who wrote genesis

The traditional view, supported by both Jewish and Christian religious traditions, is that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis. This is based on biblical texts and the New Testament writings where Moses is credited as the author of Genesis and the entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Jesus himself and other New Testament authors appear to affirm Moses' authorship. Moses is thought to have written Genesis for the people of Israel, providing a history of their origins, journeys, and covenants with God as they were led out of slavery in Egypt and toward the Promised Land. However, modern biblical scholarship often challenges this view. Scholars note that Genesis contains passages that seem to describe events after Moses' time and show signs of multiple authorship. The prevailing academic consensus is that Genesis, along with the rest of the Pentateuch, was composed over several centuries and finalized during or after the Babylonian exile, possibly around the 5th century BC. This view is supported by the documentary hypothesis, which suggests the Pentateuch is compiled from different sources identified by variations in style and the names used for God. In summary, the traditional belief credits Moses as the author of Genesis, while contemporary scholarship generally sees it as a composite work edited and compiled long after Moses' lifetime.