Jahwist

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This article describes the purported author of parts of the Hexateuch. For people who refer to God as Jehovah, see Jehovist.

The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis.

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[edit] Etymology

The word Yahwist was first used in 1753 by the Catholic physician, Jean Astruc (1684 - 1766) in his book Conjectures sur les mémoires originaux dont il paraît que Moïse s'est servi pour composer le livre de la Genèse for the writer of that portion of Genesis that was likely written by a different author than the first chapter. Over time it evolved into the German Jahvist, then the English Jahwist, then the modern English Jehovist, in relation to the Latinized version of the name of the Hebrew God, rendered "Jehovah".

Astruc's use of the word "Jehovist" in his formation of the documentary hypothesis apparently comes from his intent to describe the writer of the document that came to be known as "J" (for "Jahwist", 1822, Frederick Bleek; "Jehovist", 1853, Hermann Hupfeld), as one who used the name of Jehovah in his writings. It has since been extended to anyone who uses the word Jehovah, Jahweh, or Yahweh, as the name of God, whether in worship or in Biblical transmission (writing or translation).

[edit] Nature of the Jahwist text

In this source God's name is always presented as the tetragrammaton, YHVH, which scholars transliterate in modern times as Yahweh (or as Jahweh, after the German spelling: Jahwe), and in earlier times as Jehovah, or simply as the LORD, which is the case in the King James translation.

J has a particular fascination for traditions concerning Judah, including those concerning its relationship with its neighbour Edom. J also supports Judah against Israel, for example suggesting that Israel acquired Shechem (its capital city) by massacring the inhabitants.

While J supports the priests descended from Aaron who were established in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, J also treats God as a human-like figure, capable of regret, and being dissuaded, appearing in person at events. In many cases, in J, God is presented as about to embark on some terrible vengeance over mankind, and is dissuaded. For example, concerning the activities in Sodom and the other cities of the plain, J presents God as about to destroy the cities, but gradually being dissuaded by Abraham, until God consents to save it if there are even only as few as 10 worthy individuals within it. Likewise, during the exodus, J presents the complaints of the Israelites, and their failure to obey the laws strictly, as leading to God being about to abandon them, destroy them all, and raise Moses' descendants instead, but repented from the evil he thought to do to them when Moses dissuades him (Exodus 32: 14).

The J source is notable for its elegance, and richness of emotion.

[edit] Contrast with the Elohist

The Jahwist's story begins much earlier than the Elohist's, in fact, it begins at the beginning. Consequently, it introduces stories concerning the general human condition, both large tales such as the fall of man, Cain and Abel, as well as brief stories, like that of the Curse of Ham, and the tower of Babel. It also includes general creation stories, such as that of creation itself, the flood, and the badly truncated, and thus difficult to interpret, story of the Nephilim.

Unlike the Elohist, the covenant involving Isaac in the Jahwist tale is one in which God freely makes it to an adult Isaac. The Jahwist thus contains a tale of Isaac meeting his wife, when she comes out at the provision of water, and repeats the tale of Abimelech confusing a wife for a sister with Isaac and his wife rather than Abram and his. Jacob later is described as meeting his wife in similar circumstances, his having helped some sheep to drink. This repetition may be deliberate, or may reflect variant versions of the same story being placed in the same work but with different names, possibly indicating two earlier sources on which the Jahwist work could be based.

It is noticeable that the Jahwist predominantly contains stories concerning the southern kingdom of Judah, which are not present in the Elohist source. For example, the Jahwist describes the tales of Esau, the eponymous ancestor of Edom, his anger against Jacob, and his reconciliation (which the Elohist also mentions), as well as a list of Edomite kings, which famously includes kings postdating Moses, the person traditionally said to have written the work, including that list of kings.

As well as Edom, the Jahwist, unlike the Elohist, is concerned with the cities of the plain, and their eponymous ancestor, Lot. The tale of Sodom and Gomorrah is from the Jahwist, and demonstrates the Jahwist's very human-like god, easily dissuaded from his original intent by Abram's bargaining. The story denigrating Moab and Ammon, the nations by the plain, as being descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters, is also part of the Jahwist narrative.

The Jahwist also provides some tales describing the political situation of the southern tribes, the most relevant of which is the tale of the rape of Dinah, a story which both explains the ownership of Shechem, and why the tribes of Simeon and Levi lack territory. The Jahwist also seeks to explain why despite being the firstborn, Reuben has little territory, though the story, involving Reuben and Bilhah in incest, is widely regarded by academics as having been abruptly truncated during redaction, only one line of it remaining in the torah.

Despite the pre-occupation with the southern tribes, the Jahwist isn't entirely favourable to Judah, as it includes tales in which all of Judah's children are in some way blemished, Er being wicked in an unspecified way, Onan refusing to perform Levirate marriage, Shelah as being childless, and Pharez and Zarah being the children of prostitution and incest. The Jahwist also humiliates the northern hero of Joseph as the victim of attempted rape by Potiphar's wife, rather than the interpreter of dreams that the Elohist presents, and also casts Moses as a murderer in his youth.

Compared with the Elohist, the Jahwist's tale extends further in time, presenting the description of how the Israelites were dissuaded from a direct invasion of Canaan by the report of spies. The Jahwist also describes the circuitous route they took instead, conquering certain eastern lands as they went, leading to the presence of Israelite tribes east of the Jordan, despite this being a northern story. It is sometimes difficult to separate the Jahwist and Elohist (unlike the very distinct Priestly source), and it may be the case that this tale actually belongs with the Elohist, the Elohist thus describing a central/northern conquest of Canaan by the northern tribes, and the Jahwist describing a southern invasion into the southern territory, the second half of the Jahwist tale, involving the invasion after the rebellion was quelled, being lost to redaction.

The Jahwist's religious concerns differ from those of the Elohist - it is the Jahwist that introduces the practice of circumcision, which, curiously, is not found in the Elohist source. The first circumcision, of Ishmael, is told in the Jahwist tale, as is the tale of Zipporah at the inn, which is widely believed to be very truncated in the surviving torah, and consequently not very well understood, academically.

Generally, the Jahwist presents a less supernatural world than the Elohist, for example, by Moses having no supernatural powers, but instead acting as an intercessor who begs God to undo each of the Plagues of Egypt, after the Pharaoh has equally begged Moses for help. Nethertheless, the Jahwist is the only source involving talking animals, both in the tale of Adam and Eve, and also in the episode of the Ass of Balaam, neither of which appear in the Elohist work.

[edit] Origin of the Jahwist text

J is thought to have been composed by collecting together the various stories and traditions concerning Judah and its associated tribes (Levi, Judah, Simeon, and Reuben), and weaving them into a single text. J also contains traditions associated with Edom, and with the plain - Moab and Ammon, nations which bordered the southern tribes, and which Judah considered to have the same ethnic origin as itself, being descended from Esau, and Lot's two daughters, respectively.

Some independent source texts thought to have been embedded in it include

J is thought to derive from amongst the Aaronid priesthood, and to reflect their polemic opinions in the text. J has a reduced focus on Moses' importance (the priests of Shiloh were more likely to be descended from Moses (thus being Mushites) than from Aaron), and supports the symbols controlled by the Aaronid religion such as the Ark and the Jerusalem Temple. J never mentions the Tent of Meeting or the Nehustan associated with the Shiloh priesthood. J also reflects the polemic against the King of Israel's changes to the religion, attacking the Golden Calfs he set up (having one of the ten commandments against molten gods - the Cherubim of Judah's temple were only gold plated).

[edit] Orthodox Jewish view

The view of Orthodox Judaism is that the Written Torah (Old Testament) is written as a puzzle that requires explanation via the Oral Torah (Talmud). Thus, the thoughts and considerations expressed by individuals not versed in the Talmud are considered relatively worthless in terms of their explanatory capabilities of the verses within any version of the Old Testament, whether it be J or E.[citation needed]

[edit] External links

[edit] Reference

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