View source for Jahwist

{{short description|One of the four sources of the Torah}}
{{Distinguish|Yahwism}}
{{Redirect|J-Source|the website|Canadian Journalism Foundation}}
[[File:Diagram of the Supplementary Hypothesis.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|The [[supplementary hypothesis]], a popular model of the [[composition of the Torah]]. The Jahwist is shown as '''J'''.]]
[[File:Modern document hypothesis.svg|thumb|The 20th-century [[documentary hypothesis]].
{{ubli|J: Yahwist (10th–9th century&nbsp;BCE){{sfn|Viviano|1999|p=40}}{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|p=4}}|E: [[Elohist]] (9th century&nbsp;BCE){{sfn|Viviano|1999|p=40}}|Dtr1: early [[Deuteronomist]] historian (7th century&nbsp;BCE) |Dtr2: later Deuteronomist historian (6th century&nbsp;BCE) |P*: [[Priestly source|Priestly]] (6th or 5th century&nbsp;BCE){{sfn|Viviano|1999|p=41}}{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|p=4}}|D†: Deuteronomist|R: Redactor|DH: [[Deuteronomist#Deuteronomistic history|Deuteronomistic history]] (books of [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]], [[Book of Judges|Judges]], [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]], [[Books of Kings|Kings]])}}]]
The '''Jahwist''' or '''Yahwist''' ('''J'''), is one of the most widely recognized [[Source criticism (biblical studies)|sources]] of the Pentateuch ([[Torah]]), together with the [[Deuteronomist]] (D), the [[Priestly source]] (P) and the [[Elohist]] (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.{{sfn|Römer|2006|p=9|loc="Even scholars still holding to this [[Documentary hypothesis|[Documentary] model]], such as Horst Seebass, for instance, must concede: 'Among all source critical-theories about the Pentateuch, J is the most unstable one.'"}} Nevertheless, many scholars do assume its existence.{{sfn|Baden|2009|pp=305–313}} The Jahwist is so named because of its characteristic use of the term [[Yahweh]] ([[German language|German]]: {{lang|de|Jahwe}}; [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|[[Tetragrammaton|יהוה]]}}) for God.{{sfn|Gilbert|2009|p=31}}

==Background==
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.{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|pp=13–14}} The [[documentary 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 the [[literary redactor]]s, whom they see as adding much material of their own rather than as simply passive combiners of documents.{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=13}} 

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.{{sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=49}}

==Characteristics==
In J, Yahweh is an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] figure both physically ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:8|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Genesis|11:5|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Exodus|17:7|HE}}) and in personality, as when [[Abraham]] bargained with Yahweh for the fate of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]]; or during [[The Exodus|the exodus]] when Yahweh threatened to destroy the unfaithful Israelites and raise [[Moses]]' descendants instead, but "relented and did not bring on his people the disaster" when dissuaded by Moses.{{sfn|Friedman|1987}}

J has a particular concern with [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], including its relationship with its rival and neighbor, [[Edom]]; on Judahite cities such as [[Jerusalem]]; and strongly supports of the legitimacy of the [[Davidic line|Davidic monarchy]]. J is also critical of the other [[tribes of Israel]], suggesting that the [[Northern Kingdom]]'s capital of [[Shechem]] was established after a massacre of the original inhabitants ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|34|HE}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis|last=Baden|first=Joel|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-300-15263-0|location=United States|pages=30–31}}</ref>

=== Coogan interpretation ===
{{one source|section|date=June 2021}}

[[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.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=47}}

J is unique in emphasizing a close relationship between humans and the soil. This motif is first found in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:4b–3:24|HE}} when "the first human is called ''[[Adam]]'' because he is taken from the soil [''Adamah'' in Hebrew]." Initially, man lives in harmony with the soil, but after man [[Fall of man|eats 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]] is ''cursed from the ground''. The harmony between man and the soil is, seemingly, restored with [[Noah]], a ''man of the soil'' who will bring surviving humanity relief from toil. Noah's drunkenness also links humans with the soil, its produce, and corruption.{{CN|date=August 2025}}

Another recurring theme is the boundary between the divine and human realms. In {{bibleverse||Genesis|3:22|HE}}, by eating the [[forbidden fruit]], man and woman become like gods and are banished from the [[Garden of Eden]], extinguishing their immortality and divine blessing. This theme is also seen in {{bibleverse||Genesis|6:1–4|HE}} 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.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=47}} In {{bibleverse||Genesis|11:1–9|HE}}, the [[Tower 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, but [[Eve]]'s disobedience is followed by [[Cain and Abel|Cain]]'s murder of his brother [[Cain and Abel|Abel]], until Yahweh resolves to destroy his corrupt creatures with the [[Genesis flood narrative|Flood]]. Corruption returns after the Flood, but God accepts that his creation is flawed.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=47}}

==Date==
[[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 of [[history of ancient Israel and Judah|Israel's history]].{{sfn|Gooder|2000|p=12}} In 1938, [[Gerhard von Rad]] placed J at the court of [[Solomon]], c. 950&nbsp;BCE, and argued that his purpose in writing was to provide a theological justification for the unified state created by Solomon's father, [[David]].{{sfn|Römer|2006|pp=10–16}} This was generally accepted until a crucial 1976 study by [[Hans Heinrich Schmid|H. 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.{{sfn|Campbell|O'Brien|1993|p=10}} A minority of scholars place J even later, in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th–5th centuries BCE).{{sfn|Baden|2009|pp=305–313}} 

==Scope==
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:

===Genesis===
The Jahwist begins with the [[Genesis creation narrative]] at {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:4|HE}} (the creation story at [[Genesis 1]] is from P),<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Jerome Biblical Commentary|last=Brown|first=Raymond E.|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1990|isbn=0-13-614934-0|location=New Jersey|pages=4}}</ref> this is followed by the [[Garden of Eden]] story, [[Cain and Abel]], Cain's descendants, the [[Nephilim]], a flood story (tightly intertwined with a parallel account from P), [[Noah]]'s descendants, the [[Curse of Ham]], the [[Table of Nations]], and the [[Tower of Babel]].{{sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=55}} These chapters make up the so-called [[Primeval history|Primeval 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]] and [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]].{{sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=65}}  

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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Coogan|first=Michael|title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context 4th Edition|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=978-0190903756}}</ref> 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.

===Exodus===
{{One source section
| date = June 2021
}}
Scholars argue regarding how much of Exodus is attributable to J and how much to E, as beginning in {{Bibleverse|Exodus|3|HE}} the E source also refers to God as Yahweh. J provides much of the material of {{Bibleverse|Exodus|1–5|HE}} but is closely intertwined with E. Thus, it is difficult to determine what portion of {{Bibleverse|Exodus|1–15|HE}} 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 raining [[Manna]] upon the Israelites. Thereafter, there is almost no J material in Exodus, except J's account of the [[Ritual Decalogue|Ten Commandments, also known as the Ritual Decalogue]]. J is generally not focused on law.{{sfn|Friedman|1987|p=251}}

===Leviticus===
{{One source section|date=June 2021}}{{Expand section|date=June 2021}}
The vast majority of scholars attribute almost the entirety of [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] to P.{{sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=85}}

===Numbers===
{{One source section|date=June 2021}}
J begins with {{Bibleverse|Numbers|10–14|HE}}, the departure from [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]], the story of the spies who are afraid of the giants in [[Canaan]], and the refusal of the Israelites to enter the [[Promised 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 of [[Dathan]] and [[Ahiram (biblical figure)|Abiram]], which was spliced together with the account of [[Korah#Korah.2C son of Izhar.2C leader of a rebellion against Moses|Korah'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 the [[Heresy of Peor|Heresy of Baal Peor]].{{sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=97}}

=== Deuteronomy ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}
The majority of [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] was composed during the era of [[Josiah#Religious reform|Josiah'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.

==See also==
* [[Elohist]]
* [[Deuteronomist]]
* [[Priestly source]]
* [[David_Rosenberg_(poet)#The_Book_of_J|The Book of J]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|3}}

==References==
*{{Cite book|last=Baden|first=Joel S|title=J, E, and the redaction of the Pentateuch|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdM6jCetIeQC&pg=PR9 |isbn=9783161499302}}
*{{Cite book|last=Blenkinsopp|first=Joseph|title=Treasures old and new: essays in the theology of the Pentateuch|publisher=Eerdmans|date=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wq0YsOpTjKIC&pg=PR5 |isbn=9780802826794}}
*{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Antony F|last2=O'Brien|first2=Mark A|title=Sources of the Pentateuch: texts, introductions, annotations|publisher=Fortress Press|date=1993|url=https://archive.org/details/sourcesofpentate0000camp |url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/sourcesofpentate0000camp/page/10 10]|isbn=9781451413670}}
*{{Cite book|last=Coogan|first=Michael D|title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2009 }}
*{{Cite book|last1=Dozeman|first1=Thomas B|last2=Schmid|first2=Konrad|title=A Farewell to the Yahwist?|publisher=SBL|date=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAB2FYFH3vQC  |isbn=9781589831636}}
*{{Cite book|last=Friedman|first=Richard Elliott|title=Who Wrote the Bible?|publisher=Harper San Francisco|date=1987|isbn=0060630353|url=https://archive.org/details/whowrotebible000frie}}
*{{Cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Christopher|title=A Complete Introduction to the Bible|publisher=Paulist Press|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9XUv3KAVIUC&pg=PA15 |isbn=9780809145522}}
*{{Cite book|last=Gmirkin|first=Russell|title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKuoAwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-567-13439-4 }}
*{{Cite book|last=Gooder|first=Paula|title=The Pentateuch: a story of beginnings|publisher=T&T Clark|date=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49XpvvO-Oq0C |isbn=9780567084187}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Kugler|first1=Robert|last2=Hartin|first2=Patrick|title=An Introduction to the Bible|publisher=Eerdmans|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8WbXbPjxpoC&pg=PA49 |isbn=9780802846365}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mansfield |first=Clarimond |title=The book of Yahweh (the Yahwist Bible): fragments from the primitive document in seven early books of the Old Testament, by an unknown genius of the ninth century, B.C. |publisher=Cornhill Publishing Company |location=Boston, Massachusetts |date=1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofyahwehthey00mans}}
*{{Cite book|last=Murphy|first=Todd J|title=Pocket dictionary for the study of biblical Hebrew|publisher=Intervarsity Press|date=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMO30y-G2HMC&pg=PA97 |isbn=9780830814589}}
*{{Cite book|last=Römer|first=Thomas|chapter=The Elusive Yahwist: A Short History of Research |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAB2FYFH3vQC&pg=PA10 |editor=Thomas B. Dozeman, Konrad Schmid|title=A Farewell to the Yahwist?|publisher=SBL|date=2006 |isbn=9781589831636}}
*{{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |language=en-us |chapter=The Pentateuch |editor-last2=Graham |editor-first2=Matt Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC |editor=McKenzie |editor-first=Steven L. |title=The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |date=1998 |isbn=9780664256524}}
* {{cite book |last=Viviano |first=Pauline A. |chapter=Source Criticism |editor1-last=Haynes |editor1-first=Stephen R. |editor2-last=McKenzie |editor2-first=Steven L. |title=To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application |year=1999 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kpDceeylCjYC&pg=PA35 |isbn=978-0-664-25784-2}}

== External links ==
*[[Wikiversity:Bible, English, King James, Documentary Hypothesis, JE source, Jahwist source|The Jahwist source isolated, at wikiversity]].
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Elohist and Yahwist|year=1905 |short=x}}

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[[Category:Documentary hypothesis]]
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