The authorship of the first five books of the Bible is attributed to Moses.
He recorded the oral accounts passed on from prior generations to write Genesis, while he is the central figure (aside from God) for the events in the other four books. These five books, sometimes called the Pentateuch or Torah (the law), are:
- Genesis, which covers the beginning of the world (creation) and the formation of the nation of Israel.
- Exodus is about the nation of Israel escaping their captivity in Egypt and fleeing; it is their exodus from Egypt.
- Leviticus is a record of rules and regulations for the right living of God’s chosen people.
- Numbers is an account of Israel’s wanderings in the desert and contains two censuses (that is, numberings) of the people.
- Deuteronomy is the book of laws, not in a narrow sense, but in a narrative form as presented by Moses.
Key verse about the Books of Moses: “After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it’.” (Acts 13:15, NLT).
Also see the Law of Moses.
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.