The Bible: Who Wrote It?

The Bible has been the most revered and controversial book in the history of mankind.  People like to debate it, discredit it and quote it.  I wanted to do a series about this book which is referred to as "God's Word".  

The Bible has been said to have been written by people - mostly men - who were inspired by God to write it.  I wonder sometimes why God didn't just write it himself as He did with the Ten Commandments so there would be no dispute that it actually came from God.  When you depend on man to be "inspired" to write something you hope they were distracted or try to slant it to their thinking.  

Here's a high-level overview of who wrote each book in the Holy Bible:

At first glance, you can see the ones who are attributed to writing the most books of the Bible are Moses in the Old Testament and Paul with the New Testament writings. 

Let's take a look at the authors who wrote these books:

• Moses led Israel from slavery in Egypt and through the wilderness to the promised land.  He wrote about 20% of the Bible.
• Ezra came along many years after Moses and also led Israel from exile back to the promised land.   
• Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the King of Persia.  He was instrumental in rebuilding Jerusalem.  
• David is one of the more well-known men of the Bible.  He was the shepherd boy who killed the giant and went on to lead Israel.
• Solomon was known as one of the wisest men to have lived in Biblical times.  He came up with over 3,000 proverbs and 1,000 songs.
• Asaph wasn't the main writer but contributed to many of the Psalms.  When David commissioned the temple, he appointed Asaph and his family to lead worship.
• Isaiah served under four kings and recorded a lot of details during those times.
• Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet as he wrote about constantly warning Israel of impending judgment.
• Ezekiel was one of many Jews who were taken captive to Babylon.  He becomes the watchman for his people.
• Daniel was famous for God delivering Him in the Lions' Den.  He wrote a lot of Biblical prophecy.
• Hosea had a unique story as God had him stay in an unhealthy marriage to depict Israel's relationship with God.  
• Joel wrote about prophecy that most talk about today.
• Amos was a shepherd who had visions from God and wrote about them.  He also had no background in public ministry.
• Obadiah was a very obscure writer who wrote about a prophecy against Edom.
• Jonah is known for spending time inside of a giant fish.  God told him to preach in Nineveh to warn them of God's judgment.
• Micah was a prophet who saved Jeremiah from a death sentence.
• Joshua was the successor to Moses and wrote to the descendants of those who conquered the land as a historical account of how they had come to settle there.
• Samuel was the person God used to anoint the first two physical kings of Israel, Saul and then David.
• Nathan is best remembered for his dramatic speech to King David, confronting him about his adultery with Bathsheba.
• Nahum was a prophet whose name meant "comfort".  He addressed the nation of Judah.
• Habakkuk was a prophet in the nation of Judah.  He spoke to God on behalf of the people.
• Zephaniah is a writer whose name meant "the Lord hides" or "the Lord protects".  He wrote to the people of Judah to warn them of impending judgment for their sins.
• Haggai was a prophet who directed his writings to Zerubbabel who was the governor of Judah and also to Joshua, the high priest.
• Zechariah was a prophet and a priest.  He wrote this book to show God's people how God had been working in their lives even when they hadn't realized it.
• Malachi was a prophet although there is debate on his name.  The writer wrote this book to confront the spirit of complacency and indifference of God's people.
• Matthew was one of the 12 Apostles and one of four who wrote down Jesus' story.  He was a tax collector who Jesus called to follow Him.
• John Mark recorded events as he heard firsthand from Peter.
• Luke was a physician who accompanied Paul who wrote about the life and ministry of Jesus.
• John was another of Jesus' disciples who recorded events about Jesus' life.
• Paul encountered a dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus and was an instrumental leader of the early church.
• James was the younger brother of Jesus.  He wrote letters to Christian Jews encouraging them to keep the faith.
• Peter was one of the Apostles who brought the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and is known as the first Pope of the Catholic Church.
• Jude did not believe until after the resurrection of Jesus and then wrote to urge believers to contend for the faith.
• Jason of Cyrene was a Hellenistic Jew who lived around the middle of the second century BCE. He is the author of a five-volume history of the Maccabean Revolt and its preceding events, which subsequently became a lost work. 
• Ben Sira also known as Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira or Yeshua Ben Sirach, was a Hellenistic Jewish scribe, sage, and allegorist from Seleucid-controlled Jerusalem of the Second Temple period.
• Baruch is the scribe and perhaps servant of Jeremiah the prophet. As Jeremiah received messages from the Lord, he dictated them to Baruch, who wrote them down.
• Tobit was a devout and wealthy Israelite living among the captives deported to Nineveh from the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722/721 B.C.

So, what did they use to "write" with?  In my mind, I imagine they had scrolls and used those old pens to dip in ink.  

So long before the invention of the printing press, the only way to write was for a "scribe" to spend hours, weeks, months or years to write and copy it by hand.  It actually took one modern-day writer four years of writing up to 14 hours a day with fine-tipped markers to handwrite a copy of the Bible.  In biblical times writers didn't have paper like we do, they had plant fibers and animal skins (sorry Vegans).  The oldest known papyrus (plant) fragment dates back to 2400 BC.  Parchment - which were leather scrolls - have been known to survive from about 1500 BC.  Other writing items used were pottery chards, stones, clay tablets and wax tablets.  

Papyrus, a paper made from reeds, was the most common writing material available in biblical times. The papyrus plant grew in the shallow lakes and rivers of Egypt and Syria.  To make papyrus, the thick stems of the plant reeds were stripped and cut lengthwise into thin, narrow slices before being beaten and pressed together into two layers set at right angles to each other. The two layers were then moistened, pressed together, and smoothed down. The reeds produced a natural adhesive as they were pressed together. Any jagged edges were trimmed off and the sheet cut to the desired size. When dry, the surface was polished smooth with a stone or other implement. Scribes were aided in writing straight lines by the lines that were naturally created by the fibers of the plant.

The inks they used were typically compounded from charcoal, gum, and water. Better inks were created in the 3rd century BC from gallnuts, which are growths or blisters that form on leaves, twigs, and buds of certain oak trees attacked by gall wasps. Iron gall inks, as they are now called, became a permanent jet-black color when dried. The pens used by scribes to write on the papyrus and parchment were fashioned from reeds and quills.  Writers also used parchment and vellum as their writing surfaces. These leathers were more readily available in Palestine, as they didn’t have to be imported from Egypt. Parchment and vellum were made by scraping shaved animal skins (sheep, goat, lamb, calf, etc.) with a pumice stone to create a smooth writing surface. Vellum, the higher quality of the two, was often dyed purple and usually written upon with gold or silver inks.

It seems that it was definitely no small task to writing and recording events in those days.  It had to be pretty important if they were going to take the time and effort to do it.