Jahwist
Encyclopedia
The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah
. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh
(more accurately, YHWH) for God in the book of Genesis. In most English Bibles it is replaced with "the LORD", or sometimes "GOD", but in fact it is simply God's name.
In the first half of the 20th century it was believed that the Yahwist could be dated to c.950 BCE, but later study has demonstrated that J can not be earlier than the 7th century. Current theories place it in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th-5th centuries BCE), but the date and even the existence of J are currently the subject of vigorous discussion.
dominated much of the 20th century, but the 20th century consensus surrounding this hypothesis has now broken down. Its contemporary upholders tend to do so in a strongly modified form, giving a much larger role to the redactors (editors), who are now seen as adding much material of their own rather than as simply passive combiners of documents. Among those who reject the documentary approach altogether, the most significant revisions have been to combine E with J as a single source, and to see the Priestly source as a series of editorial revisions to the Yahwist.
The alternatives to the documentary approach can be broadly divided between "fragmentary" and "supplementary" theories. Fragmentary hypotheses, seen notably in the work of Rolf Rendtorff and Erhard Blum, see the Pentateuch as growing through the gradual accretion of material into larger and larger blocks before being joined together, first by a Deuteronomic writer ("Deuteronomic" means related to the Book of Deuteronomy, which was composed in the late 7th century BCE), and then by a Priestly writer (6th/5th century), who also added his own material.
The "supplementary" approach is exemplified in the work of John Van Seters
, who places the composition of J (which he, unlike the "fragmentists", sees as a complete document) in the 6th century as an introduction to the Deuteronomistic history (the history of Israel that takes up the series of books from Joshua
to Kings
). The Priestly writers later added their supplements to this, and these expansions continued down to the end of the 4th century BCE.
on Mt. Sinai, Ex. 24:10-11). YHWH can sometimes be bargained with, as in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
, where Abram haggles with him over the fate of the cities. Similarly, during the exodus
, YHWH, incensed by the Israelites' lack of faith, threatens to destroy them all and raise Moses' descendants instead, but "relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened" when dissuaded by Moses (Exodus 32:14).
J has a particular fascination for traditions concerning Judah
, including its relationship with its neighbour Edom
. J also supports Judah against Israel, for example suggesting that Israel acquired Shechem (its capital city) by massacring the inhabitants. J supports the priests descended from Aaron who were established in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah
.
J's YHWH is a warrior, as Exodus 15: 3 declares. YHWH is not a benign God in heaven; he can be dangerous, as when he attempts to kill his newly-chosen prophet Moses at the inn (see Zipporah at the inn
), or arbitrary, preventing Moses from entering Canaan without giving reasons, or mischievous when he confuses mankind's language at Babel.
Michael D. Coogan suggests three recurring themes in the Jahwist tradition: the relationship between humans and soil, separation between humans and God, and progressive human corruption:
Relationship Between Humans and Soil
J is unique in emphasizing a close relationship between humans and soil. This motif is first found in Genesis 2:4b - 3:24 when "the first human is called adam
because he is taken from the soil." Ground/Earth/Soil is adamah in Hebrew, so man is a derivative of the soil. Initially, man lives in harmony with the soil. After human's disobedience in the garden; however, the relationship is marred. In Genesis 3:17 the soil is cursed and man will toil in order to eat from it. Humans may return to the state of harmony at death as described in . The motif is furthered in the story of Cain and Abel
. After the murder, Cain is cursed from the ground . The bond between man and the soil is, seemingly, restored with Noah
. He is described as a man of the soil and is described as the one who will bring relief from the toil of agriculture . Noah's drunkenness also alludes to the link between humans and the soil or plant/food the soil produces and corruption. In the end J repeatedly shows a connection between human corruption and the soil.
The Separation Between the Divine and Human
One of the recurring themes of J in Genesis is the boundary between the divine and human realms. In , by eating the forbidden fruit, man and woman become like gods and are banished from the Garden of Eden
, preventing them from retaining their immortality and full divinity. This theme is also seen in in the sexual union of the sons of God with human women: Yahweh
declares this a violation of the separation and limits the life span of their offspring. Lastly, we see this theme in in the story of the Tower of Babel
in which Yahweh confuses mankind's language to prevent them from understanding each other and approaching divinity.
Progressive Human Corruption
A third theme in the Jahwist is the increase of human corruption. God creates a world which is "very good", one in which all creatures are vegetarian and violence is unknown, but Eve's disobedience is followed by Cain's murder of his brother Abel, until Yahweh sees that the whole Earth is filled with corruption and resolves to destroy it with the Flood. Corruption does not cease after the Flood, but God accepts that his creation is flawed.
. In 1938 Gerhard von Rad placed J at the court of Solomon
, c.950 BCE, and argued that his purpose in writing was to provide a theological justification for the unified state created by Solomon's father, David
. A 1978 study by H.H. Schmid, however, demonstrated that J knew the prophetic books of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, while the prophets did not know the traditions of the Torah, meaning J could not be earlier than the 7th century. A number of current theories place J in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th-5th centuries BCE).
The Yahwist begins with the creation story at Genesis 2:4 (the creation story at Genesis 1 is from P); this is followed by the Garden of Eden story, Cain and Abel, Cain's descendants (but Adam's descendants are from P), a Flood story (P has his own flood story and the two are tightly intertwined), Noah's descendants and the Tower of Babel. These chapters make up the so-called Primeval History, the story of mankind prior to Abraham, and J and P provide roughly equal amounts of material. The Yahwist provides the bulk of the remainder of Genesis, the material concerning Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Exodus
J provides much, but not all, of chapters 1-18, which concern Israel's bondage in Egypt, the youth of Moses, and the Exodus itself. P makes some additions to the stories of the plagues of Egypt
and the crossing of the Red Sea, plus providing the story of the first Passover
, the manna
in the wilderness, and Sabbath observance. J provides all of chapters 19-24, concerning the appearance of God to Moses at Sinai and the giving of the Covenant Code
. P provides chapters 25-31, the elaborate blueprints for the traveling tent-sanctuary, Exodus then switches back to J for the Golden Calf
story, and P concludes with the account of the construction of the sanctuary.
Leviticus
The vast majority of commentators consign the entirety of Leviticus to P.
Numbers
J begins with chapters 10-14, the departure from Sinai, the story of the spies who are afraid of the giants in Canaan, and the refusal of the Israelites to enter the Promised Land - which then brings on the wrath of God, who condemns them to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years. J skips over chapter 15 and resumes at chapter 16, the story of the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, which is combined, very badly, with a twin version from P. J provides chapters 21 to 24, covering the story of the bronze serpent, Balaam
and his talking ass, and rebellion in Moab, finishing, after skipping some chapters provided by P, with the provision of land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Mannasseh.
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
(more accurately, YHWH) for God in the book of Genesis. In most English Bibles it is replaced with "the LORD", or sometimes "GOD", but in fact it is simply God's name.
In the first half of the 20th century it was believed that the Yahwist could be dated to c.950 BCE, but later study has demonstrated that J can not be earlier than the 7th century. Current theories place it in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th-5th centuries BCE), but the date and even the existence of J are currently the subject of vigorous discussion.
Background
Modern scholars agree that separate sources and multiple authors underlie the Pentateuch, but there is much disagreement on how these sources were used to write the first five books of the bible. The explanation called the documentary hypothesisDocumentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
dominated much of the 20th century, but the 20th century consensus surrounding this hypothesis has now broken down. Its contemporary upholders tend to do so in a strongly modified form, giving a much larger role to the redactors (editors), who are now seen as adding much material of their own rather than as simply passive combiners of documents. Among those who reject the documentary approach altogether, the most significant revisions have been to combine E with J as a single source, and to see the Priestly source as a series of editorial revisions to the Yahwist.
The alternatives to the documentary approach can be broadly divided between "fragmentary" and "supplementary" theories. Fragmentary hypotheses, seen notably in the work of Rolf Rendtorff and Erhard Blum, see the Pentateuch as growing through the gradual accretion of material into larger and larger blocks before being joined together, first by a Deuteronomic writer ("Deuteronomic" means related to the Book of Deuteronomy, which was composed in the late 7th century BCE), and then by a Priestly writer (6th/5th century), who also added his own material.
The "supplementary" approach is exemplified in the work of John Van Seters
John Van Seters
John Van Seters is a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Currently University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, he was formerly James A. Gray Professor of Biblical Literature at UNC. He took his PhD at Yale University in Near Eastern Studies...
, who places the composition of J (which he, unlike the "fragmentists", sees as a complete document) in the 6th century as an introduction to the Deuteronomistic history (the history of Israel that takes up the series of books from Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
to Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
). The Priestly writers later added their supplements to this, and these expansions continued down to the end of the 4th century BCE.
Characteristics
In J, YHWH is an anthropomorphic figure, forming man from clay with his own hands, fond of Edenic walks in the "cool of the evening," making clothes for Eve and Adam with animal pelts, enjoying the food Abram offers Him, speaking face-to-face with humans (as in the theophanyTheophany
Theophany, from the Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of God"), refers to the appearance of a deity to a human or other being, or to a divine disclosure....
on Mt. Sinai, Ex. 24:10-11). YHWH can sometimes be bargained with, as in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
, where Abram haggles with him over the fate of the cities. Similarly, during the exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
, YHWH, incensed by the Israelites' lack of faith, threatens to destroy them all and raise Moses' descendants instead, but "relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened" when dissuaded by Moses (Exodus 32:14).
J has a particular fascination for traditions concerning Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, including its relationship with its neighbour Edom
Edom
Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
. J also supports Judah against Israel, for example suggesting that Israel acquired Shechem (its capital city) by massacring the inhabitants. J supports the priests descended from Aaron who were established in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
.
J's YHWH is a warrior, as Exodus 15: 3 declares. YHWH is not a benign God in heaven; he can be dangerous, as when he attempts to kill his newly-chosen prophet Moses at the inn (see Zipporah at the inn
Zipporah at the inn
Zipporah at the inn is the name given to an episode alluded to in three verses of Exodus. It is one of the more unusual, curious, and much-debated passages of the Pentateuch....
), or arbitrary, preventing Moses from entering Canaan without giving reasons, or mischievous when he confuses mankind's language at Babel.
Michael D. Coogan suggests three recurring themes in the Jahwist tradition: the relationship between humans and soil, separation between humans and God, and progressive human corruption:
Relationship Between Humans and Soil
J is unique in emphasizing a close relationship between humans and soil. This motif is first found in Genesis 2:4b - 3:24 when "the first human is called adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
because he is taken from the soil." Ground/Earth/Soil is adamah in Hebrew, so man is a derivative of the soil. Initially, man lives in harmony with the soil. After human's disobedience in the garden; however, the relationship is marred. In Genesis 3:17 the soil is cursed and man will toil in order to eat from it. Humans may return to the state of harmony at death as described in . The motif is furthered in the story of Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
. After the murder, Cain is cursed from the ground . The bond between man and the soil is, seemingly, restored with Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
. He is described as a man of the soil and is described as the one who will bring relief from the toil of agriculture . Noah's drunkenness also alludes to the link between humans and the soil or plant/food the soil produces and corruption. In the end J repeatedly shows a connection between human corruption and the soil.
The Separation Between the Divine and Human
One of the recurring themes of J in Genesis is the boundary between the divine and human realms. In , by eating the forbidden fruit, man and woman become like gods and are banished from the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
, preventing them from retaining their immortality and full divinity. This theme is also seen in in the sexual union of the sons of God with human women: Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
declares this a violation of the separation and limits the life span of their offspring. Lastly, we see this theme in in the story of the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
in which Yahweh confuses mankind's language to prevent them from understanding each other and approaching divinity.
Progressive Human Corruption
A third theme in the Jahwist is the increase of human corruption. God creates a world which is "very good", one in which all creatures are vegetarian and violence is unknown, but Eve's disobedience is followed by Cain's murder of his brother Abel, until Yahweh sees that the whole Earth is filled with corruption and resolves to destroy it with the Flood. Corruption does not cease after the Flood, but God accepts that his creation is flawed.
Date
Wellhausen argued that J was the earliest of the four sources and placed them in the order J-E-D-P, but did not attempt to date J more precisely than the monarchical period of the history of ancient Israel and JudahHistory of ancient Israel and Judah
Israel and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of ancient Palestine. The earliest known reference to the name Israel in archaeological records is in the Merneptah stele, an Egyptian record of c. 1209 BCE. By the 9th century BCE the Kingdom of Israel had emerged as an important local power before...
. In 1938 Gerhard von Rad placed J at the court of Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
, c.950 BCE, and argued that his purpose in writing was to provide a theological justification for the unified state created by Solomon's father, David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
. A 1978 study by H.H. Schmid, however, demonstrated that J knew the prophetic books of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, while the prophets did not know the traditions of the Torah, meaning J could not be earlier than the 7th century. A number of current theories place J in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th-5th centuries BCE).
Scope
GenesisThe Yahwist begins with the creation story at Genesis 2:4 (the creation story at Genesis 1 is from P); this is followed by the Garden of Eden story, Cain and Abel, Cain's descendants (but Adam's descendants are from P), a Flood story (P has his own flood story and the two are tightly intertwined), Noah's descendants and the Tower of Babel. These chapters make up the so-called Primeval History, the story of mankind prior to Abraham, and J and P provide roughly equal amounts of material. The Yahwist provides the bulk of the remainder of Genesis, the material concerning Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Exodus
J provides much, but not all, of chapters 1-18, which concern Israel's bondage in Egypt, the youth of Moses, and the Exodus itself. P makes some additions to the stories of the plagues of Egypt
Plagues of Egypt
The Plagues of Egypt , also called the Ten Plagues or the Biblical Plagues, were ten calamities that, according to the biblical Book of Exodus, Israel's God, Yahweh, inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh capitulated after the tenth...
and the crossing of the Red Sea, plus providing the story of the first Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, the manna
Manna
Manna or Manna wa Salwa , sometimes or archaically spelled mana, is the name of an edible substance that God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert according to the Bible.It was said to be sweet to the taste, like honey....
in the wilderness, and Sabbath observance. J provides all of chapters 19-24, concerning the appearance of God to Moses at Sinai and the giving of the Covenant Code
Covenant Code
The Covenant Code, or alternatively Book of the Covenant, is the name given by academics to a text appearing in the Torah at Exodus - . Biblically, the text is the second of the law codes given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai...
. P provides chapters 25-31, the elaborate blueprints for the traveling tent-sanctuary, Exodus then switches back to J for the Golden Calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
story, and P concludes with the account of the construction of the sanctuary.
Leviticus
The vast majority of commentators consign the entirety of Leviticus to P.
Numbers
J begins with chapters 10-14, the departure from Sinai, the story of the spies who are afraid of the giants in Canaan, and the refusal of the Israelites to enter the Promised Land - which then brings on the wrath of God, who condemns them to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years. J skips over chapter 15 and resumes at chapter 16, the story of the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, which is combined, very badly, with a twin version from P. J provides chapters 21 to 24, covering the story of the bronze serpent, Balaam
Balaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
and his talking ass, and rebellion in Moab, finishing, after skipping some chapters provided by P, with the provision of land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Mannasseh.
External links
- The Jahwist source isolated, at wikiversity