What is the Documentary Hypothesis?
The Documentary Hypothesis is a theory about the origins of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah in Judaism: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). The traditional story about the origin of the Pentateuch was that Moses wrote it all personally, even though he died before it ends. During the 19th century, however, scholars developed the conclusion that multiple different authors better explains the nature of the text.
Who Created the Documentary Hypothesis?
No one scholar is entirely responsible for creating the Documentary Hypothesis, but one German scholar is most closely associated with it: Julius Wellhausen. In fact, the Documentary Hypothesis is sometimes referred to as the Wellhausen Hypothesis.
Julius Wellhausen became a biblical scholar because he was interested in the scientific examination of the Bible and in 1883 published a book entitled Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels where he laid out what would become a definitive formulation of the Documentary Hypothesis. His model remained dominant in biblical studies through the end of the 20th century.
Who Wrote the Pentateuch?
The Documentary Hypothesis argues that five sources are responsible for the Pentateuch, four as authors and one as editor.
- Yahwist: Called "J" because the source refers to God as Yahweh (Jehova)
- Elohist: Called "E" because the source refers to God as God (Hebrew: Elohim)
- Deuteronomist: Called "D" because all of this material is in the book of Deuteronomy
- Priestly: Called "P" because the source focuses primarily on material dealing with priests
- Redactors: whoever combined all this material also left their mark on it; this was probably done in several stages and only completed around 450 BCE.
Yahwist Source (J)
The Yahwist Source is distinguished from other sources by the references to God as "Yahweh" (Jehova), a personal name. The primary characteristics of this source include anthropomorphic references to God and God interacting personally with human beings.
In the Yahwist Source, God is a personal actor in the history of humanity and the world. The overall style tends to focus on narratives that are rich in detail and character development.
Scholars originally thought that the Yahwist Source had been written around 950 BCE in the southern Kingdom of Judah, but current research suggests that the 7th century BCE is more likely. Most of the time this source is older than whatever other source it is combined with, but not always.
Elohist Source (E)
The Elohist Source is distinguished from other sources by the references to God with the generic term for deity, "Elohim." The primary characteristics of this source is God being described in a more impersonal manner and God acting in a more distant way, through intermediaries like prophets and dreams.
After Exodus 3, however, the use of the personal name Yahweh appears in the Elohist Source, making separation of the two much more difficult. This is exacerbated by the fact that both the Yahwist and Elohist Sources tend to parallel each other, telling the same stories in different ways.
The Elohist Source may have been written around 850 BCE in the northern Kingdom of Israel and may even be older than the Yahwist material.
Deuteronomist Source (D)
The Deuteronomist Source is distinguished from the other sources by a focus on law rather than on history or narrative. It is called the Deuteronomist Source because all of the material from this source is contained in the Book of Deuteronomy.
Because this source focuses on the law, it also focuses on how the law is a medium for the relationship between God and humanity: God creates the laws and humanity is obligated to follow them.
The Deuteronomist Source was probably written around 600 BCE in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform.
Priestly Source (P)
The Priestly Source is primarily concerned with matters relating to priests and the priestly class that is supposed to have arisen during the Exodus. The Priestly Source depicts God as relatively distant, though not quite as impersonal as the Elohist Source.
This source is also concerned with God's dominion over all creation and all humanity. In this is it similar to the Deuteronomist Source's focus on laws. Both have a style that tends to be very dry. One thing that distinguishes the Priestly Source from the others, though, is an emphasis on social structures, social hierarchies, and authority.
The Priestly Source was written around 500 BCE during the exile in Babylon.
Criticisms of the Documentary Hypothesis
While the Documentary Hypothesis dominated biblical scholarship throughout the 20th century, it came under more critical scrutiny during the 1980s and is today no longer quite so dominant. Few deny the idea that the origins of the Pentateuch lie with multiple sources; instead, it's the number and identity which is more generally debated now than it was 50 years ago.
The main problem is that the Documentary Hypothesis tends to assume separate, complete books being brought together by multiple editors over time. This is difficult to reconcile with the text we have because such editors should have done a better job creating a consistent work from their sources but it's precisely the inconsistencies which led scholars to develop the conclusion that multiple sources were used.
