

But like the ancient prophet, Ezra leads a group of Israelites from exile in another nation back to the promised land.Įzra is a scribe (someone who reads, writes, and interprets documents), and he’s especially well-versed in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6). Ezra ( 1 & 2 Chronicles | Ezra)Įzra is born long, long after Moses. The next four books chronicle Israel’s physical and spiritual journey from Egypt to the promised land.īut Moses’ works aren’t over at Deuteronomy! He’s also the one who wrote Psalm 90. It explains where the Jewish people came from, and how they ended up in Egypt. The first book, Genesis, sets the stage for the other four books. These details are called the “Law,” and they take up most of the books attributed to Moses in the Bible. Moses writes out the details of what that relationship looks like. Moses takes the new nation to Mount Sinai, where the Lord brings Israel into a special relationship: from now on, Israel is God’s people, and God is Israel’s deity. Moses does so, Pharaoh resists, God judges Egypt with 10 plagues, and the Israelites leave. God commissions Moses: tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Forty years go by, and God meets Moses in the wilderness (there’s a burning bush involved). After killing an abusive Egyptian slave driver, Moses escapes the death penalty by running to the wilderness, where he marries and takes up life as a shepherd. Moses is a Hebrew born in Egypt and raised in Pharaoh’s house. Of all the Old Testament prophets, nobody’s like Moses (Dt 34:10–12). Moses is the prophet who leads Israel from slavery in Egypt to the edge of the promised land. Moses ( Genesis | Exodus | Leviticus | Numbers | Deuteronomy | Psalms) On to the nitty-gritty details … The 35 traditional authors of the Bible 1. It’s perfect for Sunday school classrooms and church offices.) (I also made a poster with some fun facts about the authors of the Bible. In case you’re just here for the list of names, here you go! But New Testament writers still refer to the words in the book as though they were Isaiah’s. For example, the book of Isaiah may have been partially composed and arranged by Isaiah’s disciples long after Isaiah’s death.

For example, somebody wrote Judges, but we don’t know who. There are more authors of the Bible than the 35 I’ve listed here.I’ve included a few candidates for anonymous works (like Moses, Ezra, and Matthew). This is a list of authors either identified in the Bible’s text itself or generally assumed by church/Jewish tradition.Before we jump into the list of names, let me throw out a few disclaimers:

So, let’s take a closer look at the people whom tradition says wrote the Bible. The Bible didn’t fall out of heaven, and it was a long time in the making.

And rightly so: when you’re studying a book or passage of the Bible, it’s pretty important to know who wrote it.īut there’s a lot of nuance that goes into answering this question. In a way, both of these answers are true, but by now you’re probably looking for a little more detail about the authors of the Bible.
