Richard Elliott Friedman offers a very sensible and even-handed approach to a very old and complex question. Sages have been wrestling with the issue of the Bible’s own testimony of itself versus the accumulated traditions and myths about the Bible for centuries. My own confidence in the Bible’s inspiration has been greatly enhanced by studies such as the one offered here by Professor Friedman. I know that many other believers will balk at tackling this issue with anything even approaching the sincerity and honesty that Friedman displays and I find this to be a tragic loss for the church and synagogue.
To fully appreciate the “discoveries” of the modern Documentary Hypothesis we must be willing to separate the things that the Bible actually says about itself from the things that religion has said about it. (I put the word “discoveries” in quotes because these are actually things that the Bible has been saying all along). Friedman’s approach does this while showing great respect for the texts and for those who hold other opinions as well. And make no mistake about it, the issues discussed here focus entirely upon what the Bible says about itself along with expert analysis of the various stages of the Hebrew language. This is “Higher Criticism” of the highest order.
The Bible with Sources Revealed by Richard Elliott Friedman makes an important contribution to the library of any serious Bible student. This is a very easy to use book. The introductory remarks and notes alone make this a great buy. But, having the Pentateuch clearly divided into its various sources along with references to further contributions by these sources to other books of the Bible makes this work indispensable.
For those unfamiliar with the writings of Professor Friedman, his analysis of the Pentateuch follows the “JEDP” format that was popularized by such scholars as Graf and Wellhausen in the early 19th Century. An important contribution by Friedman and other more contemporary scholars such as Harvard’s Frank Moore Cross, Jr., has been to disprove the assertions of Wellhausen’s modern disciples; a movement known as “Biblical Minimalism” which denies the existence of the Israelite religion prior to the Second Temple era and even questions the existence of the ancient Kingdom of Israel & Judah ruled by the House of David. Another book by Professor Friedman, “Who Wrote the Bible?” explores the evidence of the antiquity of the Israelite culture and demonstrates from clues within the text of the Bible itself, how portions of Scripture such as the Priestly Code clearly predate the Exile and Second Temple periods.
This issue becomes important for a number of reasons. If the “Biblical Minimalists” are correct, then the modern nation of Israel’s claims to holding the land of Israel in antiquity is shaken. Moreover, if the Old Testament was truly written in toto, only around 516 BC; then its claims of of the nation and religion of Israel having actually been established almost 700 years prior must be regarded not only as fiction, but a fraud.
Fortunately for our attempts to treat the Biblical texts in a scholarly manner, as opposed to an unquestioning sycophantic Fundamentalism, this old Book does tell us of its own history. As many a Bible educator has said before, “The Text has a history and the Text itself tells us of that history…” Too many of my fellow believers have treated the Documentary Hypothesis and other scholarly tools of inquiry as taboo because “some guy” who died over 100 years ago either lost faith over the issue or rejected the tools out of fear. The knee jerk reaction of the Fundamentalists of the last century and a half displayed a glaring lack of discernment and very little commitment to learning. Instead of waiting before deciding on the question of the Documentary Hypothesis, they took Wellhausen’s bait and slammed their Bibles shut.
Time and a lot of hard work, however, has vindicated the very plain statements that the Bible makes about itself. Writing in the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR), Yosef Garfinkel recently was able to declare the “… Death of Biblical Minimalism” (requires subscription for the full length article). He did so, not because of the arguments of the Fundamentalist; but because of the labors of fellow scholars along with the spade of the archaeologist had proven that the “Minimalist” approach to the Bible had been misguided. Meanwhile, Fundamentalism offered not one word to help tip the scales in the debate.
There are many important debates and discussions going on concerning matters of faith and in particular, faith in the Bible. Fundamentalism takes us out of the discussion. Professor Friedman’s scholarship, on the other hand, and his books such as “The Bible With Sources Revealed” gives us tools with which we can win those debates.
