This is just a brief overview of my understanding of the Documentary Hypothesis from Coogan, the NRSV notes, and our lectures, more for my own future reference than anything else. I know that many of Wellhausen’s conclusions are not considered iron-clad anymore, especially since we now have a better understanding of his anti-Semitism, but the essential theory, which says that a number of strands (documents) were woven together to create the Pentateuch and can be differentiated, is still very influential.
The J source is identified because of its use of the name Yahweh for God. God is described very anthropomorphically: making clothes for Adam and Eve, shutting the door to Noah’s ark, etc. The primary theme of the J source is God’s covenant with Abraham, which promises him “land, descendants, and blessing.” The divine mountain is called Sinai. J is dated from the tenth or possibly ninth century and is based in the southern kingdom of Judah. It is also the most complete of the four sources.
The E source is the most fragmentary and may not have existed independently of J. It uses the title “elohim” for God. God usually presents himself in dreams and other indirect appearances. The divine mountain is called Horeb. E is concerned with the northern kingdom of Israel and its dominant tribe, Ephraim. It is dated from the ninth or eighth century.
The D source is found in the book of Deuteronomy and seems to be dated from the seventh century, although it draws on sources and traditions that are older. The divine mountain is also called Horeb, as in E, and like E, D probably originated in the northern kingdom.
The P (Priestly) source focuses on matters of ritual; the first creation account in Genesis comes from P, for example. God is sometimes referred to as “el shadday” and is the most remote from humanity, not even appearing in dreams as in E. P often speaks about God appearing “in his glory,” and presents a series of covenants rather than the one covenant with Abraham presented in J. P is generally dated to the sixth century and was the final editor of the other sources, editing both the first and last chapters of the Pentateuch.
3 comments:
Thanks for your concise, yet well explained post. You put so simply what can be quite confusing at first glance.Thanks for your concise, yet well explained post. You put so simply what can be quite confusing at first glance.
Your post is very helpful in being a brief yet well written summary of the four different authors. It puts it in easy to use language that allows for myself and others to be able to use as a quick reference.
Really nice. I'd forgotten about the shutting the door.
Only clarification I might add: D won't have come literally from the northern kingdom, since it's 7th century. But, the influence of northern perspectives on D is well established in the ways that you say (presumably via refugees out of the north after 722).
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