Pentateuchal Theory

Throughout the Pentateuch, God and Moses have done, before anyone else, what the scribes have always done: they have updated, amended, and supplemented. Through the projection of such characters in the narrated story, characters endowed with their own hermeneutical skill, the scribes have authorized – better, canonized – their own work, inscribing their practice in the texture of the founding events. They have cast God and his prophet as scribes in their own image, so as to become  scribes in Godʼs and Mosesʼs images.

For about 150 years, scholars have attempted to identify the language of the world’s first alphabetic script, and to translate some of the inscriptions that use it. Until now, their attempts have accomplished little more than identifying most of the pictographic letters and translating a few of the Semitic words. With the publication of The World’s Oldest Alphabet, a new day has dawned. All of the disputed letters have been resolved, while the language has been identified conclusively as Hebrew, allowing for the translation of 16 inscriptions that date from 1842–1446 BC. These inscriptions expressly name 3 biblical figures and greatly illuminate the earliest Israelite history in a way that no other book has achieved, apart from the Bible.

Detailed arguments for dating Genesis 1-11 to the exilic era.

1. There is no reference to Moses writing any of Genesis, Exodus 1-14, 15:20-19:23; 24:1-18; 32:1-34:35; 35:30-40:37, or Leviticus 24:10-23, and only Numbers 33:3-49 is attributed to Moses (rather than the entire book).

2. People and events of Genesis 1-11 are cited rarely in the Old Testament, and virtually only by books dating to the Babylonian exile or later.

3. The text of Genesis 1-11 has a number of strong parallels with various Mesopotamian texts which were written very early, long before the birth of Moses. The level of detail in these parallels indicates strongly that they were not simply the result of a Hebrew writer demonstrating oral knowledge of stories he had heard; they indicate the writer of Genesis 1-11 had actually read these Mesopotamian texts, and was not only consciously aware of them but was writing in direct response to them.

4. Certain vocabulary in Genesis 1-3 is used elsewhere only in books written during the monarchy or later.

5. Certain names appear only in Genesis 1-11 and books written during or after the Babylonian exile; typically they appear later in 1 Chronicles 5 or later books as personal names, and in Isaiah and Ezekiel as place names.  Some names appear as personal names before the exile, but as place names only during or after the exile. A few names appear only in Genesis 10. Some verses in Genesis 1-11 use place names which help date the text. In particular, several verses in Genesis 10 indicate the chapter could not have been written until after the reign of Solomon.

The analysis of Ex 16 and Gen 1:1–2:4a shows that the Sabbath played no part in the early literary strata of the priestly text (P 1). Both the seven-day-pattern of the creation account and the priestly portions of the Manna story belong to a late priestly editorial layer (P 2). In Ex 16, this priestly editor has reworked a late dtr Grundbestand, which had already established a connection between the Manna and the Sabbath and can be linked with the Sabbath commandment in Ex 20:8–10. In contrast, the earliest priestly references to the Sabbath belong to the Holiness Code (Lev 17–26), while the priestly Sabbath texts in the books of Gen and Ex are entirely of late priestly origin (P 2).

The research presented in this book aims to interpret Exod. 3:14 within the context of Exodus and its literary composition. The story of how this verse was received in the West shows that it has more often than not been read through the lens of its Greek and Latin translations and almost systematically taken out of the literary context it belongs to. This thesis views and interprets Exod. 3:14 in light with the pericope of the burning bush (Exod. 3:1-4:18) and links it to the other two parts of the book of Exodus where God/YHWH reveals and explains his name to Moses (Exod. 6:2-7:7; 33-34). The detailed exegesis of these three passages leads to the identifying of four aspects of the revelation of the divine name, which corresponds to four singular moments of the composition of the book.

The article explores an unusual literary phenomenon in both biblical and Mesopotamian traditions: a consecutive order of clauses in a law collection serves to structure the plot of a later, narrative composition. The plot of Ruth follows the list of
commandments in Deut 24:16-25:10, while a portion of the Neo-Babylonian work, “Nebuchadnezzar King of Justice” follows the order of LH 1-5. Strikingly, these narrative compositions invoke the venerated law codes of their respective traditions, and yet, at the same time, the practice of those very same laws invoked, is seen to be at variance with the prescriptions of the earlier codes. The implications of the phenomenon for understanding processes of legal revision in the ancient Near East are explored.

The papers presents actual tendencies in pentateuchal scholarship and reviews some newer publications (Stephen Germany, The Exodus-Conquest Narrative. The Composition of the Non-Priestly Narratives in Exodus-Joshua (FAT 115), Mohr Siebeck Tübingen 2017, XIV + 515 S. – Jan C. Gertz/Bernard M. Levinson/Dalit Rom-Shiloni/Konrad Schmid (Hg.), The Formation of the Pentateuch. Bridging the Academic Cultures of Europe, Israel, and North America (FAT 111), Mohr Siebeck Tübingen 2016, XII + 1204 S. – Federico Giuntoli/Konrad Schmid (Hg.), The Post-Priestly Pentateuch. New Perspectives on its Redactional Development and Theological Profiles (FAT 101), Mohr Siebeck Tübingen 2015, VIII + 351 S. – Friedhelm Hartenstein/Konrad Schmid (Hg.), Abschied von der Priesterschrift? Zum Stand der Pentateuchdebatte (VWGTh 40), Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig 2015, 219 S.)

Dieser wichtige Beitrag zur Pentateuchforschung zeigt paradigmatisch, wie aus Gen 14 die politisch-geographischen und aus Gen 15 die verheißungstheologischen Konzepte in Gen 17 und der Endkompositionsschicht aufgenommen und spezifisch umgeprägt werden. Die Hypothese einer Priestergrundschrift wird für die Genesis ad acta gelegt und Gen 17 stattdessen als Schluss-Stein gewürdigt, der eigens für die endkompositionelle Systematisierung der Genesis im unmittelbaren Vorfeld der Veröffentlichung der Tora (um 400 v.Chr.) geschaffen worden ist und das biblische Abrahambild nachhaltig bestimmt.

This paper is a short review of some of the arguments regarding the relationship between the Proto Semitic / Sinaitic/ Canaanite inscriptions and Paleo Hebrew. It looks at the film of Timothy Mahoney with a disputation between such scholars as Orly Goldwasser and Christopher Rollston and David Rohl and Petrovitch around the studies of Joseph Naveh. Naveh notes that in the tenth century BC Paleo Hebrew, Aramaic and Phoenician were indistinguishable, leaving the door open for a bridge between Proto sinaitic and Paleo Hebrew.  The genius of the alphabet was needed in oder for the Torah to be written. Spome scholars argue that the Proto Sinaitic inscriptions are in fact the earliest form of Hebrew. Rohl sughgest it was designed by Joseph whilst he was in Egypt because of the coincidence between the first inscriptions and Josephs's period in Egypt.

The Flood Narrative (Gen 6:9–9:29) illustrates the composite nature of the book of Genesis more than any other passage. Despite the difficulties in discerning and identifying the sources behind the final form of the text, this narrative remains the locus classicus for our understanding of the characteristics of two independent and preexisting traditions. The paper revisits this topic in light of recent studies of Israel’s legal corpora, and renewed interest in the Holiness School’s redactional practices. The paper explores the possibility that a Holiness redactor was responsible for the current unity of the Flood Narrative. "

Deut. 15:7-11 records instructions from Moses’ to the Israelites about the treatment of the poor in the promised land. The thesis of this paper is that although these instructions are found in the midst of civil and ceremonial laws, they are yet profoundly moral in character, eschatological in orientation and binding in their principle for the New Testament church.

The purpose of this brief paper is  to call attention to two developing lines of research in Pentateuchal studies that both, independently of each other, suggest that neither the Priestly Document nor the Pentateuch as a whole were either composed or redacted with a view to the legitimation of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The first line of research is the comparative study of Ezekiel and the Pentateuch, and the second is contemporary research in Samaritan origins, particularly Gary Knopper’s recent monograph on the subject.

La figure de Moïse, qui domine le Pentateuque, a donné lieu à d'innombrables interprétations et à des productions artistiques de toute nature. Face à cette réception foisonnante, l'A. se propose de remonter en amont : Que s'est-il passé au juste ? La question est très vaste, et dans cette livraison l'A. offre une synthèse sur la première phase, qui court de l'oppression des Israélites à la traversée de la mer Rouge. L'étude est détaillée et très claire, avec divers tableaux. De nom-breux aspects du récit sont illustrés par des documents provenant de cultures voisines (Égypte, Mésopotamie au sens large) et des parallèles bibliques. L'exposition de la stratigraphie littéraire en montre l'extrême complexité. L'A. distingue en conclusion cinq moments décisifs : 1. Origines orales (IX e ou VIII e s.) dans le royaume du nord (Israël), d'une tradition de sortie d'Égypte reflétant des conflits entre l'Égypte et des groupes nomadiques (Shassu, Apiru) ; 2 Après la chute de Samarie en-722, transfert au VII e s. de cette tradition d'exode dans le royaume de Juda et construction, par les scribes du roi Josias, d'une « vie de Moïse » à l'image des rois assyriens, non sans souvenirs de la cour égyptienne, d'où une double identité de Moïse, à la fois hébraïque et égyp-tienne ; 3. Après la destruction de Jérusalem en-587, l'histoire de Moïse est re-visité par les exilés sous deux angles : d'abord, pour le courant deutéronomiste il est le premier des prophètes d'Israël et leur précurseur, alors que Pharaon, noyé avec son peuple dans la mer Rouge, est vaincu par un Yhwh guerrier ; 4. Ensuite est introduit un complément sacerdotal concurrent, où Aaron est in-troduit comme ancêtre des prêtres, où Moïse reçoit une nouvelle révélation du nom divin, et où le miracle de la mer a l'allure d'une nouvelle création ; 5. Vers le milieu de l'époque perse, des rédacteurs ont combiné les versions deutérono-mistes et sacerdotales, en l'enrichissant d'autres récits, où en particulier des femmes étrangères jouent un rôle décisif, en opposition avec les doctrines d'Esdras et de Néhémie, qui les excluent. Ce résumé rend mal compte d'innombrables observations judicieuses et de l'apport multiple des sources externes. Il appelle cependant quelques observations , d'autant plus que les résultats proposés sont à la fois émiettés et hypothé-tiques dans le détail, quoique remarquablement simples dans la synthèse. Il faut d'abord se demander quel est le statut des ultimes rédacteurs. Car il y un paradoxe : d'un côtés ils ont procédé à des harmonisations d'interventions antérieures (deutéronomistes et sacerdotales), mais en même temps ils ont laissé des discordances nettes. On pourrait comprendre qu'ils aient compilé passive

The similarities between Noah's ark and the saving boat in Mesopotamian flood accounts are widely known. Likewise known are the links between Noah's ark and the chest of Moses (Exod 2:3). However, the connections between the "chest" of Noah and the "chest" of the testimony have not hitherto drawn adequate scholarly attention. The article explores these connections on both the linguistic and the conceptual level. Moreover, it investigates their function in hypertextual links of the Genesis flood account to earlier Israelite literary works, especially the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua.

This article addresses the presentation of Hagar as "handmaid" (šipḥāh), "wife" (’iššāh), and "concubine" (’āmāh) in Gen 16:1-16 and 21:9-21. It is argued that these episodes contain three original stories that are complete, coherent, and independent from each other. Informed by ancient Near Eastern customs, each story contains its own depictions of Hagar, her relationship to Abraham and Sarah, and the legal status of her son. After the collation of the three original stories, the precision of each story is lost and Hagar emerges as a multidimensional figure.

The article examines the works of the modern German biblical scholar Erhard Blum, devoted to the analysis of the history and contemporary state of the documentary hypothesis of the origin of the Pentateuch, which is still dominant in modern Western biblical studies. An introduction to the article contains a brief history of the documentary hypothesis. Further in the text, the contemporary state of the hypothesis is represented by the description of Blum, with three main directions of its development, which he distinguishes, and his critical assessment of its problems and prospects. The author considers Blum’s reasoning about the problems of linguistic dating, which is important for various aspects of modern biblical studies, including the documentary hypothesis. As an example, the linguistic dating of Genesis 24 (the marriage of Isaac), made by the Israeli biblical scholar Alexander Rofe, is described, and its critical analysis is given. The author reasons about the modern critical assessment of the documentary hypothesis based on the analysis of Blum’s works, and applies his own interpretations. The author presumes that the history of the documentary hypothesis and its current state clearly demonstrates controversy. Meanwhile, opinions on the origin of the Pentateuch, alternative to the traditional church views, should not necessarily contradict the church doctrine and may be useful for identifying and solving some problems of the biblical text. Due to the fact that Blum is a contemporary biblical scholar, his person, as far as the author knows, has not been an object of academic research yet, and the present article can be considered the first in this area, and the author, therefore, is forced to rely solely on Blum’s works.

There's a huge debate on Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1 and verse 2. Biblical scholars trying to find out the proper proof on these verses. Although this a particular topic is debatable. However this brief paper will help you to know the argument between Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1 and verse 2.

This essay attempts to define covenant as seen in the Old Testament. It will give an overview of some of the current and historical thinking on the subject and explain the types of covenant. Five covenants in particular shall be discussed: the Edenic, Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenants – and the common strands within each will be identified. A common way of interpreting the covenants shall be explained before so that these five covenants can more easily be compared. The essay shall then conclude with an explanation of these strands and an allusion to the (re-)new(ed) covenant in the New Testament.

PRIMO CAPITOLO del Toràh Project Italia dedicato alla Genesi, con dedica, introduzione, descrizione dell'Opera e tavola dei contenuti dell'intera opera.

Estratto di un'opera in 3 volumi interamente realizzata dallo scrittore e ricercatore indipendente Daniele Salamone, reperibili su Amazon al seguente indirizzo: https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=sr_il_ti_stripbooks?rh=n%3A411663031%2Cp_27%3ADaniele+Salamone&sort=date-desc-rank&ie=UTF8&qid=1523962059&lo=stripbooks

Praca doktorska:
Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18, Kraków 2008, Wydawnictwo Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej.
Praca w języku polskim, streszczenie w języku polskim i angielskim.
ISBN: 978-83-7438-159-8

The English translation of the entire dissertation has been published in the form of several articles on Academia.edu.
Introduction: https://www.academia.edu/40341712/
Chapter I:    https://www.academia.edu/41736250/
Chapter II:  https://www.academia.edu/39467954/
                      https://www.academia.edu/39591656/
Chapter III:  https://www.academia.edu/42563255
                      https://www.academia.edu/38854469/
                      https://www.academia.edu/42671972/
Conclusion: https://www.academia.edu/42779391/
Rev. Professor Dr. hab. Bogdan Poniży, The Review Report on the Ph.D. Thesis of mgr lic. Wojciech Kosek: https://www.academia.edu/44638031

See also https://www.adoracja.bielsko.opoka.org.pl/Kosek_mainWeb_UK.html

Doctoral thesis:
The original rite of the Passover in the light of the literary scheme of the Book of Exodus 1–18, Wydawnictwo Naukowe of The Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow, 2008, pp. 440.
The doctoral dissertation is written in Polish, abstract in Polish, and English.
This Internet publication was made in 18. January 2018 year,
i.e., on the tenth anniversary of granting me the title of doctor of theology by the Council of the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow.

The Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow
Wojciech Kosek’s doctoral thesis consists of an introduction, three main chapters, and a conclusion. The main part is concentrated on seeking a basic structure of the rite of the Passover, namely:
• The first chapter is to discover the literary structure of the first eighteen chapters of the Book of Exodus.
• The second chapter is to answer the question: is the literary structure of Ex 1–18 a structure of an ancient treaty?
• The third chapter (based on „The Passover Haggadah”) talks over the 14–elements rite of Passover and answers the questions:
1. Is it possible to unambiguously assign every of 14 elements of the Passover rite to one of the main four ritual cups of this rite?
2. Do four ritual cups form the main 4-element structure of the rite of the Passover?
3. Is this 4-element structure of the Passover formed on the literary schema of Ex 1–18?
4. Is this 4-element structure a structure of an ancient treaty?

“The Sources of the Pentateuch: Their Literary Extent and the Bridge between Genesis and Exodus. A Survey of Scholarship since Astruc”, in: Christoph Berner / Harald Samuel (eds.), Book-Seams in the Hexateuch I. The Literary Transitions between the Books of Genesis/Exodus and Joshua/Judges, FAT 120, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018, 21-41.

This bibliographical review provides an analysis of the most relevant handbooks of Pentateuch and Old Testament historical books
from the last 25th years. First, it reviews the main published works. Then, the approach of these works is synthesized in its most widespread
developments. Finally, some reflections on the current situation are offered in order to illuminate how could be projected a today Handbook of Pentateuch and Old Testament historical books.
Esta nota bibliográfica ofrece una noticia razonada de los manuales más relevantes de Pentateuco y libros históricos del Antiguo Testamento de los últimos 25 años. Primero, se pasa revista a los principales títulos publicados. A continuación, se sintetizan las tendencias más difundidas en el planteamiento de esas obras, y, por último, se ofrecen unas reflexiones personales acerca de la situación actual y sobre cómo podría enfocarse hoy un manual de Pentateuco y libros históricos del Antiguo Testamento destinado a la docencia y a la formación teológica.

The presence of Numeruswechsel, the frequent switching between singular and plural in second-person address, is especially prevalent in Deuteronomy. Studies of the phenomenon as it relates to the book’s composition have led to mixed conclusions. This paper takes up again the singular-plural interchange in the deuteronomic core, in order to reconsider its value in identifying Urdeuteronomium. The paper explores the pericopes marked especially by the you-singular, and concludes with a proposal on the origins of ‘original Deuteronomy.'

This article argues that the contrasting attitudes toward tricksterism in Genesis 38 and 39 are relevant to the position of these chapters in the overlapping Jacob and Joseph narratives. The juxtaposition of Genesis 38 and 39 invites comparisons between the four main characters, but these characters have often been matched by gender—Judah and Joseph, Tamar and Potiphar's wife. For this reason, the contrast between Tamar and Joseph has been largely overlooked. The Jacob stories feature several prominent trickster tales, and Tamar is also celebrated as a trickster. In contrast, Joseph is presented as a 'wisdom' hero who maintains the status quo. Joseph's 'victory' over Potiphar's wife counterbalances Tamar's success in the previous chapter, therefore, which also contributes to the goal of taming the earlier tricksters of the Jacob narrative.

Tiberias marshals cutting edge advances in the field of machine learning and computational linguistics to empower users to easily conduct their own experiments analyzing and classifying the texts of the Hebrew Bible through the measurable features of linguistic data, and providing them with verifiable results. For a brief video demonstrating the program's unparalleled capacities, see here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUx7VD6YHpw.  For a short written demonstration, see here - http://etcbc.nl/bible/linguistic-dating-and-the-tiberias-stylistic-classifier-for-the-hebrew-bible/