Perhaps the first to use critical methods to study the old testament was jean astruc, physician to the french king louis xv, in 1753. Scholars also use the words tetrateuch to refer to the first four books, hexateuch for the first six, septateuch for the first. For about three thousand years from about 1440 bc to the 1700s ad, the author of the pentateuch was commonly and widely accepted as moses. What evidence proves that moses wrote the first five books of the old testament. From adam and eve in the garden, to noahs ark, to moses parting of the red sea, to its conclusion with the death of moses, the pentateuch contains some of the most important and memorable stories in western civilization. Analyse the assumptions about the pentateuch religion essay. The french academic jean astruc, who was also a professor of medicine, applied techniques developed for studying classical texts to the old testament in an attempt to prove hobbes and spinoza were. Astruc believed that moses must have used two different sources in writing. Mosaic authorship is the tradition attributing the five books of the torah or pentateuch to moses, the legendary leader, lawgiver, and prophet of the israelites who figures as the main protagonist in the book of exodus. In fact astruc was a stanch defender of mosaic authorship. From the book one gathers that the author was an accomplished. This word originally meant to shoot, but it eventually came to mean direction. He placed passages that use the name elohim in one column a, those that use yahweh in another column b and passages with repetitions c and nonisraelite sources d in a third and fourth column.
This title is derived from pente,five, and teucos which, meaning originally vessel instrument, etc. At first, it seems that no one claimed to know the pentateuchs author. Hence the authorship of the work, the time and manner of its origin, and its historicity are of paramount importance. The first five books of the bible are called the pentateuch or the torah which include genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy, typically dated to either 1440 bc or the 1200s bc. The composition of the torah or pentateuch, the first five books of the bible. The first part deals with description of the key term, namely pentateuch.
They are usually referred by christians as the law of moses and to the jews as torah. When and what did jean astruc contribute to early modern biblical. The contents of the pentateuch furnish the basis for the history, the law, the worship, and the life of the chosen people of god. Formation of the pentateuch flashcards by mollykay starkweather. His views were expanded and popularized by others so that by the end of the century numerous biblical commentators had gravitated to this liberal. The attribution of the pentateuch to moses was probably due to the influence of hellenism, for which no great. Astruc s immediate predecessors were le clerc clericus, richard simon, fleury, and francois. German scholarship took up this suggestion and elaborated it into a documentary hypothesis which typically denied mosaic authorship and the historicity of the events recorded in the.
Astruc was the first to offer an explanation of the character and mutual relations of these documents. Analysis of traditions concerning mosaic authorship. History of questions about the authorship of the pentateuch. From 1780 onwards johann gottfried eichhorn extended astrucs analysis beyond genesis to the entire pentateuch, and by 1823 he had concluded that. The term is used interchangeably with torah which refers either to the five books of moses or pentateuch or to the entirety of judaisms founding legal and ethical religious texts. Pentateuch, the, is the greek name given to the five books commonly called the five books of moses. The documentary hypothesis dh is one of the models historically used by biblical scholars to. Despite the difficulties associated with it, i believe we must preach the pentateuch for four reasons. He believed moses was the author of the pentateuch, but he unlocked the door for the skepticism of later scholars. These books are often called the law, but in addition to legal materials they include poems, songs, and epic narratives about the people of god. In 1753, a french physician named jean astruc hypothesized that moses had made use of two older narratives in composing the book of genesis. Preaching from the pentateuch is a great need of gods people, many of whom have never heard sermons from any book of the old testament, let alone the pentateuch. They are simply the first 5 books of the old testament in the bible. Wellhausen attempted to reconstruct the sources for the pentateuch and.
The tools adapted by astruc for biblical source criticism were vastly developed by subsequent scholars, most of them german. In doing so, he sought to prove that moses really was the. When most people say the word torah they either mean the whole jewish bible, the tanakh, the first five books of the bible, or all of the jewish teaching in general. Jean louis ska says, in introduction to reading the pentateuch. These five books are the beginning of both the jewish and christian bibles. Authorship of pentateuch kenya projects organization. The contents of the pentateuch furnish the basis for the.
As the title shows, astrucs proposal was not very radical, as he did not deny mosaic authorship to genesis. The archaeological evidence behind the journey out of egypt kindle edition by osman, ahmed. All agree that the torah is not a unified work from a. Jean astruc 16841766 a frenchman named jean astruc attempted to use the divine names to analyze the book of genesis. Who are the scholars who contributed to the critical study. Witter was the first to say there were two parallel accounts of creation. He noted that the first chapter of genesis refers to god as elohim, while the second chapter uses mostly jehovah or yahweh. Very helpful to my studies of the pentateuch and for my pentateuchal assignment, and i believe a quite significant work in the healthy move in the world of academia towards greater study regarding what the pentateuch says, as oppose to the focus being solely on the whens, hows and by whoms of how the pentateuch was written.
Nevertheless, further attacks on the mosaic authorship of the pentateuch began taking hold in france through jean astruc, whose book conjectures about the original memoirs which it appeared that moses used in composing the book of genesis with certain remarks which help clarify these conjectures was published in 1753. The pentateuch itself claims that moses wrote many important parts. In 1753 french physician jean astruc first suggested that the book of genesis drew its material from two sources based on the two different names used to refer to god, yahweh and elohim. Astruc was also the author of elements of midwifery. Early 1800s french physician jean astruc first introduced the terms elohist and jehovist. There is some discussion as to who is the author of the pentateuch. Torah simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. To the jew the word became a technical name meaning the law. The pentateuch, or what came to be known as the torah or the book of the law, is regarded as the most authoritative and highly inspired of all the old testament writings, in large part because these books contain the laws given to the israelites by yahweh. He analyzed the books attributed to moses and found different writing styles, different names used for god, and groups of laws that seem to have patched together from various original sources. The jedp theory says that the books were written by several different authors after the death of moses, culminating in ezra, who supposedly compiled the writings in the 4th century b. Jean astruc was a professor of medicine at montpellier and paris, who wrote the first great. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the lost city of the exodus. For most people, the 36 th chapter of genesis is unfamiliar territory.
The outline of pentateuch books the hesitant prize fighter. Christ believed that moses wrote the first five books of the old testament. Jean astruc, who in 1753 published a book entitled conjectures concerning the original memoranda which it appears moses used to compose the book of genesis. Analysis of traditions concerning mosaic authorship free. Astruc was the first to try to demonstrate, by using the. The archaeological evidence behind the journey out of egypt. While jewish tradition holds that all five books were originally written by moses sometime in the 2nd millennium bce, by the 17th century leading scholars had rejected mosaic authorship.
The documentary hypothesis dh is one of the models historically used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the torah or pentateuch, the first five books of the bible. The word is formed from the greek terms pentefive, and teuchosscroll. All agree that the torah is not a unified work from a single author, but is made up of sources combined. Moses had allegedly used antiquarian sources for his composition was the claim. Jean astruc sauve, france, 19 march 1684 paris, 5 may 1766 was a professor of medicine at montpellier and paris, who wrote the first great treatise on syphilis and venereal diseases, and also, with a small anonymously published book, played a fundamental part in the origins of critical textual analysis of works of the bible. What evidence proves moses wrote the first five books of. Then in 1823 eichhorn denied the mosaic authorship editorship of the pentateuch. The term pentateuch was first used by the hellenistic jews in alexandria. Sir william osler, jean astruc and the higher criticism 1912. The term pentateuch was used as early as the third century a. Jewish tradition calls the five books torah teaching, law because of the centrality of the sinai covenant and legislation mediated through moses. Pentateuch encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The french academic jean astruc, who was also a professor of medicine. The books are made up of 5 scrolls, in the following table.
Apologetics press are there two creation accounts in. Jean astruc came to believe that he could uncover the sources of the pentateuch by using the divine names yahweh and elohim as a guide. Five books the jews call the first five books of the bible are called the torah. The pentateuch greek for five books designates the first five books of the jewish and christian bible genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. This theory, known as the documentary hypothesis, became popular in the 19th century when jean astruc, a french physician, claimed that he had isolated certain source authors in the pentateuch.
The pentateuch its greek name, but also known as the torah by the hebrews consists of the first five books of the bible. The sequence of creation and the details focused on in genesis 2. Although astrucs aim was to defend mosaic authorship, subsequent nonconservative scholars began using his approach to deny the same. The pentateuch includes the first five books of the biblegenesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. The term applies to the first five books of the biblegenesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. The information in this program was taped live at the ankerberg theological research institutes apologetics conference in orlando, florida. In 1780 johann eichhorn, building on the work of the french doctor and exegete jean astrucs conjectures and others. In the mideighteenth century a fellow named jean astruc first noticed the. First 5 books of the old testament jean astruc 1753, a french philosopher who noticed the two different uses for god, elohim vs. Mosaic authorship was accepted in scholarship throughout late antiquity, the middle ages, and. Pentateuch oxford research encyclopedia of religion. He did divide the book into two main sources and ten small documents, however.
Jean astruc during the 18th century and julius wellhausen during the 19th century further developed these thoughts. Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy was a process that involved multiple authors over an extended period of time. His work was the beginning of pentateuchal sourcecriticism proper. This is also an area of great need for preachers, who tend to shy away from the pentateuch. In 1753, a french physician named jean astruc began the modern study of source or literary analysis by writing a commentary on the book of genesis. According to astruc, moses compiled genesis by dividing up these ancient memoirs that he had access to and reassembling them so as to provide a continuous. Physician and founder of modern pentateuch criticism. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In the eighteenth century jean astruc, a celebrated physician, published a treatise on genesis in which he postulated that moses used two major sources in writing the book of genesis. Nowhere does genesis 36 record the names of such patriarchs as abraham, isaac, or joseph.
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