TheJahwist orYahwist (J) is one of the most widely recognizedsources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with theDeuteronomist (D), thePriestly source (P) and theElohist (E). The existence of the Jahwist text is somewhat controversial, with a number of scholars, especially in Europe, denying that it ever existed as a coherent independent document.[4] Nevertheless, many scholars do assume its existence.[5] The Jahwist is so named because of its characteristic use of the termYahweh (German:Jahwe;Hebrew:יהוה) for God.[6]
Modern scholars agree that separate sources underlie the Pentateuch, but there is much disagreement on how these sources were used by the authors to write the first five books of the Bible.[7] Thedocumentary hypothesis, that priestly editors wove several independent source narratives into the single text of the Pentateuch, dominated much of the 20th century, but the consensus surrounding this hypothesis has now broken down. Its critics give a much larger role to theliterary redactors, whom they see as adding much material of their own rather than as simply passive combiners of documents.[8]
The simple form of the documentary hypothesis has been refined by its own adherents as well. The most notable revision in recent decades is to admit that the individual E and J documents are irrecoverable altogether, major parts of them having been scrapped by the first JE redactor; or that the E document was never independent, but rather was a part of the J document.[9]
In J, Yahweh is ananthropomorphic figure both physically (Genesis 3:8,Genesis 11:5,Exodus 17:7) and in personality, as whenAbraham bargained with Yahweh for the fate ofSodom and Gomorrah; or duringthe exodus when Yahweh threatened to destroy the unfaithful Israelites and raiseMoses' descendants instead, but "relented and did not bring on his people the disaster" when dissuaded by Moses.[10]
J has a particular concern withJudah, including its relationship with its rival and neighbor,Edom; on Judahite cities such asJerusalem; and strongly supports of the legitimacy of theDavidic monarchy. J is also critical of the othertribes of Israel, suggesting that theNorthern Kingdom's capital ofShechem was established after a massacre of the original inhabitants (Genesis 34).[11]
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Michael D. Coogan suggests three recurring themes in the Jahwist tradition: the relationship between humans and soil, separation between humans and God, and progressive human corruption.[12]
J is unique in emphasizing a close relationship between humans and the soil. This motif is first found inGenesis 2:4b–3:24 when "the first human is calledAdam because he is taken from the soil [Adamah in Hebrew]." Initially, man lives in harmony with the soil, but after maneats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Yahweh curses the soil, condemning man to toil for his food and to return into the soil upon death. Later, Cain is a tiller of the soil (adamah), and after murdering his brother,Cain iscursed from the ground. The harmony between man and the soil is, seemingly, restored withNoah, aman of the soil who will bring surviving humanity relief from toil. Noah's drunkenness also links humans with the soil, its produce, and corruption.[citation needed]
Another recurring theme is the boundary between the divine and human realms. InGenesis 3:22, by eating theforbidden fruit, man and woman become like gods and are banished from theGarden of Eden, extinguishing their immortality and divine blessing. This theme is also seen inGenesis 6:1–4 in the sexual union of the sons of God with human women:Yahweh declares this a transgression and limits the life span of their offspring.[12] InGenesis 11:1–9, theTower of Babel seeks to rise into the divine sphere, but is prevented when Yahweh confuses mankind's language.
A third theme is progressive corruption of humanity. God creates a world that is "very good", without predation or violence, butEve's disobedience is followed byCain's murder of his brotherAbel, until Yahweh resolves to destroy his corrupt creatures with theFlood. Corruption returns after the Flood, but God accepts that his creation is flawed.[12]
Julius Wellhausen, the 19th century German scholar responsible for the classical form of the documentary hypothesis, did not attempt to date J more precisely than the monarchical period ofIsrael's history.[13] In 1938,Gerhard von Rad placed J at the court ofSolomon, c. 950 BCE, and argued that his purpose in writing was to provide a theological justification for the unified state created by Solomon's father,David.[14] This was generally accepted until a crucial 1976 study byH. H. Schmid,Der sogenannte Jahwist ("The So-called Yahwist"), argued that J knew the prophetic books of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, while the prophets did not know the traditions of the Torah, meaning J could not be earlier than the 7th century.[15] A minority of scholars place J even later, in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th–5th centuries BCE).[5]
The following is a record of the stories in the Bible that are generally accepted by the wider academic community as having been written by the J source:
The Jahwist begins with theGenesis creation narrative atGenesis 2:4 (the creation story atGenesis 1 is from P),[16] this is followed by theGarden of Eden story,Cain and Abel, Cain's descendants, theNephilim, a flood story (tightly intertwined with a parallel account from P),Noah's descendants, theCurse of Ham, theTable of Nations, and theTower of Babel.[17] These chapters make up the so-calledPrimeval History, the story of mankind prior to Abraham, and J and P provide roughly equal amounts of material. The Jahwist provides the bulk of the remainder of Genesis, the material concerning Abraham,Isaac,Jacob andJoseph.[18]
Those following the classical documentary hypothesis today describe the J text spanning Genesis 2:4 to Genesis 35 with the end of the renaming of Jacob as Israel and the completion of the patriarchs of the twelve tribes. The Joseph narrative seems to be an addition from a northern "E" narrative due to the more ethereal, pro-active, and prophetic nature of God compared to the reactive and anthropomorphic God of the J text.[19] The latest additions of the P text frame the J narratives. P text "glue" can be perceived in Genesis 1 (framing the book), Genesis 5 recounts Genesis 1 and provides a characteristic priestly lineage detail for Adam and, amongst other locations, Genesis 35, bridging the J text patriarchal narratives to the "E" Joseph narrative with more lineage details assumed important to post-exilic authors for the purpose of rebuilding the nation in the second temple period.
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Scholars argue regarding how much of Exodus is attributable to J and how much to E, as beginning inExodus 3 the E source also refers to God as Yahweh. J provides much of the material ofExodus 1–5 but is closely intertwined with E. Thus, it is difficult to determine what portion ofExodus 1–15 is J and what is E; however, it is easy to see the parallel P strand, which also gives an account of Israel's bondage and the Exodus miracles of its own.
After leaving Egypt, J gives its own account of releasing water from a rock and God rainingManna upon the Israelites. Thereafter, there is almost no J material in Exodus, except J's account of theTen Commandments, also known as the Ritual Decalogue. J is generally not focused on law.[20]
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The vast majority of scholars attribute almost the entirety ofLeviticus to P.[21]
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J begins withNumbers 10–14, the departure fromSinai, the story of the spies who are afraid of the giants inCanaan, and the refusal of the Israelites to enter thePromised Land—which then brings on the wrath of Yahweh, who condemns them to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years. J resumes at chapter 16, the story of the rebellion ofDathan andAbiram, which was spliced together with the account ofKorah's rebellion from P by the Redactor. It is generally also believed that J provides large portions of chapters 21 to 24, covering the story of the bronze serpent,Balaam and his talking ass (although Friedman attributes this to E), and finally ending with the first verses of theHeresy of Baal Peor.[22]
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The majority ofDeuteronomy was composed during the era ofJosiah's reforms by the Deuteronomist, or D, writer. However, when Deuteronomy was incorporated into the completed Pentateuch by the Redactor, the events of Moses's death were moved from the end of Numbers to Deuteronomy. Thus, one of the accounts of Moses's death in Deuteronomy is attributable to J, although scholars debate which verses this includes.
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