The authorship of the first book of the Bible is Genesis. While the author of this book is not known, there are two competing theories.
JEDP
Liberal religious theologians in the 1800's, advocating the gradual development of religion, proposed that the Bible developed gradually. One of the ideas that resulted from this thinking gained popularity with many. The foundation for this belief is that Genesis could not have been written by eyewitnesses of the events. Rather, the stories in Genesis are a compilation of oral traditions passed down from many different sources.
Thus, the early books of the Bible were believed to have been written by unknown authors during the Divided Kingdom (approx 800 - 582 BC). The books, including Genesis, were believed to have been compiled from several sources, each which could be distinguished by the name used for God. The J-Document used the name Jehovah, the E-Document used Elohim, while the D and P documents were named for Deuteronomic and Priestly, respectively.
Thus, they alleged that the Bible did not originate from eye-witnessed events.
TABLET THEORY
Even during a casual reading of the book of Genesis, one will notice that the book is divided into sections, each separated by similar phrases. The passages below are the division points of Genesis.
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
5:1 This is the written account of Adam’s line.
6:9 This is the account of Noah.
10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons,
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael,
25:19 This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac.
36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).
36:9 This is the account of Esau
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
50:26 So Joseph died
Note that 5:1 specifically mentions it is a written account, rather than oral tradition. Also note, that there are TWO accounts of Esau. This would not occur if it were an oral tradition because the stories would be merged into one. But, it WOULD occur if an author was copying or translating the account from a tablet onto a scroll.
Thus the phrase "this is the account" connects the various sections together.
And, this agrees with other Biblical passages that Moses passed the information down, but it came from his ancestors.
John 7:22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.
COULD ADAM WRITE?
Next, lets address the issue of whether Adam could have left a written record. Lets see if Adam could have left a written record before he died.
1) Some Bible scholars have proposed a date of approximately 6000 years ago as the creation of the world, and thus Adam.
2) The earliest known writings are approximately 5500 - 5100 years old.
http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/hermann.moisl/ell365/oldest_writing.htm
3) According to scripture (Gen 5:5), Adam live 930 years.
Thus, if one accepts the 6000 years-ago date, and the Gen 5:5 passage, Adam could have left a written record of his life. Second, Adam would have been very proud of this ability, since it was new technology at the time. And, being proud of the use of new technology, he was very likely to mention it in his history. Later authors wouldn't be as likely to mention "old" technology in their respective histories, so it is not mentioned.
However, if these were compiled oral traditions, then one should expect to see the same verbiage in all of the connecting phrases (i.e. "this is the account of" -or- "this is the written account of"). But we see it ONLY in the person's life that first witnessed the new technology.
CONCLUSION
Genesis is a compiled book of histories recorded by the person who witnessed the event. Thus, it is genuine history, not a conglomeration of oral traditions written down at a later point in time.
JEDP
Liberal religious theologians in the 1800's, advocating the gradual development of religion, proposed that the Bible developed gradually. One of the ideas that resulted from this thinking gained popularity with many. The foundation for this belief is that Genesis could not have been written by eyewitnesses of the events. Rather, the stories in Genesis are a compilation of oral traditions passed down from many different sources.
Thus, the early books of the Bible were believed to have been written by unknown authors during the Divided Kingdom (approx 800 - 582 BC). The books, including Genesis, were believed to have been compiled from several sources, each which could be distinguished by the name used for God. The J-Document used the name Jehovah, the E-Document used Elohim, while the D and P documents were named for Deuteronomic and Priestly, respectively.
Thus, they alleged that the Bible did not originate from eye-witnessed events.
TABLET THEORY
Even during a casual reading of the book of Genesis, one will notice that the book is divided into sections, each separated by similar phrases. The passages below are the division points of Genesis.
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
5:1 This is the written account of Adam’s line.
6:9 This is the account of Noah.
10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons,
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael,
25:19 This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac.
36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).
36:9 This is the account of Esau
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
50:26 So Joseph died
Note that 5:1 specifically mentions it is a written account, rather than oral tradition. Also note, that there are TWO accounts of Esau. This would not occur if it were an oral tradition because the stories would be merged into one. But, it WOULD occur if an author was copying or translating the account from a tablet onto a scroll.
Thus the phrase "this is the account" connects the various sections together.
And, this agrees with other Biblical passages that Moses passed the information down, but it came from his ancestors.
John 7:22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.
COULD ADAM WRITE?
Next, lets address the issue of whether Adam could have left a written record. Lets see if Adam could have left a written record before he died.
1) Some Bible scholars have proposed a date of approximately 6000 years ago as the creation of the world, and thus Adam.
2) The earliest known writings are approximately 5500 - 5100 years old.
http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/hermann.moisl/ell365/oldest_writing.htm
3) According to scripture (Gen 5:5), Adam live 930 years.
Thus, if one accepts the 6000 years-ago date, and the Gen 5:5 passage, Adam could have left a written record of his life. Second, Adam would have been very proud of this ability, since it was new technology at the time. And, being proud of the use of new technology, he was very likely to mention it in his history. Later authors wouldn't be as likely to mention "old" technology in their respective histories, so it is not mentioned.
However, if these were compiled oral traditions, then one should expect to see the same verbiage in all of the connecting phrases (i.e. "this is the account of" -or- "this is the written account of"). But we see it ONLY in the person's life that first witnessed the new technology.
CONCLUSION
Genesis is a compiled book of histories recorded by the person who witnessed the event. Thus, it is genuine history, not a conglomeration of oral traditions written down at a later point in time.