Many modern “scholars” believe the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah, or Pentateuch, written after the exile, that is, after 586 BCE, while the older Jewish and Christian view is that Moses wrote it. Did Moses write the Torah, or Pentateuch? Why does it even matter?

The Torah was originally one scroll when originally written in ancient Hebrew, which had no written vowels. The reader would supply the vowel sounds, and people would listen when it was publicly read by the priests so they could learn the correct pronunciations. Later, in the 3rd century BCE, when the Torah was translated into Greek, which had written vowels, it became necessary to divide the Torah into five parts, which came to be called, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. From this the name Pentateuch was used to describe these five books, which were originally only one scroll in the ancient Hebrew. In any case, the entire Torah, or Pentateuch, is often referred to in the scriptures as, “the Law”, “the Law of Moses”, or sometimes, as just “Moses”.

SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE THAT MOSES HIMSELF WROTE THE ENTIRE LAW, THE TORAH

“Then Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Write this in the book as a memorial and recite it in Joshua’s hearing . . . ‘” (Exodus 17:14 LSB margin). This literal reading from the LSB margin indicates the Torah was originally one book. 

“And Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh” (Exodus 24:4 LSB).

“These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, by hand of Moses and Aaron. and Moses wrote down their starting places according to their journeys by the command of Yahweh and these are their journeys according to their starting places” (Numbers 33:1-2 LSB). The geographical details in Numbers 33:3-49 assume the writer had first-hand knowledge of all the locations listed. The text documents that the itinerary account was written by Moses. 

“So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:9 LSB).

“After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end” (Deuteronomy 31:24 NIV). The inspired words of scripture credit Moses with writing the entire Pentateuch ‘from the beginning until the end’.

“They were for testing Israel, to know if they would obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses” (Judges 3:4 LSB). 

“Hilkiah the priest has found the Scroll of the Law of YHWH by the hand of Moses” (2 Chronicles 34:14 Literal Standard Version). Most translations render this verse something like, “the Law of the LORD that had been given through Moses”. This literal translation of the Hebrew text indicates that Hilkiah found, not just any old scroll, but “the Scroll”, that is, the original “autograph” Torah scroll that was written by the hand of Moses himself. The point here is that this account provides evidence that the entire Pentateuch was originally one scroll written entirely by Moses’ own hand.

If Moses did not write the Torah, all these scriptures saying Moses wrote the Torah, Pentateuch are false.

OLD TESTAMENT EVIDENCE THE TORAH WAS ONE SCROLL WRITTEN BY MOSES

“He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses . . . There, in the presence of the elders, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses” (Joshua 8:31,32 LSB). “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses” (Joshua 23:6 NIV). “The Book of the Law of Moses” was a single scroll, of which copies were made.

“In accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25 NIV). “The Law of Moses” was a comprehensive work, involving many laws from God, which Moses had written down.

“As it is written in the Book of Moses” (2 Chronicles 35:12 NIV). Notice that it is referred to as “the Book of Moses”, that is, Moses was viewed as the writer of the entire book.

“in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God” (Ezra 3:2 NIV). The post-exilic book of Ezra attributes writership of the Torah to “Moses the man of God”. 

“Remember the Law of Moses my servant that I gave him at Horeb for all Israel—both the decrees and laws” (Malachi 4:4 ISV). In this final book of the Old Testament, Yahweh God himself attributes writership of the Torah to Moses. This shows that the Law of Moses was intended to be read as a whole book. 

If Moses did not write the Torah, all these scriptures saying Moses wrote the Torah, Pentateuch are false.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 

While God’s Word, the Bible, has plenty of internal evidence supporting Moses’ writership in the 15th century BCE, there is also supportive archaeological evidence. One thing there is a lack of also, and that is the complete lack of any archaeological evidence against the authenticity of the Torah, Pentateuch, and Moses’ writership of it.

“Yahweh bless you, and keep you; Yahweh make His shine on you, And be gracious to you; Yahweh lift up His face on you, And give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26 LSB). Critics have claimed that the Torah wasn’t written until the post-exilic period, that is, some time after 586 BCE, far too late for Moses to have been the writer. The discovery of Ketef Hinnom scrolls in 1979 debunked the critics claims, after epigraphers discovered that the scrolls recorded part of the Aaronic blessing quoted above. Paleographic evidence dates the scrolls to late in 7th century BCE, which is pre-exilic. This indicates the Torah had to have been written long before that time.

The Sinai 357 and 361 inscriptions, dated to circa 1446 BCE, discovered in 1904, and analyzed with modern technology in recent years, seem to provide evidence of Moses’ writing, as we can see from the following:

High-resolution photography at the turquoise mines of Serabit el-Khadem in Egypt’s south-central Sinai Peninsula highlighted faint letters that one epigrapher reads as “This is from Moses.” A parallel corpus records appeals to the Hebrew God El and the erasure of the Egyptian goddess Hathor—fuel for fresh arguments that the world’s earliest alphabet preserves traces of the biblical Exodus.

A re-survey of more than two dozen Proto-Sinaitic graffiti—rock-cut lines first noticed in 1904—reveals new findings. Independent researcher Michael Bar-Ron says stacked characters on inscription Sinai 357, opposite Mine L, include the Hebrew phrase zot m’Moshe (“This is from Moses”). His reading, he told The Humble Skeptic podcast, has been endorsed for review by University of Mainz lecturer Pieter van der Veen and Egyptologist David Rohl.—The Jerusalem Post, July 7. 2025

Dating these inscriptions to circa 1446 BCE puts them well within Moses’ lifetime, and helps give credence to his writership of the Pentateuch. It also provides independent confirmation that the exodus from Egypt took place under Moses’ leadership. Notice:

“Our bound servitude. Moses then provoked astonishment. It is a year of servitude because of the Lady”  (Potsherd Sinai 361 inscription, part of two fragments of an inscribed stone). This is the translation of the Sinai 361 inscription as published in the 2016 book, The World’s Oldest Alphabet–Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script

While the archaeological evidence supporting Moses’ writership of the Torah isn’t required, it can help “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10 NIV), and also that the Bible “actually is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV).

JESUS SAID THE LAW, OR TORAH, WAS WRITTEN BY MOSES

“And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” (Mark 12:26 ESV). ” . . . haven’t you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush . . . ?” (Mark 12:26 JNT). The Torah, or Pentateuch, is referred to as “the book of Moses”, by Jesus, thus attributing writership to Moses.

“If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31 LSB). “Moses”, along with “the Prophets”, is said to be part of the Hebrew Scriptures, according to Jesus Christ.

“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself . . . Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:27,44 NIV). “The Law of Moses” is referred to as being one of the three main sections of the Hebrew Scriptures.

“Did not Moses give you the Law?” (John 7:19 LSB). Moses is referred to as the writer of the Torah, according to Jesus’ himself.

“Do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on who your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you to believe what I say” (John 7:45-47 NIV). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, identifies Moses as the writer of the Law, and, as such, his writing of the Torah is authoritative. For Moses to be a valid accuser, his testimony had to be reliable (Deuteronomy 19:16-19). If Moses didn’t write the Law, how could the Jews be accountable to him? The fact is, they wouldn’t be, if Moses didn’t write the Torah.

If Moses didn’t write the Torah, Pentateuch, Jesus is confused, or the Gospels are not accurate.

NEW TESTAMENT TESTIMONY THAT MOSES WROTE THE TORAH

“From the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus” (Acts 28:23 NIV).”Making use of both the Torah of Moshe and the Prophets to persuade them about Jesus” (Acts 28:23 JNT). Luke, the writer of Acts, records the history of how the apostle Paul quoted “from the Law of Moses” as a major part of scripture. The point here is that Moses is considered the writer of the Torah.

“It is written in the Law of Moses: ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain'” (1 Corinthians 9:9 NIV). Deuteronomy 25:4 is quoted by the apostle Paul as being “the Law of Moses”. 

“Someone who disregards the Torah of Moshe is put to death without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses” (Hebrews 10:28 JNT). The Law of Moses, the Torah, was certainly considered authoritative, not a work of fiction.

If Moses didn’t write the Torah, Pentateuch, the New Testament writers are confused, and the New Testament is not accurate.

CONCLUSION

The first five books of the New Testament, the Torah, or Pentateuch, are the foundation for the entire Bible. It explains how “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), including the creation of humans , and the beginning of sin and death (Romans 5:12), God’s covenant dealings with Abraham and his descendants, and the nation of Israel (Exodus 19,20), and much more. If Moses didn’t write the Torah, Pentateuch, it is no more than fiction, and the Bible is just another religious myth.

An investigation of the facts, the evidence, reveals that the Torah, Pentateuch, is completely authoritative, historical, reliable and trustworthy, as “the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). This five book foundation for the entire 66 book canon, interwoven in harmony with the rest of the scriptures, helps to prove that, “All scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16 NAB).