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It is fitting that the first book of God’s Word be about God creating everything. God created the universe; mankind to inhabit it; and designed a Plan to restore the relationship that He had with His people when we disobeyed Him. That is only the big things.

That is what it is all about with God. He wants us to know Who He is and how to restore that closeness with Him.

To do this, God gave us His Word for our instruction. That is why the first five books in Hebrew are called Torah. Torah means instruction.

The first book of the Torah and our Old Testament is Genesis. It is the book of beginnings or origin.

Moses is credited with writing the Book of Genesis. In fact, he is credit with writing all books in the Torah.

But then, some question how Moses got the information on creation, the fall, and the flood. Part of the “evidence” presented is that the book does not identify its author.

Others believe Moses just wrote down the oral history present at the time. “This is the written account of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself” (Gen. 5: 1 NLT).

Personally, I have no problem with Moses getting credit for writing down oral history or if it is inspiration from God through the Holy Spirit. He took the time and effort to write it all down.

While Moses’ name does not appear in the Book of Genesis at all, that shouldn’t be conclusive evidence that he did not write the book. God Himself instructed him to write down what He had told him and did.

• “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Josh. 1: 7-8 NLT).
• “He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: ‘Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.’ Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar the instructions Moses had given them” (Josh. 8: 31-32 NLT).
• “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left” (Josh. 23: 6 NLT).
• “At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way” (Num. 33: 2 NLT).
• “Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go” (I Kgs. 2: 3 NLT).
• “However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the Lord as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: ‘Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes’” (II Kgs. 14: 6 NLT).
• “If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands — all the laws my servant Moses gave them — I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors” (II Kgs. 21: 8 NLT).
• “Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various divisions to serve at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, as prescribed in the Book of Moses” (Ezra 6: 18 NLT).
• “On that same day, as the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the passage was found that said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God” (Neh. 13: 1 NLT).
• “All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.” (Dan. 9: 11-13 NLT).
• “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant — all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel” (Mal. 4: 4 NLT).
• “‘Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?’ they asked. Jesus replied, ‘Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended’” (Mt. 19: 7-8 NLT).
• “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name’” (Mt. 22: 24 NLT).
• “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’” (Mk. 12: 26 NLT).
• “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (Jn. 5: 45-47 NLT).
• “Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me” (Jn. 7: 19 NLT).
• “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people” (Ac. 3: 22-23 NLT)
• “For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands” (Rom. 10: 5 NLT).

There is some question as to whether or not Moses had some help. While Moses did probably write the majority of the passages in the five books, it is believed some verses were added by others upon Moses’ death. Passages such as this are called postmosaica passages.

Some references are about things that weren’t SOP in Moses’ time. In the Book of Genesis

• “But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living” (Gen. 11: 28 NLT).

Ur was not known as Ur of the Chaldeans in Moses’ time. My take. Since that is a first millennium BC way to describe Ur, I would say someone who translated it made the change. They probably thought they were helping by putting in references that would make God’s Word more understandable to their readers.

• “… Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan” (Gen. 14: 14 NLT).

How could the territory be identified as being given to Abraham’s great-grandson when he doesn’t even have a son yet?

Regardless, it is estimated that the Book of Genesis was written anywhere from the 5th century BC to the 270s BC.

That being said, I can see Moses writing all the Book of Genesis as it truly is a history book. It tells of creation and the origin of man.

It also tells of the origin of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. He identified them as His people through covenants that He has with them.

They started out as a family. God grew them from there.

Starting in the next devotion, we’re going to take a deep dive into the beginnings.

Father God. You have been here through all eternity. You created everything there is – seen and unseen. As we go through the Book of Genesis, open our eyes and our hearts to see what is actually written and heart what You are actually telling us. Amen.