Prolegomena To The History Of Israel: Summary

Week 2, J. Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Israel

Julius Wellhausen discovered that a source of legislation is detectable in the Pentateuch among previous discoveries of JE and D sources. He argued that this source of legislation is called, the Priestly Code. The letter P is given to this view. In the chapter one, Wellhausen showed how he came to the conclusion that P source is in fact the youngest source among the sources of JE and D. He concluded that the arrangement of the sources in according to the cultus should be JE-D-P. The analysis of the authorships and the arrangements of the three constituent parts of the Pentateuch are discussed in this review. Wellhausen is not the first person to assert the point of view on the Priestly Code (P). In according to the introduction of Wellhausen’s
Prolegomena, William Robertson Smith (1885) gave the credits of P source discovery to Karl H. Graf. Smith denoted that the work of History of Israel... Volume I was based on the “Grafian hypothesis.” Grafian hypothesis is a type of documentary hypothesis that “the Levitical Law and connected parts of the Pentateuch were not written till after the fall of the kingdom of Judah, and that the Pentateuch in its present compass was not publicly accepted as authoritative till the reformation of Ezra-declared themselves convinced by Wellhausen’s arguments” (BIBL 600 reader, p.2). Wellhausen’s point of view on the P source and its arrangement is well supported by careful analysis of the development of the oneness of the sanctuary in Israel. With the aid of the Old Testament, Wellhausen was able to distinguish several stages of development, inquire the relationship among the JE, D, and P sources, and inquire whether and how the four sources fall in with the course of the historical development. The Jehovist (J) and Elohist (E) sources can be found in the Book of the Covenant.
There are two basic parts: Jehovistic law and Jehovistic narrative. Wellhausen said that the specific passage in Exodus 20:24-26 supports this view. The passage shows the stage of development is primitive because multiplicity of altars were permitted with restrictions applied. The Jehovist law restricted the places for worship and sacrifices. The restrictions have signaled that the sanctity of the soil is strongly emphasized. The JE authors emphasized on the high places (p.32). These places are destined by Jehovah (YHWH). Wellhausen viewed that this was an expression in the first centuries of the divided kingdom. The Deuteronomy is based on the JE sources. However, the deuteronomist (D) can be found especially in Deuteronomy 12. Wellhausen believed that “D source is the legal expression of the second period of struggle and transition” (p.33). Not only the Book of Deuteronomy consciously encourages theocracy but also the law is “so living, which stands at every point in immediate contact with reality...” (p.34). The D source should be dated later than the JE
sources. Where should the Priestly Code (P) be arranged among the sources? Wellhausen suggested that “the nature of Deuteronomy is commandments but the Priestly Code is a presupposition” (p.35). The P source is assigned to an later date than Deuteronomy because the results of the P presupposition aim at the Deuteronomy. In the P source, the ideas of one God and one sanctuary are very apparent. Wellhausen said, “the Priestly Code is hindered by no survival to present times of the older usage from projecting an image of antiquity such as it must have been; unhampered by visible relics or living tradition of an older state, it can idealise the past to its heart’s content.” He explained that the “ordinance of tabernacle” is in fact a “projection of the later temple” (p.37). He further thought that “its place, then, is after Deuteronomy, and in the third post-exilian period of the history of the cultus...” (p. 38). Wellhausen said that Leviticus chapter 17 is ironic and it is part of the P source (p.50). He affirmed his observation and analysis and concluded, “what is brought forward in Deuteronomy as an innovation is assumed in the Priestly Code to be an ancient custom dating as far back as to Noah. And therefore the latter code is a growth of the soil that has been prepared by means of the former” (p.51). I can simply summarize Wellhausen’s hypothesis in point forms:
1. The Jehovist and Elohist sources are the earliest. Both the Jehovistic law and the Jehovistic narrative belong to the pre-prophetic period.
2. “In perfect correspondence with the Jehovistic law is the Jehovistic narrative of the Pentateuch...” (p.30).
3. The Deuteronomy is in the second period of struggle and transition. King Josiah is the key figure.
4. The Priestly Code was produced after the Deuteronomy from an author in the third post-exilian period of the history.