Chapter 2 J and E Summary and Analysis

The first evidence that two people author part of the Bible is discovered in the eighteenth century by three people writing at three different times—Henning Bernhard Witter, a German minister in 1711; Jean Astruc, a French medical professor in 1753; and Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, a German scholar in 1780. Eighteen years later, investigators discover that four writers had authored the first five books of the Bible.

The major difference between the J and E authors lies in the word for God. J always refers to Yahweh (mispronounced Jehovah) and E refers to God, El or Elohim. Differences in language usage, style and interests indicate that E has two authors, one of whom concentrates mostly on priestly issues. This third author is called P. The analysis holds up for the first four books, but Deuteronomy has no...