Chapter 29
Old Testament Authorship

How much of the Old Testament was written by the persons to whom it is attributed?

The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Joshua, and I&II Samuel were testimonies; therefore, our confidence in these books is totally dependent on our certainty that they were written by Moses, Joshua, and Samuel themselves, as well as on the credibility of these men as witnesses. We can believe them or not; but if we find that the purported authors didn’t write these books, we can’t allow the books any credibility. A modern court of law certainly would not allow the use of forged, invented, or anonymous documents as authoritative evidence. Why should we? If it can be shown that these books were not necessarily written by those claimed, then

"There is no authority for believing that the inhuman and horrid butcheries of men, women, and children, told of in those books, were done, as those books say they were, at the command of God." (Paine, Age 740 )

Pentateuch

The Bible claimed that Moses wrote these first five books, but there is no independent evidence of that. Even biblical scholars have established that at least three different men, probably four, wrote those books (simply evidenced by the different words for God used in Genesis: jaweh and elohim). These versions are called the Yahvist (9th c. BCE in Judah), Elohist (later 9th c. BCE in Israel), Deuteronomist (either 8th c. BCE or Josiah’s time), and Priestly or Sacredotal (6th c. BCE).

29.1 Outside of the Bible, there is no evidence that the man, Moses, ever existed; and Moses never claimed to have written the Pentateuch. The Old Testament did not attribute the whole Torah to him, only the "Law." None of the ancient manuscripts, printed copies of the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, or Vulgate credited Moses with the Pentateuch; and they didn’t mention more than a singular "Book of Moses." The language of the Pentateuch was the same as the language used by the Jews just before they returned from captivity in Babylon. That means that there would have been a thousand years without linguistic drift. That’s highly unlikely.

"And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses…" Josh 8:32
"Master, Moses wrote unto us [about a law]" Mk 12:19
"For the law was given by Moses…" Jn 1:17
"…We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write…" Jn 1:45
"For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law…" Rom 10:5

This is no trivial issue. If Moses didn’t write the Pentateuch, then Jesus was mistaken in vouching for Moses’ authorship and tying his own authority to Moses’ acts. If Moses didn’t write the Pentateuch, then we can have no faith in Jesus.

Jesus: "…have ye not read in the book of Moses [Ex 3:6], how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?" Mk 12:26

Jesus: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Lk 24:27

Jesus: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Jn 3:14,15

"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Jn 5:46,47

Jesus: "Did not Moses give you the law…" Jn 7:19

But let’s look into the matter ourselves. Were the words of the Bible internally consistent with the authorship claimed?

29.2 Genesis didn’t mention or even allude to Moses; and Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers were written in the third person, much as a historian would write about Moses. They look more like biography than autobiography.

"And the Lord spake unto Moses…" Num 1:1, 2:1

"It may be said that a man may speak of himself in the third person, and therefore it may be supposed that Moses did; but supposition proves nothing; and if the advocates for the belief that Moses wrote those books himself, have nothing better to advance than supposition, they may as well be silent." (Paine, Age, 738)

29.3 There were many references to "the book of the Law of Moses," but the Bible didn’t say that Moses wrote the book.

"…written in the book of the law of Moses…" Josh 8:31, 1Kgs 2:3, 2Kgs 14:6
"…bring the book of the law of Moses…" Neh 8:1

Genesis

As we’ll see below, Moses cannot have written Genesis; therefore, it is anonymous and without authority. It may even be younger than Homer’s epics or Æsop’s fables. Since it lacked theological authority, it was an anonymous book of fables, stories, traditionary or fabricated tales, or out-and-out lies. As Tom Paine said,

"The story of Eve and the serpent, and of Noah and his ark, drops to a level with the Arabian tales, without the merit of being entertaining;" (Paine, Age, 746)

29.4 Genesis used terms which were not in use until after Canaan was conquered by the Israelites. This clearly argues against Moses’ authorship, since he died before reaching this promised land. The term "Gentiles" didn’t exist until after the Jews became a separate religion in Solomon’s time, or even a separate nation after Solomon; but here they are in early Genesis.

"By these were the isles of the Gentiles…" Gen 10:5

29.5 Likewise, the Jews weren’t called Hebrews until late in Joshua’s time and after Moses’ time.

"For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews…" Gen 40:15

29.6 Two passages clearly implied that the Canaanites no longer lived in the land at the time it was written. Use of the terms "was then" and "then" implied that their presence was in the past. Since the Canaanites were not expelled until 450 years after Moses died, even after the reign of David, Moses couldn’t have written it.

"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land." Gen 12:6

"And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land." Gen 13:7

29.7 Moses couldn’t have been the author of the following passage, since there was no place called Dan until long after the death of Moses. The conquest of Laish by the Danites in Judges follows on the death of Samson in 1120 BCE, but Moses died in 1441 BCE, at least 321 years before a city called Dan existed.

"And when Abram [Abraham] heard that [Lot] was taken captive, he…pursued them unto Dan." Gen 14:14

"[The Danites] came unto Laish…and burnt the city…And they built a [new] city…And they called the name of the city Dan…the name of the city was Laish at the first." Judg 18:27-29

29.8 How could Moses have used Hebron’s more modern name when it wasn’t given that name until Joshua’s time?

"And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan…" Gen 23:2
"Joshua…gave unto Caleb…Hebron for an inheritance…And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba…" Josh 14:13-15

29.9 The list of the Edomite kings, before any king ruled over Israel, was obviously written after the first king of Israel reigned (Saul) or after the second king’s reign (David). If we read it in the general usage, it was written after the Jewish monarchy ended. Clearly Genesis was written during or after the Jewish monarchy.

"And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel." Gen 36:31

29.10 It is significant that Genesis 36:31-43 was identical, almost word-for-word, to I Chronicles 1:43-54. The two books of Chronicles listed all of the kings of Israel, and the phraseology clearly indicated that this was just what the Genesis author was beginning to do. Therefore, this part of Genesis was taken from Chronicles, and it can safely be dated to sometime after the end of the monarchy. Chronicles, itself, cannot have been written until well after the death of Moses, since it mentioned Zedekiah in whose time Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem (in 588 BCE, 860 years after Moses).

"Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel" 1Ch 1:43

"…these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel." Gen 36:31

Zedekiah is in David’s genealogy. 1Ch 3:15,16

29.11 Since Judah did not receive "the sceptre" until David was made king, this cannot have been written by Moses.

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen 49:10

29.12 The creation story appears too have been an ancient tradition of the Hebrews rather than the word of God revealed to Moses. It began suddenly, no one specific spoke, and Moses didn’t introduce it in the formal terms used on other occasions, e.g. "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying." The writers’ caution in endorsing this story could lead us to believe that he neither told it nor believed it.

Exodus

This book was allegedly written by Moses, also; but we’ll see that Moses cannot have written it, so Exodus was anonymous and without authority.

29.13 In this passage, Moses comes across as an overarching egotist. Would he really have written this about himself?

"…the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people." Ex 11:3

29.14 Moses cannot have written about the Jews entering Canaan, because he was dead by then. Joshua, Moses’ successor, told the manna story including the Hebrew’s entry into Canaan.

"And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years…until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan." Ex 16:35

"So Moses…died there in the land of Moab…" Deut 34:5

"And the manna ceased on the morrow…but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Josh 5:12

29.15 The Ten Commandments, although received directly from God and recorded by Moses, were different in Exodus than they were in Deuteronomy.

In the fourth commandment, Exodus tied the sabbath to the days of creation, but Deuteronomy tied it to the return from exile in Egypt.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex 20:8-11

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Deut 5:12-15

The tenth commandment also differed between Exodus and Deuteronomy.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s." Ex 20:17

"Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s." Deut 5:21

29.16 The reference to "gates" implied that the wandering in the wilderness was over, so Moses couldn’t have written it.

"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work…nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:" Ex 20:10

29.17 How could Moses have written about "the house of the Lord" when no temple existed until Solomon, 447 years after Moses died? God even told David he dwelt in no house since the end of the exile.

"The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." Ex 23:19

God: "Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle." 2Sam 7:6

Leviticus

Moses cannot have written this book, so it was anonymous and without authority.

29.18 How could Moses have written about the expulsion of the conquered occupants of the promised land? Moses died before seeing the promised land, so he wasn’t alive for its conquest.

"That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you." Lev 18:28

Numbers

Moses cannot have written this book, either; so it was anonymous and without authority.

29.19 It’s silly to think that Moses would have written the following passage. If he did, then Moses was vain and arrogant. His boasting of meekness was a lie in sentiment, so his credibility is, likewise, shot.

"Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were on the face of the earth." Num 12:3

29.20 The term "were" implies that the passage was written after they left the wilderness, but Moses died in the wilderness.

"And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness…" Num 15:32

29.21 Since Moses had already received the law, personally, which said that anyone working on the sabbath should be executed, he can’t have written that he didn’t know what to do with this transgressor.

"And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him." Num 15:32-34

"Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death." Ex 31:15

29.22 If Moses wrote this about himself, he was a villain of the first water. These cannot have been the words of either Moses or God. This monster ordered his men to butcher prisoners-slaughter the boys, massacre the women, and debauch the virgins.

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." Num 31:17,18

Deuteronomy

This was an anonymous work; and as we’ll see, Moses could not have been the writer. We have no evidence for the source of the writer’s words which were attributed to Moses, so we can rightly conclude that he either composed them himself or took them from oral tradition. Therefore, it was anonymous and without authority.

29.23 How could Moses have written about the expulsion of the Canaanites when that didn’t happen until after he died?

"The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them." Deut 2:12

29.24 Rabbah (Rabbath) wasn’t taken until 400 years after Moses’ death. The writer was referring to this bed as a relic which was located in Rabbath.

"For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon?" Deut 3:11

29.25 The phrase "as it is this day" is a dead give-away. Moses never made it to the promised land, so he can’t have written this.

"To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day." Deut 4:38

29.26 Since the Israelites didn’t occupy Palestine until after Moses died, Moses can’t have written (twenty-five times in the Pentateuch) about being "within thy gates," meaning within the gates of Palestinian cities.

"Thou shalt eat it within thy gates…" Deut 15:22

29.27 Why should we believe that Moses wrote that he reversed himself, if everything he said earlier was inspired by God?

"…as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way [to Egypt]." Deut 17:16

"And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, [that] Thou shalt see it no more again…" Deut 28:68

29.28 How could Moses have written of his own death, burial, and mourning? Whoever this writer was, he could not have attended the funeral, since its location was unknown. This was obviously written long after Moses died. If Moses did somehow return to write this or to inspire this, why didn’t he know where he was buried? Some claim that perhaps Joshua wrote the last part of Deuteronomy, but this is claimed without any evidence whatsoever. This further dilute its authenticity, since we still don’t know for sure who the author was.

"And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death." Deut 33:1

"So Moses…died there in the land of Moab…buried him in Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre to this day." Deut 34:5-6

"And the children of Israel wept for Moses…thirty days." Deut 34:8

29.29 The phrases "since" and "to this day" implied that Moses’ death and burial occurred a long time prior their writing, perhaps generations or centuries later.

"…but no man knoweth of his sepulchre to this day." Deut 34:5-6
"And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses…" Deut 34:10

29.30 The Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, although received directly from God and recorded by Moses, were different than in Exodus. (See Exodus, above.)

29.31 This book’s style of writing was drama, not narrative. It began with a short introductory discourse, introduced Moses speaking, then reverted back to the writer until Moses re-entered. It then closed the scene with Moses’ death, funeral, and a character summary.

- Writer introduces things. Deut 1:1-1:5
- Moses harangues. Deut 1:6-4:40
- Writer speaks, then introduces Moses. Deut 4:41-5:1
- Moses speaks. Deut 5:1-26:19
- Writer again introduces Moses. Deut 27:1
- Moses speaks. Deut 28:1-28:68
- Writer speaks, then introduces Moses. Deut 29:1,2
- Moses speaks. Deut 29:2-33:29
- Writer finishes up. Deut 34

29.32 The writer referred to Moses in the third person as "he" and "his" not in the first person as "me" or "I" or "my."

"…And he buried him in Moab…but no man knoweth of his sepulchre…"Deut 34:6
"…when he died: his eye…his natural force…" Deut 34:7

29.33 Although we don’t know who the author was, we have a pretty good idea as to his profession. This passage has been used by priests throughout history to support their claim to tithes (a tax on believers).

"Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." Deut 25:4

The Histories

Joshua

Moses’ successor, Joshua, was the Israeli warlord for twenty-five years, between 1451 and 1426 BCE. Joshua was even more of a war criminal than Moses, so this book cannot be the word of God, even if Joshua really wrote it. But he clearly didn’t write it, so it was anonymous and without authority as the word of God.

29.34 Since the writer mentioned all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, it can’t have been written until well after Joshua died, or even until after all the survivors died.

"And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua." Josh 24:31

29.35 The phrasing of these passages implied that they were written many generations after the acts themselves, not by Joshua.

"…there was no day like that before it or after it," Josh 10:14
"And Joshua…made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day." Josh 8:28
"…and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day." Josh 10:27

29.36 This book was written in the third person, probably by Joshua’s historian, not by Joshua. Its references to Joshua would have been vain glorious if it were written by Joshua, himself.

"…his fame was noised throughout all the country." Josh 6:27

29.37 If the sun-stopping story in Joshua was true, it would have been noticed around the world. There would have been records and stories relating this amazing event. There weren’t.

"And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies…So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." Josh 10:13

29.38 Looking at this passage, it’s obvious that this book was written sometime after Jerusalem was taken (in the time of David) at least 370 years after the death of Joshua which occurred at the end of this book.

- "…the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day." Josh 15:63
- David takes Jerusalem. 2Sam 5:7

29.39 This story of God’s soldier and Joshua ended without reason, resolution, or moral. Either the story wasn’t finished, or the angel was ridiculing Joshua, or the author was pulling our leg.

"And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standeth is holy. And Joshua did so." Josh 5:15

29.40 Would Joshua have written about himself in such an egotistical manner?

"And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom…" Deut 34:9

Judges

This book was anonymous on its face; and since it doesn’t have a sponsor, it’s without credibility as the word of God.

29.41 The chronology of Judges was strange, to say the least. Chapters 17-21 were put chronologically before the preceding chapters, 28 years prior to chapter 16, 266 years before the 15th chapter, 245 years before the 13th, 195 years before the 9th, 90 years before the 4th, and 15 years before the 1st chapter. Why would God have organized his holy word this way?

29.42 Looking at this passage, it is obvious that Judges was written after Jerusalem was taken (in the time of David) at least 370 years after the death of Joshua at the beginning of Judges.

"Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it…" Judg 1:7
- David takes Jerusalem. 2Sam 5:7

29.43 Judges had almost the same style as Joshua. Consider the introductory passages. This suggests a common author.

"Now after the death of Moses…it came to pass…" Josh 1:1
"Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass…Judg 1:1

29.44 The book began at the death of Joshua in 1426 BCE and ended with the death of Samson in 1720 BCE, a period of about 300 years, far too long for one author.

Ruth

Again, I can’t top Tom Paine’s comment.

"[Ruth is] an idle bundling story, foolishly told, nobody knows by whom, about a strolling country girl creeping slyly to bed to her cousin Boaz. Pretty stuff indeed to be called the word of God! It is, however, one of the best books in the bible, for it is free from murder and rapine." (Paine, Age, 754)

I&II Samuel

Clearly, these two books proved within themselves that they were not written by Samuel, but a long time later. This leaves them anonymous and without credit as the word of God.

29.45 The story of Saul, Samuel, and the asses was told as an ancient story at the time of its telling. The writer needed to explain the obsolete terminology used in the story, so it was obviously not written in the time of one of the purported author, Samuel.

"(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)…and said unto them, Is the seer here?" 1Sam 9:9,11

29.46 Samuel died before Saul, since Saul saw Samuel conjured up after death; and these books covered the remainder of the life of Saul. Therefore, Samuel cannot have written this book.

"Now Samuel was dead…" 1Sam 28:3
- Samuel is resurrected by the witch of Endor. 1Sam 28:14,15

29.47 II Samuel began during David’s reign. David succeeded Saul, who died four years after Samuel; and it continued to the end of David’s reign. Therefore, this book began at least four years after Samuel’s death, and it covered up to 43 years after Samuel’s death.

29.48 There was an editing error here. A phrase is obviously missing after the words "one year."

"Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men…" 1Sam 13:1,2

29.49 Samuel described the meeting of David and Saul two different ways, each implying that Saul didn’t know David beforehand. How could one author have done this? How could God have been this ambiguous about this famous chosen man?

"And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is a cunning in playing…Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son…And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer." 1Sam 16:17-21

"And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? and Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell…And Saul said to [David], Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite." 1Sam 17:55-58

I&II Kings

These two historically oriented books had no identified authors, so we have no way of establishing their authenticiity. They can’t have been written by the same man, and they were internally self-contradictory, so they can’t have been the word of God.

29.50 I Kings began with the reign of Solomon in 1015 BCE, and it ended with Nebuchadnezzar carrying king Zedekiah into captivity in Babylon in 588 BCE. This covered a span of 427 years. One person cannot have written the entire book. The authors cannot even have known one another.

29.51 In one passage, Jehoram of Israel began his reign in the second year of the reign of Jehoram of Judah; but in another passage, Jehoram of Judah began his reign in the fifth year of the reign of Jehoram of Israel. This is self-contradictory.

"…Jehoram reigned in [Ahab’s] stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah;" 2Kgs 1:17

"And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign." 2Kgs 8:16

I&II Chronicles

These books covered the same basic time period as Kings, but witout identified authors, so we have no way of establishing their authenticity either. Chronicles may be preferable, however, since it avoided a few of the less credible miracles related in Kings.

29.52 I Chronicles began with the reign of David, and II Chronicles ended 52 years later than II Kings, so the additional verses probably belong to the book of Ezra.

29.53 Chronicles didn’t mention this royal miracle told in I Kings.

- "And [King Jeroboam’s] hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him…[and the king pleaded with the holy man to] pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again, And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before." 1Kgs 13:4,6

29.54 Chronicles made no mention of this miracle told in II Kings, although Elijah was mentioned by name.

"…behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2Kgs 2:11

29.55 Chronicles skipped an atrocity which was related in II Kings.

"…there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked [Elisha], and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." 2Kgs 2:24

29.56 Chronicles also overlooked a miracle in II Kings-the revival of a dead man upon touching Elisha’s bones.

"And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that…[when] they cast the man into the sepulcre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." 2Kgs 13:21

Ezra & Nehemiah

The only semblance of certainty in the book of Ezra was the time it was written, about 536 BCE, immediately after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon. Ezra (Esdras) and Nehemiah were among these refugees and wrote of their captivity. So what? These books would only have been of historical interest to the Jews. These books don’t help us understand God one whit. However, the credibility of these authors is highly suspect, given their lousy accounting.

29.57 The main purpose of these books was to account for the people, families, and tribes returning from Babylon. Unfortunately, the accounting was seriously flawed. How many Jews returned from captivity?

- The text numbers add up to 29,819 people. Ezra 2:3-60
- The text numbers add up to 31,089 people. Neh 7:8-62
- "The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and three score [42,360]." Ezra 2:64 & Neh 7:66

29.58 How much silver and gold did Cyrus bring forth?

30 chargers of gold, 1000 chargers of silver, 29 knives, 30 basons of gold, 410 basons of silver, 1000 other vessels. A total of about 2,500. Ezra 1:9-10

"…five thousand and four hundred…"Ezra 1:11

29.59 To illustrate how sloppy the Bible makers were, the first three verses of Ezra were identical to the last three verses of II Chronicles, except that while Ezra finished its last sentence (italicized below), II Chronicles ended it abruptly and without meaning. The Ezra and Chronicles editors evidently didn’t communicate. How could this have been done by God?

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:1-3 [italics mine]

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up. 2Ch 36:22-23

Esther

29.60 This book made no mention of God. It was merely Jewish history. It is none of our business that Esther considered it honorable both to offer herself to Ahasuerus as his mistress and to rival queen Vashti (who opted out of being a victim of his drunkenness). Why was this included in the word of God?

Poetry

Job

This book appears to have been written by a Gentile. Mixing Gentile literature in with the Hebrew was not uncommon in the Bible (see Proverbs). This book has no credibility as the word of God.

29.61 The book of Job was unconnected with any book or chapter before or after it. There was no account of the author or how the Bible-makers came by it. It differed in character from Hebrew writings. There was no historical circumstance or allusion and no hint as to where it should have been placed in the Bible. Since it also avoided the normal biblical themes of treachery and murder, it was probably written before the other books of the Old Testament. Why was it included?

"Job carries no internal evidence of being an Hebrew book…and that the author of the book was a Gentile; that the character represented under the name of Satan (which is the first and only time this name is mentioned in the [Hebrew] bible) does not correspond to any Hebrew idea; and that the two convocations which the Deity is supposed to have made of those whom the poem calls sons of God, and the familiarity which this supposed Satan is stated to have with the Deity, are in the same case." (Spinosa and Abenhezra, in Paine, Age, 767)

29.62 The book’s astronomy used Greek names, not Hebrew names. Nothing anywhere else in the Bible indicated any Jewish knowledge of astronomy.

"Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades…" Job 9:9

Psalms

This "greatest hits" song-book seems to have nothing of interest to anyone other than the Jewish nation. However, to help us assess it’s authority as the word of God, we find a clue that it was written long after David’s time.

29.63 The captivity of the Jews in Babylon did not occur until more that 400 years after David’s time.

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion…For there they that carried us away captive…" Ps 137:1,3

Proverbs

Like Psalms, this book was a collection of works which included non-Jewish authors. As seen in Job, mixing Gentile literature with Hebrew was not uncommon. The attributions of authorship were wrong, so it is not credible as the word of God.

29.64 The proverbs of Lemuel, a Gentile, were good examples of this hybridization.

"The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." Prov 31:1

29.65 Agur’s Prayer appeared to be a Gentile prayer.

"Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." Prov 30:8,9

"The words of Agur…even the prophesy:" Prov 30:1

"The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy…" Prov 31:1

"[It’s] the only sensible, and well conceived, and well expressed, prayer in the bible…the name of Augur occurs [nowhere else. The chapter is introduced as the Lemuel proverbs was.]…It has not the marks of being a Jewish prayer; for the Jews never prayed but when they were in trouble, and never for any thing but victory, vengeance or riches." (Paine, Age, 768 )

29.66 It’s clear that some of the proverbs attributed to Solomon were not written down until 250 years later in the time of Hezekiah.

"These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out." Prov 25:1

Ecclesiastes

Here we have the rare case of a biblical book which was probably written by the man to whom it was attributed, Solomon. Since we have some confidence in the book’s authorship, we can move on to the question of the credibility of its content.

29.67 These were the reflections of a worn-out debaucher that taught us about nothing but the character of a witty, ostentatious, dissolute, and, finally, melancholy king who lived fast and died tired of the world. It is not useful as the word of God.

Song of Solomon

These were the amorous and foolish compositions of a 19-year-old Solomon in the process of building up his harem while in the "honeymoon of a thousand debaucheries."

29.68 Solomon later considered all this "vanity and vexation." How, then, can it be the word of God?

"…and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of the spirit…" Ecc 2:11

Prophets

Isaiah

Isaiah may have written the historical part of this book, between chapters 36 and 39, since he was involved in the action. However, that part began and ended abruptly; and it had no connection with the preceding or following chapters or with any other chapter. The other chapters of the book don’t seem related to each other either.

29.69 As with Ezra and Chronicles, mixed writings of different authors abound; and any credibility of authorship, here, is unjustified. Would God have dictated such a wild and disorderly mess?

"It has neither beginning, middle, nor end…is one continued incoherent bombastical rant, full of extravagant metaphor, without application, and destitute of meaning." (Paine, Age, 772)

29.70 These passages cannot have been written until at least a hundred years after Isaiah was dead. Isaiah died soon after Hezekiah died in 698 BCE, but the decree of Cyrus (returning the Jews to Jerusalem) was in 536 BCE, a gap of 162 years.

"That saith of Cyrus…Isa 44:28

"Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus…" Isa 45:1

29.71 Since Isaiah lied to his patron, why should we believe anything written in the name of this lying impostor? He used God’s authority to assure Ahaz that Ahaz would not be defeated. Unfortunately, Ahaz and 320,000 of his people were slaughtered.

"Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." Isa 7:7

"Wherefore the Lord his God delivered [Ahaz] into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives…And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter." 2Ch 28:5

"…slew…an hundred and twenty thousand…" 2Ch 28:6

"…the children of Israel carried away captive…two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters…" 2Ch 28:8

Jeremiah

The prophet Jeremiah lived during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, at the time Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. Although some passages may have been spoken by Jeremiah, the book itself was a collection of detached, unauthenticated anecdotes. Jeremiah cannot have written the whole of this book, so this book has no authority as the word of God.

29.72 The disorder of this book is exemplified by the abrupt end of an interview and its continuation sixteen chapters later. One account attributed Jeremiah’s imprisonment to his attempt to escape from the city, while the other account tied it to his preaching within the city.

"He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire." Jer 21:9,10

"…He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt…Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah…" Jer 38:2-6

29.73 As for Jeremiah’s ability to prognosticate, notice how he cleverly constructed his words to leave himself an out. No matter how wrong God might be, Jeremiah, himself, was covered.

"At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation…to destroy it; If that nation…turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." Jer 18:7,8

"And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, the I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Jer 18:9,10

29.74 This book’s disorganized editing is again demonstrated in chapters 39 and 52 which began as if the previous chapters had not existed. They were obviously written by different authors.

"In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it…" Jer 39:1

"Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. and his mother’s name was…And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about." Jer 52:1,4

29.75 Jeremiah may have been in Nebuchadnezzar’s pocket, a traitor to the Jews. He could hardly have been God’s mouthpiece.

"And say unto [the Jews], Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid [at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes]…he shall smite the land of Egypt…" Jer 43:10,11

"Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee." Jer 39:12

29.76 Here is another example of Jeremiah’s duplicity. To save his own hide, Jeremiah told the princes a lie that Zedekiah concocted. If Jeremiah lied to the Babylonians, he could have lied to us.

"Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him…Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith…the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:" Jer 38:14,17

"Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not form us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there. Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded." Jer 38:24-27

29.77 Jeremiah again showed his lack of talent as a prophet. Since he claimed that his false prophecy of Zedekiah’s peaceful death was the word of God, he was an impostor, a liar, and a blasphemer.

"Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers…so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee…" Jer 34:4,5

"Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death." Jer 52:10

29.78 To protect themselves from the wrath of their Babylonian captors, Ezekiel & Daniel wrote in ciphers. They wrote of dreams and visions about their concern for the fate of their homeland and of the likelihood of their own deliverance. Why would these men have concerned themselves with the fate of nations thousands of years hence? Their concerns were more immediate. Expanding these ciphers into prophetic visions is unjustified. Besides, one of these alleged prophecies has been proven false.

"…I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate…No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years." Ezek 29:10,11

The Prophets

It’s apparent that the meaning of the word prophet has changed from early times in the Bible when prophecy meant the art of composing poetry and playing poetry to music. How can we attribute fortune-telling to the compositions of ancient poets and musicians? The use of the word has obviously been expanded to include these ancient poems as predictions of future events. How can we credit the Bible as the unchanging word of God, if words like "prophet" change their meaning even within the Bible?

29.79 The Bible admitted that the meanings of the words "seer" and "prophet" have changed over the years.

"(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)…and said unto them, Is the seer here?" 1Sam 9:9,11

29.80 Prophesying involved pipes, taberets, harps, cymbals, horns, psalteries, and other common instruments. For example, Solomon called himself a "seer," but when he came among a company of prophets with instruments, he "prophesied among them." We were not told what he or they prophesied, and a company of soothsayers doesn’t make much sense, so this was probably just a jam session, not a gathering of soothsayers.

"And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer…" Samuel 9:19

"…thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy…all those signs came to pass that day…a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them…And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place." Samuel 10:5,9,10,13

Deborah and Barak were referred to as prophets, because they were credited with poems or songs which celebrated a past event, not because they foretold the future.

"And Deborah, a prophetess…Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel…Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel." Judg 4:4,5:1-3

David was also ranked among the prophets, because he played music and composed psalms.

"And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed…" 1Sam 16:23
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not referred to as prophets; and the bible didn’t mention their being musically or poetically inclined.

29.81 Of the many prophets who lived before and during the time of the books of Kings and Chronicles, only Isaiah and Jeremiah were mentioned in any prophetic sense. Amos, Daniel, Ezekiel, Habbajuj, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Obadiah, and Zephaniah were not included. (Haggai, Malachi, and Zecharaiah lived too late to be included in these books.)

29.82 The predictions of seers or prophets were intended for the near-term (the outcome of battles, journeys, and other enterprises) not for thousands of years in the future. Isaiah’s famous prophetic sign for Ahaz is a good example. Well, it was a good example of short-term application; but it was a bad example of fortune-telling. Ahaz was defeated.

"Thus saith the Lord God, It [conquest of Jerusalem by the Rezin and Pekah] shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." Isa 7:7

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." Isa 7:14-16

29.83 Where does that leave our confidence in the words of the prophets in establishing the authority of the Bible? I can’t help but to use the words of Tom Paine again.

"…it is the fraud of the Christian church, not that of the Jews, and the ignorance and superstition of modern, not that of ancient times, that have elevated those poetical-musical-conjuring-dreaming-strolling gentry, into the rank they have since had." (Paine, Age, 783)