Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Banyai AT t-online.de (Banyai)]

David Stabnow wrote:


> Contrary to those who unthinkingly accept it as a unit, this document is
> obviously the work of several authors and editors over a long period of
> time.
>
> First there is the "ESL" author who, while obviously a scholar and
> accomplished writer, betrays the fact that English is not his or her mother
> tongue. I attribute paragraphs 1, 3, and most of 5 to ESL.
>
> The writer of paragraphs 2 and 6, whom I shall call "USA," shows a grasp
> not only of English, but of American colloquialisms.
>
> Paragraph 4 is obviously a later addition. Paragraph 2 makes it clear that
> the original document was short, with probably only one example (Moses'
> blessing).  A later editor added the Balaam example, and had to add the
> word "both" in paragraph 5 as well.  This was the "E" or "expansive"
> editor.
>
> Paragraph 7 is fragmentary, and is difficult to assign it to any writer.
>
>
> Paragraphs 8 and 9 attribute the work to a "Banyai Michael."  This is
> apparently a combination of the names of the two primary authors.  The
> first, Banyai, is the ESL author: the name is not typical of American
> names, and also, note the diacritical accent. The second, Michael, is the
> USA author.  The retention of both names betrays the work of a conservative
> editor, "C."
>
> The fact that the document begins with "Well" and has a demonstrative
> pronoun "this" suggests that the fragment we have is not complete: there
> was more preceding this page.  Perhaps that document or others will be
> discovered, and we will learn more about either "Banyai" or "Michael."

Oh God, this is the late revenge of the documentary hypothesis.

Best regards,

Banyai Michael