Moses
the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. (Deuteronomy 34:5)
Congratulations
on reading through the Pentateuch - the Books of Moses. Although nowhere in
these five books is it claimed that all these words were penned by Moses,
because they are called the Books of Moses there are those who would fight
anyone who suggested that maybe Moses didn't write them. Most scholars would
agree that these books are the product of several oral traditions and, once
written down, subject to several revisions before coming to their final form
sometime in the 6th century B.C.
So
how did Moses report the details of his own death? Regarding the above verse
there are basically three schools of thought. 1) Moses knew he was going to die
and wrote these paragraphs prophetically; 2) Moses wrote the rest of the
Pentateuch and someone else scribbled these few verses at the end; or 3) what I
said in the preceding paragraph.
The
idea that Moses wrote these books is merely a matter of tradition, and in no way does it
impact our relationship with God either way. The authoritative word of God is
not threatened by asking questions. God can take it. He has big shoulders.
The Bible can take it. How could I stake my life, both abundant and eternal, on
it, if it couldn’t?
You’ve
reached a milestone. You've read the Pentateuch; most people have not. You're
the expert now, so what do you think?
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