Authorship of Genesis

Dear Mike,
Who wrote the book of Genesis?

As far as the authorship of Genesis is concerned, there are three main views:

1. A group of writers, long after Moses lived, came together to write the book some 400 to 700 years before Christ. They compiled various oral histories, books from that era and other materials to create what we now call Genesis. This theory completely denies any Divine assistance in the completion of this work.

2. Moses wrote the book through Divine authorship where God provided all the information and Moses simply acted as the writer with God inspiring Him to write every word. Unlike the prophets who spoke directly from God, there is no indication or evidence in the book itself that this was the way the book was created. The prophets, on the other hand, often made mention that God was the One inspiring them to speak (ie. Isaiah 61:1).

3. Moses, with Divine assistance from God, compiled and edited the written and oral testimonies produced by the patriarchs of that era and that existed during his time, into the book we now refer to as Genesis. This method is more in keeping with how God worked with those who recorded Divine scripture.