I have always been interested in learning how our holy books are derived from the Tanach (Five Books of Moses, Prophets, and Writings)Â down. Please help or contact me if my inquiry is too generalized.
Here’s an overview that might be helpful:
The five books of the Chumash are explicitly identified as being the dictation by God to Moshe (see Deut. 31: 24) with the final eight verses either written by Moshe in prophetic form or added by Joshua (see the end of Talmud Makkos).
The rest of books of Tanach were selected and organized, largely it seems, by the Men of the Great Assembly who lived in the early years of the Second Commonwealth. They seem to have selected those texts that were of significance for future generations (see Talmud Megila 14a), were recognizably internally consistent (see Talmud Shabbos 30b) and that were of prophetic origin (see also Bava Basra 14b).
The Talmud was, upon its completion, accepted as authoritative by the entire generation, thereby assuming a permanent preeminent status for its legal decisions.
The authority of later books of Jewish scholarship is largely the product of their quality and the desire of serious Torah scholars to read them.
Better than this, though, is the classical introduction to Maimonides’ Mishna Torah.
Please let me know if this is helpful.
With regards,
Rabbi Boruch Clinton