I have been reviewing scholarship on the Documentary Hypothesis. Given the
number of Hebrew scholars here with strong views on such matters, I would
like to take an informal survey of the members of this list regarding their
views of the Documentary Hypothesis:
1. In general, do you accept the hypothesis?
2. If you answered "yes" to question 1, in what ways do your views differ
from the classical Graf-Wellhausen formulation of the hypothesis? (E.g.,
do you accept or reject a separate E source? Would you date P prior to D,
as some do? Do you agree with the recent trend of dating J late rather
than early?)
3. If you reject the hypothesis from within the historical/literary
critical school, with what would you replace it? A "fragmentary" view that
sees numerous fragments being redacted together rather than three or four
main documents? A "supplemental" view that sees one main source that was
supplemented with other material? Other?
4. If you reject the historical/literary critical enterprise altogether,
what is your view of the composition and authorship of the Pentateuch? Is
it a unified composition? What factors are most important in your
rejection of the Documentary Hypothesis?
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Kevin L. Barney
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
klbarney AT yahoo.com
Documentary Hypothesis Survey,
Kevin L. Barney, 03/14/2000