Composition of the Torah

The composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible— Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) was a process that involved multiple authors over an extended period of time.^[1] While Jewish tradition holds that all five books were originally written by Moses sometime in the 2nd millennium BCE, leading scholars have rejected Mosaic authorship since the 17th century.^[2]

The precise process by which the Torah was composed, the number of authors involved, and the date of each author remain hotly contested among scholars.^[3] Some scholars, such as Rolf Rendtorff, espouse a fragmentary hypothesis, in which the Pentateuch is seen as a compilation of short, independent narratives, which were gradually brought together into larger units in two editorial phases: the Deuteronomic and the Priestly phases.^[4]^[5]^[6] By contrast, scholars such as John Van Seters advocate a supplementary hypothesis, which posits that the Torah is the result of two major additions—Yahwist and Priestly—to an existing corpus of work.^[7] Other scholars, such as Richard Elliott Friedman or Joel S. Baden, support a revised version of the documentary hypothesis, holding that the Torah was composed by using four different sources—Yahwist, Elohist, Priestly and Deuteronomist—that were combined into one in the Persian period.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Scholars frequently use these newer hypotheses in combination with each other, making it difficult to classify contemporary theories as strictly one or another.^[11] The general trend in recent scholarship is to recognize the final form of the Torah as a literary and ideological unity, based on earlier sources, was likely completed during the Persian period (539-333 BCE).^[12]^[13]^[14]

^ Berlin 1994, p. 113.
^ Baden 2012, p. 13.
^ Greifenhagen 2003, p. 206.
^ Viviano 1999, p. 49.
^ Thompson 2000, p. 8.
^ Ska 2014, pp. 133–135.
^ Van Seters 2015, p. 77.
^ Baden 2012.
^ Friedman, Richard Elliott (25 November 2003). The Bible with Sources Revealed. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-053069-3.
^ Friedman, Richard (1 January 2019). Who Wrote the Bible?. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-9240-1.
^ Van Seters 2015, p. 12.
^ Greifenhagen 2003, pp. 206–207.
^ Newsom 2004, p. 26.
^ Whisenant 2010, p. 679, "Instead of a compilation of discrete sources collected and combined by a final redactor, the Pentateuch is seen as a sophisticated scribal composition in which diverse earlier traditions have been shaped into a coherent narrative presenting a creation-to-wilderness story of origins for the entity 'Israel.'"

[FOOTNOTEBerlin1994113-1] Berlin 1994, p. 113.

[FOOTNOTEBaden201213-2] Baden 2012, p. 13.

[FOOTNOTEGreifenhagen2003206-3] Greifenhagen 2003, p. 206.

[FOOTNOTEViviano199949-4] Viviano 1999, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTEThompson20008-5] Thompson 2000, p. 8.

[FOOTNOTESka2014133–135-6] Ska 2014, pp. 133–135.

[FOOTNOTEVan_Seters201577-7] Van Seters 2015, p. 77.

[FOOTNOTEBaden2012-8] Baden 2012.

[9] Friedman, Richard Elliott (25 November 2003). The Bible with Sources Revealed. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-053069-3.

[10] Friedman, Richard (1 January 2019). Who Wrote the Bible?. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-9240-1.

[FOOTNOTEVan_Seters201512-11] Van Seters 2015, p. 12.

[FOOTNOTEGreifenhagen2003206–207-12] Greifenhagen 2003, pp. 206–207.

[FOOTNOTENewsom200426-13] Newsom 2004, p. 26.

[FOOTNOTEWhisenant2010679-14] Whisenant 2010, p. 679, "Instead of a compilation of discrete sources collected and combined by a final redactor, the Pentateuch is seen as a sophisticated scribal composition in which diverse earlier traditions have been shaped into a coherent narrative presenting a creation-to-wilderness story of origins for the entity 'Israel.'"

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