[b-hebrew] Author of the Torah
Peter Kirk
peterkirk at qaya.org
Fri Jul 29 20:44:24 EDT 2005
On 29/07/2005 22:39, Heard, Christopher wrote:
>Oops, no. Brain hiccup. Please substitute "285 BCE"--I am thinking of
>the tradition that the LXX project was begun while Judea was under
>Ptolemaic rule--and adjust other dates accordingly.
>
>
>
Well, this is not in fact a basis for moving forward to this date the
latest time of composition of the Torah. For James made one very good
new point, which was that the Samaritan Pentateuch is nearly identical
to the Torah, which proves that the more-or-less final form of the Torah
predates the split between the Jews and the Samaritans. Now we don't
know the precise date of this. The Samaritan tradition dates it as far
back as the time of Eli. The book of Kings suggests the time of
Hezekiah. And the Elephantine letters gives clear evidence that by 500
BCE there were separate communities with separate Temples, and so very
probably with separately preserved versions of the Torah. So, this
becomes quite a stong argument for the Torah being complete at least
before the Exile. Perhaps the last time at which it could have been
shared between Judeans and Samaritans was the time of Josiah, when
Samaria seems to have come temporarily under Judean control. So I would
suggest that as the latest plausible date for the Torah in more or less
its final form.
--
Peter Kirk
peter at qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk at qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/
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