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Genesis 1 Authorship

Biblical tradition attributes authorship of Genesis to Moses, who would have written it between 1440-1400 BC during the Hebrew wanderings. However, higher critical analysis proposes that multiple anonymous sources (J, E, D, P) contributed to Genesis over centuries, with the final version compiled around 550 BC. This Documentary Hypothesis sees Genesis as combining sources rather than being written by Moses. Debate continues on reconciling these perspectives with the historical elements of Genesis.

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92 views

Genesis 1 Authorship

Biblical tradition attributes authorship of Genesis to Moses, who would have written it between 1440-1400 BC during the Hebrew wanderings. However, higher critical analysis proposes that multiple anonymous sources (J, E, D, P) contributed to Genesis over centuries, with the final version compiled around 550 BC. This Documentary Hypothesis sees Genesis as combining sources rather than being written by Moses. Debate continues on reconciling these perspectives with the historical elements of Genesis.

Uploaded by

Jayri Fel
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Authorship

See also Genesis authorship.


Biblical tradition within and without the Old Testament, Jesus in the New Testament, as well as
extra-Biblical writers such as Josephus, Origen, the early church fathers and many others, have
claimed Moses as the author of Genesis, written during the time of the Hebrew wanderings in the
Wilderness, between 1440-1400 B.C. Certainly, Moses was able to have written Genesis in
Hebrew, Akkadian, or Egyptian. He was well-educated and trained in the Egyptian
court. Archaeology demonstrates that such a man would have the education necessary to
accomplish this during that time in history.[7]
The higher critical view is that Moses did not write Genesis. Some biblical scholars identified five
separate authors of the five "books of Moses."[8][9] This idea is called the Documentary Hypothesis.
Although unidentified, each of these authors has been given the name of a letter:

 J who calls God YHWH (the Jehovist account), and who possibly wrote in the south


of Judah, written c. 850 B.C.
 E who uses Elohim ('the gods', 'the spirits') as God's name, and possibly wrote
in Ephraim, written c. 750 B.C.
 D who wrote the book of Deuteronomy, about 650 B.C.
 P who wrote an alternate history in what was called the Priestly Code, about 550 B.C.
 R who joined the writings of J, E, D and P to form a single work.
 (Though recent Scholarship has moved toward a four source hypothesis,
with the Priestly writer functioning as final contributor and editor.)
Under this hypothesis, looking at the Creation story

 Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 were written by P.


 Genesis 2:4 was written by R
 Genesis 2:5 through 4:26 were written by J.
This idea has gained in popularity among critics since it was first proposed in the late 19th century.
However, it is inevitably a product of modern rationalistic research and the application of literary
criteria. Opponents of this research point to the fact that it is difficult to reconcile with the historical,
miraculous, and prophetic elements which they claim to be basic to the first five books of the Bible. [10]

See also
 Sistine Chapel
 Dead Sea Scrolls
 Midrash for the treatment in Jewish literature of the offering by Abraham of his son Isaac.
 For the rock band Genesis, please see Genesis (band)
 Genesis (Translated)
References
1. Jump up↑ Genesis is also the first book of the Jewish Torah. The Hebrew for
Genesis is ‫בראשית‬.
2. Jump up↑ http://www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-oneness-unity-plural-nouns-pronouns-
verbs-adverbs.htm
3. Jump up↑ It is said the Lord God appeared to Abraham, then that he perceived The
Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as Three Men. He adored Them And yet spoke to
Three Persons as to One Lord God, and thus the Holy Bible here clearly
demonstrates that the Holy Trinity is One Lord God. Gen 18:1: "And the LORD
appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of
the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and
when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself
toward the ground,3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight,
pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:"
In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany
(a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For e.g "God in Three Persons
appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as
reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers."
Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7. [1]
4. Jump up↑ Multiple references:
 Johnson, James J.S. (2011). Genesis Is History, Not Poetry: Exposing
Hidden Assumptions about What Hebrew Poetry Is and Is Not. Institute
for Creation Research (from Acts & Facts. 40 (6): 8-9). Retrieved
January 18, 2018.
 Sarfati, Jonathan (April 2015). Genesis is history!. Creation Ministries
International (from Creation 37(2):50–52). Retrieved January 18, 2018.
 Batten, Don; Catchpoole, David; Sarfati, Jonathan D.; Wieland, Carl
(November 30, 2007). Is Genesis poetry / figurative, a theological
argument (polemic) and thus not history? Creation Ministries
International. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
 Turpin, Simon (May 2, 2016). Is Genesis 1 Literal, Literalism, or
Literalistic? Answers in Genesis. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
5. Jump up↑ Unger, 1966, p.396
6. Jump up↑ Not all Christians accept that the days were literal days. See also Creation
Week, Gap theory, and Old Earth Creationism.
7. Jump up↑ Unger, pp. 35-35
8. Jump up↑ Who Wrote The Pentateuch, The Five Books of Moses?
9. Jump up↑ Introduction to Genesis & the Pentateuch
10. Jump up↑ Unger, p. 397; Young, pp. 183-276

Sources
 Holy Bible, King James Version (Thompson Chain Reference), B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co.
Indianapolis, IN 1982.
 Unger, Merril F. Unger's Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, IL 1966.
 Unger, Merril F. Unger's Bible Handbook, Moody Press, Chicago, IL 1967.
 Young, Edward J. Introduction to the Old Testament, W.B. Eardmans Pub. Co. Grand
Rapids, MI 1949.

Links
 Table of Nations chart
 Creation timeline

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