It is not unusual for very religious Jews and Christians to report that reading the Hebrew Bible is an incomparable experience. They tingle when they encounter the tale(s) of creation in Genesis. Isaiah's prophecies reduce them to tears. They are overcome by the most intense emotions when mouthing the Psalms. These psychological manifestations may have less to do with the objective literary qualities of these texts than with the subjective perceptions of believers. The pious ascribe the authorship of biblical books to, variously, God, the Holy Spirit, angels, and Moses, among others. With writers such as these is it any wonder that faithful readers will be awed?

By now, we have seen that no book of the Hebrew Bible claims to be written by God, the Holy Spirit, or angels. Nor do Hebrew Scriptures anywhere support the later Jewish and Christian insistence on the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. But in all fairness to believers, it must be acknowledged that those who are mesmerized, enchanted, or afflicted by a “special” feeling when perusing Scripture are demonstrating sound literary instincts.