This essay explores the complex question of Pentateuch authorship, tracing the historical development of scholarship from traditional Mosaic attribution to modern historical-critical approaches. It examines key arguments against single authorship, including narrative doublets, inconsistencies, and varied divine names, while acknowledging evidence for early Mosaic traditions and scribal practices. The essay then outlines major models of composition, notably the Documentary Hypothesis and its later critiques, as well as alternative theories such as the Supplementary, Fragmentary, and Neo-Documentary hypotheses. It also highlights the role of literary structures like chiastic patterns and ring composition as evidence of deliberate editorial shaping. Ultimately, the study argues for a nuanced view: the Pentateuch reflects both early Mosaic traditions and extensive later redaction, resulting in a carefully preserved text that emerged through a layered literary process.
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- #1. COULD ONE AUTHOR COMPOSE IT?
- #2. ARE THERE INDICATORS OF A CAREFULLY COMPILED WORK?
- #3. WHAT IS THE DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS?
- #4. ARE THERE ALTERNATIVE VIEWS?
- #5. HOW CAN ONE BENEFIT FROM THESE STUDIES?
- CONCLUSION
Objective & Thematic Focus
This study delves into the complex question of the authorship of the Pentateuch, aiming to survey the historical-critical challenges to traditional Mosaic authorship and to propose that the Pentateuch is the result of an evolving literary process rather than a single compositional event. It explores how scholarly understanding has developed over time in response to these questions, shaping modern Pentateuchal Studies.
- Challenging traditional Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.
- Examining the evolution and impact of historical-critical scholarship.
- Analyzing textual evidence like doublets and divine name variations.
- Exploring structural theories such as the Documentary Hypothesis and its alternatives.
- Understanding the role of editorial shaping and redactional efforts in the Pentateuch's formation.
Excerpt from the Book
Who is the author of the Pentateuch?
The question of the authorship of the Pentateuch (Heb. Torah) is one of the most complex areas in biblical research, giving rise to the field known as Pentateuchal Studies. Although earlier interpreters occasionally raised doubts, systematic questioning of Mosaic authorship gained major momentum with the work of Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), whose arguments opened the way for later historical-critical investigation.
This study will briefly survey these challenges in a question-and-answer format structured around five guiding questions addressing selected approaches. In doing so, we also note how historical-critical scholarship has developed over time in response to these questions that shaped the modern study of Pentateuchal authorship.
This paper proposes that the Pentateuch cannot be reduced to a simple choice between Mosaic authorship or later composition. Rather, the evidence points to an evolving literary process in which early Mosaic traditions, diverse sources, and successive redactional efforts were brought together into the carefully structured form we have today.
Questions about Mosaic authorship often focus on repeated narratives –commonly appearing as doublets—along with apparent inconsistencies, and the varied use of the divine name. For example, the Beersheba passages (Gen 21:22–34 and Gen 26:23-33) offer two different origin stories for the same place name, each concluding, “therefore it is called Beersheba," a duplicated naming tradition that is difficult to explain if a single author were harmonising the narrative. Critics also point to passages where Moses appears to praise himself (Num 12:3) or is described in the third person (Ex 11:3). Furthermore, his administrative burdens during Israel's migration, which required Jethro's advice (Ex 18:17–24), raise questions about the time frame for authorship of entire volumes. Most critical scholars argue that the Torah's doublets, narrative tensions, and different patterns point to composite authorship rather than a single hand.
Summary of Chapters
INTRODUCTION: This section introduces the complex field of Pentateuchal authorship, highlighting the historical-critical challenges to Mosaic authorship and proposing an evolving literary process for the Pentateuch's formation.
#1. COULD ONE AUTHOR COMPOSE IT?: This chapter investigates textual features such as doublets, inconsistencies in divine names, and references to Moses in the third person, which challenge the idea of a single author for the Pentateuch.
#2. ARE THERE INDICATORS OF A CAREFULLY COMPILED WORK?: This part explores proposed literary structures like chiasms and ring structures within the Pentateuch, suggesting deliberate editorial shaping and the interweaving of multiple narrative traditions.
#3. WHAT IS THE DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS?: This chapter details Julius Wellhausen's Documentary Hypothesis, explaining its framework of four distinct literary sources (J, E, D, P) and acknowledging its foundational, though debated, role in modern Pentateuchal study.
#4. ARE THERE ALTERNATIVE VIEWS?: This section discusses alternative theories to the classical Documentary Hypothesis, including the Supplementary, Fragmentary, and Neo-Documentary Hypotheses, as well as R. N. Whybray's Single-Author alternative.
#5. HOW CAN ONE BENEFIT FROM THESE STUDIES?: This chapter explains how engaging with historical-critical methods like textual, source, form, and redaction criticism enriches a theologian's understanding of the Pentateuch's literary complexity and historical transmission.
CONCLUSION: The conclusion summarizes the journey from assumptions of single authorship to recognizing the Pentateuch as a layered, carefully shaped composition, emphasizing the interplay of Mosaic traditions and extensive later editorial activity.
Keywords
Pentateuchal authorship, Torah, Mosaic authorship, historical-critical method, Documentary Hypothesis, literary sources, redactional efforts, textual criticism, source criticism, form criticism, Pentateuchal Studies, biblical research, ancient Israel, JEDP, composition history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work fundamentally about?
This work fundamentally explores the complex question of who authored the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible), moving beyond the traditional view of sole Mosaic authorship to consider the insights of historical-critical scholarship.
What are the central thematic areas?
The central thematic areas include the development of Pentateuchal Studies, the application of historical-critical methods, the various theories regarding composite authorship (especially the Documentary Hypothesis), the analysis of textual inconsistencies, and the processes of literary and redactional shaping of the biblical text.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The primary objective is to survey the significant challenges to Mosaic authorship within a question-and-answer format and to propose that the Pentateuch is a product of an evolving literary process incorporating early Mosaic traditions, diverse sources, and successive redactional efforts.
What scientific method is used?
The study primarily uses a historical-critical method, which involves textual criticism, source criticism, form criticism, and redaction criticism to analyze the Pentateuch's literary strata, historical contexts, and compositional development over time.
What is covered in the main part?
The main part of the paper addresses five guiding questions: whether the Pentateuch could have been composed by a single author, indicators of its carefully compiled nature, the details and implications of the Documentary Hypothesis, various alternative compositional views, and the benefits of engaging with these historical-critical studies.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key words characterizing this work are Pentateuchal authorship, Torah, Mosaic authorship, historical-critical method, Documentary Hypothesis, literary sources, redactional efforts, textual criticism, source criticism, form criticism, Pentateuchal Studies, and biblical research.
How does the paper address the traditional view of Moses as the sole author of the Pentateuch?
The paper acknowledges the traditional attribution to Moses but highlights that systematic questioning of this view gained momentum with Baruch Spinoza and further developed through historical-critical investigations, suggesting a more complex, evolving literary process.
What role do "doublets" or repeated narratives play in the discussion of Pentateuchal authorship?
Doublets, such as the two different origin stories for Beersheba, are presented as key pieces of evidence questioning single Mosaic authorship. They suggest that multiple, sometimes inconsistent, traditions or sources were woven together rather than harmonized by one author.
What are the main components of the classical Documentary Hypothesis?
The classical Documentary Hypothesis posits that the Pentateuch is a composite work formed from four principal literary sources: the Yahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomist (D), and Priestly (P), each with distinct historical contexts and theological emphases, later edited into the unified Torah.
How do alternative views, such as the Single-Author alternative, critique the Documentary Hypothesis?
Alternative views, like R. N. Whybray's Single-Author alternative, critique the classical Documentary Hypothesis by arguing that its methodological assumptions are insufficient, its criteria for separating sources are unreliable, and its application has been inconsistent, suggesting instead a single, late Israelite historian as the compiler.
- Citation du texte
- Stanley Jones W (Auteur), 2025, Who is the author of the Pentateuch?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1690730
