Biblical Hebrew Forum

[lorencrow AT earthling.net (Loren Crow)]

I wouldn't say it's unsupported in the academy.  Almost all of us *assume*
that some sort of editing process took place behind the text of the
Pentateuch.  Many of us are somewhat wary of any specific proposal as to
how that was done.  But the basic Wellhausenian idea of explaining the
present state of the text by means of redaction criticism is, it seems to
me, alive and well.  There remains much controversy about niggling points,
like the dating and character of JE, whether P was an author or a redactor,
and so on.  Still, it is very much the _communis opinio_ that such a
process lies behind the text, and most Pentateuch scholars assume (and want
to move beyond) that the basic identifications of who (in the sense of
which group) wrote what are probably fairly accurate.

On the other hand, it's necessary to say that Wellhausen's more distinctive
contribution to HB scholarship -- his theory about the development of
Israelite religion, arguing that it developed from a primitive "Mosaic"
monotheism, to a high "ethical monotheism" in the prophets, and to
corruption of that ethical pinnacle in the postexilic period by priests --
is in considerable disfavor.  This theory was based upon his theory of the
Pentateuch's redaction, with the added 19th-century Protestant/Lutheran
prejudice against Jews and priests mixed in.  Almost no one is now willing
to accept these latter prejudices now, and so Wellhausen's developmental
theory is now quite passe.

Cheers!
Loren

At 7:00 PM 1/15/99, Peter_Kirk AT SIL.ORG wrote:
>I recently ducked a question about why I reject Wellhausen type source
>criticism. Maybe because I am not alone...
>
>>From a private report about a recent OT conference in Oslo:
>
>"The new atmosphere was noticed by some participants; JEDP theory was
>not mentioned almost at all in this conference.  Most scholars in OT
>conference do not support this theory these days."
>
>Would anyone like to comment? What was this conference, anyway?
>
>Peter Kirk
>
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Even God cannot change the past.
               - Agathon (quoted by Aristotle, NE 6:2,1139)