Jahwist

The source of the writings of the Torah has captivated many of the greatest minds in Christian thought today. Many evangelical scholars are asking; can the first five books of the bible be trusted? Where did the information come from? How can there be assurance that the information presented in the Pentateuch is truly the word of God? These questions and others like them are indeed vexing. Yet, there are theories and sources out there that seek to explain the origins of the first known writings of the bible. The Yahwist (“J”) source and the Elohist (“E”) source both present critical theories as to the origins of the earliest known section of the bible, the Torah. The Yahwist Summary Albert de Pury, the author of the Yahwist text outlines arguments and critically eventuates those arguments in an attempt to provide evidence that J sources is the oldest text we have as a basis for the writings of Torah. De Pury begins by mentioning that the “main criterion in the attributing text to the J source remained the distinctive use of the name YHWH, but the existence of doublets or parallel narratives” (1013). Then, the author moves to a discussion of Von Rad and Noth’s influence on how the J source is thought about. The author of the article asserts that “von Rad defends the idea that the Pentateuch – or rather, the Hexateuch – is ultimately the work of J. It is J who creates the “history of salvation” that begins with the creation of the world and ends with the entry of…

warn lot to leave Sodom for they are going to destroy the city and the residents within. Recorded in Genesis 19:1 and 13, by the Jahwist source, the angels meet with Lot and then warn him of their plans to destroy Sodom. However, in Genesis 19:29, by the Priestly source, it is God who destroys Sodom. According to the chronology of the Old Testament,…

sacrifice a male goat. When Isaac becomes 40 years of age, he marries Rebekah, who for many years could not have children. Isaac prays to God for help and when he is 60 years of age Rebekah gives birth to twin boys Esau and Jacob. Isaac, eventually, becomes blind, dies at the age of 180 years of age and is entombed in Hebron along with Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 26:6-14 by the Jahwist source, is the third story of the wife - sister scenario. Later, Isaac along with his wife Rebecca move to…

The Jahwist source ( J ) was written between the years 850 – 750 BC in the southern kingdom of Judah and it is the oldest source and J describes a human-like God and J has an eloquent style . The Elohist source ( E ) was written between the years of 850 – 750 BC in the northern kingdom of Israel where E parallels J, and E focuses on the Shiloh priesthood in the kingdom of Israel ( north )and has a moderately eloquent style and a strong prophetic influence, a great ethic character . the…

There are alot of similarites between the the first, Elohist source, and fourth, Deuteronomist source, printed versions of the Ten Commandments with the fourth version being a little more descriptive. However, with the exception of three verses in Exodus 34 by the Jahwist source, the third version is quite different from the other versions with several scriptures that are similar if not exactly alike the scriptures found later on in the Book of the Covenant. The story of Moses receiving the…

The version of the Creation Story in Genesis 1:11 and 27, by the Priestly source, God creates a garden then forms a male and female. The version in Genesis 2:5-8, 15, 21-22, by the Jahwist source, describes that God forms a man, produces a garden, places man in the garden and then later forms a female. The order of creation in Genesis 1 details that first the garden, followed by the creation of a male and female, however, in Genesis 2 it specifies the order of creation is man first, then the…

leader, Moses, per God’s instruction following his reception of the commandments on Mount Sinai. This, however, has been rejected by many scholars due to various discrepancies within the Pentateuch. For example, the use of two different names for God in the book of Genesis shows the potential that there were two different authors. In book one of Genesis, God is exclusively referred by the name Elohim, but in Genesis 2:4 he is called Yahweh-Elohim. Divergences similar to this are seen throughout…