The Oxford History of the Biblical World by Michael D. Coogan Page B
Authors: Michael D. Coogan
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demonstrate that stories preserved in this manner do not primarily serve a historical or antiquarian purpose; rather, they are meant to present cultural values that must be passed on to younger generations. In modern parlance, their function is sociological rather than historical. Usually, historical facts quickly become garbled in an oral tradition, which adapts such information to make whatever point the story is intended to convey. Events and characters are often manufactured for the narrative purposes, and variant versions of a single story develop alongside one another.
Several of these characteristics appear in the book of Genesis. A number of stories occur in duplicate or variant versions. Thus there are two accounts of God changing Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 32.28 and 35.10), two of the naming of the well called Beer-sheba (Gen. 21.31 and 26.33), and two of the naming of the town of Bethel (Gen. 28.19 and 35.15). In three different stories (Gen. 12.10–20; 20; 26.6–11) the patriarch (twice Abraham and once Isaac) tries to pass off his wife as his sister.
This repetition of stories, along with a recognition of more than one literary style, has suggested to most scholars that the current text of Genesis (and of Exodus through Numbers) has been spliced together from multiple literary sources. Threeprimary documents have been identified as the foundations of the final text of Genesis. Because they are anonymous, these sources are named according to notable characteristics. Scholars call the earliest the Yahwist source (abbreviated as J, following the German spelling of the divine name
Yahweh [Jahweh])
because it characteristically uses the name
Yahweh
(traditionally rendered “The LORD”) for God throughout the book of Genesis; in contrast, the two other sources avoid that name until it is revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. Although most scholars would date this version of the origins of Israel to the tenth century BCE , others have recently argued for a date as late as the sixth century BCE . The second source is usually called the Elohist source (abbreviated E) because it regularly uses the Hebrew word
’elohim
(“God”) as its title for Israel’s deity. It is much more fragmentarily preserved in the biblical text, apparently edited into the J version only as a supplement, and is often dated to the ninth/eighth centuries BCE . The third source is called the Priestly document (abbreviated P) for its many priestly concerns. It is generally considered the latest of the sources (sixth century BCE ), although it preserves considerable material that can be identified as much older.
Scholars have also observed a number of anachronisms in the stories, another characteristic of oral literature. For example, in Genesis 20 and 26, the king of Gerar is identified as a Philistine ruler. But the Philistines did not occupy the coast of Canaan until the twelfth century BCE , long after the events connected with him. Camel caravans are mentioned in Genesis 26 and 37, but camels were probably not used in this way before the beginning of the Iron Age (1200 BCE ), when Israel was already emerging as a nation.
In addition, major elements of the stories can be shown to be artificial by comparing evidence drawn from other parts of the biblical text, as well as from archaeological discoveries. Take, for example, the idea that all of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. The book of Judges preserves an ancient poem from the late second millennium, usually called the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5.2–31), in a section of which the poet honors those tribes of Israel that joined in battle against a Canaanite coalition and castigates those that held back. Only ten tribes are named, and two of these are not tribes that occur in the canonical list of twelve. Apparently the twelve tribes did not unify as a political entity until the eleventh century, and when a tribe joined the confederation, the tribal name was personalized
Several of these characteristics appear in the book of Genesis. A number of stories occur in duplicate or variant versions. Thus there are two accounts of God changing Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 32.28 and 35.10), two of the naming of the well called Beer-sheba (Gen. 21.31 and 26.33), and two of the naming of the town of Bethel (Gen. 28.19 and 35.15). In three different stories (Gen. 12.10–20; 20; 26.6–11) the patriarch (twice Abraham and once Isaac) tries to pass off his wife as his sister.
This repetition of stories, along with a recognition of more than one literary style, has suggested to most scholars that the current text of Genesis (and of Exodus through Numbers) has been spliced together from multiple literary sources. Threeprimary documents have been identified as the foundations of the final text of Genesis. Because they are anonymous, these sources are named according to notable characteristics. Scholars call the earliest the Yahwist source (abbreviated as J, following the German spelling of the divine name
Yahweh [Jahweh])
because it characteristically uses the name
Yahweh
(traditionally rendered “The LORD”) for God throughout the book of Genesis; in contrast, the two other sources avoid that name until it is revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. Although most scholars would date this version of the origins of Israel to the tenth century BCE , others have recently argued for a date as late as the sixth century BCE . The second source is usually called the Elohist source (abbreviated E) because it regularly uses the Hebrew word
’elohim
(“God”) as its title for Israel’s deity. It is much more fragmentarily preserved in the biblical text, apparently edited into the J version only as a supplement, and is often dated to the ninth/eighth centuries BCE . The third source is called the Priestly document (abbreviated P) for its many priestly concerns. It is generally considered the latest of the sources (sixth century BCE ), although it preserves considerable material that can be identified as much older.
Scholars have also observed a number of anachronisms in the stories, another characteristic of oral literature. For example, in Genesis 20 and 26, the king of Gerar is identified as a Philistine ruler. But the Philistines did not occupy the coast of Canaan until the twelfth century BCE , long after the events connected with him. Camel caravans are mentioned in Genesis 26 and 37, but camels were probably not used in this way before the beginning of the Iron Age (1200 BCE ), when Israel was already emerging as a nation.
In addition, major elements of the stories can be shown to be artificial by comparing evidence drawn from other parts of the biblical text, as well as from archaeological discoveries. Take, for example, the idea that all of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. The book of Judges preserves an ancient poem from the late second millennium, usually called the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5.2–31), in a section of which the poet honors those tribes of Israel that joined in battle against a Canaanite coalition and castigates those that held back. Only ten tribes are named, and two of these are not tribes that occur in the canonical list of twelve. Apparently the twelve tribes did not unify as a political entity until the eleventh century, and when a tribe joined the confederation, the tribal name was personalized
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