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Wednesday 21 August 2013

The Pentateuch And The Documentary Hypothesis

The Pentateuch And The Documentary Hypothesis
The creative five books of the Bible - Beginning, Exodus, Leviticus, Churn out and Deuteronomy - are variously civic as the Pentateuch (the Five Books), the Torah (the Law or the Way) and the Books of Moses.

Generally, the Pentateuch was said to own been in black and white in its entire by Moses himself - the infinite conqueror and little leading light of the Israelite institute. Harsh knowledge has desire challenged this suggestion, and the classic modern theory holds that the Pentateuch is put under sedation of substantial smitten from four escort sources, each of which drew in turn on abovementioned sources and traditions. The four sources are in general referred to as J, E, D and P. This four-source theory is traditionally attached with two 19th century German scholars, Karl Heinrich Graf and Julius Wellhausen, conversely it can be traced back to H.B.Witter and Jean Astruc in the 18th century.

This "documentary cheek" of the start of the Pentateuch has been challenged for some living now by singular scholars, but, because other theories own been put direct, none has yet succeeded in achieving an remedy harmony.

How do we know that existing are one different sources in the Pentateuch? One notion that has conservatively been understood to be very facts is that different passages use different names or words for God. Optional extra traditionally, the expression of different passages can vary quite effectively. Also, in one spaces, different versions of the self-same story feel to own been unusually fixed together, or even never-ending as soon as each other. The classic examples of this are the story of Noah's ark in Gen. 7-8 - did Noah stalemate seven kinds of each animal appearing in the ark or two? - and the episodes in Beginning in which patriarchs joke that their wives are their sisters - see 12.10-20, 20.1-18 and 26.6-11.

"The sources of the creative 4 books of the Pentateuch, as soon as Richard E. Friedman"

The J right


The J right is characterised by an anthropomorphic view of God, and individually uses the personal name 'Yahweh' ('Jahwe' in German - accordingly the strengthening J) to abate to him. It has a several divert in southern Palestine, which probably practice that that was where it was put under sedation (maybe in Jerusalem). It has been attached with monarchical circles.

For a desire time, J was prehistoric to the little living of the creative millennium BC. It makes no citation to alien nations such as the Aramaeans and the Assyrians who caused control for the Israelites in final time, and the cursing of Canaan at Gen. 9.26 was understood to flicker the political environment under the little Israelite kings David and Solomon. Its work of fiction, in fact, stops early the time of the kings and does not struggle to stalemate the story down appearing in the pane of the monarchy (c.1025 previous).

It is now recognised that these arguments are weak: existing would, for tutorial, own been no contemplate for a final origin to souse the Aramaeans or the Assyrians appearing in stories referring to the overseas past, nor any have to to bring the story down to his own time. Optional extra valid are the arguments which do research to posting the construction of J noticeably final in Israelite history.

A celebrity of scholars own prehistoric J as in the rear as the post-exilic pane (i.e. the pane as soon as 538 BC). One chip of write down that would regard in this presidency is the phantom in J of the story of Joseph and his brothers, which is probably amid the new of the J substantial. The song other citation to the Joseph story in the OT comes in Psalm 105, which was put under sedation desire as soon as the expulsion. Dowry is no hint of it in E, P or D.

Dowry are settled discontinuities in J which lead one to derive that it drew upon one pre-existing sources. One contemplation is that J drew upon three eminent aforementioned narratives: one recounting to the little history of the worldly spurt (Gen. 1-11), one describing the history of the patriarchs, or little category of the Israelites (Gen. 12-50), and one snitch of the sunrise of Israel as a nation (Ex.).

The E right


Like J refers to God as 'Yahweh' and has a several divert in the south of Palestine, E refers to God as 'Elohim' and has a several divert in the north. The source's seminar and theology likewise resemble individuals found in other northern texts. It stands halfway in the company of P with its weighty view of God and J with its senior anthropomorphic theology. It has been attached with perceptive circles.

Theologically outburst, E is remarkably occupied with questions of decadence, the trouble of God, the share out in the company of God and Israel, and the power of God another time worldly history.

As with J, a celebrity of different datings for E own been suggested, from the tenth century to the expulsion. It is nasty to acquire in the company of the opposing theories, conversely if E did stalemate kind in the north it is tempting to comprehend it early the fall of the northern terra firma in 722 (of course, it may own been re-edited as soon as that comprehend). A celebrity of scholars derive that J and E must be calculated together as one source: that E is sternly a series of added extras made to J by an editor which never existed as an detached marks. Such lessons own been contested quite just now by Joel S. Baden in "J, E, and the Redaction of the Pentateuch", in which Baden argues that J and E remained local office texts until the Pentateuch as a whole was compiled.

The D right and the Deuteronomists


The book of Deuteronomy, defeat with the other OT books of Joshua, Jury, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, was put under sedation by a group of priests and writers civic as the Deuteronomic Moot or the Deuteronomists.

The book of Deuteronomy is the fundamental document of the Deuteronomic Moot. Its creative hand out, which maybe comprised chapters 12-26 of the survive marks, was reportedly discovered in the Jerusalem Peak in 622 BC. The adventure of the book may very well own been a trap on the part of its writers, who fraud to own found a grand old document rather than contribution that they had in black and white it themselves. It is material, however, that the book really had been unidentified by an aforementioned group of writers, remarkably if it had been put under sedation appearing in the desire reign of Emperor Massaneh (697-642). The artistic profession of the Deuteronomists would grasp well appearing in the sixth century, with the creative editions' of the Deuteronomic times of yore books probably existence over and done with in next to no time early the expulsion (587 BC).

The another concerns of the Deuteronomists included apiece call delightful behaviour and call like, which to them meant apiece a exact outflow of the like of other deities and a centralisation of the like of Yahweh in the Jerusalem Peak, as well as the gel celebration of Passover. The Deuteronomists' proper wisdom provoked inward conviviality in like and prove for the sorry.

The gist of Deuteronomy crash to own been won over by J and (curiously) E. The book underwent straight-talking added extras. Chapters 12-26 were extended by the substantial in the company of 4.44 and 30.20 (if that substantial was not formerly award in the creative hand out), and in due course the book reached the form in which it appears in modern Bibles.

The times of yore books twisted by the Deuteronomists were likewise re-edited appearing in and as soon as the Exile. Let's stalemate a quicker come out at some of them:

JOSHUA: We can comprehend the survive hand out of Joshua to c.560 on the means that the origin seems not to own been vigilant of any times of yore knowledge as soon as that comprehend. Dowry are real signs that the book went downstairs aforementioned editions, however: see, for tutorial, the two local office conclusions in chapters 23 and 24. What on earth sources did the composers of the book make use of? Chapters 1-12 model in a thick layer on substantial recounting to the region occupied by the relations of Benjamin, and the turn reveal Gilgal in several. Chapters 13-21 are quite different, and crash to be making use of pompous archival lists of the managerial districts of Judah (dating from in the manner of - the seventh century?). Hidden in singular parts of the book are very little traditions, such as the tradition among the renovation of the share out at 8.30-35 and the list of cities of hideaway and Levitical cities in part 24.

1 AND 2 SAMUEL (pioneer one book): We can gossip that the authors used a get to of different sources, together with the lost Degree of Jashar (2 Sam. 1.18); singular psalms and poems; genealogies and lists of officials (e.g. 1 Sam. 14.49-51, 2 Sam. 3.2-5, 5.13-16, 8.15-18, 20.23-26); and an door of Emperor David's reign which may by chance go back to within outstanding keep apart from of David's lasting (2 Sam. 9-20, durable in 1 Kgs. 1-2).

1 AND 2 KINGS (pioneer one book): 1 and 2 Kings may comprehend in their fundamental form to the seventh century: the erroneous dream 2 Kgs. 22.20 suggests that the fountain pen was calligraphy early 609. On the other hand, the regard at which 2 Kings ends suggests that it was re-edited as soon as 566 - and verses 25.27-30 were inserted even final. Sources named in the marks put in The Degree of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kgs. 11.41), The Degree of the Collection of the Kings of Israel (1 Kgs. 14.19) and The Degree of the Collection of the Kings of Judah (1 Kgs. 14.29).

The P right


P is the Religious right. As its name implies, it was in black and white by priests and is clearly occupied with matters of cult and ritual. Its view of God is earnest, devoted and weighty - the perverse in diverse ways to that of J. It takes a in the vicinity of divert in genealogies. It probably emerged from the traditions and practices of the Peak at Jerusalem and the facts memorial at Shiloh.

It used to be understood that P was put under sedation appearing in or as soon as the expulsion, but that dating can no longer be maintained. As soon as we compare P's seminar to that of Ezekiel, a origin interested in clerical matters who steady was boisterous appearing in the expulsion, and to that found in post-exilic writings, we find critical discrepancies of language. The institutions described in P likewise do not fit with what we know of Israelite religion in the post-exilic pane.

One fascinating scoop of the marks of P is that it consists of two well-defined layers: genuine P and a series of texts even more at a final comprehend. We may refer to these layers P1 and P2 each, conversely the following is sometimes referred to by scholars as H (in the same way as it is centred on a document civic as the Goodness Instruct). We know that P2 rather than P1 is the final face in the same way as its gist fit into the living of P1 (Lev. 20.25 assumes ch. 11, 22.4 assumes ch. 13-15, 19.7f is an abbreviated sketch of 7.18, and so on). It likewise tends to spell out what is unspoken or prospective in P1 - and, special P1, it sees the Jerusalem Peak as the song official rest for the like of Yahweh.

P2 itself probably consists of different layers, and seems to own been put under sedation another time a pane of time. One of its concerns - its opposition to the like of Molech and the spirits of the dead, for tutorial - feel to match with what we know of situation in Israel in the following part of the eighth century. Its inflection on the Jerusalem Peak recalls the enter of the Deuteronomists. Differently once more, Lev. 23, a part affair with the dutiful calendar, contains some prying facade which persuasively advise that it was put under sedation in Babylon appearing in the Exile.