Assignment On Friedman’s Who Wrote the Pentateuch?

Please provide outline answers to at least two questions (Arabic numerals not letters) from each of the
following sections on a separate page (do not write in complete sentences, simple words, phrases will
do).

Section 1.
1. Introduction
a. List at least three of the initial problems which individuals in ancient times pointed out in
the ancient text (p. 18).
b. List some of the tradition-orientated responses to questions highlighting such problems?
In your answer, explain what Ibn Ezra thought of Ibn Yashush (p. 19).
c. What were the three stages that literary criticism of the Pentateuch take after Ibn Ezra?
(pp. 19-21).
i. Bonfils, Tostatus and Carlstadt
ii. Andreas van Maes, Benedict Pereira and Jacques Bonfrere
iii. Thomas Hobbes, Isaac de la Peyrere, Spinoza.
iv. Richard Simon and John Hampden

2. The Sources.
a. What did investigators after Simon discover about doublets that supported the hypothesis
that someone had taken two different old source documents and wove them together to
form the Pentateuch (p. 22-23).
b. What was the accomplishment of H.B. Witter, Jean Astruc and J. G. Eichorn? (pp. 23;
52-53).
c. What was the accomplishment of W. M. L. De Wette? (p. 23)
d. What was the first step taken in the 19th c. by K. H. Graf and W. Vatke towards the
clarification of the history of the four documents identified as the sources of the
Pentateuch? (p. 24-25).
e. Why is J. Wellhausen called the ‘father’ of the modern biblical scholarship? (P. 26).
f. Since what date and event have Catholics encouraged to pursue contributions of modern
critical scholarship towards the identification of the identity of the ancient biblical
writers? (p. 27).

3. History. Chapter 1. The World That Produced the Bible: 1200-722 B.C.
a. List three ways by which David enhanced his kingdom’s unity (p. 39f.).
b. Identify the identity, political and religious ties and fates of Adonijah, Solomon, Abiathar
and Zadok and Joab. Which of these men ended up in Anathoth? (p. 42, 47 bottom).
c. Explain the significance of the following terms: Abiathar, taxes, Hiram, administrative
districts, missim (p. 43-45, 47).
d. Explain the identities of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, Jerusalem, Schechem, Bethel and
Dan, Shiloh. (p. 45-47).
e. What is the significance of the fact that the prophet Ahijah came from Shiloh? What,
according to Friedman, happened to the Shilonite priests? (p. 47-48).
 Section 2: J and E.

4. Chapter 2. J and ‘E’.

a. In your view, does Friedman make a good case for the possibility of separating two
continuous Flood sources/stories in Gen. 6.5-8.22? What is it about the terminology,
detail and ways of depicting God that, according to Friedman, makes the case powerful?
(esp. p. 59-60).
b. List at least 4 pieces of evidence which Friedman gives to argue that J is from Judah and
E is from Israel. Explain in your answer the significance of Peni-El, Ephraim, Shechem,
Hebron and Wadi Eshkol. (p. 62-67).
c. What is the significance of the link between Esau/Edom and King Jehoram? (P. 68).

Chapter 3. Two Kingdoms, Two Writers.

5. E:
a. Discuss the thesis that the person who wrote E was a Levitical priest from Shiloh
answers, in Friedman’s eyes, the questions to be asked about the story of the Golden Calf.
Explain first how Friedman believes this to be the case. Highlight some possible
difficulties in his argument. (pp. 71–74).
b. Explain the relationships between the J and E sources and the religious symbols of Judah
and Israel, such as (pp. 75-76):
i. Molten gods and statues.
ii. The Ark and the Tent of Meeting.
iii. The Cherubs in the Garden of Eden.
c. What are the different emphases in the portrayal of Moses by J and E respectively,
according to Friedman? (P. 79-80).
d. What hypotheses does Friedman seem to favour as a decent explanation of E’s revelation
of the divine name for the first time to Moses? How does this impact on understanding
E’s interests? (Pp. 81-83).

6. J.
a. Do 5. b and c. above if you haven’t done so.
b. What seem to be the chief interests of J? (P. 83).
c. What accounts for the similarities between E and J? (P. 84-85).
d. When does Friedman think J and E lived and what reasons does he give for his views?
(Pp. 86-87).
e. What reasons does Friedman give to account for the combination of J and E? (P. 88).

Section 3. D.
7. Chapter 4. The World That Produced the Bible: 722 - 587 B.C.
a. List some political, social & economic changes in Judah after 722 BC. (pp. 89-90).
b. Describe at least three features of Hezekiah’s reform (91-93).
c. What does Friedman identify as the purpose of sacrifice in the biblical world? (Pp. 91-
92).
d. What was the Assyrian siege of Lachish like? Where is it described? (P. 93-95).
e. Why would Manasseh & Amon reintroduce pagan worship in Judah? (P. 96).
f. What were the main political and religious initiatives of Josiah? (P. 97-99).
g. Why did Nebuchadnezzar appoint a grandson of Shaphan as Jewish governor? (P. 99).

8. Chapter 5. In the Court of King Josiah.

 a. Why did De Wette hypothesize that Hilkiah found Deuteronomy? (P. 101-103).
b. What did Martin Noth identify as the Deuteronomistic History? (p. 103-104).
c. What clue does the Covenant in 2 Sam 7 supply regarding the identity of the author of
Deuteronomy? (P. 105-106).
d. According to Frank Moore Cross, what is the evidence for thinking that there were at
least two editions of Deuteronomy? What did the Second Edition add? (P. 107-108).
e. What is the significance of 1 Kings 13 for discussions of its authorship? (P. 109).
f. When, according to Cross, was the first edition of Deut. written? (P. 110).

9. Chapter 6. D.
a. List the main legal sections of Deuteronomy (p. 118).
b. Why did Halpern think that D was not royal in origin but Levitical? (P. 119-121).
c. List at least 3 links between D and the Shilonite priesthood. (P. 122-125).
d. What are the similarities between E and D? (P. 128).

10. Chapter 7. A Priest in Exile.

a. List at least 4 types of insertions which, according to Friedman, are made by Dtr 2? (P.
138-142).
b. What is the worst and last curse of Deuteronomy, added, according to Friedman by Dtr 2?
(P. 144).

Section 4. P.
11. Chapter 8. The World that Produced the Bible: 587- 400 B.C.
a. What fundamental religious and practical issues facing the Judean exiles (p. 154).
b. What, acc. to Friedman, are the two great disappearances of this age? (P. 156).
c. Which priests took control over the Temple during the Exile and after? (P. 158).
d. What is the significance of Ezra as far as the Pentateuch is concerned? (P. 159-160).

12. Chapter 9. A Brilliant Mistake.

a. What, acc. to Friedman, did Reuss assume biblical prophets never referred to? (P. 162).
b. How did Graf explain P’s never mentioning the Temple? (P. 163).
c. What was the ‘pious fraud’ of P according to Graf? Why did he think this? (p. 164).
d. What role did centralization of worship play in Wellhausen’s reconstruction of the order
of the documentary sources? (p. 165-166).
e. What is wrong with This Picture according to Friedman?
i. Give evidence that Reuss is wrong (167-170):
ii. Give evidence that P does not presuppose centralization (171):
iii. What third and central part of the puzzle as highlighted by Wellhausen does
Friedman think is indeed crucial for identifying P? (P. 173).

13. Chapter 10. The Sacred Tent.

a. What are the three problems affecting the Graf - Wellhausen measurements for the
Temple and the Tabernacle? (P. 175-177).
b. Explain Friedman’s theory about the measurements of the Tabernacle (pp. 177-181).
c. What is the relationship between the space of the Tabernacle and the space under the
wings of the Cherubim in the Holy of Holies in the Temple (p. 181).
d. Give some clues for thinking that the Tabernacle was inside the Temple? (Pp. 182-185).
e. What is the significance of these reflections for identifying the author of P? (P. 186-187).

14. Chapter 11. P.

a. What is the relationship between the author of P and JE? (P. 188-190).
 b. What issues, according to Friedman, does P espouses vs JE? (Pp. 190-196).
c. What, according to Friedman, does P assert about Aaron and Moses (pp. 196-197, 198).
d. What, according to Friedman, does P assert about ‘grace’? (p. 197).
e. What, acc. to F., is Moses’ worst offense? (p. 200-201).
f. What role, acc. to F., does Num 25 play for P (pp. 202-204).
g. What are P’s main subtractions and additions (pp. 204-206).

15. Chapter 12. In the Court of King Hezekiah.

a. Why does Friedman think P was unhappy with JE? (P. 207).
b. Cite some of the evidence Friedman adduces for thinking that D knew P (pp. 208-209).
c. How does Friedman explain Jeremiah’s phrase ‘the lying pen of the scribes’? (p. 209).
d. Where and When does Friedman think P was produced? What is the evidence for this?
(P. 210-213).

Section 5.
16. Chapter 13. The Great Irony

a. Who, acc. to Friedman, created the Torah? (P. 217-218).

b. What are somepieces of evidence that the redactor began with P stories or laws and not
with J or E? (P. 218-219)
c. Why did Cross conclude that P = R? (P. 220).
d. What does Friedman think about the P = R formual (p. 220).
e. How can one distinguish P and R? (P. 221-223).
f. Why, acc. to Friedman, did R mix the sources? (p. 225-226).
g. What, acc. to Friedman, is the basic difference between P’s redactional activity (vis a vis
JE) and R’s vis a vis JE and D? (P. 231).