Loading...I am now nearly finished talking about the “Documentary Hypothesis” devised by scholars of the Hebrew Bible to account for the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. I have already discussed the traditional view developed in the nineteenth century, especially as it was laid out by Julius Wellhausen. All of this was in response to a question I received about what scholars today have to say about it. Here is what I say, briefly, about that in my textbook on the Bible. It’s about as much as most beginning students (and most people in general) need to know.
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The Scholarly View Today
It is impossible to speak about a single scholarly opinion about the Documentary Hypothesis today. Some scholars reject the idea that J and E were separate sources; some think that there were far more sources than the four; some propose radically different dates for the various sources (for example, one increasingly popular proposal is that the earliest sources were written in the 7th century; other scholars maintain that none of the sources was produced before the Babylonian exile in the 6th century). A number of scholars have produced mind-numbingly complicated proposals that try to take better into account all of the nuances of the data.
But it is possible to speak about a scholarly consensus on some of the truly critical points. These would include the following:
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- However we account for the final product of the Pentateuch, it was not written in whole or even in part by Moses, or by any one person – certainly no one living as early as the 13th century BCE.
- The Pentateuch as we now have it is composed of a variety of written sources that have been woven together, all of which are themselves based on earlier oral traditions that had been in circulation for a long period of time as story tellers told and retold the stories about much earlier times.
- These various sources were written at different periods of time in the history of ancient Israel.
- Each of these sources embodies a distinctive set of concerns and a variety of views – about God, about Israel, about what is religiously important.
- The sources may not be, and indeed probably are not, reliable for the history that they narrate – that is, they may not, and probably do not, give historically accurate information about the Primeval History, the Ancestral History, or the Exodus and the life of Moses. This makes it very difficult indeed to know what happened in any of the periods discussed in the Pentateuch, from the beginning of time to the point at which Israel was (allegedly) poised to enter into the Promised Land immediately after the death of Moses.
- Each source may, on the other hand, provide useful information concerning the period of time when it was composed.
- Unfortunately, since we don’t know for certain (with the possible exception of the D source) when that was, even this information is not definitively useful for writing an authoritative account of the history of Israel.
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One simple question followed by two quick yes or no questions. I hope that’s not too much…
1. You don’t think Moses existed, but at a certain point, the Jews existed and then flourished in the Promised Land. Do you think Abraham and/or Joshua existed?
2. Do you think Socrates existed?
3. Is it the majority view of scholars today that Moses did not exist?
Happy Independence Day!
1. No. 2. Absolutely 3. Probably
My numbers are likely to be wrong, but if Hebrew writing developed about 1000 BC and the legendary Moses lived about 1400 BC did Hebrew writing even exist at the time Moses allegedly lived?
I wish I knew!!
[I wish I could supply a more detailed reference here, but for now this will have to be noted as “something I read once”…]
As an aside here
The so-called “Square Script” (i.e. the script that most of us recognize as “modern” Hebrew) showed up sometime around the 3rd cent. BCE. Prior to that Hebrew was typically written in the older “paleo-Hebrew” script.
In an effort to argue for the divine origin of the current state of Massoretic Script of the Hebrew Bible, there have been traditional commentators who have argued that the tablets that Moses brought down from My Sinai were _themselves_ written in the “Square Script” (the text later being “corrupted” into the paleo-Hebrew script).
Dr. Ehrman, from your days as an evangelical Christian to today, what was the evolution of your thinking about the Hebrew Bible (the so-called Old Testament)? For instance, did you really believe the universe was created in six days 6,000 years ago? Did you really believe The Flood and Noah’s Ark were actual historical events?
Oh, yes, I was a complete literalist. I actually heard people lecture who claimed they had personally seen the remains of the ark on Mount Ararat! And believed them!! And six-day creation? Absolutely. These were some of my first fundamentalist views to bite the dust.
Dear Bart,
As mentioned last week I am reading your textbook right now. Your recent posts on the “Documentary Hypothesis” are a welcome addition. Thank you for that!
Greetings from the Netherlands
Ronald
Has anyone talked about the Genesis serpent in the context of first millennium BCE Mesopotamian snake cults?
I”m sure they have, but I don’t know anything about it I’m afraid!
Helpful summary, thanks. I was hoping for a “Further reading” at the end…
Great idea! I’ll provide one tomorrow!
Since you’re addressing the Pentateuch (which is part of the Old Testament) I’d be interested in knowing your opinions regarding the historicity of David and Solomon. Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman indicate that David was not much more than a bandit chief who made a name for himself by capturing Jerusalem. It follows then that the grander of Solomon’s temple is a myth.
Yeah, I pretty much agree.
THE BOOK OF J by Harold Bloom enhanced my appreciation for Torah. I love his imaginary mother answering her child’s question: “Why?” The Bible is not a history book or a science text. It is Jewish story telling.
An excellent series of posts.
Conservative christian scholars go to great lengths to maintain an early dating and historical accuracy. I learned this weekend that an Evangelical Anglican college in London has a lecturer teaching that Genesis was originally written in a Cananite language (as language scholars claim Written Hebrew wasn’t around in 13000 ). As far as I am aware there is no evidence that the pentateuch was first written in a Cananite language.
Wow. I wonder what “Canaanite language” they have in mind. As you might imagine, there’s zero evidence of this….
That’s a rather odd claim considering that, technically speaking, Hebrew IS a “Canaanite language”. I suppose it depends on what one means by “Canaanite”. If we’re talking Canaanite in the sense of a language common to the region we call Canaan, well, that would include much of the Levant, which had plenty of “Canaanite” languages, one of which was Hebrew. But if we’re talking specifically the language of the Canaanite people, well, the people who literally called themselves Canaanites (Kana’nim) were what we would call the Phoenicians: namely, the Semitic peoples of the city-states of Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, etc. The Phoenicians were, strictly speaking, Canaanites who spoke Canaanite. Now, if those scholars are suggesting that the Hebrew Bible was originally written in Phoenician, well, that’s pure nonsense. That isn’t to say that the Hebrew Bible was not influenced by the Phoenicians. Possibly the most famous Canaanite/Phoenician in the Bible itself is queen Jezebel, wife of king Ahab, and as far as we can tell all the archaeological evidence from the time of Ahab shows that Hebrew was the common language of Israel. So…
As for whether Hebrew itself existed ca. 1300 BCE, that’s a tricky question, because languages back then had soft borders. That is, it’s not like the hard national borders we find between languages today, where when you cross from Spain into France the vernacular goes sharply from Spanish to French. Three thousand years ago, a person could go from one village to a neighboring village and hear a slightly difference version of “Canaanite”. That’s why linguistists tend to talk about “Southwestern Semitic” instead of Hebrew vs Canaanite, because the languages were so fluid back then.
This was a great thread. I must have that book by Finkelstein now.
So then, can you suggest a book that is as authoritative account of the history of Israel as we can expect to get, given these limitations you’ve summarized? I have Ben Sasson’s massive “A History of the Jewish People” but I read it so long ago that I can’t recall how much it questions Jewish traditions about Jewish history.
I’d suggest starting with Silberman and Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed, and then try the books on the history of Israel by William Dever.
Professor, having already read both Finkelstein and Silverman, I headed over to Amazon to check out Dever’s books. Some of the reviews, however, indicate that Dever’s underlying goal is to promote a historical Israel in support of modern Israel, and that this goal, rather than the actual archaeology, drives his writing. Several reviews discuss Dever “calling names” (allow me to quote one thoughtful review of Who Were the Israelites: ”
The bulk of Dever writing in this chapter 8 is mainly name-calling, using epithets he uses as insults, from softer ones such as “minimalists”, “nihilist” to stronger ones such as “revisionists”, “nazi”, etc. The rest is condescending remarks, mockeries, covert appeals to political correctness… I have never seen this before in a book that begins in an academic manner (I know reviewers for other books by Dever complained that they were full of name-calling but that the present one would be his most serious book). To me this has completely disqualified Dever as a credible scholar and confirmed my opinion on the reliability and seriousness of Finkelstein work.”)
Are you sure his books are worth reading? I have no brief for or against Modern Israel, I’m just looking for historical knowledge for its own sake.
I don’t know that about him. I would be cautious about such reviews; he is a very fine historian. You may want to read him for yourself and decide.
OT: I’m puzzled as to *why*, if, as you say (I’m taking your word for it!), the Gospels say Jesus was “raised” from the dead, presumably by God the Father – and Protestants still say that – *both* the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds say he *rose*. I’d been assuming the Nicene Creed said he was “raised”; but I just looked it up, and it doesn’t.
If the Gospels implied he had to be “raised” by someone else, asserting that he didn’t should have been seen as a major theological difference (implying a higher level of divinity on his part). And people raised Protestant (more familiar with the Nicene Creed) should have been using the same terminology as those raised Catholic (more familiar with the Apostles’ Creed).
If you say Christ “rose” that does not indicate under what power — his own or someone else’s. It is neutral on the issue. If you say he “raised himself” then that is obviously different from he “was raised,” the latter meaning “by God.” So anyone who says that “he rose” AND that “he was raised” is saying the same thing, not contradictory things.
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. What I have found fascinating is just how much Babylonian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and even Greek literature influenced the Primeval history. Was the earlier Atrahasis flood narrative the primary influence on the Biblical flood narrative, or was the influence of Atrahasis mediated through the Epic of Gilgamesh? I’m not sure there is any way to know for sure about the earliest shape of the stories/JEP sources, especially given the redactional structuring (chiasmus) used throughout Genesis.
My sense is that all of these were related to one another, but it’s hard to establish direct literary relationships between them. Maybe I’ll post a bit on the two non-biblical accounts for people interested.
That would be a great thread, maybe one you’d have to farm pieced out to expert friends of yours — influences of Mesopotamian epics, Zoroastrianism, I don’t know, maybe Egyptian myths then extant, and so forth.
they may not, and probably do not, give historically accurate information about the Primeval History, the Ancestral History, or the Exodus and the life of Moses.
It seems that most of the names in the stories have a meaning that has to do with the theme of the story. Is that one of the give away that the stories are not historical?
It certainly may be a hint or a clue!
In regards to the Book of Exodus, is there any archaeological evidence to support the existence of the Hebrews in Egypt? Also, in reference to how the first five books, or even later books, evolved, is there evidence that the Hebrews came into contact with other religions that might have shaped their views, i.e. Zoroastrianism, Egyptian religions like Ma’at, etc.?
Archaeological evidence: not really. And yes, they almost certainly were in contact with other religious traditions, absolutely.
At what point in the OT narratives do you think the major characters actually existed as portrayed?
I think David certainly existed (1 and 2 Samuel), but I think the stories about him are legendary. More historical information starts showing up in 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
My view of Christian scholarship (which might be wrong) is that there are a roughly equal number of conservative and liberal scholars…and that conservative scholars view, for example, the Pentateuch as having been written by Moses. Is this wrong? If there are a reasonable number of conservative scholars that hold these views, wouldn’t that mean that there is no consensus, that Moses did not write the Pentateuch?
I really don’t know what the percentages (this many conservative this many liberal) are. But because of very conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists, I always try to say that hte majority of *critical* scholars say x, y, or z. I don’t know any non conservative evangelical/fundamentalist on the planet who thinks Moses wrote the Pentateuch.