Documentary hypothesis and jedp theory are the most common. A critical assessment of the grafwellhausen documentary. In this scientific age the mostattacked book of the bible has arguably been genesis, particularly the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Theory states that not only moses but other authors after him are the creators of these writings. The unbelievers jepd theory of the torah bible query. The jedp theory says that the first five books of the biblegenesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomywere not written entirely by moses, who died in the 1400s b. Jedp theory the jedp theory seeks to understand the authorship of the pentateuch in light of the documentary hypothesis. I have been discussing the sources of the pentateuch, the first five books of the hebrew bibleold testament genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy, sometimes also called the torah or the law of moses. The letters jedp are a designation used by scholars to identify the. Bible, genesis, exodus, liviticus, numbers and deuteronomy, were not the creations of moses.
But it is highly unlikely that he wrote the version of the pentateuch that we have today. Because of these four sources, the grafwellhausen hypothesis is also sometimes called the jedp theory. You make a valid point that the traditional characterization of the priestly source has been shaped by a certain kind of liberal protestantism which was both anticatholic and antisemitic. In this paper, this scholarly position will always be referred to as documentary hypothesis with a few exceptions. At catholic answers, we prefer the gelnd theory, which claims that the pentateuch is a compilation of five sources. Do you have any thoughts on julius wellhausens 18441918 socalled documentary theory of the torah or pentateuch. What is the jedp theory, and does it disprove genesis. The documentary hypothesis of the pentateuch also known as. By analyzing a the use of different names of god, b stylistic differences, and c patterns, astruc saw clues of a composite or editorial structure. According to this theory, the traditional books of moses genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy werent written by moses at all, but by a. However, in the mid1800s, a scholar named julius wellhausen noticed that there were four distinct writing styles among these books and that some stories were told. We spent a good part of the semester learning that. One of the first was jean astruc who speculated that moses used existing written or oral sources to write the pentateuch.
More recent models include the supplementary hypothesis and the fragmentary hypothesis. All agree that the torah is not a unified work from a. These sources are called yahwist, elohist, deuteronomist, and priestly. Jedp theory pdf the documentary hypothesis of the pentateuch also known as the jedp theory. Why do so many people believe the jedp theory imho, because people dont study scripture by using study aids, and because satan is relentlessly trying to put doubt in the minds of christians about the word of god. The forums in the christian congregations category are now open only to christian members. So far i have explained the kinds of literary problems that. Each of these letters represents a source of oral and written traditions about the history of israel. The documentary hypothesis dh is one of the models historically used by biblical scholars to.
The jedp theory takes the explainable differences in the pentateuch and invents an elaborate theory that has no basis in reality or history. Jedp theory documentary hypothesis flashcards quizlet. The jedp theory states that the pentateuch was written from different sources. The jedp theory has taken on all sorts of permutations. One common example involves the supposed doublet the same story told twice of abrahams covenant with god in genesis 15 and 17. The most powerful argument against the jedp theory is the bible itself. Get essay in his book, prolegomena to the history of ancient israel, first published as the history of israel in 1878, wellhausen argued that the pentateuch was written by numerous people over a long period of time. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Why do so many people believe the jedp theory and is it. For centuries, the first five books of the bible genesis through exodus were thought to have been written by moses. An examination of the jedp theory kindle edition by hinson, todd.
The theory is based on the fact that different names for god are used in different portions of the. The jedp theory and its implications for biblical credibility. Wellhausen argued that this was internal evidence of two different sources from two different authors designated j and e which were later collated into one document. The jepd theory, which is taught in many seminaries throughout the world. Some of the critics of the bible have come up with some sophisticated arguments in their attempts to disprove its authenticity and reliability. This view believes that the pentateuch represents the conflation of four different sources rather than the work of primarily one author, traditionally moses.
Rather, at its root is a theory based on the application of the naturalistic assumptions of seventeenth and eighteenth century humanists to the biblical text. The jedp theory in brief is the theory which states that 5 first books. It had earlier been observed that in genesis 1 the word elohim is used consistently to refer to god. In the past few hundred years, the bible has been under severe attack by scientific and philosophical skeptics of all sorts. The documentary hypothesis was developed in the 19th century by several scholars. If you believe moses used multiple sources when he wrote the torah, functionally you do believe the jedp theory. The traditional view accepts that they existed a moses of the fifteenth century. The jepd theory this article is part of the living in christ series. An explanation of the documentary hypothesis, carm. Jedp is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms. No ancient jewish or christian scholar has even hinted that such documents existed. Use the naming convention of lastfworksheet1, where last is your last name and f is your first initial. As walter kaiser points out, some modern proponents of the documentary hypothesis would like to wish that foundation does not exist, however it must exist for them, or the whole building. The theory of imperial authorization of the pentateuch.
Priestly theory about authors of old testament suggest new definition. Jedp refers to the fourauthor theory concerning the pentateuch, normally referred to as either the grafwellhausen theory or simply the wellhausen theory. Pdf the jedp theory and its weaknesses julius mucheregwa. As you read through the torah it switches back and forth. Documentary hypothesis, or jedp theory, is the view held by various. No j, e, d, or p document has ever been discovered.
Essentially, this theory postulated that the pentateuch was a compilation of writings fro. So if your name sarah trunkey, you would save the document to your computer under the name of trunkeys wksht3jedp. In brief, the jedp theory states that the first five books of the. The theory is popular because theres something to it. Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmasters page for free. The jepd theory, or documentary hypothesis, is taught in many university bible courses today.
Jedp theory now obsolete the toledoths of genesis for those biblical scholars who have had the unfortunate experience of having the jepd theory of the documentary hypothesis jammed down their throats the past forty years in catholic biblical scholarship, and as long since the time of julius wellhausen in the late 1800s, this will be a real treat. Now about the dead risinghave you not read in the book of moses. Sources in the pentateuch dennis bratcher the letters jedp are a designation used by scholars to identify the component parts or sources that they understand were used to compile the first five books of the old testament. Jacobsen, paul skeptical replier to strobels case for faith and case for the real jesus. As part of our continuing work on the jedp theory, we will be taking a look at specific passages said to offer evidence in favor of it. Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. The documentary hypothesis of the pentateuch also known as the. The tradition honors moses because of his esteemed position as lawgiver and friend of god. The jedp theory found its roots in jean astruc 16841766, who speculated that moses used existing written or oral sources in constructing genesis. One of these attempts is known as the documentary hypothesis, or the jepd theory. For an excellent discussion and critique of the jedp theory, see before abraham was by isaac kikawada and arthur quinn.
In brief, the jedp theory states that the first five books of the bible, genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy, were not written entirely by moses, who died in the 1400s b. Im trying to understand if this theory is even remotely valid or if it is complete nonsense. 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. Jedp imho somewhat dated but it does show how so much of the talmudold testament was constructed from other extant religious ideas groupings and bolting them together to create a mongrel creed to be utilised for the specific purpose of definingcontrolling a nation state. The jedp theory basically states that the first five books of the bible the pentatauch were not written by a single person, but rather by four different people. The theory soon demanded more authors and so d and p were added and in variant theories many more as well. Christianity, jedp theory, jeremy myers, liberal theology, old testament studies, religion. It is a theory that attempts to explain the obvious contradictions and repetitions of stories containing contrasting narratives such as that in genesis 1 with men and women being created a the same time genesis 1. When i was a young, naive freshman in a local methodist college, i took an introduction to the old testament class, thinking my faith would be strengthened by studying the o. This way of looking at the bible is also called source criticism i. Documentary hypothesis jedp theory video life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration.
There have been various opinions as to whether these sources were written or. Christian members please remember to read the statement of purpose threads for each forum within christian congregations before posting in the forum. Some of the critics of the bible have come up with some sophisticated. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Even a casual reader will notice problems with this idea when reading the text. Free access to sermons on jedp theory, church sermons, illustrations on jedp theory, and powerpoints for preaching on jedp theory. It was developed in the 19th century by julius wellhausen and others, when scholars thought few could write in moses time. The jedp theory seeks to understand the authorship of the pentateuch in light of the documentary hypothesis. In brief, the jedp theory states that the first five books of the bible, genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy, were not written entirely by moses, who died in the 1400s bc, but also. Moses was the final, godinspired editor and arguably p, and in his later years d who put the multiple sources together, though a bit ahead of the usual timeline we write articles. Jedp theory multiple authors of pentatuche apologetics. But in later editions he apparently conceded the view of others that the je. It discusses the foursource theory regarding the first five books of the bible, the pentateuch.