Who Wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by roughly 40 human authors over about 1,500 years — kings, prophets, shepherds, a tax collector, a doctor and fishermen — in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Christians hold that these writers were inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), so the books have both human authors and a divine one.
Many authors, one collection
The Bible is a library of 66 books (in Protestant Bibles) rather than a single book written at one sitting. Its writers include a lawgiver (Moses, by tradition), kings (David, Solomon), prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah), a tax collector (Matthew), a physician (Luke) and fishermen (Peter, John). The oldest material is usually dated to well over a thousand years before the newest, which was written in the first century AD.
Some books name their author in the text — Paul opens nearly every letter with his own name. Others are anonymous, and their authorship comes from early tradition: Hebrews, for example, names no author, and church writers already disagreed about who wrote it in the second and third centuries.
Old Testament authors (by traditional attribution)
The first five books (the Torah) are traditionally attributed to Moses. Many psalms carry David's name in their heading, while others name Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon or Moses. Proverbs credits Solomon along with Agur and Lemuel. The prophetic books are mostly named after the prophet whose words they record. Historical books such as Judges, Samuel and Kings are anonymous; tradition links some of them to Samuel, Jeremiah or Ezra.
Modern scholars often see longer processes behind several of these books — material collected, edited and arranged over generations. Readers who hold to traditional authorship and readers who don't both agree on the basic picture: many voices, written across centuries.
New Testament authors
The four Gospels are traditionally credited to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Luke also wrote Acts and opens his Gospel by explaining that he investigated eyewitness accounts carefully (Luke 1:1-4). Thirteen letters name Paul as their author; others carry the names of James, Peter, John and Jude. Revelation is written by a John who received the vision on the island of Patmos.
What 'inspired' means
2 Timothy 3:16 calls scripture 'God-breathed,' and 2 Peter 1:21 says the prophets 'spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.' Christian traditions generally read this as God working through each writer's own language, personality and circumstances rather than dictating word by word — which is why Paul's letters sound different from John's, and why Luke can describe doing research.
Referenced
“Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:16 · WEB
“For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.”
2 Peter 1:21 · WEB
“it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;”
Luke 1:3 · WEB