Who Wrote the Bible?

For those who are interested in a scholarly discussion of a question which most people (at least most have wondered at some point or another) "Who Wrote The Bible?" by Richard Elliott Friedman is a book you should read. Friedman uses history as well as uses the contact to first build the case for multiple authors of the Books of Moses, and then put forward a plausible hypothesis for the authorship for the different sections. Of course, he is not attempting to name specific authors, but rather focused on where the authors were from, and what their position was in the society.The core of the book is less than 250 pages, but the appendices, bibliography and notes bring it closer to 300 pages. That being said, while Friedman does an excellent job of presenting his subject in a concise matter, it is his references that make "Who Wrote The Bible?" such a great work by itself, as well as be a tremendous reference to do further reading on the subject.Friedman opens with a discussion of the traditional authors of the Bible and why those were clearly not accurate, and then moves into an overview of the world which produced the first books of the Bible. He then goes into the two different authors of the events and how their accounts are different, and how they are the same. The authors are given the names J and E based on the words they use to refer to God. Friedman then goes into more detail on who these writers were, i.e. where they were from, when did they live, and what were their roles in society. Note that Friedman doesn't rule out the possibility that J and E each have multiple writers, but rather than whether they do or not doesn't have an impact on the overall viewpoint of the texts.Of course, the authorship doesn't end with J and E. Next up is D, the author of Deuteronomy and the next 6 books, and this is followed by a discussion of the author referred to as P. Friedman also discusses the importance of the redactor or editor who put all these works together and the obvious control this person had over the current work. While controversial in some respects, this book is certainly not a case of science and religion in conflict. The difficulties were not a scientific discovery, but rather this has been an area of religious debate and discussion. Certainly some of the evidence that Friedman presents is scientific, but this is not a book discussing the validity of the work, but rather the authorship, so unless one's faith is dependent on the specific author of these works, it should not be one which fans the flames between religion and reason.

Have you ever noticed that the story of the Creation is told twice in Genesis, in different ways? Or that at one point in Genesis Noah releases a dove from the ark, but just a few verses away, it says he released a raven? Scholars have found dozens of such "doublets," bits of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) that cover the same ground, often differing in the details or the words used.Richard Friedman, in Who Wrote the Bible?, unravels the major literary strands in the Pentateuch. By sorting out verses according to word usage and other markers in the original Hebrew, Friedman comes to the conclusion that today's Pentateuch was originally four different works. (Not all of this is original with Friedman, but he sums up previous research and advances the theory significantly.) One book originated in Israel before the Babylonian invasion, the other in Judah, the southern and longer surviving part of the Hebrew kingdom. Among the differences between them, God is always called Yahweh (Jehovah) in the book from Israel, and Elohim in the book from Judah.A third major strand that Friedman unravels is associated with the priestly class. Not surprisingly, it dwells mostly on various ritual requirements. Almost the entire book of Leviticus is from this source. The fourth source is the writer of Deuteronomy. Have you ever noticed how Deuteronomy repeats so much of Genesis and Exodus?Perhaps the most important insight of the book is how the God of the books from Israel and Judah is essentially forgiving and maintains a personal relationship with the central figures of the narrative - Adam and Eve, Noah, Joseph, and Moses, for example. The God of the priestly source is characterized by high standards for human behavior and the imposition of consequences for going astray. Both of these aspects of God's nature are found in the New Testament as well. With ample documentation and convincing logic, Friedman develops the theory that a single editor wove these books together after the Babylonian exile, producing what we now know as the Pentateuch. This was a grand synthesis, in which no one original strand emerged dominant, and in which the several aspects of God are revealed. The result was a sum greater than the component parts (the kind of synergy one would expect from divine inspiration), and which ever since has been a central source for our understanding of God.Friedman does identify who he thinks wrote and edited most of the Pentateuch - names you will recognize. But I won't ruin the detective-like suspense of the book by telling you. If the book has a shortcoming, it's that it does not deal with the entire Old Testament. Beyond the Pentateuch, Friedman reaches forward briefly as far as Chronicles. I had hoped to read a treatment of Isaiah, with its prophecies of the Messiah, but it's not here.Altogether, an outstanding, insightful book. Highly recommended.

I grew up in a very conservative Christian home. Bible stories were more familiar to me than even Saturday morning cartoons. Friedman’s book rekindled my interest and dare I say love for the Bible. He in no way denigrates it.Friedman shows that the writing of the Bible was very human with all of humanity’s glories and blemishes. There was nothing magical or inerrant in the writing of the Bible. Instead it’s a story of people seeking to be in relationship with God. It’s a story that has shaped us more than any other.Friedman has enriched my belief in the Incarnation. The Word revealed in flesh. And what intriguing and messy flesh it is.A must read for anyone wanting more than what they were taught in Sunday school or Bible College.

the complete analysis, he tore it done and put it back beautifully

O livro apresenta uma abordagem coerente e compreensível quanto ao processo de formação da Bíblia Hebraica (Antigo Testamento), ajustando a tradicional e antiga Hipótese Documentária. O problema é que, atualmente, quase nenhum estudioso do tema considera a hipótese documentária um solução adequada para explicar a composição do pentateuco.

Una obra seria desde el punto de vista académico, pero lo suficientemente clara para que pueda seguirlo cualquier persona con una base de cultura general. Explica la complicada historia del origen de los 11 primeros libros de la Biblia Hebrea -no toda la Biblia, como da a entender el título-. Por supuesto, como cualquier otra teoría sobre el origen de los textos bíblicos, está basada en una serie de hipótesis, pero lo que propone no sólo resulta creíble, es una de las mejores aproximaciones a uno de los grandes enigmas de la historia. Muy recomendable para cualquiera que quiera conocer la Biblia desde las investigaciones de la historia

20世紀まで積み上げられた、聖書学の成果が切り拓いた「知的な旅路」をワクワクしながら、辿っていました。　古代ユダヤ教を、宗教社会学を学ぶ題材とした、約半世紀前から、旧約聖書の読み難さの理由や、背景を知りたい、と思い続けてきました。　この本のおかげで、その読み難さの由来を理解する様々な科学的方法論や、その研究成果に交わることが出来、序章から第14章まで、次々と疑問が解き明かされていく過程に、惹き込まれ、腑に落ちてくるものを味わい続けていました。　信仰内容を一旦脇に置いて、聖書を、科学的な研究の対象に置き、理性や知性の問いかけてくる疑問に、科学的に答えていく作業には、中世の神学者たちの成果にまで遡る、長い先行研究の道程があることも、更に明らかになりました。　第14章では、この旅路の末に辿り着いた高みから、ユダヤ教とキリスト教に共通するものを概観します。近寄ることを俊絶する絶対的な姿と、赦し慈しみ身近にいる姿と、相矛盾するヤハウェの姿が、浮かび上がって、改めてまた信仰内容の中身に戻る路が、啓けてくるかのようです。　このヤハウェの姿は、エホバにも、アッラーにも、共通して窺える姿でもあり、一神教の生成過程に理解を進めることにもなります。　21世紀に入って、仏教学の成果も一般に広く知られるようになり、例えば、NHKのEテレの「100分de名著」で、佐々木閑さんの「大乗仏教」の解説が聞かれるようになりました。（中村元先生に私淑するものとしても、嬉しく思います。）　聖書学も仏教学も、その信仰内容を豊かにし、点検し、味わい直すうえで、疎かには出来ないなぁ、と再認識しています。