant Gospel of Matthew and the ''War'' are not translations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Craig |title=Matthew (New Cambridge Bible Commentary) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0521011068 |pages=40}}</ref>
Internal evidence of the Gospel suggests that he was an ethnic Jewish male scribe from a Hellenised city, possibly [[Early centers of Christianity#Antioch|Antioch in Syria]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |pages=302–303 |language=en}}</ref> and that he wrote between 70 and 100 CE<ref>Ehrman 2004, p. 110 and Harris 1985 both specify a range c. 80–85; Gundry 1982, Hagner 1993, and Blomberg 1992 argue for a date before 70.</ref> using a variety of oral traditions and written sources about Jesus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament |title=The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1894-4 |page=296 |language=en}}</ref>
====Luke and Acts==== {{main|Authorship of Luke-Acts}}
There is general acceptance that the [[Gospel of Luke]] and the [[Acts of the Apostles]] originated as a two-volume work by a single author addressed to an otherwise unknown individual named [[Theophilus (Biblical)|Theophilus]].<ref>Horrell, DG, An Introduction to the study of Paul, T&T Clark, 2006, 2nd Ed., p. 7; cf. W. L. Knox, ''The Acts of the Apostles'' (1948), pp. 2–15 for detailed arguments that still stand.</ref> This author was an "amateur Hellenistic historian" versed in Greek rhetoric, that being the standard training for historians in the ancient world.<ref>{{Cite book |author-last=Aune |author-first=David Edward |editor-last1=Meeks|editor-first1=Wayne A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdSto1nkx9AC&q=The+New+Testament+in+its+literary+environment |title=The New Testament in Its Literary Environment |date=1987 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25018-8 |page=77 |language=en}}</ref>
According to tradition, first attested by [[Irenaeus]], the author was [[Luke the Evangelist]], the companion of the [[Apostle Paul]], but many modern scholars have expressed doubt and opinion on the subject is evenly divided.<ref>[[Raymond E. Brown]], ''Introduction to the New Testament'', New York: Anchor Bible (1997), pp. 267–68. {{ISBN|0-385-24767-2}}.</ref> Instead, they believe Luke–Acts was written by an anonymous Christian author who may not have been an eyewitness to any of the events recorded within the text. Some of the evidence cited comes from the text of Luke–Acts itself. In the preface to Luke, the author refers to having eyewitness testimony "handed down to us" and to having undertaken a "careful investigation", but the author does not mention his own name or explicitly claim to be an eyewitness to any of the events, except for the ''we passages''. And in the ''we passages'', the narrative is written in the first person plural—the author never refers to himself as "I" or "me". To those who are skeptical of an eyewitness author, the ''we passages'' are usually regarded as fragments of a second document, part of some earlier account, which was later incorporated into Acts by the later author of Luke–Acts, or simply a Greek rhetorical device used for sea voyages.<ref>Robbins, Vernon. "Perspectives on Luke-Acts", http://www.christianorigins.com/bylandbysea.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004101256/http://www.christianorigins.com/bylandbysea.html |date=4 October 2018 }}. Originally appeared in: Perspectives on Luke-Acts. C. H. Talbert, ed. Perspectives in Religious Studies, Special Studies Series, No. 5. Macon, Ga: Mercer Univ. Press and Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1978: 215–42.</ref>
====John==== John 21:24 identifies the source of the Gospel of John as "the beloved disciple", and from the late 2nd century tradition, first attested by [[Irenaeus]], this figure, unnamed in the Gospel itself, was identified with [[John the Evangelist|John the son of Zebedee]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Raymond Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIM0Q0bjgYkC&q=The+Gospel+and+Epistles+of+John:+a+concise+commentary++By+Raymond+Edward+Brown |title=The Gospel and Epistles of John: A Concise Commentary |date=1988 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-1283-5 |page=10 |language=en}}</ref> Scholars consider [[John 21]] as an addition by either the author of John 1-20 or by a redactor,<ref>John, Jesus, and History, Volume 2, p. 210 p. 245</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Marianne |title=John: A Commentary |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0664221119 |pages=432 |quote=Taken together, these features-the plausible ending of the Gospel at 20:30-31; the unanticipated narrative elements introduced in chapter 21; the focused articulation of the distinctive roles of Simon Peter and the beloved disciple, and the anticipation of their deaths-have led some interpreters to regard John 21 as an extended epilogue to the Gospel, added after it was essentially finished, either by the author of the earlier chapters or by someone else}}</ref> but no manuscript evidence for this assertion has been discovered,<ref>Felix Just, "Combining Key Methodologies in Johannine Studies", in Tom Thatcher (ed), ''What We Have Heard from the Beginning: The Past, Present, and Future of Johannine Studies'', ([[Baylor University|Baylor University Press]], 2007), p. 356.</ref> and a growing number view the passage as part of the original text.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Keith |first=Chris |title=The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0199384372 |pages=132, 155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindars |first=Barnabas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TriOFb9VSS0C&q=John++By+Barnabas+Lindars |title=John |date=1990 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-85075-255-4 |page=11 |language=en}}</ref> The narrator is also presented as a witness in 1:14, and the gospel gradually identifies its narrator as the beloved disciple, notably in chapter 19.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Mendez |first=Hugo |title=The Gospel of John: A New History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2025 |isbn=978-0197686126 |pages=271 |quote=}}</ref> The majority of scholars date the Gospel of John to c. 90-100.<ref name="Harris" /><ref>Bruce, F.F. ''The New Testament Documents: Are they Reliable?'' p. 7</ref><ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Parsenios|first=George|title=The Cambridge Companion to the New Testament|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2021|isbn=978-1108437707|pages=156}}</ref> Current scholarship generally does not support the existence of a "[[signs gospel]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frey|first=Jorg|title=The Semeia Narratives in the Gospel of John|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|year=2025|isbn=978-3-16-161978-6|pages=19|quote=The "swan song" for the Semeia source hypothesis is provided by Gilbert van Belle's detailed article…he discusses contributions from 1994 to 2013 and demonstrates that the number of supporters of this hypothesis has decreased even in North America, and that, in the twenty-first century, the number of critical voices and opponents to the hypothesis is now clearly dominant.}}</ref> and recent scholarship has tended to turn against positing hypothetical sources for John.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keith |first=Chris |title=The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0199384372 |page=142}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author-last=Aune |author-first=David Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdSto1nkx9AC&q=The+New+Testament+in+its+literary+environment |title=The New Testament in Its Literary Environment |date=1987 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-25018-8 |editor-last1=Meeks |editor-first1=Wayne A. |page=20 |language=en}}</ref>
===Epistles===
====Pauline epistles==== {{main|Authorship of the Pauline epistles}}
[[File:PaulT.jpg|250px|thumb|right|''Saint Paul Writing His Epistles'', 16th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary, for example {{bibleverse||Romans|16:22}} cites a scribe named [[Tertius of Iconium|Tertius]].]] The [[Epistle to the Romans]], [[1 Corinthians|First Corinthians]] and [[2 Corinthians|Second Corinthians]], [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]], [[Philippians]], [[1 Thessalonians]] and the [[Epistle to Philemon]] are almost universally accepted as the work of Paul – the superscripts to all except Romans and Galatians identify these as coming from Paul and at least one other person, a practice which was not usual in letters of the period, and it is not clear what role these other persons had in their composition.<ref name="Vo-11umIZQC 2003">{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |page=1274 |language=en}}</ref> There is some support for Paul's authorship of the three "Deutero-Pauline Epistles", [[Ephesians]], [[Colossians]], and [[2 Thessalonians]]. The three [[Pastoral epistles]] – [[1 Timothy|First]] and [[2 Timothy|Second Timothy]] and [[Epistle to Titus|Titus]], are probably all from one author,<ref name="Vo-11umIZQC 2003"/> but most [[Historical criticism|historical-critical]] scholars regard them as the work of someone other than Paul.<ref>Ehrman 2004:385</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ehrman|first1=Bart D.|author-link1=Bart D. Ehrman|title=Forged: Writing in the Name of God {{ndash}} Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are|chapter-format=EPUB|edition=First Edition. EPub|date=2011|publisher=HarperCollins e-books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06-207863-6|page=107|chapter=3. Forgeries in the Name of Paul. The Pastoral Letters: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus|chapter-url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/55685655/Forged|quote=Before showing why most scholars consider them to be written by someone other than Paul, I should give a brief summary of each letter.|access-date=8 September 2017|archive-date=15 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215031916/http://www.scribd.com/doc/55685655/Forged|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====Letter to the Hebrews==== The Church included the [[Letter to the Hebrews]] as the fourteenth letter of Paul [[Antilegomena#Reformation|until the Reformation]]. Pauline authorship is now generally rejected, and the real author is unknown.<ref name="NewAdvent">Fonck, Leopold. "Epistle to the Hebrews." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Web: 30 December 2009.</ref>
====General epistles==== {{See also|General epistles|Epistle of James|First Epistle of Peter|Second Epistle of Peter|First Epistle of John|Second Epistle of John|Third Epistle of John|Epistle of Jude}} The real authors are unknown and the names were attributed to them arbitrarily to make it seem more credible: Peter the apostle (First and Second Peter); the author of the [[Gospel of John]] (First, Second and Third John), writing in advanced age; "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James" (Epistle of Jude); and [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]], "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James). In fact [[1 John]] is anonymous, and [[2 John|2]] and [[3 John]] identify their author only as "the Elder". Though [[2 Peter]] states its author as "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ", most scholars today regard this as pseudonymous, and many hold the same opinion of [[Epistle of James|James]], [[1 Peter]] and [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]].<ref name="Vo-11umIZQC 2003"/>
===Revelation=== {{main|Book of Revelation#Authorship}}
The author of the [[Book of Revelation]] was traditionally believed to be the same person as both [[John the Apostle|John, the apostle of Jesus]] and [[John the Evangelist]], the traditional author of the Fourth Gospel – the tradition can be traced to [[Justin Martyr]], writing in the early 2nd century.<ref name="Justin">Justin Martyr, ''Dialogue with Trypho'', 81.4</ref> Most biblical scholars now believe that these were separate individuals.<ref>[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. p. 355</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D.|author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford |location=New York |isbn=0-19-515462-2 |page=468 }}</ref> The name "John" suggests that the author was a Christian of Jewish descent, and although he never explicitly identifies himself as a prophet it is likely that he belonged to a group of Christian prophets and was known as such to members of the [[Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia|churches in Asia Minor]]. Since the 2nd century the author has been identified with one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. This is commonly linked with an assumption that the same author wrote the Gospel of John. Others, however, have argued that the author could have been [[John the Elder]] of [[Ephesus]], a view which depends on whether a tradition cited by [[Eusebius]] was referring to someone other than the apostle. The precise identity of "John" therefore remains unknown.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+bible |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |last2=Rogerson |first2=John William |date=2003 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0 |page=1535 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Bible}} * [[Authorship of the Johannine works]] * [[Authorship of the Petrine epistles]] * [[Books of the Bible]] * [[Dating the Bible]]
== References == ===Notes=== {{NoteFoot}}
=== Citations === {{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |title = Oxford Bible Commentary |editor1-last = Barton |editor1-first = John |editor2-last = Muddiman |editor2-first = John |year = 2001 |publisher = Oxford University Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&q=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary |isbn = 9780198755005 }} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=dBJQ71RIpdMC&q=theological+handbook+of+Old+Testament+themes Brueggemann, Walter, "Reverberations of faith: a theological handbook of Old Testament themes" (Westminster John Knox, 2002)] * {{cite book |last1 = Cohn-Sherbok |first1 = Dan |title = The Hebrew Bible |year = 1996 |publisher = A&C Black |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_97TAwAAQBAJ&dq=hebrew+bible+prophets&pg=PA1 |isbn = 9780304337033 }} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=BjtWLZhhMoYC&q=The+Cambridge+History+of+Judaism:+The+late+Roman-Rabbinic+period Davies, William David; Katz, Steven T.; and Finkelstein, Louis; "The Cambridge History of Judaism: The late Roman-Rabbinic period" (Cambridge University Press, 2006)] * {{cite book |title = Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |editor1-last = Dunn |editor1-first = James D. G. |editor2-last = Rogerson |editor2-first = John William |year = 2003 |publisher = Eerdmans |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=Eerdmans+commentary+on+the+Bible |isbn = 9780802837110 }} * {{cite book |last1=Ehrman |first1=Bart D. |author-link1=Bart D. Ehrman |title = Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are |date=February 2011 |publisher=HarperCollins |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hFNBDTS5HY0C&q=ehrman+forged |isbn=9780062078636 }} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&q=The+Hebrew+Bible+today:+an+introduction+to+critical+issues Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998)] *{{Cite book | last = Heschel | first = Abraham Joshua | title = Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations | publisher = A&C Black | year = 2005 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WAGK8GiNrQgC&dq=%22With+respect+to+the+process+of+writing+the+Torah%22&pg=PA539 | isbn = 9780826408020 }} * {{cite book |last1 = Jacobs |first1 = Louis |title = The Jewish religion: a companion |year = 1995 |publisher = Oxford University Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=l1u-_VMDM80C&q=The+Jewish+religion:+a+companion |isbn = 9780198264637 }} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C&q=Old+Testament+Interpretation+Mays+Peterson+Richards Mays, James Luther, Petersen, David L., Richards, Kent Harold, "Old Testament Interpretation" (T&T Clark, 1995)] * {{cite book |title = Mercer Dictionary of the Bible |year = 1991 |publisher = Mercer University Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=Mercer+Bible+Dictionary |isbn = 9780865543737 }} * {{cite book |last1 = Olson |first1 = Roger E. |title = The Mosaic of Christian Belief |year = 2016 |publisher = InterVarsity Press |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vPXRCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22the+christian+consensus+about+the+bible%22&pg=PA91 |isbn = 9780830899708 }} * {{cite book |title = The Blackwell companion to the Hebrew Bible |editor1-last = Perdue |editor1-first = Leo G. |year = 2001 |publisher = Blackwell |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=41_0okLzQJkC&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+Hebrew+Bible |isbn = 9780631210719 }} * {{cite book |last1 = Rabin |first1 = Elliott |title = Understanding the Hebrew Bible: a reader's guide |year = 2006 |publisher = KTAV Publishing House |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=507FnpyVR1gC&dq=dating+the+bible&pg=PA112 |isbn = 9780881258714 }} * {{cite book | last1 = Schmid | first1 = Konrad | author-link1 = Konrad Schmid (theologian) | last2 = Schröter | first2 = Jens | title = The Making of the Bible: From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture | publisher = Harvard University Press | translator-last = Lewis | translator-first = Peter | year = 2021 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0AlBEAAAQBAJ | isbn = 9780674269392}} * {{cite book | last = Schniedewind | first = William M. | author-link = William Schniedewind | title = How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2004 | doi = 10.1017/CBO9780511499135 | isbn = 978-0-521-53622-6}} *{{Cite book|last=Van Seters|first=John|author-link=John Van Seters|title=In search of history: historiography in the ancient world and the origins of biblical history|publisher=Eisenbrauns|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-skPdXtewwC&q=Samuel&pg=PA406|isbn=978-1-57506-013-2}} * {{cite book |last1 = Wiseman |first1 = D.J. |title = The Cambridge History of the Bible: From the Beginnings to Jerome |volume = I |chapter = Books in the Ancient Near East and in the Old Testament |editor1-last = Ackroyd |editor1-first = P.R. |editor2-last = Evans |editor2-first = C.F. |year = 1970 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 9780521099738 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QnG2067meU0C&dq=%22literary+works+were+generally+anonymous%22&pg=PA38 }} {{refend}}
==== Pentateuch ==== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dkr7rVd3hAQC |title=Reading the Pentateuch: A Historical Introduction |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8091-4082-4 |last1=McDermott |first1=John J. |publisher=Paulist Press}} * {{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Patrick D. |author-link=Patrick D. Miller |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yoFvN_QOjYC |title=Deuteronomy |year=1990 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23737-0}} * {{Cite book |last=Ska |first=Jean Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cdy67ZvzdkC |title=Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch |year=2006 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-122-1}} * {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |author-link=John Van Seters |chapter=The Pentateuch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC |editor=Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4}} *{{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |author-link=John Van Seters |title=The Pentateuch: a social-science commentary |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-Vi9eK_vS0C&q=The+Pentateuch+Social+Science+Commentary |isbn=978-0-567-08088-2}} * {{cite journal |last=Wenham |first=Gordon |author-link=Gordon Wenham |title=Pentateuchal Studies Today |journal=Themelios |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=3–13 |date=October 1996 |url=https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/documents/themelios/Themelios22.1.pdf?_gl=1*ahlmqg*_gcl_au*MTQ4MDU1MTIyMC4xNzE5NjQ4MDE3*_ga*MjAzMTA0ODM2OC4xNzE5NjQ4MDE2*_ga_R61P3F5MSN*MTcxOTY0ODAxOC4xLjEuMTcxOTY0ODUxOS42MC4wLjA.*_ga_3FT6QZ0XX1*MTcxOTY0ODAxOC4xLjEuMTcxOTY0ODUxOS42MC4wLjA. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629081005/https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/documents/themelios/Themelios22.1.pdf?_gl=1%2Aahlmqg%2A_gcl_au%2AMTQ4MDU1MTIyMC4xNzE5NjQ4MDE3%2A_ga%2AMjAzMTA0ODM2OC4xNzE5NjQ4MDE2%2A_ga_R61P3F5MSN%2AMTcxOTY0ODAxOC4xLjEuMTcxOTY0ODUxOS42MC4wLjA.%2A_ga_3FT6QZ0XX1%2AMTcxOTY0ODAxOC4xLjEuMTcxOTY0ODUxOS42MC4wLjA. |archive-date=June 29, 2024 |url-status=live}} {{refend}}
==== Deuteronomistic history ==== {{refbegin}} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&q=Past,+present,+future:+the+Deuteronomistic+history+and+the+prophets de Moor, Johannes Cornelis, and Van Rooy, H. F. (eds), "Past, present, future: the Deuteronomistic history and the prophets" (Brill, 2000)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xx9YzJq2B9wC&q=Israel+in+exile:+the+history+and+literature+of+the+sixth+century Albertz, Rainer (ed) "Israel in exile: the history and literature of the sixth century B.C.E." (Society of Biblical Literature, 2003)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=TjfJHpNXUusC&q=Le+spectre+nominal.+Des+noms+de+mati%C3%A8res+aux+noms+d%E2%80%99abstractions Romer, Thomas, "The Future of the Deuteronomistic History" (Leuven University Press, 2000)] * [http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Collective+reinterpretation+in+the+Psalms&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Marttila, Marko, "Collective reinterpretation in the Psalms" (Mohr Siebeck, 2006)] {{refend}}
==== Prophets and writings ==== {{refbegin}} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=00ECWP4NZYYC&q=Miller%2C+Patrick+D.+and+Peter+W.+Flint%2C+eds.%2C++The+Book+of+Psalms%3A+Composition+and+Reception Miller, Patrick D. and Peter W. Flint, (eds) "The book of Psalms: composition and reception" (Brill, 2005)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=6P9YEd9lXeAC&q=Blenkinsopp+A+history+of+prophecy+in+Israel Blenkinsopp, Joseph, "A history of prophecy in Israel" (Westminster John Knox, 1996)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=z7GkCB_7N6MC&q=Jeremiah++Ronald+Ernest+Clements Clemets, R.E., "Jeremiah" (John Knox Press, 1988)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=kj5vKhTWhRUC&q=Jeremiah:+a+commentary++Leslie+C.+Allen Allen, Leslie C., "Jeremiah: a commentary" (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=R7HaijsNACAC&q=The+twelve+prophets+Sweeney Sweeney, Marvin, "The Twelve Prophets" vol.1 (Liturgical Press, 2000)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=4vOwFysWpogC&dq=The+twelve+prophets%3A+Hosea%2C+Joel%2C+Amos%2C+Obadiah%2C+Jonah%2C+Volume+1&pg=PR21 Sweeney, Marvin, "The Twelve Prophets" vol.2 (Liturgical Press, 2000)] {{refend}}
==== New Testament ==== {{refbegin}} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=EcsQknxV-xQC&q=An+introduction+to+the+New+Testament+and+the+origins+of+Christianity+Delbert+Royce+Burkett Burkett, Delbert Royce, "An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity" (Cambridge University Press, 2002)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=ygcgn8h-jo4C&q=Blackwell+companion+to+the+New+Testament Aune, David E., (ed) "The Blackwell companion to the New Testament" (Blackwell Publishing, 2010)] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&q=Cambridge+History+of+Christianity+origins+to+Constantine Mitchell, Margaret Mary, and Young, Frances Margaret, "Cambridge History of Christianity: Origins to Constantine" (Cambridge University Press, 2006)] {{refend}}
==Further reading== * [http://www.lost-history.com/authors.php List of Old and New Testament Authors by Tradition and Conjecture] * {{cite book | last=Helms | first=Randel McCraw | author-link=Randel Helms | title=Who Wrote the Gospels? | publisher=Millennium Press | date=1997 | isbn=978-0-9655047-2-0 | page=}}
{{Books of the Bible}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Authorship of the Bible}} [[Category:Biblical authorship debates|Bible]] [[Category:Documentary hypothesis]]