Part 1 — CHAPTER V. AUTHORSHIP AND DATES.
Reading edition
Upon the authenticity of the books of the Bible depends in a large measure their value as authorities. These books are filled with strange and marvelous stories. Are these stories true or false? If true, we should accept them; if false, reject them. From whence do these writings come?
If you hear a startling statement on the street your disposition to accept or reject it will depend largely upon the character of its author. If he is a reputable person you will be disposed to accept it; if it does not come from a reputable person, or if you are unable to discover its author, you will be disposed to reject it. Christian priests demand the acceptance of these books as infallible truth. What evidence do they adduce to justify this demand? Where did they obtain these books? When were they written? Who wrote them? What is the reputation of their authors for intelligence and veracity? Were they learned and astute men, or were they weak and credulous men? Were they good men, or were they bad men? If able men wrote them, may they not have been impostors? If good men wrote them, may they not have been mistaken?
These priests claim to have a knowledge of the authorship of all, or nearly all, the books of the Bible. With one or two exceptions, they have assigned authors to all the books of the Old Testament, and to these exceptions they have even assigned “probable” authors. They also claim a great antiquity for them—claim that they were written from four hundred to fifteen hundred years before the Christian era. The books of the New Testament, they affirm, were all written in the first century, and by those whose names they bear.
The following table gives the authorship and date of composition, according to orthodox authorities, of the books composing the Protestant canon. It is not claimed that every book was written in the year assigned for its composition, but that it was written in or prior to the year assigned.
Old Testament.
BOOK AUTHOR DATE
Genesis Moses B.C. 1451
Exodus Moses ,, B.C. ,, 1451 ,,
Leviticus Moses ,, B.C. ,, 1451 ,,
Numbers Moses ,, B.C. ,, 1451 ,,
Deuteronomy Moses ,, B.C. ,, 1451 ,,
Joshua Joshua B.C. ,, 1426
Judges Samuel B.C. ,, 1049
Ruth Samuel ,, (?) B.C. ,, 1049 ,,
1 Samuel Samuel ,, B.C. ,, 1049 ,,
2 Samuel Gad & Nathan B.C. 1016
1 Kings Jeremiah B.C. ,, 600
2 Kings Jeremiah ,, B.C. ,, 600 ,,
1 Chronicles Ezra B.C. ,, 456
2 Chronicles Ezra ,, B.C. ,, 456 ,,
Ezra Ezra ,, B.C. ,, 456 ,,
Nehemiah Nehemiah B.C. ,, 433
Esther Mordecai (?) B.C. ,, 440
Job Job B.C. ,, 1520
Psalms David B.C. ,, 1020
Proverbs Solomon B.C. ,, 980
Ecclesiastes Solomon ,, B.C. ,, 980 ,,
S. of Solomon Solomon ,, B.C. ,, 1016
Isaiah Isaiah B.C. ,, 700
Jeremiah Jeremiah B.C. ,, 585
Lamentations Jeremiah ,, B.C. ,, 585 ,,
Ezekiel Ezekiel B.C. ,, 575
Daniel Daniel B.C. ,, 534
Hosea Hosea B.C. ,, 780
Joel Joel B.C. ,, 800
Amos Amos B.C. ,, 785
Obadiah Obadiah B.C. ,, 588
Jonah Jonah B.C. ,, 856
Micah Micah B.C. ,, 700
Nahum Nahum B.C. ,, 698
Habakkuk Habakkuk B.C. ,, 600
Zephaniah Zephaniah B.C. ,, 609
Haggai Haggai B.C. ,, 583
Zechariah Zechariah B.C. ,, 520
Malachi Malachi B.C. ,, 420
New Testament.
BOOK AUTHOR DATE
Matthew Matthew A.D. 40
Mark Mark A.D. ,, 63
Luke Luke A.D. ,, 63 ,,
John John A.D. 97
Acts Luke A.D. ,, 63
Romans Paul A.D. ,, 57
1 Corinthians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 57 ,,
2 Corinthians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 57 ,,
Galatians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 55
Ephesians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 62
Philippians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 62 ,,
Colossians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 61
1 Thessalonians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 52
2 Thessalonians Paul ,, A.D. ,, 52 ,,
1 Timothy Paul ,, A.D. ,, 64
2 Timothy Paul ,, A.D. ,, 65
Titus Paul ,, A.D. ,, 65 ,,
Philemon Paul ,, A.D. ,, 61
Hebrews Paul ,, A.D. ,, 62
James James A.D. ,, 62 ,,
1 Peter Peter A.D. ,, 64
2 Peter Peter ,, A.D. ,, 64 ,,
1 John John A.D. ,, 68
2 John John ,, A.D. ,, 68 ,,
3 John John ,, A.D. ,, 69
Jude Jude A.D. ,, 64
Revelation John A.D. ,, 96
The names and dates given in the foregoing table are, with a few exceptions, paraded as established facts. And yet the greater portion of them are mere assumptions, without even the shadow of proof upon which to base them. Many of them are self-evidently false—are contradicted by the contents of the books themselves. The authorship of at least fifty books of the Bible—thirty in the Old Testament and twenty in the New—is unknown.
These books are not as old as claimed. The books of the Old Testament, instead of having been written from 1520 to 420 B.C., were probably written from 1000 to 100 B.C. The books of the New Testament, instead of having all been written in the first century, were, many of them, not written until the second century.
In regard to this subject, Prof. George T. Ladd of Yale College writes: “The authorship and date of most of the Old Testament writings, and of some of the New Testament, will never be known with certainty” (What Is the Bible? p. 294).
The following six chapters will be devoted to an examination of the question of the authenticity of the books of the Bible. I shall attempt to show that the greater portion of these books, including the most important ones, are not authentic—were not written by the authors claimed, nor at the time claimed; that they are anonymous documents, written or compiled for the most part at a later age than that in which their reputed authors are supposed to have lived.