Who Wrote the Scriptures and Why?

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power" - Hebrews 1:1-3a

“So each of these complex, multi-layered sources [Hebrew scriptures]... each one possesses it's own layers, it's own agenda, it's own perspectives. Sometimes they compliment one another, sometimes they challenge and contradict one another. But they are not best seen as linear, as telling a neat, linear story about Israelite religion flowering and fading. Their diversity has not been homogenized or flattened by the final editor of the text. It has been preserved in a manner that stimulates reflection and debate.” ~ Christine Hayes

Who wrote this story?
1. The Legend (three versions)
  1. The scriptures existed before the foundation of the world, with God. On Mount Sinai, God gave Moshe not only the ten commandments, but the whole Pentateuch. Moshe then copied this and each king/scribe would write their own copy which would be compared to this divine copy.
  2. While on Mount Sinai, God taught Moshe all the history of the people, which Moshe then wrote down for a copy that was then added to up until his death.
  3. The story of the Jewish people had been preserved by the LORD through the generations and was then confirmed to Moshe on Mount Sinai where the laws for the people were also given and where Moshe was charged with keeping a physical record of the whole story up until his death.
2. What we can tell from history.
  1. No clearly defined Hebrew Canon stated until Josephus (37-100CE)
    
    “For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another [as the Greeks have], but only twenty-two books, which contain all the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine; and of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death… the prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life.” ~ Josephus
    1. This is different from the Hebrew Bible, which has 24 books, but it is assumed that Ruth was grouped with Judges and that Lamentations was considered a part of Jeremiah.
  2. All evidence indicates the existence of some kind of scriptures before the exile.
    1. High literacy level indicates that scribes during the exile would likely have had existing texts to work with and to edit together.
    2. Evidence of contradictory viewpoints and details within the stories demonstrates pre-existing narratives that were well-known and possibly documented.
    3. The “Josiah Reform” is a recognized historical event happening during the reign of Josiah (641-610BCE) where massive religious reform took place.
      1. Discovery of the lost “book of the law” in 2 Kings 22
      2. Sacred assembly of the people in Jerusalem for the reading of the “book of the covenant” in 2 Kings 23
      3. kharem against all the false priests and idols throughout Judea and Samaria.
  3. The Great Assembly
    1. Jewish tradition holding that a council of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets in the early Second Temple period (516BCE) fixed the scriptural canon, introduced the feast of Purim, and established the synagogal prayers, rituals, and benedictions.
    2. Matches up with Ezra/Nehemiah
      
      "And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ... Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them." - Nehemiah 8:1-3, 6-12
    3. The Cyrus Cylinder
      1. Around 539BCE Cyrus the Great makes a proclamation as the new ruler of Babylon. Within the Cyrus cylinder is a reference to the decree allowing captured and subjugated peoples to worship their own gods and to restore their own places of worship. Though not mentioning Israel specifically in the cylinder, this matches up with the other historical information as well as the scriptural narrative in Ezra and Nehemiah.
3. What we can tell from literary style.
  1. Mythological, Etiological, and Historical.
    1. Mythological – stories, usually fictitious, symbolic or idealized, that establishes a set of beliefs or worldview.
      1. Exaggeration or symbolism and the idealization of characters or settings signify a meaning underneath the story while anchoring the person in a clear and memorable narrative.
        
        “Fiction is the lie that tells the truth, after all.” ~ Neil Gaiman
      2. This is a favorite within Jewish tradition, especially within Rabbinical Judaism, the favorite mythological style being the parable.
      3. Usually identifiable by changes to names, by exaggeration, by overtly symbolic elements, or by repetition with similarities and contrasts.
        
        Most easily distinguished from historical stories by a myth's lack of dates or specific details.
      4. Great Example: the book of Jonah
        
        No date, king, or historical context.
        
        Fantastic events with clear symbolic value.
        
        Extreme/symbolic elements (depths of Sheol, three days, the greatest to the least, miraculous foliage, etc.)
        
        No ending, dear reader, but a question... answer wisely!
    2. Historical – the substantiated or widely-accepted account of past events.
      1. Extremely limited in it's ability to give information that anyone cares about.
      2. Concerned only with what happened.
        
        When it is concerned with methods of interpretation, substantiation of evidence becomes even more important.
        
        Requires confirmation of sources.
      3. Distinguished by an accounting of dates, times, places, and by referencing corroborating evidence.
      4. Great Example: the books of Chronicles and Kings recording slightly different accounts of the rulers of Israel.
        
        Same stories, different details, not all of it fitting the desired narrative. (Did Josiah die in battle like a warrior or upon the return from battle because of his sin?)
    3. Etiological – how this came to be and why it feels this way.
      
      “Serving to explain something by giving a cause or reason for it, often in historical or mythical terms.” ~ Oxford Dictionary
      1. Examples of etiological literature can lean heavily on myth or on history and often blend the two in order to anchor the listener in both a worldview and a history.
      2. The most important form of literature for creating social structure because of it's utility in creating and rationalizing norms by anchoring them in historical and mythological context.
      3. Typically identifiable by the phrase, “as it is to this day” indicating the writer's/editor's intent is explanatory.
      4. The most useful for Israel as they organize and orient their society.
        
        Much like the USA, Israel is founded upon the idea of being a united people, yet they have nearly always functioned as tribal states within a union, rather than a whole except for key moments in their history.
        
        A unifying identity as they move from nomadic (Hebrew means “wanderer”) to Tribal, to split kingdom, to exile, to diaspora.
      5. Great Example: The book of Joshua
        
        Exaggerated accounts of battles and conquest.
        
        Repeated use of the phrase, “as it is to this day”
        
        Conflicting accounts of “total destruction”.
        
        Complex explanation of class division, social order, and political arrangements simplified into simple and interesting narrative events (e.g. Gibeonites).
4. Putting it all together... trying to, anyway.
  1. An Ancient Mythology preserved by nomadic people(s) concerned with passing on a monolatrous worldview as they wandered through a nearly entirely polytheistic Ancient Near East.
    1. Scholars now argue monotheism/monolatry vs. Polytheism seems to be inherently different rather than progressing from one to the other.
    2. Stories as they appear in Genesis function as a polemic against the other ANE religions of the time while establishing a clear cultural identity and worldview.
      1. The Abraham myth is much more important than the Abraham history, though there seems to be a real man at the center of it.
      2. The Nephilim (and the Rephaim after them) are one of the most important elements of the story b/c they explain the “divine ancestry” of the nations around us and why that's bad.
    3. Oral tradition within oral cultures is far more reliable and accurate than written language all the way up until the printing press.
  2. An orienting Etiology as wandering tribes survive the Bronze Age Collapse and become a “united people”
    1. Preservation of multiple, even contradictory, stories of the origins and defining events of the Israelite people reflect the mixing of different stories as the tribes begin to mix together.
    2. Organized polemics, simplification of history and “as it is to this day” to create a clear and cohesive narrative of how we came to be and why we belong together.
    3. Establishing moral explanation for catastophe, victory, defeat, and dividing lines from other nations.
      1. The world collapsed because we were enslaved to bad people.
      2. We were preserved and our ancient heroes were victorious because they followed the LORD.
      3. We are suspicious of outsiders because we are called to follow the one true God and they will try to tempt us away from Him.
  3. A hope to retain our identity while in exile.
    1. The shift to a culture that preserves and remembers and records it's history happens during the exile.
      1. While documents likely existed before the exile, there is no evidence for this outside of the scriptures themselves.
      2. There isn't even an agreement about what the scriptures are until after the exile.
    2. Regular scriptural readings and the devotion to preserving our history and our identity makes the Jews the “people of the book” from this time forward.
    3. The hand of the editors are seen in the canonization and compilation of oral and written histories.
      1. Sidenote: you can notice the editors in some of their breif interjections.
        
        "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)" - Numbers 12:1-3
      2. They do something wonderful at this moment that I honestly can't overstate the importance of: they preserve disagreement in the name of unity. Something that probably wouldn't have happened without exile.
      3. The people who wrestle with God and with one another demonstrate an attitude of reverence towards the scriptures as well as an intentional rejection of hubris. No one should have the hubris to say they fully understand the scriptures, everyone should attempt to try.
  4. Home as an idea and a belonging instead of a land/bloodright.
    1. Scriptural meditation, prayer, and ethical living become the dominant identity of “the people of the book” and they preserve and codify the scripture so that they might, literally, write around it to discover it's depths.
      1. Halakhic and Aggadic Midrash preserve and expand exegetical commentary as well as folklore, anecdotes, practices and moral arguments.
      2. The Talmud becomes a collection of “2^nd degree scriptures” written in the margins of the text outlining reasoning and disagreement between different modes of scriptural interpretation.
      3. Other Pesharim are preserved within different communities that leads to a rabbinical form of Judaism that not only survives, but thrives without a temple or homeland.

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