Torah - Wellhausen/JEDP Theory

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were believed to have been written by Moses, up until 1883.

In 1883, the efforts of leading German and French scholars in the field of scientific biblical scholarship discovered textual patterns in the Old Testament Bible. This discovery led to the JEDP Theory (or "Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis") that established the possibility of several 'independent' source writings, later edited ('redacted') to produce a single document, the Torah.

Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist who set the chronological order of the independent sources as J, E, D and P with reference to the evolving religious history of Israel, which he saw as one of ever-increasing priestly power.

W Julius_Wellhausen

JEDP Theory (or "Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis")
The Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy is not a unified work from a single author (Moses) but is made up of independent writings combined over many centuries by many editors ('redactors'). Wellhausen contributed little that was new, but sifted and combined the previous scholarship works into a coherent, comprehensive theory on the origins of the Torah and of Judaism. One so persuasive that it dominated scholarly debate on the subject ever since.

W Documentary_hypothesis

	JEDP Theory / 'Graf-Wellhausen'
TRADITION	'J' Yahwist	'E' Elohist	'D' Deuteronomist	'P' Priestly
BIBLE BOOKS 'what'	Exodus (50%) Genesis (50%) Numbers (minor)	Exodus (50%) Genesis (33%) Numbers (minor)	Deuteronomy (most)	Leviticus (most) Genesis (20%) Exodus (minor) Numbers (minor)
DATE 'when'	950-920 BCE United Monarcy A Judean Source written during the United Monarcy period (1030-920 BCE). Written in the South, just before the South split from the North in 922 BC. Interest in territory of the Kingdom of Judah, and individuals connected with its history.	870-840 BCE North-South Divide Written in the North at the time when the North broke away from South (870-840 BCE).	650-620 BCE Josiah's Reform Writing reflects literary style/ theology prevalent at the time of Josiah's reform (621 BCE).	550-520 BCE Babylonian Exile After the fall of Jerusalem (587 BCE), Israelite priests were exiled in Babylon.
LOCATION 'where'	Southern Kingdom of Judah Capital: Jerusalem Text contains Southern geographical references and propoganda i.e. David's line	Northern Kingdom of Israel Capital: Samaria (Shomron) Northern tribes and Ephraim, so its suppoused it was. Prophet over King (Northern concern then)	Jerusalem During a period of religious reform. May have originated in the Northern Kingdom	Kohanim Jewish priests were exiled in Babylon. Writing at a time of great loneliness and despair; God far away.
God
NAME	Yahweh 'YHWH'	Elohim Elohim used until Exodus 3-6; a human-like God Yahweh used after Exodus 3 (burning bush incident) when Elohim reveals himself as Yahweh	Yahweh	Elohim El Shaddai Other El combinations
PERSONALITY	Anthropomorphic Yahweh walks and talks. He makes personal visits.	Less Anthropomorphic Elohim speaks through dreams, prophets and angels; not personal appearances.		Non-Anthropomorphic Elohim is remote, distant, and unmerciful. He appears on a quest for glory.
Authors
WRITING STYLE	Vivid concrete Elegant descriptive vocabulary Rich narrative, long stories or epics	Abstract Less eloquent	Distinct language Reflects later composition	Precise Dry legalistic language
AUTHORS 'who'		Ephraimitic Tribe Someone from Tribe of Ephraim or a North Israelite source	Josiah's Reform Reflects style and religious attitudes of Josiah's reform (c.621)	Priesthood A literary corpus, marked by the style and cultic interests of the priestly circle of Jerusalem Israelite priests retrieved, revised and 'redacted' Torah text
Content
KEY POINTS	Southern Propoganda Ancient stories i.e. Creation of mankind, flood, Babel etc. Yahweh close to His people Interactions with man (cultic approach) Sin & punishment i.e. Sodom Gomorrah Human mortality Sibling rivalry Man & earth	Northern Focus Elohim is distant and away from His people. Kingdom of Israel and on Shiloh priesthood. "Fearing" Elohim Moral & ethical living Law & righteousness Religious aspects of prayer/sacrifice Revelation in visions and dreams	Yahweh's favours God's love dominates Israel's history and law. How Yahweh blessed his people Obedience to law of Moses	Obedience to Covenant Priestly concerns, legal and cultic aspects Lists of genealogies, dates, numbers and laws. Rituals: Sabbath, circumcision, sacrifice, worship, temple, dietary law, tabernacle
MOUNT SINAI	Place of Mosaic covenant. Emphasis on term 'Sinai'	Horeb is mountain where covenant takes place	Idea of a central sanctuary Horeb	Holy mountain Sinai
COVENANT	Mosaic Abrahamic promise of land, descendants and blessing	Exodus 24 ceremony Establishment of the tent of meeting Israel's rebellion at Sinai with worship of the golden calf		Sabbath and circumcision
ISRAEL	Israel's faith in Yahweh and their leaders	Explicitly religious: to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"		Elohim grants his presence to the people "who know his name." Israel's role in salvation
PEOPLE	Moses father-in-law is Reuel	Begins story with Abraham	Some connections to E; Horeb, prophecy.	Normally starts with "These are the generations"
Text
		Fragmentary texts Often combined with J, to create J+E	Possibly referenced in 2 Kings 22:8. The "book of the law" found by King Josiah in the Temple in Jerusalem (621 BC) Some scholars believe 'D' is an independent text	Some scholars believe P is a redactor (revision of pre-existing texts) Others believe 'P' shows signs of a seperate, independent text

In Islam, Moses received the 'Oral' Torah

Islam teaches that Moses received the Torah from God. This was an 'oral transmission' from God through the Angel Gabrial to Moses. Today, the Torah is presented in a written book format. This is a corrupted version of the original Oral Torah. The JEDP Theory (or "Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis") supports the Islamic position on Biblical corruption.

Maurice Bucaille (d. 1998), a Muslim scholar supported Documentary Hypothesis (DH)

Maurice Bucaille (1920-1998), a French medical doctor, author, convert and scholar of Islam. Bucaille writes the Old Testament has been distorted due to the numerous translations and corrections, as it was transmitted orally. Bucaille argued for biblical criticism, including the Documentary Hypothesis (DH) and JEDP Theory.

W Maurice_Bucaille

Bucaille on Documentary Hypothesis

CREDIT
Explanation on Documentary Hypothesis (DH)
https://www.slideserve.com/dareh/the-writing-of-the-old-testament-the-four-4-original-sources-jedp
https://www.plonialmonimormon.com/2014/02/jedp-and-me-some-thoughts-on.html
https://annawhitehead96.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/jepd-theory/
http://helpmewithbiblestudy.org/5system_moses/notes/dh6.aspx

Share Article if you found it useful

20910 views · 6 hrs ago | Author: Guest • Updated: 11 Jun 2019

ALL ARTICLES ARE INTENDED FOR GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ALL INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT, ACCURATE AND TRUTHFUL. YOU ARE ADVISED TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. ARTICLES ARE LIVE DOCUMENTS AND MAY BE UPDATED WITH NEW CONTENT AT ANY TIME. WHERE AVAILABLE, SOURCES AND REFERENCES ARE CREDITED. IF YOU SPOT ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR GIVE FEEDBACK KINDLY CONTACT US WITH DETAILS

	Are you a Muslim? 3 mins \| Online Test
	Torah - Wellhausen/JEDP Theory 20911 views · 0 secs ago
	Jesus in the Quran 20458 views · 3 secs ago
	Paul copied 152 Old Testament verses 17890 views · 4 secs ago
	Did Jesus pray to God or Allah? 28911 views · 5 secs ago
	Mark, Matthew, Luke and John 24217 views · 5 secs ago

	Torah 5 BOOKS
	Psalms 1 BOOK
	Old Testament 32 BOOKS
	New Testament 27 BOOKS
	Apocrypha 1885 14 BOOKS
	Gospels/Texts 367 BOOKS
	Codex 120 BOOKS
	Quran 1 BOOK
	Hadith 10 BOOKS

Torah - Wellhausen/JEDP Theory

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were believed to have been written by Moses, up until 1883.

'J'

'E'

'D'

'P'

In Islam, Moses received the 'Oral' Torah

Maurice Bucaille (d. 1998), a Muslim scholar supported Documentary Hypothesis (DH)

Submit Article

NEWS | 1,617

ARTICLES | 154

SCRIPTURE | 580

PROPHETS | 44