" Who Wrote the Bible" by Richard Elliott Friedman

Quaestor · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 58 Location: Chorleywood UK

The author breaks down the authors or redactors of the Pentateuch into five different sections, namely J,E,D1,D2 and P. His approach is different however in so far as he posits that P was produced after 722 and before 609 BC. In the process he makes a very good case that these different strands have a very down-to-earth purpose, namely to ensure the economic welfare of a given branch of the priesthood. It was all about jobs for the boys for which the Aaronites, Mushites and Levites were all in competition. Nor do any of the writers or redactors hesitate to put suitable words in the mouth of Yahweh in order to advance their own particular cause. After reading this book, biblical inspiration takes a sizeable knock.

rgoode · Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: James Kugel's The Bible As It Was

For anyone who is interested in Friedman's book, they might also then like to have a look at 'The Bible as it Was' by James L Kugel (Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1997).

Kugel's book is almost totally text-based and he ably demonstrates how biblical stories and events are revised and (re-)interpreted throughout the centuries.

As a slight caveat to all this (although I am no OT scholar) I understand that the Wellhausen hypothesis, relating to J, E, D(s) and P, is currently under review by some scholars. We'll need to get someone up on the OT to furnish us with current views. From a purely non-specialist point of view, I suspect that it would need some fairly revolutionary new work to shift the present status.

Richard

Quaestor · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 58 Location: Chorleywood UK

I have just finished this book and it is indeed a revision of Wellhausen's theories. Wellhausen apparently believed that the P.strand was written after Ezekiel. Friedman's case is that it was written before Ezekiel. Friedman's order of appearance is therefore J. and E in Genesis P. in the age of Hezekiah, the Deuteronomist who he thinks is Jeremiah next, who first writes in the time of Josiah and then has to change it after Josiah's death, followed by the final redactor of the whole of the writings up to that date, who he suspects of being Ezra. I haven't read Kugel's book and I should be interested to know in what way it differs from Friedman's.
Dennis

rgoode · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:19 am Post subject:

Yes, thanks for that. One of the reasons that I like Friedman's book is the way he explains and contextualises the different redactors - although I am not sure how well his theory concerning the sacred tent has gone down. Again, we need to call on someone who is more au fait with current OT scholarship. By the way, have you come across his 'The Hidden Book of the Bible' (Profile books, 1998) which is his reconstruction of the J text?

Scholars and Wellhausen tend to be a bit like politicians and the NHS in that there appears to be an uncontrollable urge to tinker with it. I was thinking of something much more recent and wholesale with regard to the Wellhausen hypothesis. I could however be wrong. It was one of those half heard conversations to which, as I was immersed in second century Christian textuality at the time, I did not give much attention. One way or the other, someone out there should know.

Kugel's book differs from Friedman in that the latter is looking primarily at intertextual change and redaction, whereas Kugel takes the long view of tradition and interpretation. To do so, he uses particular stories and themes which he then traces the way they have been used and understood, For example, in his section on the Red Sea (chap 18 ) he looks at the angel in the cloud (Ex 14:19). He then traces this tradition through Numbers, Philo, Sirach, Nehemiah, 1 Corinthians. He also draws on the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocryphal and the midrash traditions. I think his book is a wonderful illustration of the way texts can be kept alive through re-interpretation, adaption and change within a community.

Richard

Quaestor · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 58 Location: Chorleywood UK

Thanks for the tip Richard, I've just ordered "The hidden book of the Bible" second-hand. I also ordered "the Bible with sources revealed" in the same way. It's lovely to be able to buy books second-hand over the Internet without getting out of my chair! Regards, Dennis

True54Blue · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Canada

The JEDP theory is usually referred to as the documentary hypothesis and a quick search will bring you hundreds of articles. It is still alive and well in some circles but has faired the same as most things German from the nineteenth century, which is to say not well. I think the main academic objections of late stem from the idea that Wellhausen was arrogant in assuming that it is possible to peel away the layers of text and differentiate various strands. Although most scholars would give credence to the various aspects that have been identified variously as J,E,D, and P most would not be willing to argue that we can conclude that are in fact four different strands. The late Brevard Childs pioneered the canonical approach and this has had a major impact in the last decades. Gordon Wenham provides a nice summary article which can be read here: http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_pentateuch_wenham.html

Tom

Quaestor · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 58 Location: Chorleywood UK

Gordon Wenham's summary of the present state of biblical criticism of the Pentateuch seems to be that the position has become more and not less complex. Certainly no one is positing that it was written by Moses and the simple fact is that nobody knows who wrote it. Given this ignorance, it is open season for people to come up with possible theories and authors to account for the material. I start from a very simple viewpoint. I ask myself why is the author writing. He has to have a purpose and if one discounts divine inspiration, it has to be a human purpose, to achieve a human end. Friedman's book supplies the motives of the various postulated authors and I see no reason to disagree with him, although it could well be that the overall picture is even more complex than the one which he portrays. That does not mean however that the overall thrust of his argument is erroneous, not to me at least.

johnhambidge · Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Tamworth

Someone who has made an important contribution to study of the Pentateuch is Mary Douglas. Her books iclude the following:
In the Wilderness Sheffield Academic Press ISBN 1-85075-444-6
Leviticus as Literature OUP 1999 ISBN 0-19-924419-7
Jacob’s Tears: The Priestly Work of Reconciliation OUP 2004 ISBN 0-19-921064-0
Thinking in Circles Yale University Press 2007 ISBN 0-300-11762-0 This book is not directly on the Pentateuch, but includes two chapters on the ring formation of Numbers
Another book that I have found worth reading on the Pentateuch and its formation is:
John van Seters: The Pentateuch a Social-Science Commentary ISBN 0-5670-8088-9
John

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