There is a greater contention about the authorship of the book of Job. The things recorded in this book took place before the time of Moses and may have been concurrent with Abraham, which is about two thousand years before Christ. Some have said it was written by Elihu, and some have said that Moses was probably the author.

Among the Psalms there are some that do not mention any author, but the authorship of most of them is identified. Among the one hundred fifty psalms, at least seventy-three are designated clearly as the Psalms of David. In addition to these, there are quite a few that were clearly written by David, even though the author was not clearly stated. Therefore, David wrote the largest number, nearly one hundred psalms. In addition, there were Asaph, Heman, Ethan, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and Moses. Therefore, at least seven authors were clearly indicated. The sons of Korah are plural in number in the manuscript, and this may therefore refer to more than one person. All the psalms of these people were probably written in the land of Israel. David was first a shepherd and then a king. Quite a number of his psalms were written while he was being persecuted in the wilderness. Some were written while he was reigning in the palace. We are not very clear about Asaph, Heman, and Ethan. It may be that they were common people. The sons of Korah were the descendants of Korah. Bible scholars admit that this Korah is the Korah recorded in Numbers 16 as the one leading the rebellion against God. However, from the descendants of this rebellious one, there came out such godly and God-loving people. They did not want to divulge their own names. They would rather show forth the greatness of the grace of God by acknowledging that they were the descendants of the rebellious one against God.

Most of the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon. There were a few words by Agur and Lemuel. Hence, Proverbs was written by at least three persons. Solomon was the most glorious king and the wisest one in human history. All his books were written in Jerusalem. Agur may have been a common person, and Lemuel was a king.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon.

The Song of Solomon was also written by Solomon.

There are seventeen books of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi. They are written by sixteen prophets, with Jeremiah and Lamentations both written by Jeremiah.

Isaiah was a minister serving the king and was also a historian (2 Chron. 26:22; 32:32). His book was written in Jerusalem, the capital city.

Jeremiah was born a priest and became a prophet. He spent most of his time in Judea and the last period in Egypt.

Ezekiel was a priest turned prophet. He wrote the book of Ezekiel in the land of captivity in Babylon.

Daniel was of the tribe of Judah. His book should have been written in the land of captivity in Babylon and Ulai.

Amos was the most peculiar among the sixteen prophets. He was a shepherd, a caretaker of mulberry trees, and probably would not have received much education. His book should have been written in the land of Israel.

Jonah probably wrote his book in Nineveh.

Zephaniah was a royal descendant turned prophet. His book was written in the land of Judea.

Zechariah was also a priest turned prophet. His book was also written in the land of Judea.

In addition to these, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, and Malachi, eight altogether, were most probably common people who became prophets. Their books were written either in Judea or in the land of Israel.

Therefore, there were at least thirty-two authors of the Old Testament from Moses to Malachi. If Job was written by Elihu, and if more than one of the sons of Korah wrote, then there were more than thirty-two authors. Among them, all except Elihu, the probable Gentile author, and Agur and Lemuel, whose tribal sources are unknown, were Israelites. Among these authors of the Old Testament, there were people of various levels and backgrounds. There were scholars, religious persons, politicians, military leaders, kings, priests, prophets, common people, shepherds, and farmers. Some were highly educated, and some, without much education. Some were persecuted and oppressed, and some enjoyed glory and honor. Some were living in Israel, and some were in the land of the Gentiles in captivity.
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