The Pentateuch Case

The Pentateuch

The theory of the Pentateuch proposed by Julius Wellhausen, advises that the Old Testament originated from four individual and diverse sources, beginning and developing over four consecutive eras in history. The four sources were put together over the centuries into the document we have today which is known as the Torah. Wellhausen spells out the sources and their history:

In his Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (1872), he [Wellhausen] identified four clear written sources in the five books of Bible. For Wellhausen and his co-workers, the identification of early sources always meant written sources. He largely left aside the question of even earlier oral traditions. He was concerned to identify accurately and date the diverse theological documents which had the final Pentateuch as we have it today emerged. (Boadt 82-3)

The earliest written forms of the biblical traditions were from approximately 1000 BC. The Pentateuch has been developed from a mixture of previously existing sources or documents. Later source analysis of the Pentateuch allowed for the prospect that some sources were not truly written documents, but was actually from oral traditions that had been passed on.

The Yahwist source (J) is the earliest distinct tradition in the Pentateuch, dating approximately 1000 BC. At this time the historical event present was the rise of monarchy. The kingdom was under the rule of David and Solomon. In this particular source, Yahweh was used for the name of God. The themes found in this source includes "brothers in conflict," "wives who are barren," and psychological insights." This source contained the tradition of the monarchy and the establishment of Jerusalem as the center of worship, as well as telling the story of the emergence of Israel as people under God's guidance. In this source God is more intimate in his relationship with humans. God also "walks" and "talks" with people. The writing style of the Yawist source is narrative. It is a recounting of the origins of people and their journey through history. The Yahwist source somewhat differs from the Elohist and other sources in several ways.

Dating back to roughly 850 BC, the Elohist (E) source originated in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The split of two kingdoms was the historical event that occurred during the time of the rise of the Elohist source. Elohim was used as the word for God in this source. God is more remote than distant in Elohist than in Yahwist. God speaks in dreams and through angels. Themes of this source are "the fear of God" and "distrust of too much power in a leader's hands." This source contained the tribal traditions of the conquest of the land and the traditions about the covenant and the worship centers outside Jerusalem. Similar to the Yahwist source, a narrative writing style was also used in