Authors of the Bible

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Authors of the Bible are listed by book of the Bible, comparing the writer according to Christian tradition with what current scholarship proposes.

Contents 1 Old Testament 2 New Testament 3 See also 4 Notes

[edit] Old Testament

Book	Author according to tradition	Author according to scholarship
Book of Genesis	Moses	Various authors from 9th century BC to last fifth century BC, including the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist and the Priestly sources[1]
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua	Joshua with a portion by Phinehas or Eleazar	Deuteronomist using material from the Yahwist and Elohist
Judges	Samuel	Deuteronomist
Ruth	Samuel	A later author, writing after the time of David
1 Samuel	Samuel, Gad, and Nathan	Deuteronomist or a combination of a Jerusalem source, republican source, the court history of David, the sanctuaries source, the monarchial source, and the material of various editors who combined these sources
2 Samuel
1 Kings	Perhaps Ezra	Deuteronomist
2 Kings
1 Chronicles	Ezra	The Chronicler, writing between 450 and 435 BC, after the Babylonian captivity
2 Chronicles
Ezra	Ezra	The Chronicler, writing between 450 and 435 BC, after the Babylonian captivity
Nehemiah	Nehemiah using some material by Ezra	The Chronicler, writing between 450 and 435 BC, after the Babylonian captivity
Tobit		A writer in the second century BC
Judith	Eliakim (Joakim), the high priest of the story
Esther	The Great Assembly using material from Mordecai	An unknown author writing between 460 and 331 BC
1 Maccabees	A devout Jew from the Holy Land.	An unknown Jewish author, writing around 100 BC
2 Maccabees	Based on the writing of Jason of Cyrene	An unknown author, writing in the second or first century BC
3 Maccabees		An Alexandrian Jew writing in Greek in the first century BC or first century AD
4 Maccabees	Josephus	An Alexandrian Jew writing in the first century BC or first century AD
Job	Moses	A writer in the 4th century BC.
Psalms	Mainly David and also Asaph, sons of Korah, Moses, Heman the Ezrahite, Ethan the Ezrahite and Solomon	Various authors recording oral tradition. Portions from 1000BC to 200BC.
Proverbs	Solomon, Agur son of Jakeh, Lemuel and other wise men	An editor compiling from various sources well after the time of Solomon
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	A Hebrew poet of the third or second centuries BC using the life of Solomon as a vista for the Hebrews' pursuit of Wisdom. An unknown author in Hellenistic period from two older oral sources (Eccl1:1-6:9 which claims to be Solomon, Eccl6:10-12:8 with the theme of non-knowing)
Song of Solomon	Solomon
Wisdom	Solomon	An Alexandrian Jew writing during the Jewish Hellenistic period
Sirach	Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem
Isaiah	Isaiah	Three main authors and an extensive editing process. Is1-39 "Historical Isaiah" with multiple layers of editing. Is40-55 Exilic & Is56-66 post-exilic.
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	Baruch ben Neriah[2]
Lamentations	Jeremiah	Disupted and perhaps based on the older Mesopotamian genre of the "city lament", of which the Lament for Ur is among the oldest and best-known
Letter of Jeremiah	Jeremiah	A Hellenistic Jew living in Alexandria
Baruch	Baruch ben Neriah	An author writing during or shortly after the period of the Maccabees
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	Disputed, with varying degrees of attribution to Ezekiel
Daniel	Daniel	An editor in the fourth century to mid-second century BC
Hosea	Hosea
Joel	Joel
Amos	Amos
Obadiah	Obadiah
Jonah	Jonah	Possibly a post-exilic (after 530 BC) editor recording oral traditions passed down from the eighth century BC
Micah	Micah	The first three chapters by Micah and the remainder by a later writer
Nahum	Nahum
Habakkuk	Habakkuk
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	Disputed; possibly a writer after the time period indicated by the text
Haggai	Haggai
Zechariah	Zechariah	Zechariah (chapters 1-8); the later remaining designated Deutero-Zechariah, were possibly written by disciples of Zechariah
Malachi	Malachi or Ezra	Possibly the author of Deutero-Zechariah

[edit] New Testament

Book	Author according to tradition	Author according to scholarship
Matthew	Matthew the Evangelist	An author who borrowed from both Mark and a source called Q
Mark	Mark the Evangelist	Perhaps Mark (John Mark), follower of Peter.
Luke	Luke the Evangelist	Luke, or an unknown author who borrowed from both Mark and a source called Q
John	John the Apostle or John the Evangelist	An unknown author with no direct connection to the historical Jesus Jn 21 finished after death of primary author by follower(s)
Acts	Luke the Evangelist	The author of Luke, possibly named Luke
Romans	Paul the Apostle	Paul the Apostle
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians	Paul the Apostle	Paul the Apostle or edited dictations from Paul
Philippians	Paul the Apostle	Paul the Apostle
Colossians	Paul the Apostle	Disputed; perhaps Paul coauthoring with Timothy
1 Thessalonians	Paul the Apostle	Paul the Apostle
2 Thessalonians	Paul the Apostle	An associate or disciple after his death, representing what they believed was his message[3]
1 Timothy	Paul the Apostle	Perhaps someone associated with Paul, writing at a later date
2 Timothy	Paul the Apostle	Perhaps someone associated with Paul, writing after his death
Titus	Paul the Apostle	Perhaps someone associated with Paul, writing after his death
Philemon	Paul the Apostle	Paul the Apostle
Hebrews	Paul the Apostle or possibly Luke the Evangelist, Clement of Rome or Barnabas	An unknown author, but almost certainly not Paul[4]
James	James the Just	A writer in the late first or early second centuries, after the death of James the Just
1 Peter	Peter	An author, perhaps Silas, proficient with Greek writing
2 Peter	Peter	Certainly not Peter[5]
1 John	John the Evangelist	An unknown author with no direct connection to the historical Jesus Same as Gospel of John.
2 John	John the Evangelist	An unknown author with no direct connection to the historical Jesus Final Editor of Jn 21
3 John	John the Evangelist	An unknown author with no direct connection to the historical Jesus Final Editor of Jn 21
Jude	Jude the Apostle or Jude, brother of Jesus	A pseudonymous work written between the end of the first century and the first quarter of the 2nd century
Revelation of Christ to John	John the Apostle	Perhaps John of Patmos

[edit] See also

• Books of the Bible

[edit] Notes

1. ^ From the Introduction to Richard Elliot Friedman's The Bible with Sources Revealed, 2003.
2. ^ Miller, Stephen M., Huber, Robert V. (2004). The Bible: A History. Good Books, page 33. ISBN 1561484148. 
3. ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford, p.385; Beverly Roberts Gaventa, First and Second Thessalonians, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, p.93; Vincent M. Smiles, First Thessalonians, Philippians, Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, Liturgical Press, 2005, p.53; Udo Schnelle, translated by M. Eugene Boring, The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), pp. 315-325; M. Eugene Boring, Fred B. Craddock, The People's New Testament Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004 p652; Joseph Francis Kelly, An Introduction to the New Testament for Catholics, Liturgical Press, 2006 p.32
4. ^ http://religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=531&C=563 Richard Heard, Introduction To The New Testament
5. ^ Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament, second edition. HarperCollins Canada; Zondervan: 2005. ISBN-10 0310238595, ISBN-13 978-0310238591. p.659.