Episode 125- Big Ideas the Shaped Biblical Scholarship: Julius Wellhausen and the Pentateuch
In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete discusses the legacy of Julius Wellhausen on biblical scholarship as he explores the following questions:

  • Who is Julius Wellhausen and why was he so controversial?
  • When did Wellhausen date the Law of Moses?
  • What is the difference between the Law of Moses and the Pentateuch?
  • What evidence did Wellhausen use to support his dating? 
  • What did scholars notice that caused them to question the historicity of some of the Bible’s claims?
  • What is the documentary hypothesis? 
  • Who is Jean Astruc and why is he important?
  • What idea of Astruc’s is still influential to biblical studies today?
  • Why do our Bibles say LORD in stead of the divine name?
  • What is the significance of Israel’s worship location in the dating the Pentateuch?
  • Why did the priestly source write about the tabernacle?
  • What are some characteristics of the J, E, P, and D sources?

Tweetables (h4)

Pithy, shareable, less-than-280-character statements from Pete you can share. 

  • “It’s quite revealing to see how little a presence the detailed regulations of the Law of Moses has [in the prophets and book about Israel’s monarchy].”
  • “Jeremiah says that God never said what the Law of Moses said He said, and that’s at least worth thinking about.” @peteenns
  • “Wellhausen and others read the Bible carefully and they saw inconsistencies.” @peteenns
  • “It just strains credulity that this divinely commanded system for worship would have no controlling function for Israel’s worship when they settled in the land.” @peteenns
  • “There probably was no Tabernacle, at least not one as elaborate, with a fully functioning and highly organized system as the one we read about in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.” @peteenns
  • “The way the priestly editors present the story in the Bible by putting their stuff at the beginning, actually obscures Israel’s actual history.”@peteenns

Mentioned in This Episode (h4)


Recommendations for Further Reading (h4)



LINKS



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