Who Wrote the Bible (and does it matter?)
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Share(ט) וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב מֹשֶׁה֮ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּאת֒ וַֽיִּתְּנָ֗הּ אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ בְּנֵ֣י לֵוִ֔י הַנֹּ֣שְׂאִ֔ים אֶת־אֲר֖וֹן בְּרִ֣ית ה׳ וְאֶל־כׇּל־זִקְנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (י) וַיְצַ֥ו מֹשֶׁ֖ה אוֹתָ֣ם לֵאמֹ֑ר מִקֵּ֣ץ ׀ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֗ים בְּמֹעֵ֛ד שְׁנַ֥ת הַשְּׁמִטָּ֖ה בְּחַ֥ג הַסֻּכּֽוֹת׃ (יא) בְּב֣וֹא כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֵֽרָאוֹת֙ אֶת־פְּנֵי֙ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִבְחָ֑ר תִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּ֛את נֶ֥גֶד כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּאׇזְנֵיהֶֽם׃ (יב) הַקְהֵ֣ל אֶת־הָעָ֗ם הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֤ים וְהַנָּשִׁים֙ וְהַטַּ֔ף וְגֵרְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶ֑יךָ לְמַ֨עַן יִשְׁמְע֜וּ וּלְמַ֣עַן יִלְמְד֗וּ וְיָֽרְאוּ֙ אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֔ם וְשָׁמְר֣וּ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ (יג) וּבְנֵיהֶ֞ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדְע֗וּ יִשְׁמְעוּ֙ וְלָ֣מְד֔וּ לְיִרְאָ֖ה אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֑ם כׇּל־הַיָּמִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֤ם חַיִּים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֜ם עֹבְרִ֧ים אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ {פ}
(9) Moses wrote down this Teaching and gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of ה׳’s Covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. (10) And Moses instructed them as follows: Every seventh year, the year set for remission, at the Feast of Booths, (11) when all Israel comes to appear before your God ה׳ in the place that [God] will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. (12) Gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to revere your God ה׳ and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching. (13) Their children, too, who have not had the experience, shall hear and learn to revere your God ה׳ as long as they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.
(כד) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כְּכַלּ֣וֹת מֹשֶׁ֗ה לִכְתֹּ֛ב אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַתּוֹרָֽה־הַזֹּ֖את עַל־סֵ֑פֶר עַ֖ד תֻּמָּֽם׃ (כה) וַיְצַ֤ו מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם נֹ֥שְׂאֵ֛י אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־ה׳ לֵאמֹֽר׃ (כו) לָקֹ֗חַ אֵ֣ת סֵ֤פֶר הַתּוֹרָה֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וְשַׂמְתֶּ֣ם אֹת֔וֹ מִצַּ֛ד אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה־שָׁ֥ם בְּךָ֖ לְעֵֽד׃
(24) When Moses had put down in writing the words of this Teaching to the very end, (25) Moses charged the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of ה׳, saying: (26) Take this book of Teaching and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of your God ה׳, and let it remain there as a witness against you.
Maimonides Introduction to Chapter Chelek
The eighth fundamental principle is that the Torah is of divine origin. This means that we are to believe that all of this Torah that is in our possession today is the Torah that was given to Moses and that it is entire from God, i.e. tat is reached Moses entirely from God through what is metaphorically called "speech." And no one knows the nature of that communication except for [Moses] alone, the recipient of that communication. [It is known that Moses was] like a scribe to whom one dictates and he records-the dates, the stories, the commandments....It all came from God, and all are the perfect Torah of God, pure, sacred, and true.
The eighth fundamental principle is that the Torah is of divine origin. This means that we are to believe that all of this Torah that is in our possession today is the Torah that was given to Moses and that it is entire from God, i.e. tat is reached Moses entirely from God through what is metaphorically called "speech." And no one knows the nature of that communication except for [Moses] alone, the recipient of that communication. [It is known that Moses was] like a scribe to whom one dictates and he records-the dates, the stories, the commandments....It all came from God, and all are the perfect Torah of God, pure, sacred, and true.
Literary, historical, and theological perspectives on whether the Torah is divine, human, or something in between By JeffreySpitzerhttps://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/different-perspectives-on-the-authorship-of-the-torah/
Assessments of the Literary Character of the Torah
Scholars have noted the repetitions, apparent contradictions, and differences in vocabulary in different sections of the Torah. For the rabbis who wrote the midrash (traditional, homiletical interpretations of Scripture), those phenomena were seen as part of additional information, encoded into the text of the Torah to serve as the basis for oral interpretation. For example, if a law was repeated, the first case might be seen as a warning and the second for punishment. Contradictory texts referred to different situations. Differences in usage were not seen as alternate forms for the same concept, but as different concepts.
Assessments of the Literary Character of the Torah
Scholars have noted the repetitions, apparent contradictions, and differences in vocabulary in different sections of the Torah. For the rabbis who wrote the midrash (traditional, homiletical interpretations of Scripture), those phenomena were seen as part of additional information, encoded into the text of the Torah to serve as the basis for oral interpretation. For example, if a law was repeated, the first case might be seen as a warning and the second for punishment. Contradictory texts referred to different situations. Differences in usage were not seen as alternate forms for the same concept, but as different concepts.
Critical scholars look at the same phenomena and see evidence of different sources. Recognizing that some of these differences are accompanied by different uses of the name for God, scholars began to identify different sources in the Torah: materials which shared a variety of characteristics including the use of the four letter, unpronounced name of God (comprised of the Hebrew letters yod-heh-vav-heh) were seen as deriving from a single source. Scholars named that source J after the German transliteration of the letter yod. Other sources were identified based on other shared characteristics and vocabulary, including the “E” source, named after its use of the name Elohim,. Materials from the book of Deuteronomy, and associated with the language and ideas of that book are called D, and materials from Leviticus and throughout the Torah that reflect the language and concerns of the Aaronid priesthood are called P. The consistency within the various hypothetical documents and an editing process that preserved the basic characteristics of the original sources explained the repetitions and contradictions....
Theological Understandings of the Torah
Classically, Torah is understood as the content of God’s revelation at Mount Sinai. For some, that means that the exact words of the Torah, each word and each letter comes from God. Unlike any other prophecy, the revelation to Moses was perfect and clear; for many traditionalist Jews, these assumptions are necessary in order to remove any question of human imperfection or mediation from the foundation of all Jewish belief. If the Torah isn’t true, some assert, then all of Judaism is based on something false. Tradition, according to this stance, provides an adequate lens through which to understand Torah. Some who maintain this position question scientific beliefs that don’t accord with a simple reading of the Torah—they may say, for instance, that dinosaur bones were planted by God in order to test our faith—and some harmonize or explain away scientific findings that disagree with Torah, arguing, for example, that the length of the days of creation could have been millions of years long, thereby synthesizing evolution and the creation story of Genesis.
Classically, Torah is understood as the content of God’s revelation at Mount Sinai. For some, that means that the exact words of the Torah, each word and each letter comes from God. Unlike any other prophecy, the revelation to Moses was perfect and clear; for many traditionalist Jews, these assumptions are necessary in order to remove any question of human imperfection or mediation from the foundation of all Jewish belief. If the Torah isn’t true, some assert, then all of Judaism is based on something false. Tradition, according to this stance, provides an adequate lens through which to understand Torah. Some who maintain this position question scientific beliefs that don’t accord with a simple reading of the Torah—they may say, for instance, that dinosaur bones were planted by God in order to test our faith—and some harmonize or explain away scientific findings that disagree with Torah, arguing, for example, that the length of the days of creation could have been millions of years long, thereby synthesizing evolution and the creation story of Genesis.
For many modern theologians, beginning with Martin Buber, the content of revelation is not the Torah itself. Revelation is the encounter with God; Torah is the human testimony that Israel experienced this encounter. For some moderns, the idea that God actually spoke is theologically problematic: If God does not actually have an outstretched hand, why should God have vocal cords? More to the point, however, is the belief that the human component in determining God’s will (which is later expressed through interpreting the Torah) is often seen as an ongoing process that had its origins in the Sinai experience itself. In this view, God is revealed in revelation, and Israel responded in each generation with torah (teaching) which was finally canonized as Torah and then supplemented with Oral Torah.
2. Marc Zvi Brettler is a professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/did-god-write-the-torah-and-does-it-matter/
The classical formulation of the divine origin of the Torah comes from Maimonides: “The eighth fundamental principle is that the Torah came from God. We are to believe that the whole Torah was given us through Moses our Teacher entirely from God … through Moses who acted like a secretary taking dictation….” (For a longer version of my claims here, see the second chapter of “The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously.”) This assertion has some roots in earlier rabbinic literature and, as noted above, in the very latest books of the Bible. But its status as dogma is debated, and is connected to the fraught issue of whether Judaism is just a religion of deeds or also has central creeds like Christianity......
Biblical scholars have shown that the Torah contains too many contradictions and infelicities to be divine, and it instead came into being over a very long period of time, reflecting the understanding of various ancient Israelites, living in different places at different times, of what God wanted of them. (For more on this, see TheTorah.com.) But a text that reflects people’s understanding of God is quite different from a text dictated by God to Moses and preserved without error for three millennia — the view of Maimonides and a position upheld by many Jews within the Orthodox community.
Should this matter? Does scripture need to be perfect in order to retain its scriptural status?.....
Should this matter? Does scripture need to be perfect in order to retain its scriptural status?.....
For many Jews, the Bible does not get its power, or even its authority, from being a divine document. When reciting the blessing recited after reading from the Torah, we laud it as Torat emet— a Torah of truth. That need not mean that it is entirely true, but only that it contains profound truths. Sometimes these truths are close to the surface. Other times they are brought out through interpretation — even radical interpretation that fundamentally changes the original meaning of the text.
Truths can be found in many places, but as Jews it is our obligation to search out and to follow the truths we find in the Torah—to make the Torah, indeed the whole Tanach, into our central orienting text. The Jewish community has created the books of the Bible and placed them — most especially the Torah — as the central compass of Jewish life.
Being Jewish means adopting this Bible-centric position — buying into the Torah and using sections of it (along with other wise texts from other traditions) as a guide for our lives and to create continuity with our ancestors — even if we are not following the Bible as God’s revealed truth.
Dr. Eugene Borowitz, Did God Give the Bible?
The practical point of this theoretical discussion must not be forgotten. If the basic documents of the Jewish faith are essentially human, then so it he authority behind Jewish law. Now God cannot be claimed as the final arbiter of what must remain fixed in Jewish observance and what can be altered. In the new view that becomes a matter of our human decision today, in response to God, to be sure, but one in which our minds and hearts will have priority over ancient precedents. ...In asserting the humanity of the Bible, they were also putting forth a claim for the Jewish authenticity of their own modernization of Judaism. With all these extraordinary gains, the liberals incurred one great loss. They could no longer say God wanted Jews to follow Jewish law in all its detail. If the sacred texts were always human, a distance had opened up between God and any specific verbal formulation of God's will. Its virtue was that it allowed for human creativity in the face of changing circumstances. But it also raised the issue of the lasting significance and authority of the Bible in liberal Judaism-and of course the practices derived from them.
The practical point of this theoretical discussion must not be forgotten. If the basic documents of the Jewish faith are essentially human, then so it he authority behind Jewish law. Now God cannot be claimed as the final arbiter of what must remain fixed in Jewish observance and what can be altered. In the new view that becomes a matter of our human decision today, in response to God, to be sure, but one in which our minds and hearts will have priority over ancient precedents. ...In asserting the humanity of the Bible, they were also putting forth a claim for the Jewish authenticity of their own modernization of Judaism. With all these extraordinary gains, the liberals incurred one great loss. They could no longer say God wanted Jews to follow Jewish law in all its detail. If the sacred texts were always human, a distance had opened up between God and any specific verbal formulation of God's will. Its virtue was that it allowed for human creativity in the face of changing circumstances. But it also raised the issue of the lasting significance and authority of the Bible in liberal Judaism-and of course the practices derived from them.
Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism, Revelation p. 19 (1988)
Some of us conceive of revelation as the personal encounter between God and human beings. Among them there are tose who believe that this personl encounter has propositional content, that God communicated with us in the actual words. For them, revelation's content is immediately normative, as defined by rabbinic interpretation. The commandments of teh Torah themselves issue directly from God. Others, however, believe that revelation consists of an ineffable human encounter with God. The experience of revelation inspires the verbal formulation by human beings of norms and ideas, thus continuing the historical influence of this revelational encounter. Others among us conceive of revelation as the continuing discover, through nature and history, of truths about God and the world. These truths, although always culturally conditioned, are nevertheless seen as God's ultimate purpose for creation. proponents of this view tend to see revelation as an ongoing process rather than as a specific event.
Some of us conceive of revelation as the personal encounter between God and human beings. Among them there are tose who believe that this personl encounter has propositional content, that God communicated with us in the actual words. For them, revelation's content is immediately normative, as defined by rabbinic interpretation. The commandments of teh Torah themselves issue directly from God. Others, however, believe that revelation consists of an ineffable human encounter with God. The experience of revelation inspires the verbal formulation by human beings of norms and ideas, thus continuing the historical influence of this revelational encounter. Others among us conceive of revelation as the continuing discover, through nature and history, of truths about God and the world. These truths, although always culturally conditioned, are nevertheless seen as God's ultimate purpose for creation. proponents of this view tend to see revelation as an ongoing process rather than as a specific event.