Introduction
Traditionally, Jews and Christians have always believed that Moses wrote the first five Old Testament texts: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Jews call it the Torah (H8451, "Law" or "Instruction"). Christians refer to it as the Pentateuch, or "five scrolls." However, many liberal Bible scholars believe that four authors wrote the Pentateuch: Yahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuteronomist (D), and Priestly (P). They call their idea the Documentary Hypothesis or the JEDP Theory. This idea conflicts with the more traditional belief of Mosaic authorship. Liberal scholars use the historical-critical method to see how the Bible compares to external evidence. Herein, the article considers both viewpoints and presents a balanced solution that defends the Judeo-Christian belief that Moses did write the Pentateuch.
Biblical Evidence of Moses' Authorship
Conservative scholars use the historical-grammatical method to see what the Bible says with its internal evidence. Accordingly, the Pentateuch includes several verses claiming Moses wrote it with God's authority (see Exod. 17:14; 24:3-4, 7; 32:7-10, 30-34; 34:27; Lev. 26:46; 27:34; Deut. 31:9, 24-25). After this part of the Bible, Jews have always believed Moses authored the Torah (see Josh. 8:31-32; 1 Kgs. 2:3; Jer. 7:22; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 8:1; Mal. 4:4).
The "historical books" from Joshua to Ezra consistently describe the Torah as the "Book of the Law of Moses." Many skeptics deny this to undermine its historicity. However, the texts after the Pentateuch often refer to Passover (Hebrew: Pesach; H6453) observance, showing the Israelites knew about the "Law of Moses." They celebrated this festival in the eras of Joshua (see Josh. 4:19; 5:10), Hezekiah (see 2 Chron. 30), Josiah (see 2 Kgs. 23; 2 Chron. 35), and Zerubbabel (see Ezra 6:19-22). The Old Testament writers also mentioned the Passover in 1 Kings 9:25 ("three times a year"), 2 Kings 23:22, and 2 Chronicles 8:13; 35:18. They also described the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew: Sukkot; H5521) and other Jewish institutions. The "Law of Moses" phrase also occurs in 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 23:18; 25:4; 34:14; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; and Daniel 9:11, 13. Moses probably wrote most of the Pentateuch during Israel's forty years of wandering in the desert circa 1446–1406 BC.
The New Testament writers also believed in Mosaic authorship (see Matt. 22:24; Acts 15:21). In many of his lessons, Jesus taught that Moses wrote the Torah (see Matt. 5:17-18; 19:8; 22:31-32; 23:2; Mark 10:9; 12:26; Luke 16:31; 20:37; 24:26-27, 44; John 3:14; 5:45-47; 6:32, 49; 7:19, 22). His very identity as the Messiah of God and Israel depended on Moses' authorship of the Torah: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him" (Deut. 18:15; cf. Acts 3:22). Remember, nearly all of the New Testament authors were Jews (except Luke) and saw themselves in Israel's history.
Biblical Evidence of Later Editors
There is no contradiction between recognizing Moses as the author of the Pentateuch and admitting that later editors assembled it with their notes. For example, Genesis 36:31 reads: "These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned." Israel did not have a king until its elders came to the prophet Samuel demanding, "You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have" (1 Sam. 8:5). This happened circa 1050 BC with God's appointment of Saul (see 1 Sam. 10:1). Moses died before the Israelites entered the Promised Land circa 1406 BC, meaning there were about 326 years between his death and Saul's birth in 1080 BC. However, Moses did foresee that Israel would eventually appoint a king (see Deut. 17:14-20), even with the future elders' words: "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us" (v. 14). We may see the similar wording as God either inspiring harmony in the Bible or historical coincidence. Still, an editor may have also played a role. However, it is apparent that an editor did write, ". . . before any Israelite king reigned" (1 Chron. 1:43). Scholars base their calculations on 1 Kings 6:1 ("In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD").
The most explicit passage in the Old Testament that demonstrates the work of a later editor is the one about Moses' death: "And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day, no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone" (Deut. 34:5-7). The grammar shows that Moses did not write these verses anticipating his death. However, the editor was a devout man who respected Moses' authorship of the Torah and his leadership of Israel.
Documentary Hypothesis
Defenders of the Documentary Hypothesis believe the Pentateuch once included four separate and fully edited documents:
J—Yahwist favored Yahweh (Jahwe in German, as spoken by Julius Wellhausen [1844–1918], the original theorist of JEDP) to name God before Israel existed (e.g., Gen. 4:26). Scholars place J in the Kingdom of Judah during Solomon's reign circa 950 BC.
E—Elohist preferred Elohim (Hebrew for "God") over Yahweh. However, he did call God "Yahweh" after Moses asked for the divine name (see Exod. 3:13-15), dated circa 850 BC.
D—Deuteronomist wrote Deuteronomy concerning laws and commandments.
P—Priestly source focused on accounts and laws regarding priests. Like E, P used the name Yahweh for post-Mosaic narratives (see Exod. 6:3). Most scholars date P during the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BC or shortly afterward in the early fifth century BC.
* This is a simple explanation of the Documentary Hypothesis. First Century Ministries does not endorse it, but we weigh some of the data explored by textual critics.
Conclusion
For about 250 years since the Documentary Hypothesis began, liberals and conservatives in academia and the church have debated whether JEDP or Moses wrote the Pentateuch. However, both disregard the Bible's history, reading anachronistic ideas into the text. For liberals, they assume the Pentateuch was redacted by JEDP simply because conservative scholars made similar assumptions during the Renaissance (1401–1527) about the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the "Received Text" (Latin: Textus Receptus)—and scripture itself. In this case, the liberal minds of nineteenth-century Europe were trying to correct the faulty assumptions of fifteenth-century conservatives with their flawed logic. In scholarship, like in other areas of life, two wrongs do not make a right.
A Christian may believe God inspired Moses to write the Pentateuch while realizing he oversaw the editorial process. We acknowledge this about the New Testament, which the early church leaders canonized following the apostolic age. However, this does not mean JEDP or other editors have changed the Pentateuch. They were Israelite and Jewish scholars who worked for kings like David, Solomon, or Josiah, much like the Christian scholars who work for academic publishers today. For liberals, they exaggerate handwriting analysis, for example, knowing that everyone's writing changes over time and between audiences. Even today, we write emails differently than business memos or personal correspondences. For conservatives, there is not enough consideration of historical, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts behind scripture. To read the Bible historically is to take it literally!
The Documentary Hypothesis is becoming a minority view in biblical scholarship, even for liberals, because archaeology does not support it. Its proponents based it on an exaggerated and politicized attempt at literary criticism. However, it failed to consider the evidence left by ancient Near Eastern civilizations. For example, there are two references to Yahweh in two Egyptian texts, one dating circa 1400 BC during the reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1353 BC) and the other to circa 1300 BC during the reign of Seti I (1290–1279 BC). There was also a hieroglyphic mention of an Edomite region called the "Land of the Shasu of Yahweh." Yes, many scholars do, in fact, deliberately ignore evidence that contradicts their ideas. The archaeological evidence against the Documentary Hypothesis is too much for the grant-money chasers to neglect. The mention of Yahweh one century removed from Moses beyond Israel's borders in Egypt—the polytheistic nation that had once enslaved it—disproves that some editor called J one-thousand or so years later first called God "Yahweh."
In conclusion, Moses used Elohim (H430) and Yahweh (H3068 & H3069) to describe God's transcendence and immanence. When God created the universe, Moses called him Elohim in the uni-plural (see "Trinity: Jewish & Gentile Views") and monotheistic senses. When Moses asked for God's name, he learned that God relates to us always in the present, and God personally meets us to say, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exod. 3:14).
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe; we give thanks to you for all your servants and witnesses of time past: for Abraham, the father of believers, and Sarah, his wife; for Moses, the lawgiver, and Aaron, the priest; for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah and Gideon, and Samuel with Hannah, his mother; for David, king over Israel; for Isaiah and all the prophets; for Mary, the mother of our Lord; for Peter and Paul and all the apostles; for Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene; for Stephen, the first martyr, and all the martyrs and saints in every age and every land. In your mercy, Lord our God, give us, as you gave them, the hope of salvation and the promise of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of many from the dead. Amen.
Bibliography
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