Who Really Wrote the Bible: The Story of the Scribes

Who Really Wrote the Bible by William Schniedewind challenges traditional notions of biblical authorship, arguing that the Hebrew Bible was created not by single authors but by communities of scribes. Drawing on archaeology, inscriptions, anthropology, and close textual analysis, Schniedewind shows that in the ancient Near East, books were produced and preserved collectively, with scribes passing knowledge through apprenticeship rather than claiming individual credit. The Bible’s lack of named authors reflects this communal process, revealing that ancient Israelites transmitted their traditions along lived paths rather than through solitary literary creation.