Before we move on to 3rd John, I thought I would do some posts about the authors of the bible. Christianity never really addresses a major issue with the bible texts. That is that most of the authors of the 66 books of the bible are actually unknown. Lets take a look at the Old Testament.
Genesis: attributed to Moses, author/authors actually unknown.
Exodus: attributed to Moses, author(s) actually unknown.
Leviticus: attributed to Moses, author(s) actually unknown.
Numbers: attributed to Moses, author(s) actually unknown.
Deuteronomy: attributed to Moses, author(s) actually unknown
Joshua: sometimes attributed to Joshua, author(s) actually unknown
Judges: author(s) unknown.
Ruth: sometimes attributed to Samuel, authors(s) actually unknown.
1 & 2 Samuel: Sometimes attributed to Samuel, Gad, and Nathan, author(s) actually unknown.
1 &2 Kings: sometimes attributed to Jeremiah, author(s) actually unknown.
1 & 2 Chronicles: sometimes attributed to Ezra, author(s) actually unknown.
Ezra: attributed to Ezra, disputed because it appears highly edited
Nehemiah: originally attached to the book of Ezra, sometimes attributed to Ezra and/or Nehemiah, author(s)actually unknown.
Esther: sometimes attributed to Mordecai, author(s) actually unknown.
Job: sometimes attributed to Moses, author(s) actually unknown.
Psalms: generally attributed to David (disputed), multiple Psalms reference other authors as well.
Proverbs: generally attributed to Solomon (disputed), references other authors, an anthology.
Ecclesiastes: attributed to Solomon, disputed
Song of Songs: attributed to Solomon, author(s) actually unknown.
Isaiah: attributed to Isaiah, a portion possibly authentic, appears to have more than one author.
Jeremiah: attributed to Jeremiah, portions possibly authentic but highly edited.
Lamentations:attributed to Jeremiah, author(s) actually unknown.
Ezekiel: attributed to Ezekiel, portions possibly authentic but highly edited.
Daniel: attributed to Daniel, very highly disputed, possible fake.
Hosea: attributed to Hosea, possibly authentic?
Joel: attributed to Joel, portions possibly authentic, but highly edited and borrowed from others
Amos: attributed to Amos, portions possibly authentic but highly edited and borrowed from others.
Obadiah: attributed to Obadiah, possibly authentic but unconfirmed
Jonah: sometimes attributed to Jonah, author(s) actually unknown.
Micah: attributed to Micah, portions possibly authentic but highly edited and borrowed from others.
Nahum: attributed to Nahum, possibly authentic, though almost nothing is known about Nahum.
Habakuk: attributed to Habakkuk, possibly authentic, almost nothing is known about Habakkuk.
Zephaniah: attributed to Zephaniah who is not mentioned anywhere else, in the bible or history.
Haggai:attributed to Haggai, possibly authentic?
Zechariah: attributed to Zechariah but appears to have more than one author.
Malachi: attributed to Malachi which may not even be the name of an individual, disputed, unknown.
*"Borrowed from others" means there are phrases that are direct quotes of, or allusions to, passages in other bible books, or extrabiblical writings. The information here is what I could glean from the Wikipedia article on each book. You can examine other sources if you wish.
Not one of these books is known for sure to actually be the unedited writing of the author that it is attributed to. At least 17 out of 39 of the books' authors are absolutely unaccounted for. In my opinion that should be 39/39 but I'm being generous. Is this a book you want to trust with your life? Do you have reason to believe it is the inspired word of a god when the authors can't even be vouched for?
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