Documentary hypothesis

The term may also refer to Jointly Exhaustive , Pairwise Disjoint . The documentary hypothesis (DH) (sometimes called the Wellhausen hypothesis , after Julius Wellhausen , though he did not invent it), holds that the Pentateuch (the Torah , or the 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 redactors (editors). The number of these is usually set at four, but this is not an essential part of the hypothesis. In an attempt to reconcile inconsistencies in the biblical text, and refusing to accept forced explanations to harmonize them, 18th and 19th century biblical scholars using source criticism eventually arrived at the theory that the Torah was composed of selections woven together from several, at times inconsistent, sources, each originally a complete and independent document. The hypothesis developed slowly over the course of the 19th century, by the end of which it was generally agreed that there were four main sources, combined into their final form by a series of redactors , R . These four sources came to be known as the Yahwist , or Jahwist, J (J being the German equivalent of the English letter Y); the Elohist , E ; the Deuteronomist , D , (the name comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, D's contribution to the Torah); and the Priestly Writer , P . Julius Wellhausen 's contribution was to order these sources chronologically as JEDP, giving them a coherent setting in the evolving religious history of Israel, which he saw as one of ever-increasing priestly power. Wellhausen's formulation was: the Jahwist source ( J ) : written c. 950 BCE in the southern Kingdom of Judah . the Elohist source ( E ) : written c. 850 BCE in the northern Kingdom of Israel . the Deuteronomist ( D ) : written c. 600 BCE in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform. the Priestly source ( P ) : written c. 500 BCE by Aaronic priests in exile in Babylon . The Torah redactors : first JE , then JED , and finally JEDP , producing the final form of the Torah c. 450 BCE. The hypothesis dominated biblical scholarship for much of the 20th century, and, although increasingly challenged by other models in the last part of the 20th century, its terminology and insights continue to provide the framework for modern theories on the origins of the Torah.

The term may also refer to Jointly exhaustive , Pairwise disjoint . The documentary hypothesis ( DH ), sometimes called the Wellhausen hypothesis , proposes that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible ) was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors (editors). The number of these narratives is usually set at four, but the precise number is not an essential part of the hypothesis. The hypothesis was developed in the 18th and 19th centuries from the attempt to reconcile inconsistencies in the biblical text. By the end of the 19th century it was generally agreed that there were four main sources, combined into their final form by a series of redactors, R. These four sources came to be known as the Yahwist, or Jahwist, J ( J being the German equivalent of the English letter Y); the Elohist, E ; the Deuteronomist, D , (the name comes from the Book of Deuteronomy , D's contribution to the Torah); and the Priestly Writer, P . The contribution of Julius Wellhausen , a Christian theologian and biblical scholar , was to order these sources chronologically as JEDP, giving them a coherent setting in a notional evolving religious history of Israel, which he saw as one of ever-increasing priestly power. Wellhausen's formulation was: the Yahwist source ( J ) : written c. 950 BCE in the southern Kingdom of Judah . the Elohist source ( E ) : written c. 850 BCE in the northern Kingdom of Israel . the Deuteronomist ( D ) : written c. 600 BCE in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform. the Priestly source ( P ) : written c. 500 BCE by Kohanim (Jewish priests) in exile in Babylon . While the hypothesis has been critiqued and challenged by other models, especially in the last part of the 20th century, its terminology and insights continue to provide the framework for modern theories on the composite nature and origins of the Torah and Bible compilation in general. A Basic Vocabulary of Biblical Studies For Beginning Students: A Work in Progress , Fred L. The 5 Books of Moses . " Pentateuchal Studies Today ," Themelios 22.1 (October 1996)

Hypothesis to explain the origins and composition of the Torah Diagram of the 20th century documentary hypothesis. J: Yahwist (10th–9th century BCE) E: Elohist (9th century BCE) Dtr1: early (7th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian Dtr2: later (6th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian P*: Priestly (6th–5th century BCE) D†: Deuteronomist R: redactor DH: Deuteronomistic history (books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel , Kings ) The documentary hypothesis ( DH ) is one of the models historically used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch , the first five books of the Bible: Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers , and Deuteronomy ). More recent models include the supplementary hypothesis and the fragmentary hypothesis. All agree that the Torah is not a unified work from a single author, but is made up of sources combined over many centuries by many hands. 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. 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 the reign of King Josiah , in the 7th or 8th century. Finally, P was generally dated to the time of Ezra in the 5th century BCE. The sources would have been joined together at various points in time by a series of editors or "redactors." A version of the documentary hypothesis, frequently identified with the German scholar Julius Wellhausen , was almost universally accepted for most of the 20th century, but the consensus has now collapsed. This was triggered in large part by the influential publications of John Van Seters , Hans Heinrich Schmid , and Rolf Rendtorff in the mid-1970s. These "revisionist" authors argued that J was to be dated no earlier than the time of the Babylonian captivity (597–539 BCE), and rejected the existence of a substantial E source. They also called into question the nature and extent of the three other sources. Van Seters, Schmid, and Rendtorff shared many of the same criticisms of the documentary hypothesis, but were not in complete agreement about what paradigm ought to replace it. As a result, there has been a revival of interest in fragmentary and supplementary approaches, frequently in combination with each other and with a documentary model, making it difficult to classify contemporary theories as strictly one or another. Modern scholars generally see the completed Torah as a product of the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (probably 450–350 BCE), although some would place its production in the Hellenistic period (333–164 BCE), after the conquests of Alexander the Great .

Hypothesis to explain the origins and composition of the Torah Diagram of the 20th century documentary hypothesis. J: Yahwist (10th–9th century BCE) E: Elohist (9th century BCE) Dtr1: early (7th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian Dtr2: later (6th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian P*: Priestly (6th–5th century BCE) D†: Deuteronomist R: redactor DH: Deuteronomistic history (books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel , Kings ) The documentary hypothesis ( DH ) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch , the first five books of the Bible: Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers , and Deuteronomy ). A version of the documentary hypothesis, frequently identified with the German scholar Julius Wellhausen , was almost universally accepted for most of the 20th century. It 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 the reign of King Josiah , in the 7th or 8th century BCE. Finally, P was generally dated to the time of Ezra in the 5th century BCE. The sources would have been joined together at various points in time by a series of editors or "redactors." The consensus around the classical documentary hypothesis has now collapsed. This was triggered in large part by the influential publications of John Van Seters , Hans Heinrich Schmid , and Rolf Rendtorff in the mid-1970s, who argued that J was to be dated no earlier than the time of the Babylonian captivity (597–539 BCE), and rejected the existence of a substantial E source. They also called into question the nature and extent of the three other sources. Van Seters, Schmid, and Rendtorff shared many of the same criticisms of the documentary hypothesis, but were not in complete agreement about what paradigm ought to replace it. As a result, there has been a revival of interest in "fragmentary" and "supplementary" models, frequently in combination with each other and with a documentary model, making it difficult to classify contemporary theories as strictly one or another. Modern scholars also have given up the classical Wellhausian dating of the sources, and generally see the completed Torah as a product of the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (probably 450–350 BCE), although some would place its production as late as the Hellenistic period (333–164 BCE), after the conquests of Alexander the Great .

Hypothesis to explain the origins and composition of the Torah Diagram of the 20th century documentary hypothesis: J: Yahwist (10th–9th century BCE) E: Elohist (9th century BCE) Dtr1: early (7th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian Dtr2: later (6th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian P*: Priestly (6th–5th century BCE) D†: Deuteronomist R: redactor DH: Deuteronomistic history (books of Joshua , Judges , Samuel , Kings ) The documentary hypothesis ( DH ) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch , the first five books of the Bible: Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers , and Deuteronomy ). A version of the documentary hypothesis, frequently identified with the German scholar Julius Wellhausen , was almost universally accepted for most of the 20th century. It posited that the Pentateuch is a compilation of four originally independent documents: the Jahwist , Elohist , Deuteronomist , and Priestly sources, frequently referred to by their initials. 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 the reign of King Josiah , in the 7th or 8th century BCE. Finally, P was generally dated to the time of Ezra in the 5th century BCE. The sources would have been joined at various points in time by a series of editors or "redactors". The consensus around the classical documentary hypothesis has now collapsed. This was triggered in large part by the influential publications of John Van Seters , Hans Heinrich Schmid , and Rolf Rendtorff in the mid-1970s, who argued that J was to be dated no earlier than the time of the Babylonian captivity (597–539 BCE), and rejected the existence of a substantial E source. They also called into question the nature and extent of the three other sources. Van Seters, Schmid, and Rendtorff shared many of the same criticisms of the documentary hypothesis, but were not in complete agreement about what paradigm ought to replace it. As a result, there has been a revival of interest in "fragmentary" and " supplementary " models, frequently in combination with each other and with a documentary model, making it difficult to classify contemporary theories as strictly one or another. Modern scholars also have given up the classical Wellhausian dating of the sources, and generally see the completed Torah as a product of the Achaemenid period (probably 450–350 BCE), although some would place its production as late as the Hellenistic period (333–164 BCE), after the conquests of Alexander the Great . There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).