Jahwist

The Jahwist or Yahwist (J) is one of the most widely recognized 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. Nevertheless, many scholars do assume its existence. The Jahwist is so named because of its characteristic use of the term Yahweh (German: Jahwe; Hebrew: יהוה) for God.

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. 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 redactors, whom they see as adding much material of their own rather than as simply passive combiners of documents. 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.

Characteristics In J, Yahweh is an anthropomorphic figure both physically (Genesis 3:8, Genesis 11:5, Exodus 17:7) and in personality, as when Abraham bargained with Yahweh for the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah; or during 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. J has a particular concern with Judah, including its relationship with its rival and neighbor, Edom; with Judahite cities such as Jerusalem; and strongly supports the legitimacy of the 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 (Genesis 34).

Coogan interpretation

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. J is unique in emphasizing a close relationship between humans and the soil. This motif is first found in Genesis 2:4b–3:24 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 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. Another recurring theme is the boundary between the divine and human realms. In Genesis 3:22, 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 Genesis 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. In Genesis 11:1–9, 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's murder of his brother Abel, until Yahweh resolves to destroy his corrupt creatures with the Flood. Corruption returns after the Flood, but God accepts that his creation is flawed.

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 Israel's history. In 1938, Gerhard von Rad placed J at the court of Solomon, 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. This was generally accepted until a crucial 1976 study by 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. A minority of scholars place J even later, in the exilic and/or post-exilic period (6th–5th centuries BCE).

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:

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