What do these books have in common? The sixth volume of Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, the silmarillion Y The book of lost stories by JRR Tolkien, and The Point of It All (The Point of Everything) by Charles Krauthammer. The author of each died before completing his work. In each of these cases, and there are many more, another author edited and completed the work.
With the Bible it is no different.
The Scriptures are clear that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament (Deut. 4:14; 5:1–2; 1 Kings 2:3; 8:9; 2 Kings 14:6 7:6, Neh 1:7, 8:1, Ps 103:7, Dan 9:13, 2 Chron 23:18, 25:4, Mal 4:4, Mt 19: 7–8; 22:24; Acts 3:22; 7:37–38; Rom. 10:19; 1 Cor. 9:9; Heb. 9:19; Rev. 15:3). However, holding on to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch raises an interesting question: who wrote the death and burial of Moses in Deuteronomy 34?
Through the centuries, Biblical scholars and commentators have differed on who wrote Deuteronomy 34. For example, Jewish tradition cites Joshua. In his commentary on Deuteronomy, John Calvin acknowledges the “probable conjecture of the ancients” that Joshua wrote Deuteronomy 34, but admits that the priest Eleazar is also a likely candidate. John Gill says that Joshua could be the author, yet he admits that Eleazar, Samuel, and Ezra are also possible.
More recent commentators, such as Eugene Merrill, Edward J. Woods, and Dan Block, simply leave the author nameless.
Maybe Moses?
It is not unreasonable to think that Moses wrote the account of his own death and burial, particularly since God revealed his word and deed to Moses (Ps. 103:7). There are other examples in the Scriptures that lend some credence to the idea that Moses saw his death coming from him and wrote about the circumstances.
That would be consistent with God’s revelation of future events elsewhere. God anticipated his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham (Gen. 18:17–33). God revealed to Ezekiel in real time that Nebuchadnezzar was at a crossroads, guessing the way to go (Ez. 21:18-23). In Ezekiel 8, God revealed to Ezekiel, while he was in exile near the Euphrates River, what was happening in the temple in Jerusalem. Matthew 16:21 indicates that Jesus knew what was before Him: suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection in Jerusalem. Therefore, God could have revealed to Moses what would come in his last days. After all, God revealed to him what happened before his birth (Gen. 1:1–Ex. 1:22).
However, it is more likely that another hand wrote Deuteronomy 34, and there are indications in Scripture and in Jewish tradition as to the possible identity of the author.
Eleazar?
Aaron’s son and successor as high priest, Eleazar, is often named as a possible author of Deuteronomy 34. Eleazar played an important role in the life of Israel during the ministries of Moses and Joshua. He was appointed chief of the tribe of Levi (Num. 3:32) and given the task of supervising the duties of the sanctuary (Num. 4:16). In the wilderness, Eleazar was charged with taking an inventory of the spoils of war after Israel fought Midian (Num. 31). He also helped Moses and Joshua distribute the land to the tribes of Israel (Num. 34:17; Josh. 14:1).
Also, Eleazar was a Levite. The Levites were given the task of keeping the law (Deut. 31:9, 26) and that of teaching the law (Numbers 31:21; Deut. 33:10; 2 Chron. 17:9; 35: 3). Eleazar’s position as high priest, and his service alongside Moses and Joshua, may have given him the qualifications to update Deuteronomy after Moses’ death.
Ezra?
Ezra is described as a worthy scribe who was “expert in the law of Moses” and who had “set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it” (Is. 7:6, 10). Ezra was responsible for restoring faithful worship among the remnant who returned from exile.
As part of his restoration work, Jewish tradition attributes to him two actions that affect our subject. First, he was responsible for updating the letter of the Hebrew Bible. Second, in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, the rabbis indicate that Ezra completed the updating, compilation, and organization of the Old Testament books. Furthermore, 2 Maccabees 2:13 suggests that Ezra had a large library at his disposal for his Old Testament canon work. Given Ezra’s literary activity and the resources available to him, he might have been responsible for closing the Pentateuch with the death and burial of Moses.
Samuel?
Samuel is a prime candidate for the authorship of Deuteronomy 34, given his standing before the Lord (1 Sam. 2:21; 3:19) and his role as a prophet. The Old Testament prophets were divinely inspired (1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21), and many wrote down their prophecies (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Micah, etc.).
According to the division of the Hebrew Bible, however, there are more prophetic books. What we consider to be the historical books (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings) are also considered prophetic. This means that the historical books are not simply a historical record of Israel; they are a “sacred history” written by a prophet to record God’s acts among his covenant people (1 Chron. 29:29). The prophet Samuel, then, wrote the sacred stories of Judges and the books of Samuel until his death. Some add the book of Joshua to the list of books that Samuel wrote. The Scriptures also give evidence of Samuel’s literary activity in 1 Samuel 10:25 and 1 Chronicles 29:29. Samuel, then, as a prophet, would have divine authority to complete Deuteronomy. And this would explain the statement found in Deuteronomy 34:10: “Since then has not a prophet like Moses arisen in Israel again.”
Points of Evidence for Joshua
But Joshua seems the most likely candidate for the authorship of Deuteronomy 34. Most commentators and Jewish tradition agree. John Peter Lange points out that it is clear from Joshua’s command in Joshua 1:8 (compare Deut. 4:2; 13:1) that he meditated on and practiced the Word of God.
Joshua served as Moses’ attendant from his youth, and probably began to love God’s Word while serving Moses (Num. 11:28; see also Ex. 33:11). The Scriptures also give evidence of Joshua’s literary activity in Deuteronomy 31:19 and Joshua 24:26.
Although God could have communicated the account of Moses’ death and burial to any of the men mentioned above, a simple reading of Deuteronomy 34 seems to point to Joshua as the most likely author.
does it matter?
When it comes to the Scriptures, we can trust that God supervised and inspired even those who made the updates and additions.
While a compelling case can be made for the author of Deuteronomy 34, ultimately we are not sure who wrote it. Many follow Calvin’s sage advice and leave “this not very important matter undecided.” In preaching Deuteronomy 34, then, the pastor can offer his opinion of the author, since few fit the possibility. However, the pastor should simply suggest his opinion.
In instructing a congregation on the inspiration of the Scriptures and on the authors of the 66 books of the Bible, the pastor can say this: To suggest that an author other than Moses wrote Deuteronomy 34 in no way undermines the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch or the inspiration of Holy Scripture. Again, the Scriptures include indications of divinely authorized additions and updates. For example, Proverbs 25:1 tells of King Hezekiah’s men adding Solomon’s sayings to Proverbs.
Although David is the author of many psalms, it is clear that someone else has put the book in the form we have it today; for example, the psalter is divided into five books, many of which contain psalms by other authors. Exodus 13:17 mentions the “way of the land of the Philistines,” an update of an old place name, since the Philistines were not around at the time of the exodus.
And Samuel couldn’t have written 2 Samuel, since he was already dead. It is likely that Nathan or Gad finished his work (1 Chr. 29:29).
The 16 ministers who completed Henry’s keynote commentary, and Christopher Tolkien, and Daniel Krauthammer made sure to honor their predecessors as they finished their work. And when it comes to the Scriptures, we can trust that God supervised and inspired even those who made the updates and additions (2 Tim. 3:16).
Originally posted on Translated by Team Coalition.
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