who originated the four source hypothesis also known as the documentary hypothesis of the composition of the pentateuch

Full Answer

What are the four sources of the Pentateuch?

These models differ on the nature of these sources and how they were combined. The documentary hypothesis posited that the Pentateuch is a compilation of four originally independent documents: the Jahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomist (D), and Priestly (P) sources.

What is the four document hypothesis in the Bible?

Four-document hypothesis. A four-document hypothesis or four-source hypothesis is an explanation for the relationship between the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It posits that there were at least four sources to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark, and three lost sources: Q, M-Source, and L source.

What is the four-source hypothesis?

Four-document hypothesis. A four-document hypothesis or four-source hypothesis is an explanation for the relationship between the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

What is Streeter's four document hypothesis?

Streeter's Four Document Hypothesis. A four-document hypothesis or four-source hypothesis is an explanation for the relationship between the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It posits that there were at least four sources to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark, and three lost sources: Q, M-Source, and L source.

Who is the author of Pentateuch?

Moses3.1 Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch Mosaic authorship is the tradition attributing the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch to Moses, the legendary leader, lawgiver, and prophet of the Israelites who figures as the main protagonist in the Book of Exodus.

What are the four sources of the documentary hypothesis?

According to the documentary hypothesis, the torah was formed when a certain redactor combined three main source texts together, one of which was itself a combination of two earlier main sources. These four sources are known as the Jahwist source, Elohist source, Priestly source, and Deuteronomist source.

What are the 4 traditions involved in writing the Pentateuch?

These and other indications have persuaded biblical scholars that there are four strands interwoven in the Pentateuch: the Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly—hence J, E, D, and P.

What are the 4 literary sources of the Torah?

Simply put, this theory states that the whole of the Torah is comprised of four main sources: J (Yahwist), E (Elohist), D (Deuteronomistic), and P (Priestly).

Did Moses write the Pentateuch?

According to the New Testament, Jesus himself recognised Moses as the author of at least some portions of the Pentateuch (e.g., the Gospel of John, verses John 5:46-47, and the early Christians therefore followed the rabbis.

What is meant by documentary hypothesis?

"The Documentary Hypothesis is a theory, also known as JEDP, that states that the first five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch consisting of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, were not written completely by Moses but by different authors."

Where was the Pentateuch written?

Rabbinic writings state that the Oral Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred in 1312 BCE.

Which book is part of the Torah or Pentateuch?

GenesisBook of ExodusBook of LeviticusBook of NumbersBook of Deuterono...Torah/Books

What is the theology of the Pentateuch?

The Pentateuch reveals God's faithfulness to his covenant people, man's propensity to break the covenant, and man's need for salvation. From Genesis 3:15 to Deuteronomy 18:15, the Pentateuch points to Jesus, who climbs mount Calvary, not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).

What are the 4 types of literature in the Old Testament?

The religion found expression in the books of the Old Testament: books of the Law (Torah), history, prophecy, and poetry.

Where is the original Torah?

The written Torah, in the restricted sense of the first five books of the Bible, is preserved in all Jewish synagogues on handwritten parchment scrolls that reside inside the ark of the Law.

Where did the Torah come from?

Jews believe that God dictated the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai 50 days after their exodus from Egyptian slavery. They believe that the Torah shows how God wants Jews to live. It contains 613 commandments and Jews refer to the ten best known of these as the ten 10 statements.

What are the documentary sources?

Documentary sources are sometimes described as life stories because they are the accounts of the lives of individuals, families, or other social groups. They include diaries, letters, memoirs, photographs, even shopping lists and random jottings.

What is at the beginning of Mark's Gospel?

The Gospel According to Mark has no story of Jesus's birth. Instead, Mark's story begins by describing Jesus's adult life, introducing it with the words, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). Mark tells of John the Baptist, who predicts the coming of a man more powerful than himself.

What is redaction criticism of the Bible?

redaction criticism, in the study of biblical literature, method of criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament that examines the way the various pieces of the tradition have been assembled into the final literary composition by an author or editor.

What are the major publications that reevaluate the documentary hypothesis?

Three major publications of the 1970s caused scholars to reevaluate the assumptions of the documentary hypothesis: Abraham in History and Tradition by John Van Seters, Der sogenannte Jahwist ("The So-Called Yahwist") by Hans Heinrich Schmid, and Das überlieferungsgeschichtliche Problem des Pentateuch ("The Tradition-Historical Problem of the Pentateuch") by Rolf Rendtorff. These three authors shared many of the same criticisms of the documentary hypothesis, but were not in agreement about what paradigm ought to replace it.

Who was Wellhausen's documentary hypothesis?

Wellhausen's documentary hypothesis owed little to Wellhausen himself but was mainly the work of Hupfeld, Eduard Eugène Reuss, Graf, and others, who in turn had built on earlier scholarship. He accepted Hupfeld's four sources and, in agreement with Graf, placed the Priestly work last.

What is the Pentateuch?

The documentary hypothesis posited that the Pentateuch is a compilation of four originally independent documents: the Jahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomist (D), and Priestly (P) sources. The first of these, J, was dated to the Solomonic period (c. 950 BCE). E was dated somewhat later, in the 9th century BCE, and D was dated just before ...

What is the supplementary approach to the Torah?

The fragmentary hypothesis argued that fragments of varying lengths, rather than continuous documents, lay behind the Torah; this approach accounted for the Torah's diversity but could not account for its structural consistency, particularly regarding chronology. The supplementary hypothesis was better able to explain this unity: it maintained that the Torah was made up of a central core document, the Elohist, supplemented by fragments taken from many sources. The supplementary approach was dominant by the early 1860s, but it was challenged by an important book published by Hermann Hupfeld in 1853, who argued that the Pentateuch was made up of four documentary sources, the Priestly, Yahwist, and Elohist intertwined in Genesis-Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers, and the stand-alone source of Deuteronomy. At around the same period Karl Heinrich Graf argued that the Yahwist and Elohist were the earliest sources and the Priestly source the latest, while Wilhelm Vatke linked the four to an evolutionary framework, the Yahwist and Elohist to a time of primitive nature and fertility cults, the Deuteronomist to the ethical religion of the Hebrew prophets, and the Priestly source to a form of religion dominated by ritual, sacrifice and law.

What is Wellhausen's explanation of the formation of the Torah?

Wellhausen's explanation of the formation of the Torah was also an explanation of the religious history of Israel. The Yahwist and Elohist described a primitive, spontaneous and personal world, in keeping with the earliest stage of Israel's history; in Deuteronomy he saw the influence of the prophets and the development of an ethical outlook, which he felt represented the pinnacle of Jewish religion; and the Priestly source reflected the rigid, ritualistic world of the priest-dominated post-exilic period. His work, notable for its detailed and wide-ranging scholarship and close argument, entrenched the "new documentary hypothesis" as the dominant explanation of Pentateuchal origins from the late 19th to the late 20th centuries.

What is the fragmentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch?

Some scholars, following Rendtorff, have come to espouse a fragmentary hypothesis, in which the Pentateuch is seen as a compilation of short, independent narratives, which were gradually brought together into larger units in two editorial phases: the Deuteronomic and the Priestly phases.

What did Wellhausen use the Torah for?

Wellhausen used the sources of the Torah as evidence of changes in the history of Israelite religion as it moved (in his opinion) from free, simple and natural to fixed, formal and institutional.

What is the four document hypothesis?

Streeter 's four-document hypothesis. A four-document hypothesis or four-source hypothesis is an explanation for the relationship between the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It posits that there were at least four sources to the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark and three lost sources ( Q, M, and L ).

What is the first gospel?

Gospel of Luke developed in two phases (see picture). According to this view the first gospel is a combination of the traditions of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Rome, while the third gospel represents Caesarea, Antioch, and Rome.

What is the non-Marcan matter in Luke?

According to B. H. Streeter 's analysis the non-Marcan matter in Luke has to be distinguished into at least two sources, Q and L. In a similar way he argued that Matthew used a peculiar source, which we may style M, as well as Q. Luke did not know M, and Matthew did not know L. Source M has the Judaistic character (see the Gospel according to the Hebrews ), and it suggests a Jerusalem origin; source L Streeter assigned to Caesarea; and source Q, the analysis posits, was connected with Antioch. The document Q was an Antiochene translation of a document originally composed in Aramaic – possibly by the Apostle Matthew for Galilean Christians. Gospel of Luke developed in two phases (see picture).

What did Streeter think about Luke?

Streeter thought there is no evidence that the other sources are less authentic. Streeter hypothesized a proto-Luke document, an early version of Luke that did not incorporate material from Mark or the birth narrative. According to this hypothesis, the evangelist added material from Mark and the birth narratives later.

What is the documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch?

The Documentary Hypothesis of the Pentateuch also known as the JEDP Theory. Some of the critics of the Bible have come up with some sophisticated arguments in their attempts to disprove its authenticity and reliability. One of these attempts is known as the Documentary Hypothesis, or the JEPD theory. In short, this theory states that the first five ...

Who gave up on the Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy?

This prompted other writers to tackle the issue. In 1823, Eichhorn had given up on his claim of Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch.

When did the Jehovist write a narrative?

From these, the Jehovist compiled a narrative work (650 B.C.).

What are some examples of synoptic theories?

For example, Matthew 4:17 reads, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and Mark 1:15 reads, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”.

How much of Matthew is in the synoptic?

According to the Eight General Rules of the Synoptic, Matthew includes roughly 90% of Mark and Luke includes roughly 50%. Since Mark is shorter than either Matthew or Luke, it includes a much smaller percentage of each of them. There are three theories that have been discussed to solve the Synoptic…show more content….

What does Matthew say about David?

Matthew is speaking of God’s covenant with David that has been prophecy about God establishing and fulfilling a kingdom to come.

What is the synoptic relationship?

The Synoptic Relationship : The Four Source Hypothesis. To analysis the synoptic relationship is to show the significance of the Synoptic Problem. In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels. All three of them share some of the same stories and some common materials, such as some of the arrangements ...

What is the documentary hypothesis?

The Documentary (or JEDP) Hypothesis. Various sections of the Pentateuch are assigned to various authors who are identified by the letters J, E, D, and P. Hence, it is called the documentary hypothesis (or the JEDP model 3 ).

Why reject the documentary hypothesis and accepting the biblical testimony to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch?

A final reason for rejecting the documentary hypothesis and accepting the biblical testimony to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is the erroneous assumptions and reasoning of the liberal scholars and other skeptics.

Why is the Pentateuch against Mosaic authorship?

12:6). The very reason they argue this is due to the fact that Moses died prior to the Canaanites being removed, which occurred in the days of Joshua who began judging the Canaanites for their sin.

Why did Moses write the book of Genesis without knowing that the Canaanites would be removed after his death?

First, Moses could have easily written this without knowing that the Canaanites would be removed after his death because, due to warring kingdoms or other factors, people groups did get removed from territories. So it was just a statement of fact about who was living in the land at the time of Abraham. But second, it could also be a comment added by a later editor working under divine inspiration. The editorial comment would in no way deny the Mosaic authorship of the Book of Genesis. Editors sometimes add to books by deceased authors and no one then denies that the deceased wrote the book. 18

What is the name of God in Genesis 1?

Astruc also noticed that Elohim (the Hebrew name for God in Genesis 1:1–2:3) was used in Genesis 1, but then the text switches to Yahweh (Jehovah) in chapter 2. Astruc claimed that these name changes indicated different sources that Moses used.

How many fragments are there in Genesis?

In 1802, Johann Vater insisted that Genesis was made from at least 39 fragments. In 1805, Wilhelm De Wette contended that none of the Pentateuch was written before King David and that Deuteronomy was written at the time of King Josiah.

How did Moses get information about the patriarchs?

In other words, where did Moses get information on the patriarchs? Of course, there are several ways Moses could have obtained this information: divine revelation, previously written texts passed down through the generations, and/or oral tradition from his ancestors. 7 Regardless, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20–21), the books of Moses would be completely true and without error.

Who wrote the Pentateuch?

long tradition holds that the five books of the Pentateuch or Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses. The tradition honors Moses because of his esteemed position as lawgiver and friend of God. But it is highly unlikely that he wrote the version of the Pentateuch that we have today. Even a casual reader will notice problems with this idea when reading the text. There are inconsistencies and duplications, not to mention the fact that Moses would have needed to write about his own death before it happened.

When was the priestly source created?

The priestly source is thought to have developed during and after the Exile (587–538 BC), thus it dates around the sixth century BC. Some think it never existed as an independent source but is the work of the final person or group revising and adding to the JED sources after they had been joined (see below). The

What is the Deuteronomist source?

The Deuteronomist source is the clearest independent source . The author is responsible for most if not all of the Book of Deuteronomy and most likely the historical books of Joshua through Second Kings (not including Ruth). This collection of books, Deuteronomy through Second Kings, is called the Deuteronomistic history and was most likely written in the seventh and sixth centuries BC. But the person(s) responsible for creating this collection remains a mystery (although the Book of Deuteronomy is often associated with the book found by King Josiah around 622 BC [see 2 Kings, chapter 22]). The Deuteronomist theology teaches that all the bad things that happened to the Israelites were God’s punishment for the grave sins of the leaders and the people. Some characteristics of the Deuteronomistic source are these:

Is the Jepd theory a fact?

Remember that JEPD theory is only a theory and not a proven fact . It is an elegant theory that gives us important insights into the development of the Pentateuch. But the actual number of sources, who wrote them and why, and when they were combined is still a matter of scholarly debate. Given that, here is the most commonly accepted understanding of how these four sources were combined into the five books of the Pentateuch we have today:

Overview

History of the documentary hypothesis

Critical reassessment

The Torah and the history of Israel's religion

See also

Bibliography

External links