Program / Course 4: Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics / Lesson 5.4
What you will learn
- List the questions about setting, author and audience that a careful reader asks of a passage.
- Distinguish internal from external evidence about authorship and date.
- Describe, with examples, how disputes about authorship are argued.
- Explain how the answers affect the meaning of a passage without assuming that they settle its authority.
The big idea
Every biblical text was written by someone, to someone, at some time and place, for some reason. Asking these questions is part of reading carefully. Sometimes the answers are clear, as when Paul names himself and the church he writes to. Often they are debated, as with the authorship of Hebrews, the date of Daniel or the origin of the Pentateuch. The task of the reader is to gather the evidence, mark what is known and what is argued, and see how each answer changes the reading.
Key terms
- Authorship
- The question of who wrote or is responsible for a text. In ancient times a person might compose, dictate, edit or sponsor a work.
- Provenance
- The place where a text was written or from which it came.
- Date of composition
- The time when a text was written, as far as it can be determined.
- Audience
- The people to whom a text was first directed, who shaped what it needed to say.
- Pseudonymity
- The practice of writing in the name of another person, usually a respected figure. Scholars debate whether and how it occurs in the Bible.
- Amanuensis
- A secretary who writes down a letter at an author’s dictation, sometimes with freedom in wording.
- Occasion
- The particular event or problem that prompted a text to be written.
Background
When we read a letter from a friend, we know who wrote it and why, and this shapes how we understand every line. Ancient writings are less open. Many biblical books do not name their authors. Some name an author but not the occasion. Others, like many psalms, carry titles of uncertain age. A reader cannot always find the answers, but the questions are worth asking, because partial answers often help.
The Bible itself shows interest in these matters. Luke tells Theophilus that he has traced everything from the first and writes it in order so that Theophilus may know the certainty of what he has been taught (Luke 1:1-4). John says that he wrote so that readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:31). Paul opens his letters by naming himself and his readers. These are statements of author, audience and purpose, and they guide the reading.
Debates about authorship and date are among the most contested in biblical studies. They also touch faith, since traditions hold different views about what the authority of a book requires. This lesson sets out the questions and the types of evidence, and notes where Christians and scholars disagree.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Ask the basic questions
Write down seven questions for any passage. Who wrote it, as far as can be known? When was it written? Where? To whom? For what occasion or purpose? What did the audience already know or believe? And what does the text itself say about any of these? The text is the first witness. Its opening, its closing, its names and its place references often supply answers. Where it is silent, say so.
Step 2: Weigh internal and external evidence
Internal evidence comes from the text: its claims about itself, its vocabulary and style, and what it assumes about the world. External evidence comes from outside the text: early church writers who say who wrote a book, or ancient inscriptions and records that date events. The two should be weighed together. A book that names Paul as author has an internal claim, and the early church’s reception adds external support. A book that does not name its author, like Hebrews, relies more on external witness and on inference.
Be careful with the weight of each kind of evidence. Early traditions of authorship deserve respect, since they come from people nearer the time. But they are not infallible, and some were contested even in antiquity, such as the authorship of Hebrews and 2 Peter. Style arguments can be inconclusive, since an author may vary in style according to topic, or may use a secretary, as Paul did when Tertius wrote Romans (Romans 16:22) and as Peter apparently did through Silvanus (1 Peter 5:12).
Step 3: See how disputes are argued
The book of Daniel shows the difference clearly. The book places Daniel in the sixth century BC, during the exile in Babylon. Traditional readers accept that date and see in the book genuine prophecy. Many critical scholars date the book, at least in its final form, to the second century BC, during the persecution of Antiochus IV, because of its detailed knowledge of events down to that period and for other reasons of language and setting. Each side offers arguments, and the disagreement reflects differing views about prophecy as well as about evidence.
Isaiah offers a second case. Traditional readers hold that the prophet Isaiah of Jerusalem wrote the whole book. Many scholars see the book as formed over more than one period, with chapters 40 to 66 addressed to exiles and returnees. Others hold to the unity of the book on various grounds. Again, the answer affects how the text is read: whether the comfort of Isaiah 40 was spoken beforehand to people not yet born, or to exiles in their own situation.
In the New Testament, the pastoral letters (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) and Ephesians are among those whose authorship by Paul is disputed by many scholars on grounds of vocabulary, style and church order, and defended by others, who point to secretaries, later age and changed circumstances. The same applies to 2 Peter. The positions are mixed, and a fair student states them without presuming the outcome.
Step 4: See what the answers change, and what they do not
Knowing the setting often changes the meaning of a verse. Paul’s letter to Philemon concerns a runaway slave. Knowing this gives the short letter its force. Galatians is written to churches troubled by teachers who demanded circumcision of Gentile converts, and its sharp tone makes sense in that light. Debates over whether Galatians was sent to the north or the south of the region of Galatia affect its place in Paul’s career.
At the same time, questions of authorship do not by themselves decide the authority of a text. Christians in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions ground the authority of a book in its reception and use in the church. Many Protestants ground it in its divine inspiration, and some tie this closely to the traditional attribution. Hence a disagreement about authorship can be a minor matter for one reader and a major matter for another. A fair study explains why.
- Does the text name its author, audience or purpose, and where?
- What outside evidence do we have, and how early is it?
- What was happening in the author’s and audience’s world?
- What did the audience already know that the text assumes?
- Is the authorship or date of this book disputed, and on what grounds?
- How would the meaning change if the answer were different?
Examples
Philemon
Paul writes from prison to a Christian slave owner about his runaway slave Onesimus. Without the setting the letter is a short note. With it, the letter becomes a plea about the meaning of brotherhood in Christ in a society built on slavery. Readers also debate how directly Paul challenges slavery, and the debate begins from the setting.
The occasion of 1 Corinthians
Paul writes in response to a report from Chloe’s people about divisions (1 Corinthians 1:11) and in answer to questions the church had asked (1 Corinthians 7:1). Knowing this lets the reader sort out which sections correct a problem and which answer a question, and avoid treating each line as a rule for all times.
Hebrews
Hebrews names no author. The church in the East accepted it as Paul’s, while the West doubted. Origen is reported to have said that only God knows who wrote it. The case shows that a book can be received as Scripture while its authorship remains an open question.
Different perspectives
Traditional Catholic and Orthodox
The churches have held traditional attributions, as in the titles of the Gospels and the letters of Paul, and treat the reception of the books in the church as key. The Catholic Church has in recent times allowed scholars freedom to study questions of authorship and date, while holding to the inspiration of the books.
Conservative Protestant
Many conservative Protestants hold to traditional authorship, including Mosaic authorship of the Torah, the Davidic authorship of many psalms and Pauline authorship of the thirteen letters, and defend these with arguments from the text and from early tradition. Some allow for the work of secretaries and editors.
Critical Protestant and secular scholarship
Many scholars regard some books as written by others than the traditional author, or as composed in stages. They argue from style, vocabulary, historical references and theological development, and they differ among themselves, with no uniform result across all books.
Jewish
Traditional Jewish belief holds that Moses received the Torah, and Orthodox Judaism affirms this. Academic Jewish scholars also take part in critical study. The Talmud itself discusses who wrote various books, including Psalms and Isaiah, in ways that differ from modern theories.
Why it matters
These questions are the root of your final assignment, and they apply to every reading. They help you avoid reading a letter as a treatise, a prophecy as a diary or a text of one period as if it belonged to another. They also prepare you to understand why friends and scholars disagree, and to speak fairly about positions you do not share.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: If a book has no named author, its authority is in doubt.
Correction: Many received books, such as Hebrews and most of the historical books, are anonymous. Their authority in the churches rests on their reception and use as well as on any attribution.
Misunderstanding: Scholars who date a book late are denying that it is inspired.
Correction: Some do, and some do not. Believing scholars hold a range of views about dating and still hold the book to be Scripture. The disagreement is not simply between faith and doubt.
Misunderstanding: The title of a book proves who wrote it.
Correction: Titles were often added later. They are early and important evidence but are not part of the original text of most books.
Misunderstanding: Knowing the setting is only for experts.
Correction: Much of it can be found by reading the book itself and a good introduction. The habit of asking is more important than detailed knowledge.
Knowledge check
Name five basic questions to ask about any passage regarding its origin.
Who wrote it, when was it written, where, to whom, and for what occasion or purpose. Also what the audience already knew and what the text itself says about these matters. The text is the first witness, with outside evidence added.
What is the difference between internal and external evidence about authorship?
Internal evidence comes from the text itself, such as its self-claims, style and assumptions. External evidence comes from outside, such as early church writers who name the author or inscriptions that date events. Both should be weighed together.
Describe the two main positions on the date of Daniel.
Traditional readers date the book to the sixth century BC and the exile, seeing genuine prophecy. Many critical scholars date its final form to the second century BC, during the persecution under Antiochus IV, on grounds of language and detailed historical knowledge. Views about prophecy influence both.
Why do questions of authorship not by themselves settle a book’s authority?
Traditions ground authority differently. Catholic and Orthodox Christians stress the book’s reception and use in the church, and many Protestants stress divine inspiration. Anonymous books such as Hebrews have been received as Scripture, so authorship is one question among others.
Think it through
- How would your reading of a letter change if you learned it was written to a persecuted church?
- Why might a believer care a great deal about the authorship of some books and less about others?
- How can you tell a reasoned argument about authorship from one that depends on a prior commitment?
- What would you want to find out before deciding the date of a book?
Independent assignment
Profile a book
Choose a short book of the New Testament, such as Philippians, Philemon, James or 1 John. In your notebook, write what the book says about its author, audience, setting and purpose, quoting only brief phrases. Then use an introduction in a study Bible to note what is added and what is disputed. Write 350 to 500 words, marking clearly which claims come from the text, which from outside evidence and which are uncertain. Keep your work in your notebook.
Further study
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Read the chapters on the epistles for the importance of occasion and setting.
- Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses Read selectively for an argument about authorship and eyewitness testimony in the gospels.
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament Read for how authorship and apostolic connection mattered in the early church.
- Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies Read Book 3, chapter 1, on the origin of the gospels.
- Luke 1:1 Luke’s preface and his reader Theophilus.
- John 20:31 The stated purpose of John.
- Romans 16:22 Tertius, who wrote the letter.
- Philemon 1:10 Paul pleads for Onesimus.