Documentary Hypothesis Theory

Glancing at the title of this book, one can assume that this book might be a typical biblical research that may have concepts against the biblical faith. However, Being a Jewish study professor and a Harvard graduate, the author of “Who Wrote The Bible”, Richard Elliot Friedman, tries to support and make the reader understand the history and the literature behind the Bible. The main point of this book is focusing on the” Documentary Hypothesis theory”. This is a theory that denies that Moses was the author of Pentateuch. . Friedman writes primarily about the authors of the five books of Moses. These books consist of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. To create the layout of the book, the author ties two stories (the creation

Friedman starts with introducing many scholars with their old theories and analysis that was drawn from biblical research. He starts with the analysis of Richard Simon and ends with analysis that was made by Julius Wellhausen. He begins by introducing his concept that Moses is the original author, however, many things have been added to the texts later on. As evidence he states, “ Genesis has named kings that existed long after Moses lived”(Friedman18). He also mentions the terms that were used in the text that would not be familiar during the time of Moses. He also adds that how can Moses write about his own death. With these strong claims he is starting to persuade the reader that other than Moses was also the author of the

He also used historical evidence in addition to literary analysis to convoy his claims. What makes this piece of literary element successful is the fact that this author never mentions or implies any idea that Bible is not word of God. Friedman wrote this book in a semi-liberal, semi-conservative perspective grabbing the attention of both a religious person and a non-religious person. This author did an incredible job in explaining his analysis by not only including his own analysis but also comparing and contrasting other analysis by different scholars with his own analysis. Throughout the book he mentions his honest bible reading and shows his findings step-by-step making this book like a detective story and interesting. This technique helps the author to create credibility in the readers