Or,A Serious Romp Through the

Graf-Wellhausen-Friedman Documentary Hypothesis

May 5, 2015

GOD?

GOD?

Man?

Woman?

A Committee?

Moses?

Moses?

Moses as Author / Transcriber

The Torah states that Moses wrote the Torah

The Talmud states that Moses wrote the Torah

The Mishna states that Moses wrote the Torah

Josephus states that Moses wrote the Torah

Jesus more or less states that Moses wrote Torah

Maimonides says: “The Torah that we have today is

the one dictated to Moses by God.” (ca. 1200 CE)

So that pretty well settles that. Or does it?

Andreas Van Maes, 1514-1573,

Dutch Catholic priest

Suggested that later Pentateuch

editors added phrases or updated

place names.

His book was placed on the Catholic

Index of Prohibited Books.

Isaac La Peyrère, 1596–1676

French Calvinist theologian

Wrote explicitly that Moses was not

the author of the Pentateuch.

His book was banned and burned; he

was imprisoned until he recanted and

converted to Catholicism.

Baruch Spinoza, 1632-1677Dutch philosopher

Published a critical analysis of the Pentateuch demonstrating that Moses could not be the author.

Already excommunicated from Judaism, his book was placed on the Catholic Index of Prohibited Books, 37 edicts were issued against it, and an attempt was made on his life.

Developers of the Documentary Hypothesis

Karl Heinrich Graf, 1815-1869, Old Testament scholar and “orientalist”

Wilhelm Vatke, 1806-1882, protestant theologian

William Robertson Smith, 1846-1894, Scottish professor of divinity and minister

John William Colenso, 1814-1883, British mathematician, theologian, biblical scholar, social activist

Julius Wellhausen, 1844-1918, German Biblical scholar and “orientalist”

Julius Wellhausen, 1844-1918

Suggestive indications of multiple

authorship

Anachronisms (e.g., in Genesis there’s a list of Edomite kings who lived long after Moses’ death, and place names appear that didn’t exist until later in history)

Duplicate passages aka “doubles” (e.g., two creation stories, two versions of Joseph’s being sold into slavery, two versions of Moses striking water from a rock, three versions of the Ten Commandments)

Different versions of God’s name (Yahweh, Elohim, etc.)

Vocabulary and stylistic differences (various)

Obvious inconsistencies, such as in …

The Creation Story

The Torah starts twice …

Genesis 1 Genesis 2When God (Elohim) began to

create the skies and the earth –

when the earth had been

shapeless and formless, and

darkness was on the face of the

deep, and God’s (Elohim’s) spirit

was hovering on the face of the

water …

When God (Yahweh) made earth

and skies – when all produce of the

field had not yet been in the earth,

and all vegetation of the field had

not yet grown, for God (Yahweh)

had not rained on the earth and

there had been no human to work

the ground …

Creation Story Variations

Was God’s name Yahweh or Elohim?

Was creation highly structured (“God saw that this was good; there was evening and there was morning, a second day.”)?

… or meandering with no day-by-day structure (“And God planted …”, “And God said ...”, “And God caused a slumber to fall …”)?

Did God make Adam and Eve at the same time (“He created them, male and female”)?

… or did he decide Adam was lonely and make Eve out of a rib (“It is not good for man to be by himself…”)?

Were birds created from water or were birds created from earth?

What was the order of events?

The Order of Events?

Genesis 1 Genesis 2

Plants

Animals

Man & Woman

Man

Plants

Animals

Woman

Noah’s Flood

Noah Story Variations

7 each of “pure” (“clean”) animals, 2 each of impure

(unclean)?

OR … 2 each of everything?

Flood lasted 40 days? OR … 150 days?

Did Noah send out a raven or some doves?

Was God’s name Yahweh or Elohim?

The Ten Commandments

Ten Commandment VersionsExodus 20 Exodus 34

1. No other gods but YHWH

2. No graven images

3. Do not use YHWH’s name for a falsehood

4. Remember the Sabbath

5. Honor your father & mother

6. Don’t murder

7. Don’t commit adultery

8. Don’t steal

9. Don’t falsely testify against your neighbor

10. Don’t covet your neighbors stuff

1. No other gods

2. No molten gods

3. Celebrate Passover

4. Rest on the Sabbath

5. Celebrate Shavuot

6. Three times a year men must appear before God

7. Don’t offer blood on leavened bread

8. Don’t leave the Passover sacrifice until morning

9. Bring the first fruits to the house of YHWH

10. Don’t cook a kid in its mother’s milk

The Exodus 20 version is repeated with slight

variations in Deuteronomy 5

How to understand these differences?

Restatements of the stories may bring out different

lessons

The different names of God can reflect the different

aspects of God (e.g., Elohim – transcendent God, Yahweh

– immanent God)

Sometimes there are hidden or esoteric explanations that

we are challenged to uncover

Birds … from water or earth?

The famous commentator Rashi (11th C CE) thought about the question of

whether birds were made from water, as Genesis 1 implies, or earth, as

Genesis 2 implies. Rashi decided that there’s really no contradiction. The

second creation account simply elaborates on the first, and in reality birds

were created from mud.

Current Scholarly Viewpoint on Authorship:

“Today the majority of academic scholars accept the theory that the Torah does not have a single author and that its composition took place over centuries.”

(John J. McDermott, Reading the Pentateuch,

2002, and frequently quoted…)

The Documentary HypothesisAn historical / critical method of understanding the Bible

Core assumptions:

The Pentateuch (“Five Books of Moses”) was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of editors (redactors).

In some cases the source narratives incorporated earlier sources, e.g., histories, genealogies, songs.

The Pentateuch was assembled and edited over several centuries.

There were probably four main source documents that were combined into the canonical version of the Torah (although the specific number is not an essential part of the hypothesis).

The Source Texts

J – the Yahwehist text, so named because of its consistent use of יהוה (YHVH, in German JHWH) as God’s name.

E – the Elohist text, so named because of its consistent use of אלהים (Elohim) to refer to God.

P – the Priestly text, evidencing special vocabulary, priestly concerns.

D – the Deuteronomistic text, Deuteronomy through Kings, plus Jeremiah; has much different style, repetitions of J+E.

R – the Redactor, the scribe or group of scribes who compiled and edited the canonical version of the Pentateuch.

The J (Yahwehist) Source

It always uses the “personal” name of God, Yaweh - יהוה God is described in human terms; he walks on earth, talks to

humans directly, debates them, worries about Adam’s mental health

Episodic, narrative emphasis – good stories

God describes himself as kind, merciful, compassionate, longsuffering, faithful, forgiving of iniquity, transgression and sin

Still, Yahweh is a warrior god, moody -- even tries to kill Moses at one point because Moses forgot to circumcise his son!

The core theology is God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham: the promise of land, promise of “great nation” and many descendants, promise of blessings and redemption.

The E (Elohist) Source

It always uses God’s title, Elohim – - or El ,אלהים אל Frequent appearance of angels

Sets ancestral stories in the North / Israel

Favorable attitude to the Northern Tribes

Unfavorable attitude to Samaritans’ claim of pre-eminence

in Israel

J Source vs. E Source

J Source E Source

Inhabitants of Palestine Canaanites Amorites

Moses’ father-in-law Reuel Jethro

God’s residence Sinai Horeb

Isaac’s son Israel Jacob

The P (Priestly) Source

Concerned with priestly matters - ritual law, shrines,

sacrifices, and genealogies

Formal, repetitive style

God is majestic, transcendent; does not interact

directly with humans

God does love the smell of a good burnt offering!

Emphasizes crucial role of priests for all aspects of

religion and law

Emphasizes centralization of all sacrifices in Jerusalem

Absolute proscription of intermarriage

The words “mercy,” “grace,” “repentance” and “kindness” never appear

The D (Deuteronomist) Source

An entirely separate work

Same author(s) as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings

Recapitulation and reworking of J, E and P

Traditions of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) brought to the south after the Assyrian conquest of the north

Embraces nationalist reforms of King Josiah

Portrays God’s covenant with Israel as contingent; if Israelites are unfaithful they will lose their land and God’s support

Provides an explanation of the fall of Jerusalem, the disaster of the Babylonian conquest and exile: the Jews deserve their sufferings

Torah Sources Visualized

Key Dates in Torah History

ca. 1050-930 BCE: David, Solomon; Unified North and South;“Golden Age;” construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem

ca. 930 BCE: Division into Israel (North) and Judah (South)

721 BCE: Northern Kingdom (Israel) conquered by the Assyrians

715-686 BCE: King Hezekiah of Judah (reformer)

701 BCE: Siege of Jerusalem by Assyria (Sennacherib)

641-609 BCE: King Josiah of Judah (reformer)

586 BCE: Destruction of the First Temple, by Babylon (Nebuchadnezzer II)

587-518 BCE: Babylonian captivity (ca. 70 years)

540 BCE: Conquest of Babylon by Persia

538-332 BCE: Return from Babylon to Israel

516 BCE: Second Temple built

Dating the JEPD/JPDP Sources

Before 10th C BCE – Earlier oral and written sources

ca. 850 BCE: J Source written (Southern Kingdom)

ca. 850 BCE: E Source written (Northern Kingdom)

ca. 690 BCE: P Source written – Before Temple Destruction[following Friedman rather than Wellhausen]

ca. 622-ca. 516 BCE: D Source written – Before Temple Destruction and after, during exile

[ca. 450 BCE: P Source written – After Temple Destruction]

ca. 450 BCE: 5 books of Torah compiled by “Redactor”

NB: All dates are estimates and controversial.

So, here is the JEPD “narrative” …

J: During the relatively stable years of King David and King Solomon (1000–922 BC),scribes in the royal court and Temple (the two were intimately connected) began to capture the Israelites’ oral histories and religious stories in writing, the beginning of the J source.

E: After the brief civil war following Solomon’s death (922 BC), there were two kingdoms. Judah (the southern kingdom) kept or continued the written tradition (J), and the northern kingdom developed an alternative written tradition (E).

The JEPD “narrative” continued …

JE: After the northern kingdom was conquered and destroyed by the Assyrians (721 BC), Israelite refugees fled to Jerusalem, bringing their written tradition (E) with them. Seeking to capture the truths of both the J and E sources, a new tradition was created by combining the two. This theoretical source is called the JE source.

P: During the reign of King Hezekiah (715-686 BCE), in part as a response to JE and to document “correct” religious practices, priests in Judah wrote their own more extensive version of the Torah, creating the “P” source (ca. 690 BCE). The “P” Source restricts all worship to the Aaronite line of priests in the Temple at Jerusalem.

The JEPD “narrative” continued …

D: King Josiah (649-609 BCE) implemented religious reforms, and the first part of the D source (Dtr1) was written then, before the exile. Dtr1 promotes centralized worship in Jerusalem and role of priests. The second part (Dtr2) was written during the exile/post exile period (538 BCE). Dtr2 explains why God punished the Israelites by allowing the Babylonian conquest.

R: After the return from the Babylonian exile (518 BCE), a scribe (“the Redactor”) edits together JE, P and D into a single narrative. Since all previous source texts were well-known and had supporters, the source texts couldn’t simply be ignored

Post-Exile Need for a New Torah

The Persians urged Jews to return to Judah under the

leadership of Ezra and Nechemyah and practice their

religion.

There was the need to affirm and revive Jewish

religious practice after the disruptions of exile.

There were three different “torahs”: JE, P, and D.

Aaronid priests, who were in authority, wanted a single,

coherent religious text.

But why edit the source texts together?

Richard Friedman suggests: By the end of the Babylonian exile “all of the sources were ‘famous.’ J and E had been around for centuries and were quoted in D. P had been around since Hezekiah’s days, it had been associated with a national reform, and it had the support of the priesthood that was in power. D had been read publicly in the days of Josiah, and it contained a law requiring that it be read again publicly every seven years. How could the Redactor have left any of these out? The issue again was successful promulgation. Who would have believed that it was the Torah of Moses if it did not include the famous stories of Adam and Eve (J), the golden calf (E), Phinehas (P), and Moses’ farewell speech?”

The editorial process?

Making disparate elements flow comfortably together

Deciding what to do with problems of repetitions and contradictions

Combining some doubles into single stories, segmenting and weaving

Shaping other doubles into parallel stories

Providing continuity

Arranging events in what was understood as the correct historical sequence

Adding some passages to enhance transitions and combinations

Reconciling opposing sources when possible

So who was the wise, brilliant, knowledgeable

and talented Redactor who finally edited the

JEPD source texts together into the Torah that

was handed down to us?

WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?

Ezra (maybe)

Ezra (fl. 480–440 BC) was an Aaronidpriest, lawgiver and scribe.

He came back from Babylon as “a scribe expert in the Teaching of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given, whose request the king [Artaxerxes of Persia] had granted in its entirety… Ezra had dedicated himself to study the Teaching of the Lord [set his heart to seeking out Yahweh’s Torah].”

(Ezra 7)

Codex Amiatinus. early 8th C. CE

Ezra! Evidence?

Ezra 7-10 and Neh. 8 describe how Ezra returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem (Ezra 7-10 and Neh. 8).

In the non-canonical Fourth Book of Ezra, Ezra restores the law that was destroyed with the burning of the Temple in Jerusalem. He dictates 24 books for the public (i.e. most of the Tanakh) and another 70 for the wise alone (70 unnamed revelatory works).

St. Jerome, the first translator of the Bible into Latin, in the 4th C. CE said: “whether you choose to call Moses the author of the Pentateuch or Ezra the renewer of the same work, I raise no objections.”

Alternatives to the Documentary Hypothesis

The Fragmentary Model - Pentateuch grew through the gradual accretion of material into larger and larger blocks before being joined together, first by a Deuteronomic writer (in the late 7th century BCE), and then by a Priestly writer (6th/5th century BCE), who also added his own material.

The Supplementary Model – The “J Source” is a complete document composed in the 6th century BCE as an introduction to the Deuteronomistic history (the history of Israel that takes up the series of books from Joshua to Kings). The Priestly writers later added supplements to this (hence the term "supplementary") in a process that continued down to the end of the 4th century BCE.

The Synthesis of the Torah

The Torah is in every way greater than the sum of its parts; it is a synthesis of history,

religion and literature, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in tension.

The Torah is our core foundational text, regardless of the details of its origins.

Torah scholarship is ongoing, with new techniques of linguistic analysis and new

archeological discoveries, which will increase our understanding of the Torah -- and

probably also multiply the questions we have about it.

The Torah cannot be a single, static document; it is the experience of our multiple

personal encounters with it over time, together with the commentaries of those who have

sought to interpret it over the centuries.

Understanding more about the context in which the Torah was written can help increase

our understanding of the lessons and truths we can draw from it.

Bibliography Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman. The Bible Unearthed: Archeology’s New Vision of

Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York: Simon and Schuster/Touchstone, 2002. Print.

Friedman, Richard Elliott. The Bible With Sources Revealed. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.

---. Who Wrote the Bible? 2nd ed. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997. Print.

---. Who Wrote the Flood Story? In: The Bible’s Buried Secrets. WGBH / PBS / Nova, aired March 25, 2015. Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/flood.html

Robinson, George. Essential Torah: a Complete Guide to the Five Books of Moses. New York: Schocken Books, 2006. Ebook.

Rosenberg, David, translator; introduction and commentary by Harold Bloom. The Book of J. New York: Grove Press, 1990. Print.

NB: All images and screenshots are from the Internet and may be covered by copyright. They are used in this presentation for educational purposes under the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law.