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The Documentary Hypothesis: Difference between revisions
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<h1><b>The Documentary Hypothesis and the Book of Mormon</b></h1> | |||
{{Summary1}} As explained by scholars Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, the ''Documentary Hypothesis'' (commonly referred to as the "DH") is "a theory concerning the origins of the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) that [argues that the Pentateuch is composed of various sources that were] combined and revised over several centuries from varying historical and theological points of view." These sources, according to source critics (scholars who study authorship of scriptures) who argue for the DH, "could be (fairly) precisely dated and placed in an evolutionary sequence…A J (Yahwist) document (ca. 850 B.C.E.) and an E (Elohist) document (ca. 750 B.C.E.) were, according to this hypothesis, combined by a redactor (RJE) around 650 B.C.E.; the Deuteronomic Code (621 B.C.E., called D) was added by a redactor (RD) around 550 B.C.E.; the Priestly Code (ca. 450 B.C.E.) constituted the final document added by a redactor (RP) around 400 B.C.E."<ref>Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, ''Handbook of Biblical Criticism'', fourth edition (Louisville, KY: John Knox Westminster Press, 2011), 79.</ref> | |||
As explained by scholars Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, the ''Documentary Hypothesis'' (commonly referred to as the "DH") is "a theory concerning the origins of the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) that [argues that the Pentateuch is composed of various sources that were] combined and revised over several centuries from varying historical and theological points of view." These sources, according to source critics (scholars who study authorship of scriptures) who argue for the DH, "could be (fairly) precisely dated and placed in an evolutionary sequence…A J (Yahwist) document (ca. 850 B.C.E.) and an E (Elohist) document (ca. 750 B.C.E.) were, according to this hypothesis, combined by a redactor (RJE) around 650 B.C.E.; the Deuteronomic Code (621 B.C.E., called D) was added by a redactor (RD) around 550 B.C.E.; the Priestly Code (ca. 450 B.C.E.) constituted the final document added by a redactor (RP) around 400 B.C.E."<ref>Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, ''Handbook of Biblical Criticism'', fourth edition (Louisville, KY: John Knox Westminster Press, 2011), 79.</ref> | |||
Below is a chart outlining the characteristics scholars see in the different sources of the Documentary Hypothesis: | Below is a chart outlining the characteristics scholars see in the different sources of the Documentary Hypothesis: | ||
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[[File:Screenshot_3.png]] | [[File:Screenshot_3.png]] | ||
Nephi tells us that the brass plates contained the "five books of Moses" (1 Nephi 5:11). Thus, this criticism is founded on the premise that the five books of Moses not be present (in some form) on the brass plates before Nephi and his family left Jerusalem—before the Babylonian Exile around the beginning of the 5th century BCE. We are not required to believe that they existed in the form that they exist today back then, but that the parts that do make it into Nephi’s record be there in a time before the exile. | |||
Nephi tells us that the brass plates contained the "five books of Moses" (1 Nephi 5:11). Thus, this criticism is founded on the premise that the five books of Moses not be present (in some form) on the brass plates before Nephi and his family left | |||
=Source critics have a myriad of theories to identify the sources of the Pentateuch and approximately date their composition and there is no established consensus. Many critics ignore this and translation theory for the Book of Mormon in making their claim.= | How can sources that date to past the Babylonian exile be found on the brass plates? | ||
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====Source critics have a myriad of theories to identify the sources of the Pentateuch and approximately date their composition and there is no established consensus. Many critics ignore this and translation theory for the Book of Mormon in making their claim.==== | |||
There are a few problems with this claim that relate to the dating of the sources, the identification of the sources, and the assumptions about the translation of the Book of Mormon. | There are a few problems with this claim that relate to the dating of the sources, the identification of the sources, and the assumptions about the translation of the Book of Mormon. | ||
One is the idea that J,E,D, and P are static sources (meaning that they are four discrete units of text put together like cars on a train. In this case it would be like cutting up four box cars into many pieces and then rearranging them to fit together) , or that they are even sources at all. | One is the idea that J,E,D, and P are static sources (meaning that they are four discrete units of text put together like cars on a train. In this case it would be like cutting up four box cars into many pieces and then rearranging them to fit together) , or that they are even sources at all. | ||
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Some scholars, like Mark A. O'Brien and Antony Campbell (the authors/compilers of "Sources of the Pentateuch") reject the Documentary Hypothesis altogether. They accept the ''Supplementary Hypothesis'' which argues that there was a base upon which fragments were added (Like sprinkles on an ice cream cone). Dating could be across the board here since there would be a core text that continually evolved over an 800 year period. | Some scholars, like Mark A. O'Brien and Antony Campbell (the authors/compilers of "Sources of the Pentateuch") reject the Documentary Hypothesis altogether. They accept the ''Supplementary Hypothesis'' which argues that there was a base upon which fragments were added (Like sprinkles on an ice cream cone). Dating could be across the board here since there would be a core text that continually evolved over an 800 year period. | ||
==Dating== | ====Dating==== | ||
There is generally no consensus regarding the dating of the Documentary Hypothesis nor the identification of its sources.<ref>This non-consensus is described in more informed terms in Marc Z. Brettler, "Introduction to the Pentateuch," ''The New Oxford Annotated Bible'', fifth edition, eds. Michael Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsome, and Pheme Perkins (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) 5–6.</ref> Some scholars, like John Van Seters, date the sources very differently—putting J as being composed during the exile; but put D and P as pre-exilic (with some P redaction after the exile). Thus, the presence of themes relating to the Garden of Eden in the Book of Mormon would be anachronistic under Van Seters’ perspective. | There is generally no consensus regarding the dating of the Documentary Hypothesis nor the identification of its sources.<ref>This non-consensus is described in more informed terms in Marc Z. Brettler, "Introduction to the Pentateuch," ''The New Oxford Annotated Bible'', fifth edition, eds. Michael Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsome, and Pheme Perkins (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) 5–6.</ref> Some scholars, like John Van Seters, date the sources very differently—putting J as being composed during the exile; but put D and P as pre-exilic (with some P redaction after the exile). Thus, the presence of themes relating to the Garden of Eden in the Book of Mormon would be anachronistic under Van Seters’ perspective. | ||
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This is significant coming from a well-recognized scholar working on the Documentary Hypothesis. What we can establish from this is the general non-consensus among biblical scholars working in Pentateuchal criticism. Anyone who claims to know such a "consensus" misunderstands the field as it currently stands.<ref>Written 19 June 2019.</ref> | This is significant coming from a well-recognized scholar working on the Documentary Hypothesis. What we can establish from this is the general non-consensus among biblical scholars working in Pentateuchal criticism. Anyone who claims to know such a "consensus" misunderstands the field as it currently stands.<ref>Written 19 June 2019.</ref> | ||
==Translation== | ====Translation==== | ||
Most critics ignore translation issues. Meaning, even if the Book of Mormon included text that would be considered anachronistic because the source dating was reliable, that doesn't preclude Joseph Smith/the Lord from providing that text couched in KJV verbiage. This would be an example of dynamic equivalent translation, rather than formal equivalent. | Most critics ignore translation issues. Meaning, even if the Book of Mormon included text that would be considered anachronistic because the source dating was reliable, that doesn't preclude Joseph Smith/the Lord from providing that text couched in KJV verbiage. This would be an example of dynamic equivalent translation, rather than formal equivalent. | ||
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Thus, the Documentary Hypothesis should not be any large problem for Latter-day Saints as it pertains to the Book of Mormon. | Thus, the Documentary Hypothesis should not be any large problem for Latter-day Saints as it pertains to the Book of Mormon. | ||
After careful analysis, it doesn’t seem that the Documentary Hypothesis presents any real challenges to Restoration scripture at this time. | After careful analysis, it doesn’t seem that the Documentary Hypothesis presents any real challenges to Restoration scripture at this time. | ||
{{To learn more box:Bible: documentary hypothesis}}{{blankline}} | {{To learn more box:Bible: documentary hypothesis}}{{blankline}} | ||
{{endnotes sources}} | |||
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The Documentary Hypothesis and the Book of Mormon
Summary: As explained by scholars Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, the Documentary Hypothesis (commonly referred to as the "DH") is "a theory concerning the origins of the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) that [argues that the Pentateuch is composed of various sources that were] combined and revised over several centuries from varying historical and theological points of view." These sources, according to source critics (scholars who study authorship of scriptures) who argue for the DH, "could be (fairly) precisely dated and placed in an evolutionary sequence…A J (Yahwist) document (ca. 850 B.C.E.) and an E (Elohist) document (ca. 750 B.C.E.) were, according to this hypothesis, combined by a redactor (RJE) around 650 B.C.E.; the Deuteronomic Code (621 B.C.E., called D) was added by a redactor (RD) around 550 B.C.E.; the Priestly Code (ca. 450 B.C.E.) constituted the final document added by a redactor (RP) around 400 B.C.E."[1]
Below is a chart outlining the characteristics scholars see in the different sources of the Documentary Hypothesis:
Nephi tells us that the brass plates contained the "five books of Moses" (1 Nephi 5:11). Thus, this criticism is founded on the premise that the five books of Moses not be present (in some form) on the brass plates before Nephi and his family left Jerusalem—before the Babylonian Exile around the beginning of the 5th century BCE. We are not required to believe that they existed in the form that they exist today back then, but that the parts that do make it into Nephi’s record be there in a time before the exile.
How can sources that date to past the Babylonian exile be found on the brass plates?
Source critics have a myriad of theories to identify the sources of the Pentateuch and approximately date their composition and there is no established consensus. Many critics ignore this and translation theory for the Book of Mormon in making their claim.
There are a few problems with this claim that relate to the dating of the sources, the identification of the sources, and the assumptions about the translation of the Book of Mormon.
One is the idea that J,E,D, and P are static sources (meaning that they are four discrete units of text put together like cars on a train. In this case it would be like cutting up four box cars into many pieces and then rearranging them to fit together) , or that they are even sources at all.
Most European scholars reject J and E altogether as sources, and opt to name their sources D, P, non-D, and non-P (Deuteronomist, Priestly, non-Deuteronomist, non-Priestly). These same scholars, however, tend to lean towards a late dating for most of the sources—D being the earliest source (during King Josiah's reform); but P, non-D, and non-P date from the beginning of the exile onward. Whether these scholars are correct about the identification of the sources themselves is a separate matter from whether they are correct about the dating of these sources.
Many European scholars (such as Erhard Blum and previously Rolf Rendtorf) tend to favor a Fragmentary Hypothesis—the belief that the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) are the compilation of many, many fragments (like a puzzle)-- instead of the Documentary Hypothesis. Thus, dating of the fragments creates a separate issue. If J was dated to the Israelite monarchy, or to pre-exile/exile/post-exile, generally the argument goes that the entire source dates to that period. If fragments are not part of J then they'd be dated differently.
Some scholars, like Mark A. O'Brien and Antony Campbell (the authors/compilers of "Sources of the Pentateuch") reject the Documentary Hypothesis altogether. They accept the Supplementary Hypothesis which argues that there was a base upon which fragments were added (Like sprinkles on an ice cream cone). Dating could be across the board here since there would be a core text that continually evolved over an 800 year period.
Dating
There is generally no consensus regarding the dating of the Documentary Hypothesis nor the identification of its sources.[2] Some scholars, like John Van Seters, date the sources very differently—putting J as being composed during the exile; but put D and P as pre-exilic (with some P redaction after the exile). Thus, the presence of themes relating to the Garden of Eden in the Book of Mormon would be anachronistic under Van Seters’ perspective.
The P source is the one that usually comes up for Latter-day Saints in discussion of the DH in relation to the Book of Mormon since it is frequently dated to a post-exilic period. If it dates past the Baylonian Exile, then how would the Lehites be able to have them on the brass plates? P has been dated as pre-exilic by many scholars. For example, the most recent issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature contains an article by Joshua Berman, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Hebrew Bible at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and esteemed source critic, arguing for a pre-exilic P.[3] Latter-day Saint scholar David Bokovoy has argued that the E source came before J and that the P source came before D and that D was pre-exilic.[4] Scholar Thomas K. King has argued for a pre-exilic P in his excellent book.[5] Scholar Risa Levitt Kohn argues for a pre-exilic P in her book. Chapters 2 and 3 have a lot of information summarizing the debate on the dating of P and example after example of why P is pre-exilic (or at minimum, predates Ezekiel).[6] Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary puts it at "no later than the 8th century B.C.E."[7]
As scholar Richard Friedman has written:
The best known, most compelling explanation of all our textual evidence is called the documentary hypothesis. A lot of people will tell you that this hypothesis about who wrote the Bible has a smaller consensus than it used to. That is true. Others will tell you that it has been disproved. That is false. The part about consensus, I must admit, reflects a rather strange breeze blowing through the field of Bible scholarship in recent years. The situation is not that the documentary hypothesis does not have a clear consensus of Bible scholars. It is that no hypothesis has a clear consensus of Bible scholars. The documentary hypothesis is just what it says: the Hebrew Bible is made up of documents, of source texts that editors (redactors) put together in several stages. That is the central idea, and nearly all scholars known to me outside of orthodox or fundamentalist communities are persuaded by that idea. (And even the orthodox and fundamentalist communities are beginning to come to terms with it in the last few years.) The point about consensus is that we are now getting a profusion of variations of this central idea. There are supplementary hypotheses, meaning that authors wrote some of the documents and then other authors wrote more pieces around those documents as supplements. There are hypotheses of many very small documents that were expanded and connected to each other. There are hypotheses that date the documents later and later in Israel’s history. Some hypotheses propose a different order in which the source documents were written. There are hypotheses that deny that one or another of the documents ever existed. In all of these variations, the scholar remains critical: not automatically accepting or rejecting the Bible’s reports, but rather identifying the Bible’s sources and their history to see what trustworthy information they can yield.[8]
This is significant coming from a well-recognized scholar working on the Documentary Hypothesis. What we can establish from this is the general non-consensus among biblical scholars working in Pentateuchal criticism. Anyone who claims to know such a "consensus" misunderstands the field as it currently stands.[9]
Translation
Most critics ignore translation issues. Meaning, even if the Book of Mormon included text that would be considered anachronistic because the source dating was reliable, that doesn't preclude Joseph Smith/the Lord from providing that text couched in KJV verbiage. This would be an example of dynamic equivalent translation, rather than formal equivalent.
Thus, the Documentary Hypothesis should not be any large problem for Latter-day Saints as it pertains to the Book of Mormon.
After careful analysis, it doesn’t seem that the Documentary Hypothesis presents any real challenges to Restoration scripture at this time.
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Notes (click to expand)
- ↑ Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, fourth edition (Louisville, KY: John Knox Westminster Press, 2011), 79.
- ↑ This non-consensus is described in more informed terms in Marc Z. Brettler, "Introduction to the Pentateuch," The New Oxford Annotated Bible, fifth edition, eds. Michael Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsome, and Pheme Perkins (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) 5–6.
- ↑ Joshua Berman, "The Biblical Criticism of Ibn Hasm the Andalusian: A Medieval Control for Diachronic Method," Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol 138, No. 2 (2019): 377–390. This claim written 19 June 2019.
- ↑ David Bokovoy, Authoring the Old Testament (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2014) 84–85. As Bokovoy wrote: "E actually came before J (exactly when we cannot say) and that P was written as a priestly reaction to these sources some time later toward the beginning of the Judean exile (remember P is earlier than D, and D for the most part is clearly pre-exilic)."
- ↑ Thomas J. King, The Realignment of the Priestly Literature: The Priestly Narrative in Genesis and Its Relation to Priestly Legislation and the Holiness School (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2008).
- ↑ Risa Levitt Kohn, A New Heart and a New Soul: Ezekiel, the Exile, and the Torah (London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2009).
- ↑ Anonymous, "Priestly Document," Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. David Noel Freedman (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), 1084.
- ↑ Richard Elliot Friedman, The Exodus (New York: HarperCollins, 2017), 43–44.
- ↑ Written 19 June 2019.