Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jim West <jwest AT highland.net>]

At 12:46 PM 9/2/00 -0400, you wrote:

>Every *scholar* accepts these four sources in the Pentateuch.

Careful Liz, there are a lot of excellent literary scholars who think the
whole documentary hypothesis is unnecessary.

>J is for the Yawist, the one who calls God by his personal name.

Yahwist, actually.

>Each of these *do* have their own vocabulary, formulary, and theology.

IF one accepts the hypothesis.  If one does not, one can instead see various
other causes for these differences.

>
><<which often contradicts that of the other documents. >>
>
>Yes.

again, the so called contradictions might instead be literary devices or
theological ploys.

>Anyone can see that the Pentateuch/Torah is composed of stories, poems, and
>laws.

true

>
><<However, this view is not supported by conclusive evidence, >>

theres no such thing as conclusive evidence when we are talking about
documents over 2 millenia old.

><<and intensive archaeological and literary research has undercut many of
>the arguments used to challenge Mosaic authorship.>>

there is no mosaic authorship.  there is post exilic and hasmonean
authorship.  and archaeology is itself fundamentalisms worst enemy in these
matters for it show NOTHING of many claims found in the Bible.

>
>Archaeological and  literary research has rendered Mosaic authorship nearly
>impossible,
>I'd say the probability of Mosaic authorship is .000000001.  (According to
>Bayes' theorem,
>my giving it even that much probability leaves me capable of changing my
>mind if suffient and overwhelming evidence exists, like for example they
>find his grave on Mt. Nebo with a torah in it, preferably in OLd Kingdom
>Hieroglyphics.).

indeed.

>
>
>Whatyathunk?? :-)
>
>I think you should get a new bible.
>Also,  you might enjoy reading
>"Who Wrote the Bible?" by Richard Elliot Friedman.

YUCK!
Horrible recommendation!  He doesnt know squat about the subject!  You would
be much better off getting a new Bible and reading P. Davies' "Whose Bible
is it Anyway" (Sheffield).


Jim

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Do not ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by
incompetence" -Napoleon

Jim West, ThD
http://web.infoave.net/~jwest