Old Testament Introduction Lesson 1 Section 2

8/4/2019 Old Testament Introduction Lesson 1 Section 2

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Source and TraditionCritical Reconstructions of

the Pentateuch

Old Testament Introduction

SMC Bi 521, Spring 2013Visiting Lecturer: David Battle


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Objectives

The student will . . .

Name and describe the classical

documentary hypothesis of the

Pentateuch.

Describe the basic sources as identifyby of source critics.


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Objectives (Continued)

Describe the basic assertions of

Tradition Criticism.

Distinguish the standard source critical

reconstruction of the Old Testament

from Noths tradition critical

reconstruction.


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Historical Criticism

Source Criticism postulates that the

Pentateuch and related books were compiled

from earlier documents.

Tradition Criticism seeks to trace the various

tradition-clusters behind the sources used in

the compilation of the Pentateuchal books.


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Source Criticism(old literary criticism)

Jean Astruc

Conjectures Concerning the Original

Memoranda (1753)

Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis

Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) Prolegomena zur Geshichte Israels (1878) orIntroduction to the

History of Israel

Reset the Documentary Hypothesis into ahistorical reconstruction of the religious

development of Israel JEDP in his work.


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Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918)

Reordered the Sources of the Pentateuch

and order according to a reconstructed the

history of Israelite religion.

Early or pre-Israelite people had to be polytheist. Monolatry

Henotheism

Monotheism

Ethical Monotheism

Legalism


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Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis

Identifies four source documents in

the Pentateuch.

J or the Yahwist (Jahwe) Source

E or the Elohim Source

P or the Priestly SourceD or the Deteronomist


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J or Yahwist Source

Indentified Uses the name YHWH for God.

Describes God in anthropomorphic terms.

Sets many of its narratives in Judah.

Moses' father-in-law is Reuel and the Law

was given at Mount Sinai.

Emphasizes the faith of the Patriarchs.

Emphasizes the three-fold promise toAbraham: land, descendants, and blessing.


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J or Yahwist Source

Reconstructed

The fullest of the four sources.

Originally a Judean Epic

Dated to the Tenth Century B.C. (ca. 950)


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E or Elohim Source

Identified Uses the title Elohim for God.

Describes God in transcendent terms.

Narratives occur mostly in Northern Kingdom.

God communicates with mankind through

dreams and visions not person to person.

Shows interest in the prophetic office.

Moses receives his revelation at Mont Horeb. Moses father-in-law is named Jethro.


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E or Elohim Source

Reconstructed

Very fragmentary.

Very often attached to J (JE)

Prophetic emphasis implies that it comes form the

schools of the prophets found in the Northern

Kingdom.

Was a collection of traditions originating in the

kingdom of Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries B.C.


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D or Deuteronomist

Identified Identifies Mount Horeb as place of Moses

revelation.

Emphasizes the prophetic office.

Core is the Deuteronomic Code.

Deuteronomy 12-26

Emphasizes the Levites.


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D or Deuteronomist

ReconstructedOriginated among the Levites in the

northern kingdom.

Came to prominence during the reformsof Josiah in 7th century B.C.

Deuteronomy 12-26

Very concerned with centralized worship.


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P or Priestly SourceIdentified

Uses Elohim as the divine name along with other titles

like El or El Shadday.

God is very remote.

Emphasizes the Covenants: Noahic, Abrahamic, and

Sinaitic.

Place of Moses revelation is Sinai.

Is very concerned with the sacrifices and rituals holiness.


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P or Priestly Source

Reconstructed

Was a compilation of ritual regulations, and

genealogies from the late monarchal and exilic

period.

The Priestly redaction of the Pentateuch was

done during the Exile and return to the land.


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Tradition Criticism

Martin Noth (1902-1968)

Investigated the traditions behind thesources and the text.

A History of Pentateuchal Traditions(1948)


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Tradition Criticism

Noth searched for the Grundlage or common

traditions among the sources.

The common traditions between E and J

Guidance out of Egypt Guidance into the promised land

Promises to the Patriarchs

Guidance in the wilderness

Revelation at Sinai Various tribes brought these traditions with them into

an Israelite antiphony.


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Deuteronomistic History

Deuteronomy serves as an introduction to the

Historical Books.

Deuteronomic Code

Deuteronomistic History (DH)


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Observations

Each of these critical reconstructions are very free,

modern abstractions of the History of Israel.

They assume that the ancient writers freelyreconstructed the history of Israel.

Thus, modern reconstructions are based upon

conjectured reconstructions.

Such reconstructions provide only a nebulous

framework from which to discern the original

meaning of the text.


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Observations

Both Source and Tradition make valid

assertions.

Source Criticism is correct in seeing a

Hexatuech in that many of the major themesintroduced in Genesis through Deuteronomy

are not resolved until Joshua.

Tradition Criticism is correct to note that

Deuteronomy is dramatically different fromGenesis through Numbers and that it serves

as backdrop for the historical books.


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Pentateuch

The Bible is a very complex and subtle work.

There are many sub themes but they are all

intended to be read together.

Umberto Cassuto (1883-1951)

Argued that use of the divine names reflected

a theological coherence in their blending or

usage.


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Concluding Remarks

Every writer has an agenda in writing.

The interpreters job is to understand the

message and agenda of the writer.

We have the text.

We have some historical background. Reconstructions should help us understand

the text as it stands, not to rewrite the text.

Old Testament Introduction Lesson 1 Section 2

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