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JAMIE - When did Moses write first 5 books of old testament ? I know Moses story but I could not find anywhere when he write those books. Other question Since God tells prophets to keep record I was wondering if Adam and Noah kept records ?
JOEL - It's hard to know exactly when the first five books of Moses (The Pentateuch) were written or, according to many Bible scholars, even who the actual author was.
Jewish tradition says that it was the Prophet Moses who was responsible for it all. But that view has been challenged so seriously that today very few biblical scholars believe that Moses was responsible for its composition, opting instead to accept the notion that the materials in the Pentateuch were gathered and compiled in a much later age. There are a few different hypotheses (or a combination of them) that are considered to be the source of those first five books.
1.The Documentary Hypothesis affirms that there was a series of documents drawn up in antiquity which, through an editorial process, finally became the first five books of the Old Testament.
2. Oral traditions were memorized and thus kept by oral tradition for generations before being put into writing.
3. Family Histories that were written by various authors then left to a later compiler (possibly Moses) to gather them together into a single narrative which sketched a history from the creation down to the descendants of Jacob.
Having said all that we know that, according to the Book of Mormon, the five books of Moses were included in the brass plates that were obtained by Lehi:
"And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents;" (1 Nephi 5:10-13).
Why would Lehi call them the books of Moses at that time if Moses did not write them? This would suggest that they were all written by, or at least the records were compiled by Moses.
There are other places in the Book of Mormon that refer to Moses as the author of what was written:
"And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness." (1 Ne. 22: 20-21 quoting Deut 18:15–19. See also 1 Ne. 19:23, Hel. 8: 11-16)
So because of the perceived confusion of authorship, it is not known for sure exactly when Moses wrote and or compiled those first five books.
We know that Adam kept some records and recorded teachings from God.
We read in the Pearl of Great Price that a Book of Remembrance was kept in the language of Adam and that his children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled.
"And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration;
And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled.
Now this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also. Now this prophecy Adam spake, as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and a genealogy was kept of the children of God.
And this was the book of the generations of Adam, saying: In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him." (Moses 6: 5-8)
I see no references that state directly that Noah kept any records, but if "it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration", Noah would have certainly done so as well, and if Adam's children were taught to read and write, that tradition would have certainly been passed on to subsequent generations down through Noah and to Moses.
It was an important tradition. Since almost all life was wiped from the face of the earth in the flood, those records must have made the trip on the ark with Noah and his family. These would have been an important source from which Moses obtained his information to write the first five books. Most likely a lot of revelation was also involved in the process.
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