In other words, this book talks about the beginning of the world, the beginning of God's nation . In the past few hundred years, the Bible has been under severe attack by scientific and philosophical skeptics of all sorts. A. Postmosaica are passages that had to be written after the death of Moses, and of course, the most obvious postmosaica is the account of his death in Deuteronomy 34. Instead, it is claimed that at least four different authors (or groups of authors) wrote various portions of these books over many centuries and then one or more redactors (editors) over many years combined and interwove everything together into its present form. But the other objections are just as flawed in terms of logic and a failure to pay careful attention to the biblical text. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from . The Old Testament is precious to Christians because its a book about Gods work with Israel in preparation for the Messiah who would come not only to save Israel but to save the world from the power and punishment of sin. So Paul says, Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And its not at all out of character. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. . Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the . This is a good place for this focus because twice in this passage Jesus says that the Old Testament Scriptures are written about him. Such a claim is without warrant. Salem Media Group. Therefore, it is the united testimony of the New Testament that Jesus was the Prophet that Moses said would come. They assumed that Israel's religion was simply the invention of man, a product of evolution, as all other religions are. You're almost done! Not only was there a J-document, E-document and D-document, but then it was argued that Leviticus and some other portions of the Pentateuch were the work of Jewish priests, hence the P-documents. So a witness is ordinarily one who has seen something and can witness to what he has seen. It means hearing it, understanding it, and above all, being impacted by it. Editors sometimes add to books by deceased authors and no one then denies that the deceased wrote the book. Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and one of the five books of the Pentateuch. A witness gives firsthand evidence. Any claim by a Jewish person or a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist or a spiritualist or an animist or a Christianany claim to know God or honor God or love God while not receiving Christ as the Son of God and the crucified risen Savior is a false claim. Instead of moving on to chapter 6, I thought we should pause once more in John 5 and focus on something that is massively important for John and the other New Testament writers, namely, the way they viewed the Old Testament Scriptures and how those Scriptures relate to Jesus, and what difference it makes for us. No. 1. Right from the start it is important to note that the Pentateuch is anonymous. Because we have more support for a written tradition of Genesis, does this mean we take everything in the book at face-value? This is confirmed by the singular Jewish testimony (until the last few centuries) that these books are the writings of Moses. First, Moses could have easily written this without knowing that the Canaanites would be removed after his death, because due to warring kingdoms or other factors, people groups did get removed from territories. A "Hebrew" is anyone who is descended from "Eber" (Ever in Hebrew), an ancestor of Abraham and Moses (See Genesis 10:24). 2 Peter 1:16) or as a result of research by the author (e.g., Luke 1:14). In John 7:38, Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to living water that will flow out of those who believe on him and says that this has all been said in the Scriptures: Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Perhaps hes referring to Isaiah 58:11You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not failand to passages that compare the Holy Spirit to water (e.g., Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:2526). Or Moses, or Mouses of Hebrew origin; Moseus, Moses, or Mouses, the Hebrew lawgiver. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Several lines of evidence should lead us to reject the documentary hypothesis as a fabrication of unbelievers. Listen to the audio version of this content. In addition, when the heavens . None of these passages concern the writing of the book of Genesis. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? . Astruc basically questioned, as others had before him, how Moses knew what happened prior to his own life, (i.e., the history recorded in Genesis). Thank you for signing up to receive email newsletters from Answers in Genesis. First, as this Answers in Genesis article explains, we have documentary witnesses. The editorial comment would in no way deny the Mosaic authorship of the book of Genesis. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth., Genesis 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them., Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots (John 19:24=Psalm 22:18). In the case of Deuteronomy, the author of the obituary of Moses was probably Joshua, a close associate of Moses who was chosen by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land (for Moses was not allowed to because of his disobedience), and who was inspired by God to write the next book in the Old Testament. From A.D. 33 until approximately A.D. 80, the Holy Spirit breathed out His Word in twenty-seven books and nine authors. He claims that Methuselah was an ancient historian of his day . When Moses came on the scene, God revealed to him what really happened, and this is what Moses wrote down. . The Bible also records a life-changing decision . "He . So it is perfectly reasonable to think that Moses wrote Genesis from pre-existing, well-preserved oral tradition and/or written documents from the patriarchs. In Exodus 33:17, the Lord said to Moses directly, "I know thee by name.". He is author of. And verse 46 says it again a little differently: If you believed Moses [the author of the first five books of the Old Testament] you would believe me; for he wrote of me. So verse 46 says that Moses wrote about Jesus, and verse 39 says that the Scriptures witness about Jesus. Long-age geology, big bang cosmology, secular archaeology, liberal theology, and philosophical attacks on miracles in the Bible have deceived many people to believe that the Bible is not true and therefore cannot be trusted. Furthermore, we have testimony from Jesus himself that Moses wrote these books. If you have any questions, please review our. Then from chapter 13 to the end of the book, John pours it on to show that almost every detail of Jesus redeeming work was planned by God and witnessed in Scripture. But secondly, it could also be a comment added by a later editor working under divine inspiration. For example, the disciples, referring to Deuteronomy 24:14, questioned Jesus, Why then, they asked, did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away? (Matthew 19:7). 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. In John 1:34, John the Baptist says, "I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.". Jesus Christ was greater than Moses. The Jews therefore object, and persecute him for it. Genesis 14:14 mentions Dan. Astruc claimed that these name changes indicated different sources that Moses used. Moses is saying to his people, "As you go into a godless culture that will have many temptations, including the temptation to make progress without God, be careful! "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. During their captivity in Babylon, the Hebrews . Since both Genesis 40:10 and Ezekiel 21:27 deal with Judah and the government or ownership of that tribe, the argument becomes quite compelling. After all, the book takes up 50 whole chapters in the Bible, so well briefly summarize some of the major events that take place in the book. In John 7:42, the enemies of Jesus draw attention to the fact that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, referring to Micah 5:2, because they didnt think thats where Jesus was born. It is too obviously the product of more than one author, writing at different times and places. Jesus said "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. These postmosaica establish a principle that later inspired editors/redactors can contribute to the writing of the Pentateuch. The Book of Genesis (from Greek , Gnesis; Hebrew: Bret, "In [the] beginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. For example, John 7:22 and Acts 15:1 refer to Moses giving the doctrine of circumcision. Proof that Moses wrote the Torah: (Gen - Deut) 1. As this hypothesis was developed by a number of Jewish and theologically liberal Christian scholars in the late seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries, there were a number of different proposals of who wrote what and when. From here, the door flew open to profess that other portions of the Law were not written by Moses. Jesus said that Moses wrote about Him: If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. The five books of Moses are liberally sprinkled with symbolic references to Jesus. But he was, and that too pointed to his truth. These books are named for their intended recipientswhether groups or individuals: Romans, 1 and 2 . Jesus Was Greater than Moses One final point needs to be emphasized. Not one of his bones will be broken (John 19:36=Psalm 34:20). Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. In the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostles make the same claim that Moses wrote the stories of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (Matthew 19:8; Mark 12:26; Acts 3:22; Romans . Jesus shows up often in the Old Testamentnot by that name, and not in the same form as we see Him in the New Testament, but He is there nonetheless. Unlike the JEDP model, the Tablet model shows a reverence for the text of Genesis and attention to these explicit divisions provided by the book itself. Here Jesus tacitly disapproves of an act of Moses, but he utters no positive teaching as to the authorship of the Penta-teuch." For Moses said, honor thy father and mother." Mark 7 :10o. Lets close by looking at three of these. He refers to Isaiah 54:13, It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. So the prophets point to how people will come to the Messiah, Jesus. However, Dan in this context is not the region of Dan, that Israelite tribe's inheritance given when the Jews took the Promised Land, but a specific ancient town of Dan, north of the Sea of Galilee that was in existence long before the Israelites entered the land. In John 5:46 He explained to some religious leaders who had challenged Him that . One complaint about the Genesis account of creation is that the first five books of the Bible, known collectively as the Pentateuch ("five-volumed book"), could not possibly have been written by Moses. There is no other ancient Hebrew who was more qualified than Moses to write the Pentateuch. In this paper we will present simple evidence from 20 th century archeological findings that leads us to the conclusion that Moses wrote Genesis, as asserted by all the Fathers. Still, there are good reasons to co. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. Like other literature, past and present, it is not uncommon for an obituary to be added at the end of someone's work after he dies, especially if he died very soon after writing the book. Jewish historian Josephus, just after the time of Christ, says: "When Abram heard of their calamity, he was at once afraid for Lot his kinsman, and pitied the Sodomites, his friends and neighbours; and thinking it proper to afford them assistance, he did not delay it, but marched hastily, and the fifth night attacked the Assyrians, near Dan, for that is the name of the other spring of Jordan; and before they could arm themselves, he slew some as they were in their beds, before they could suspect any harm; and others, who were not yet gone to sleep, but were so drunk they could not fight, ran away."20. Genesis has sparked a great deal of debate among scientists and scholars, ranging from the literal vs. figurative days of creation to the genealogical lines. God promised Abram in Genesis 12:23, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you . . All rights reserved. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. From there, we have the well-known story of the Great Flood, and the birth of the Israelite nation through Abraham. As Paul says in Romans 3:4,"Let God be true and every man a liar.". The Genesis course, taught by Tremper Longman III, illuminates the book of Genesis in light of the Bibles grand story. As stated before, most scholars attribute the authorship of Genesis and the other first four books of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch to Moses. It could be today. 33:15 - 3 - Moses showed us others who were longing for Christ. But this does bring forth the question: how would Moses know all of these things? Proud member From pistis; to have faith, i.e. But the Fathers did not explain how Moses wrote it, other than to assert that he was inspired by God. Taking seriously the indications within the Pentateuch itself, along with the post-pentateuchal references to the Book/Law of Moses, one might conclude that the Pentateuch finds its origins in Moses, who used other sources particularly in the writing of Genesis. But based on the evidence available, its fair to attribute its origins to Moses. In this scientific age the most-attacked book of the Bible has arguably been Genesis, particularly the first eleven chapters. Only evolutionary thinking would lead us to conclude that Adam and his descendants could not write. The obituary in no way nullifies the claim that the author wrote the book.18. From there, and after hundreds of years of slavery, we pick up the story in Exodus. Of course, there are several ways Moses could have obtained this information: divine revelation, previously written texts passed down through the generations, and/or oral tradition from his ancestors.7 Regardless, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:2021), the books of Moses would be completely true and without error.