For centuries, Jewish and Christian traditions have held that Moses wrote the Torah—the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). However, modern biblical scholarship believe the evidence is not in favor of Mosaic authorship.

A close examination of textual anachronisms, internal inconsistencies, and historical evidence suggests that the Torah was written long after Moses’ time, likely by multiple authors. This article presents key biblical passages that challenge Mosaic authorship and explains their implications in a way accessible to non-specialists.

Anachronisms: References to Events or Places That Didn’t Exist in Moses’ Time

Genesis 14:14 – The “City of Dan” Did Not Exist Yet

Genesis 14:14
“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”

Why This Is a Problem

The tribe of Dan did not exist during Abraham’s or Moses’ time.
The city referred to as “Dan” was originally called Laish until the Israelite conquest (Judges 18:29), which occurred long after Moses’ death (likely in the 12th century BCE).
The name “Dan” is anachronistic, meaning the passage must have been written or edited later, by someone living after the conquest of Canaan.

These are details in the Torah that could not have been written in Moses’ time (c. 13th–15th century BCE) but reflect later historical periods.

Genesis 36:31 mentions kings of Israel before Israel had a king
- “These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.”
- This suggests the text was written after the monarchy was established (Saul, c. 1020 BCE).
Deuteronomy 34:5–12 describes Moses’ death and burial
- If Moses wrote the Torah, he could not have written about his own death.
Mentions of the Philistines in Genesis 21:34 and 26:1
- The Philistines settled in Canaan around 1200 BCE, centuries after Moses.
Genesis 14:14 references “Dan,” a city that did not exist until after Moses
- Judges 18:29 says the city was originally called Laish and was renamed Dan by the tribe of Dan.
Use of Persian and Late Babylonian loanwords
- Certain words and phrases suggest the text was written during or after the Babylonian Exile (6th century BCE).

Doublets and Contradictions in the Torah: Evidence of Multiple Sources

The Torah contains multiple versions of the same stories, often with contradictions, suggesting that it was compiled from different traditions rather than written by a single author (Moses). These duplications and inconsistencies are strong evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis, which argues that the Torah was formed from four main sources:

J (Yahwist) – Uses the name YHWH (Yahweh) for God, presents a vivid, anthropomorphic view of God.
E (Elohist) – Uses “Elohim” for God, focuses on prophecy and divine communication through dreams.
D (Deuteronomist) – Emphasizes law, morality, and centralized worship.
P (Priestly) – Ritualistic, legalistic, uses precise dates and genealogies.

Two Creation Stories (Genesis 1 vs. Genesis 2)

Genesis 1 (Priestly Source – Elohim)

Genesis 1:1-2:3

God creates the world in six days and rests on the seventh.
Humans (male and female) are created at the same time, after plants and animals.
Uses the name Elohim for God.
Structured, repetitive style: “And God said… and it was so.”

Genesis 2 (Yahwist Source – YHWH)

Genesis 2:4-25

Creation is not in six days but appears spontaneous.
Man is created first, then plants, then animals, then woman from man’s rib.
Uses the name YHWH Elohim (Lord God).
More narrative and anthropomorphic (God forms man from dust, walks in the garden).

Contradiction: Did plants and animals come before or after humans? Were man and woman created at the same time or separately? The presence of two different sequences and styles suggests different sources.

Two Flood Stories (Genesis 6–9)

Genesis 7:2-3 (Yahwist Source – J)
“Take wit you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal.”

Other Contradictions:

The flood lasts 40 days (J) or 150 days (P).
The flood begins because of human wickedness (J) or because the world is corrupt (P).
The flood subsides because of a wind sent by God (J) or because God remembers Noah (P).

The merging of two flood traditions resulted in internal contradictions.

Two Versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 vs. Deuteronomy 5)

The Ten Commandments appear twice with different wording and emphasis:

Exodus 20:8-11 (Priestly Source – P)
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.”

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (Deuteronomist Source – D)
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy… Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand.”

The reason for keeping the Sabbath is different:

Exodus: Because God rested on the seventh day.
Deuteronomy: Because Israel was enslaved in Egypt.

Contradictory Divine Names (YHWH vs. Elohim)

Exodus 6:3 (Priestly Source – P)
“I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them.”

Genesis 4:26 (Yahwist Source – J, written earlier)
“At that time people began to call on the name of YHWH.”

If YHWH was unknown before Moses, why do people in Genesis already use it? This suggests two different traditions were merged.

Different Accounts of How God Revealed Himself to Moses

Exodus 3:14 (Yahwist Source – J)
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM.'”

Exodus 6:3 (Priestly Source – P)
“I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them.” Contradiction:

In Exodus 3, Moses learns God’s name is YHWH.
In Exodus 6, God says He never revealed His name before—contradicting Exodus 3 and earlier passages.

Two Versions of the Naming of Beersheba

Genesis 21:31 (Elohist Source – E)
“So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.” (Referring to Abraham)

Genesis 26:33 (Yahwist Source – J)
“He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.” (Referring to Isaac)

Contradiction: Who named Beersheba—Abraham or Isaac? The two accounts reflect separate traditions.

The Golden Calf Story: Different Origins

Exodus 32:4 (Elohist Source – E)
Aaron makes a golden calf, and the people say:
“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

1 Kings 12:28 (Centuries later, King Jeroboam says the same thing about his golden calves.)

Contradiction:

Did Aaron introduce idol worship in Moses’ time, or was this a later story reflecting Jeroboam’s golden calf worship?
Many scholars believe Exodus 32 was influenced by later political conflicts, suggesting it was written after Moses’ time.

Genesis 36:31 – Kings in Israel Before Israel Had Kings?

Genesis 36:31
“These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.”

Why This Is a Problem

The first king of Israel, Saul, was crowned around 1020 BCE (1 Samuel 10).
Moses supposedly lived hundreds of years before Saul, meaning he could not have referenced a time when Israel had kings.
This suggests the passage was written later, after Israel had a monarchy.

The Torah reflects a time after the rise of Israelite kings, meaning it could not have been written by Moses.

Moses Writing About His Own Death?

Deuteronomy 34:5-7
“And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.”

Why This Is a Problem

Moses could not have written about his own death and burial.
The phrase “to this day” suggests a later writer, indicating this passage was added long after Moses’ time.
The traditional explanation is that Joshua wrote this part, but that does not explain why other anachronistic passages exist throughout the Torah.

If Moses did not write this, it raises questions about how much of the Torah was written later.

Unusual Self-References That Suggest Another Author

Numbers 12:3
“Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

If Moses wrote the Torah, why would he call himself the most humble person on Earth?
This statement is more logical if someone else wrote it about Moses rather than Moses writing about himself.

This suggests that another author described Moses rather than Moses writing about himself.

Linguistic Evidence: Language and Style Changes in the Torah

Linguistic analysis suggests that the Torah was written over centuries, rather than during Moses’ lifetime (if he existed, traditionally around the 13th–15th century BCE). The Hebrew in different sections of the Torah does not reflect a single period but multiple linguistic stages, which is inconsistent with single authorship.

A. Archaic vs. Later Hebrew

1. Early Biblical Hebrew (archaic Hebrew, c. 1200–1000 BCE)

Found in the oldest biblical poetry, such as:
- The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15)
- The Song of Deborah (Judges 5)
Characteristics:
- Simpler sentence structures
- Limited vocabulary
- Closer to Ugaritic and Canaanite languages

Classical Biblical Hebrew (c. 1000–600 BCE, First Temple period)

The bulk of the Torah, especially Leviticus and Deuteronomy, uses this stage.
This is the Hebrew of the monarchy period, when Israel and Judah had established kingdoms.
It differs significantly from archaic Hebrew in:
- More sophisticated grammar and syntax
- Expanded vocabulary influenced by Assyrian and Phoenician
- Legal and administrative terminology

Example of linguistic change:

Early Hebrew: Uses short, direct expressions (found in Exodus 15).
Later Hebrew: Uses more complex sentence structures and advanced legal phrasing, seen in Deuteronomy’s laws.

Late Biblical Hebrew (Exilic/Post-Exilic, c. 600–300 BCE)

Found in sections of Deuteronomy, priestly texts, and later edits to the Torah.
Strong Aramaic influence (which became the dominant language in the Babylonian exile).
Includes Persian loanwords and structures not present in earlier Hebrew.

Example:

Phrases in Deuteronomy and Leviticus show similarities to texts from the Babylonian and Persian periods.
This suggests parts of the Torah were edited or written during or after the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE).

Anachronisms in Hebrew

Some words and phrases in the Torah did not exist in Moses’ time.

Genesis 36:31
“These are the kings who reigned in Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites.”

Problem: Refers to kings of Israel, but Israel had no king until Saul (c. 1020 BCE), long after Moses.
Implication: This passage must have been written after the monarchy was established, centuries after Moses.

Genesis 14:14
“Abram pursued them as far as Dan.”

Problem: The city of Dan did not exist in Moses’ time.
Dan was named after an Israelite tribe long after the conquest of Canaan (Judges 18:29).
Implication: This verse must have been written much later.

The Hebrew of the Torah spans multiple historical periods, inconsistent with a single author. Some sections use linguistic forms that did not exist in Moses’ time. The Torah shows evidence of later additions and redactions, especially during the Babylonian exile.

Influence from Later Cultures and Laws in the Torah

The Torah shares remarkable similarities with earlier Mesopotamian laws and myths, suggesting that many of its ideas were borrowed or adapted rather than originally written by Moses.

Similarities to the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1750 BCE, Babylonian law)

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest legal codes from ancient Mesopotamia, written centuries before Moses. Many laws in Exodus mirror those in Hammurabi’s code. Below are two examples of inspiration drawn from the much older tablet codes of Mesopotamian kings.

Exodus 21:23-25
“If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Code of Hammurabi 196-200
“If a man destroys the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If he breaks another man’s bone, they shall break his bone.”

Exodus 21:2
“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free.”

Hammurabi’s Code 117
“If anyone fails to pay his debt and sells himself into slavery, he shall serve for three years; in the fourth year, he shall go free.”

Similarity: Both legal codes establish limited-term slavery rather than permanent servitude.

The laws in Exodus were likely influenced by Babylonian legal traditions. They reflect Mesopotamian customs rather than unique divine revelation.

Similarities to the Babylonian Creation Myth (Enuma Elish)

Genesis 1:2
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Myth)
“When the heavens above did not exist, and the earth beneath had not come into being, there was only the primeval Apsu and Tiamat, the chaotic waters.”

Comparison:

Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish both begin with a formless, watery chaos before the world is created.
In Enuma Elish, the god Marduk defeats the chaos monster Tiamat to create the universe.
In Genesis, God brings order from chaos in a similar pattern.

The Israelite creation story likely evolved from older Mesopotamian myths, suggesting that Genesis was influenced by Babylonian culture rather than written by Moses.

Similarities to the Epic of Gilgamesh (Flood Story)

Genesis 6:17
“I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens.”

Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 1800 BCE)
“The gods decided to send a flood to destroy humanity. The god Ea warned Utnapishtim to build a boat.”

Similarities:

Both stories describe a global flood sent by divine powers.
Both have a righteous man (Noah / Utnapishtim) who is warned and builds a boat.
Both boats come to rest on a mountain.
Both heroes release birds to check if the waters recede.

The Noah’s Ark story was likely adapted from Mesopotamian flood myths. This suggests that the Torah’s authors borrowed earlier traditions, rather than Moses writing it firsthand.

This evidence supports the Documentary Hypothesis—that the Torah was composed from multiple sources and redacted over time. Linguistic analysis shows the Torah was written and edited over centuries, not in Moses’ time. The Torah’s laws and stories parallel older Mesopotamian traditions, indicating cultural borrowing.

Sources

Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (1997)
John Van Seters, The Life of Moses: The Yahwist as Historian in Exodus-Numbers (1994)
Israel Finkelstein & Neil Asher Silberman, The Bible Unearthed (2001)
Julius Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (1878)
Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary (2004)

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