Briefly stated, Documentary
Hypotheses challenges Moses’ authorship of the Pentateuch and claims that there
were four authors, hence the name JEDP Theory. The JEDP theory is founded upon
the fact that God is addressed with different names throughout different parts
of the Pentateuch.
The letters of the JEDP theory stand for the four supposed
authors. The “J” being the author who names God as Yahweh, the “E” being the
author who names God as Elohim, the “D” being the author of Deuteronomy, and
the “P” representing the author of Leviticus, who is suspected of being a
priest. Further components of the JEDP Theory claim that different portions of
the Pentateuch may have been organized much later by Ezra or another author in
the fourth century B.C.
Documentary Hypotheses
was first coined by Julius Wellhausen, a German biblical scholar, in the late
19th Century. He had constructed his theory based upon a knowledge
of noticeably differing linguistic styles in the Pentateuch, chiefly the
different manners of addressing God as Elohim and Yahweh. For example, Genesis Chapter
1 uses the name Elohim while Genesis Chapter 2 uses the name YHWH, or Yahweh.
Patterns like this occur quite frequently in the Pentateuch. Based on these
findings, Wellhausen adopted the model created by Karl Heinrich Graf, another German
Old Testament scholar, who stated the Pentateuch was written in J-E-D-P
chronology.
However, Wellhausen and Graf were not the first to doubt Mosaic
authorship of the Pentateuch. Many scholarships had been dismissed on their
theories of multiple authors. Mosaic authorship saw a rapid increase in
challenge in the 17th century. In 1651 Thomas Hobbes, cited several biblical
passages from the Pentateuch such as Deuteronomy 34:6b which says: but to this day, no one knows where his
grave is, which implies an author writing this long after Moses' death); Genesis
12:6b which states: at the time that the
Canaanites were in the land, implying an author living in a time when the
Canaanite was no longer in the land; and concluded that none of these could
have been written by Moses.
The JEDP Theory poses a
respectable stance. Firm evidence, well thought-out models of their hypotheses,
along with support of some of the most well-known Enlightenment thinkers. While
the theory can be respected, it cannot be accepted. There are three possible counterarguments
to be made against the JEDP theory.
The first counterargument
is that Moses’ use of various linguistic styles are the result of the genre he
was writing in. A writer is expected to change their style/tone to fit the genre
of literature they are producing. For example, the style would be noticeably different
between historical literature, such as Genesis, as opposed to legal statutes,
such as Exodus and Deuteronomy. The style would also be different in writing
instructions of a sacrificial system outlined in the book of Leviticus. If
these separate genres of literature had been written with the same linguistic
styles and formatting, they wouldn’t have been able to convey the message God
was trying to convey and would have come across as confusing or misleading.
Therefore, the different styles used by Moses are justified.
The second counterargument
deals with the use of Yahweh. Moses used God’s names to address different
aspects of His character. In Genesis 1, He is addressed as Elohim and his
traits of might and omnipotence are shown in great detail. In Genesis 2, God is
addressed as Yahweh, and His character in relation to humanity is displayed.
This does not support multiple authors as the proponents of the JEDP Theory
would claim but supports the view of a single author addressing God in
different ways to describe different aspects of His character.
The third and most
convincing counterargument is the biblical evidence that contradicts the basic
assertions of the JEDP Theory. Numerous instances that support Mosaic
authorship can be found in the New Testament, starting with Jesus himself. In
Mark 12:26, Jesus says “Now about the
dead rising, have you not read the book of Moses, in the account of the bush,
how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob’? Jesus himself is stating that the account of the burning bush was
recorded by Moses in Exodus 3. In the book of Acts, Luke quotes a passage out
of Deuteronomy and gives Moses the credit as author. Acts 3:22 says “For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will
raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen
to everything that he tells you’”. This is quoting Deuteronomy 18:15 which
says exactly the same thing. Luke is clearly recognizing Moses as the author of
that passage in Deuteronomy. In Romans 10:5, Paul says “Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The
man who does these things will live by them’”. This is a reference by Paul
to Leviticus 18:5 where it says “Keep my
decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I Am the LORD.”
Paul is giving Moses credit as the author.
Therefore, in order for
the JEDP Theory to be correct, Jesus, Luke, and Paul must be incorrect. Due to
this the JEDP Theory cannot be accepted because the Bible is the divinely
inspired inerrant Word of God and adopting this theory would harm and question
the evangelical position of inerrancy. This is the overwhelming reason why the
JEDP Theory cannot be accepted from an Evangelical viewpoint.