Who Wrote the Bible? Searching for Its Origins and Authors

by Joel S. Baden, The Great Courses

From the first centuries CE to the present, the question of who wrote the Bible has fascinated readers, theologians, and scholars. While countless viewpoints have circulated, the matter of who wrote the Bible remains a compelling issue.

In these 24 eye-opening lectures, Professor Baden takes you deeply into the history of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, as you explore essential topics such

The Foundations of the Torah. Discover that the Bible’s first five books contain four independent and contrasting texts woven together and honoring multiple perspectives on Israel’s relationship with God. The Writing of the Prophets. Learn that the book of Isaiah is composed of two distinct prophetic texts; in Jeremiah, learn about the writing of the book by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Investigate their attribution to Solomon and note that the books’ wholly divergent worldviews (spiritual wisdom vs. pessimism) demonstrate that the Bible holds disparate and contrasting perspectives at the same time. Chronicles. In this second biblical telling of the history of the Israelites, observe how the writing whitewashes events of the reigns of Israel’s kings, as Chronicles tells Israel’s history from its own vantage point, for its own time. Luke and the Book of Acts. Trace the connections between the writing of the Gospel of Luke and Acts; grasp how the texts recount historical events to communicate something larger—a call for the founding of the Christian church. Revelation. Investigate the identity of “John,” whose name appears as the author of the book. Note the ways in which Revelation offers a vision of divine victory to Christians suffering brutal oppression by Rome. In shedding light on core questions about the Bible’s writing, Who Wrote the Bible? Searching for Its Origins and Authors offers you a provocative and enlightening look at the creation of this beloved book—a foundational document of our culture and civilization.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published November 21, 2025

About the author

Joel S. Baden is professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School. He is the coauthor, with Candida R. Moss, of Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby and Reconceiving Infertility: Biblical Perspectives on Procreation and Childlessness (both Princeton). He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wrote the Bible?



Well, if you're looking for definitive answers, you won't find any here. But, of course, if you're interested in the history of the Bible, I can't imagine you thought you would.
This is a lecture less on finding out who the authors were, and more of a look at how scholars think the texts came to exist in their final form or forms.
Hint: Historical context is everything.



The only downside is that the enormity of the text makes it hard to go too far in depth with any of the books. I would love to find a lecture on each book in the Bible, but that's probably a bit of a hard ask. However, Baden did a good job of hitting major highlights and giving a fairly thorough exploration of them.



Now, a word of warning, because he does have a tendency to sound slightly sarcastic when he's talking about some things. Like (for example) the idea that some people might have that someone was wandering around behind the "authors" writing things down, or the notion that the books are named after the actual people who wrote the texts. <--even though he does think that portions of Jeremiah and some of Paul's letters do trace back to the actual person. But that's a widely held belief among most scholars.
I think the tone comes from his religious background, and while I can sympathize with it, I thought I should mention it. If you're a person with deeply held religious beliefs, you may find it off-putting.



This was my first lecture with Baden's, but I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably buy this one and listen to it again. I think there is a lot of good information in here, and this would make a great starting point for anyone interested in the history of the texts.

Highly Recommended.

[Ted Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the Great Courses’ offering Who Wrote the Bible? Searching for Its Origins and Authors should be called Who Didn’t Write the Bible?. Outside of some letters from Paul in the New Testament, Professor Joel S. Baden ultimately comes to the conclusion that we cannot really know the authors of most of the books in the Bible. Does this matter? Not really, because it is the searching (the textual archaeology itself) which leads to a better understanding of the Bible and its meaning and intent.

So many of the lectures left me not with frustration or a questioning faith, but with a heightened appreciation for how the Bible came to be, even if most of the authors will remain anonymous to us. Professor Baden’s insights and theories into the process of writing these sacred texts were always fascinating. His theory about the truth behind the story of King David was so enthralling that I purchased his full-length book on that subject, called The Historical David.

This is a course for thinking people. Unfortunately, too many people of faith become greatly troubled by any discussions questioning authorship. They incorrectly assume that authority rests in authorship, when authority is really determined by its readership. As the professor states in the final lecture, “What makes a text biblical is not its having been written, but its having been read.”

This course by The Great Courses Company is a revelation.

[Y M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading Fatal Discord, so I wanted to listen to this book as a supplemental knowledge source. What the Bible is is a library / collection of select stories that were read and thus survived, then refined and editorialized (heavily, sometimes), per the lecturer. I was left a bit confused when he said some texts were not included in the Bible because they were not Biblical enough, and now it is circular.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first dive into the great courses and I like the format. I'm not interested in fighting over whether these count as “reading” they are on goodreads and audible and I don't care they are going towards my count.
I really enjoy learning about religion from an academic perspective and this series did that very well. I feel like I gained a good perspective on the old testament especially.

[Jerry Levit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific lecture. The professor is engaging and presented the material with wit and respect. There is a lot to absorb and probably deserves a second listen before too long.

[Bill Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

engaging and inciteful

[AttackGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes another Great Course filled with information in this case always overlooked and rarely discussed. Informative for those with basic or no understanding of the bible. Presented in a... why dont we ask these questions... I have extensive knowledge of this topic and still enjoyed the course. It could have been much longer and I would have appreciated the Apocrophia and .... well all the other text found at Nag Hammadi. Have you ever seen the text fragments that has caused such death and destruction.

Today President Trump spoke in China and discussed how we have honored the Great Confucius and that he is on the Supreme Court building in DC.