Who wrote the Bible? - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Who wrote the Bible?

Or,

A Serious Romp Through the

Graf-

Wellhausen

-Friedman

Documentary HypothesisSlide2

If you already know who wrote the Bible, please raise your hand now.Slide3

GOD?Slide4

GOD?Slide5

Man?Slide6

Human?Slide7

A Committee?Slide8

Moses?Slide9

Moses?Slide10

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

.Slide11

Early QuestionersSlide12

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.Slide13

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.Slide14

Baruch Spinoza, 1632-1677

Dutch 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.Slide15

Developers of the Documentary Hypothesis

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

Wilhelm

Vatke

, 1806-1882, protestant theologian

Julius

Wellhausen

, 1844-1918

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

John William Colenso, 1814-1883, mathematician, theologian, biblical scholar, social activistSlide16

Julius Wellhausen, 1844-1918 Slide17

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)

Two versions of God’s name

(Yahweh, Elohim)

Vocabulary and stylistic differences

(various)

Obvious inconsistencies

…Slide18

The Creation StorySlide19

The Torah starts twice …

Genesis 1

Genesis 2

When 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 …Slide20

Creation Story Variations

Was God’s name Yahweh or Elohim

?

Was creation highly structured (“

God saw that this was good; there was evening there was morning

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?Slide21

The Order of Events?

Genesis 1

Genesis 2

Plants

Animals

Man & Woman

Man

Plants

Animals

WomanSlide22

Noah’s FloodSlide23
Slide24
Slide25

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?Slide26

The Ten CommandmentsSlide27

Ten Commandment Versions

Exodus 20

Exodus 34

I am YHWH who brought you out of Egypt, no other gods but me

No graven images

Do not use YHWH’s name for a falsehood

Remember the Sabbath

Honor your father & mother

Don’t murder

Don’t commit adultery

Don’t steal

Don’t falsely testify against your neighbor

Don’t covet your neighbors stuff

No other gods

No molten gods

Celebrate Passover

3a – All firstborns belong to me

Rest on the Sabbath

Celebrate Shavuot

Three times a year men must appear before God

Don’t offer blood on leavened bread

Don’t leave the Passover sacrifice until morning

Bring the first fruits to the house of YHWH

Don’t cook a kid in its mother’s milk

The Exodus 20 version is repeated with slight variations in Deuteronomy 5Slide28

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 uncoverSlide29

Fish … from water or earth?

The famous commentator

Rashi

(11

th

C CE) thought about this and suggested that there’s really no contradiction. The second creation account elaborates on the first. Noting that birds were created from either water or earth depending on the account, he explains that in reality birds were created from mud

. Slide30

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…)Slide31

The Documentary Hypothesis

An

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).Slide32

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. Slide33
Slide34

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 iniquity, transgression and sin

Still, Yahweh is

a warrior

god, moody -- even tries

to kill

Moses once!

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.Slide35

The E (Elohist) Source

It always uses God’s title, Elohim –

אלהים

, or El -

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 IsraelSlide36

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

JacobSlide37

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

appearSlide38

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: Israelites deserve their sufferingsSlide39

Torah Sources VisualizedSlide40

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

builtSlide41
Slide42

Dating the JEPD/JPDP Sources

Before 10

th

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 (Priestly) – Before Temple

Destruction

[following Richard Friedman rather than

Wellhausen

]

ca.

622/ca. 516 BCE

: D Source

written – Before Temple Destruction and during exile

[ca

. 450 BCE: P Source written (Priestly) – After Temple

Destruction]

ca.

450

BCE: 5 books of Torah compiled by “Redactor”Slide43

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).Slide44

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 also 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.Slide45

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.

JEPD

: 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 ignoredSlide46
Slide47

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.Slide48

But why edit the source texts together?

Richard Friedman:

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?”Slide49

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 possibleSlide50

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

?Slide51

Ezra (maybe)

Ezra (fl. 480–440

BC) was an

Aaronid

priest, 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. CESlide52

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 4

th

C. said: “whether you choose to call Moses the author of the Pentateuch or Ezra the

renewer

of the same work, I raise no objections.”Slide53

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

.Slide54

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.Slide55

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.

Our engagement with the Torah can be enhanced by a better understanding 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.Slide56
Slide57

Questions, discussion …