I believe He planned the Bible as a book for all humanity, for all time. To touch the hearts and minds of so many people, in all the varied circumstances and periods of time, it makes sense that God would use differently skilled writers, with unique perspectives and styles. He could have dictated the entire Bible, verbatim, chapter by chapter, verse after verse, to the writers, but that doesn’t sound like God. I can imagine God placing a vision of the message in the writer’s mind and allowing him to develop the text, using his God-given talents. It's still God's message, but one with a human touch. It's pretty cool, when you think about it. The Bible comes from God, and it also comes from people. He allowed us the privilege of helping shape it. That’s not to say He gave up control. Perhaps He simply allowed for poetic license, within reason. The Bible is full of illustrations and instances showing the differences in people. Similarities, too, of course, but with respect to the former, we can probably assume one reason God allowed different expressions of His message was to get the idea across that the Bible wasn’t meant for a small number of people, or just one race. It’s for everyone. Different periods, ages and cultures respond differently to the same words and phrases, or vice-versa. What may leave me awed and amazed, for example, might sound like business as usual to Joe Blow in Oslo. Maybe you read a passage that settled a question you’d been asking for the past five years. The same group of verses may have provided insight on a completely different question for a group of believers two hundred years ago. The point is, one person’s method of expression can only touch so many people. God wants us all to be touched by the Bible because it’s one way of showing Himself to humanity. The Bible is also His way of presenting us with a top-notch guidebook on how to deal with other people, how to handle stress, temptation, anger, success, poverty, illness, heartache, and other unchanging elements of life on Earth. People will always need to know how to deal with other people honestly and fairly, for example, and "right" isn't always obvious.. When we read the personal stories in the Bible, it's not simply a "how to" or "what not to". We read about how a person dealt with an issue. Again, the writings of several people and each one's unique perspective will touch more people than the words of just one. The men and women in the Bible weren’t just make-believe characters in a play. Their troubles weren’t just the stuff of a fiction writer’s fantasy. We can identify with people like the Prodigal Son because his circumstances are timeless. That's what keeps the Bible relevant now and why its content will never be seen as obsolete or outdated. God might want us to see that sometimes two people have different perspectives on the same event and both are right. Two bkks in the New Testament, Matthew and Luke, describe similar events, but from two different writers. Unique expressions and styles of course, help to define writers. It would be hard to confuse Paul's letters with David's Psalms, for example. I'd just like to know who wrote the Book of Job. Talk about unique! . My guess is that the only one who could have written Job is whoever did. (Read it and you'll see what I mean) Of course, I'm not exactly qualified to speak for God, but thanks Alatea, your kind words are much appreciated. These are just a few points that I thought answered the question. There are undoubtedly other, different answers besides mine, but that's no surprise, considering what the questions is asking.(Not that I'm confused about Answerbag answers and the Bible, and which one we're in now LOL)

Jodie 44, A wonder full answer. If I may. A little about Job and the writer; *** si pp. 95-96 pars. 4-6 Bible Book Number 18—Job *** 4 Job lived in Uz, located, according to some geographers, in northern Arabia near the land occupied by the Edomites and east of the land promised to Abraham’s offspring. The Sabeans were on the south, the Chaldeans on the east. (1:1, 3, 15, 17) The time of Job’s trial was long after Abraham’s day. It was at a time when there was “no one like [Job] in the earth, a man blameless and upright.” (1:8) This appears to be the period between the death of Joseph (1657 B.C.E.), a man of outstanding faith, and the time that Moses entered upon his course of integrity. Job excelled in pure worship at this period of Israel’s contamination by the demon worship of Egypt. Furthermore, the practices mentioned in the first chapter of Job, and God’s acceptance of Job as a true worshiper, point to patriarchal times rather than to the later period from 1513 B.C.E. on, when God dealt exclusively with Israel under the Law. (Amos 3:2; Eph. 2:12) Thus, allowing for Job’s long life, it appears that the book covers a period between 1657 B.C.E. and 1473 B.C.E., the year of Moses’ death; the book was completed by Moses sometime after Job’s death and while the Israelites were in the wilderness.—Job 1:8; 42:16, 17. 5 Why do we say Moses was the writer? This is according to the oldest tradition, among both Jewish and early Christian scholars. The vigorous authentic style of Hebrew poetry used in the book of Job makes it evident that it was an original composition in Hebrew, the language of Moses. It could not have been a translation from another language such as Arabic. Also, the portions in prose bear stronger resemblance to the Pentateuch than to any other writings in the Bible. The writer must have been an Israelite, as Moses was, because the Jews “were entrusted with the sacred pronouncements of God.” (Rom. 3:1, 2) After he had reached maturity, Moses spent 40 years in Midian, not far from Uz, where he could obtain the detailed information recorded in Job. Later, when he passed near Job’s homeland during Israel’s 40-year wilderness journey, Moses could learn of and record the concluding details in the book. 6 According to The New Encyclopædia Britannica, the book of Job often is “counted among the masterpieces of world literature.” However, the book is much more than a literary masterpiece. Job is outstanding among the books of the Bible in exalting Jehovah’s power, justice, wisdom, and love. It reveals most clearly the primary issue before the universe. It illuminates much that is said in other books of the Bible, especially Genesis, Exodus, Ecclesiastes, Luke, Romans, and Revelation. (Compare Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7 with Genesis 3:15; Exodus 9:16; Luke 22:31, 32; Romans 9:16-19 and Revelation 12:9; also Job 1:21; 24:15; 21:23-26; 28:28 respectively with Ecclesiastes 5:15; 8:11; 9:2, 3; 12:13.) It provides the answers to many of life’s questions. It is certainly an integral part of the inspired Word of God, to which it contributes much in the way of beneficial understanding. Regards Larry

Because they had different messages.

well because humans are humans and we interpret things differently. Everyone has seen the game where you get a bunch of people in a circle and have one person tell another a secret and pass it around and see how convulted it gets. Couple that with men in power wanting to slip in their own little agendas and such, that pretty much explains most of the inconsistancies.....well that and a lot of wine and some Patmos mushrooms.

It was written by a bunch of men who had stories passed down from generations of grandpa's and everyone knows every grandpa adds more and more to the story. I personally don't believe the bible is anything more than a story book with a lot of writers.

Well, if more than one person saw the exact same thing, they are not necessarily going to word what they saw exactly the same. For instance...Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all saw Jesus' crucifixion. Yet think what an emotional time it was for them-they were losing their best friend, provider, and Savior! They were probably freaking out about it, and each one noted different details that the other ones may not have noticed, and they wrote about what they saw later. The point is not supposed to be in any tiny mistakes in detail-the point is supposed to be that there were WITNESSES to what happened. :)