What does the Bible itself say about authorship of the Pentateuch?
There are about two dozen verses in the Hebrew Scriptures and one dozen in the Christian Scriptures which state or strongly imply that Moses was the author. Consider the following passages from the New Living Translation (NLT): • Passages in the Pentateuch itself: • Exodus 17:14 “Then the Lord instructed Moses, ‘Write this down as a permanent record…'” • Exodus 24:4 “Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions.” • Exodus 34:27 “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write down all these instructions, for they represents the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.'” • Leviticus 1:1 “The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, ‘Give the following instructions to the Israelites…'” • Leviticus 6:8 “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions…'” • Deuteronomy 31:9 “So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests.” • Deuteronomy 31:24-26 “When Moses had finished writing down this entire body of law in a book…
