Source Essay: Genesis 20-23
The authorship of the bible is often debated. While some religious persons will argue that
the bible is the direct word of God, scholars approach the question of biblical authorship from
the position that the bible was written by multiple humans. They note that there are several
primary sources of biblical writings, including the Yahwist (J) source, the Eelohist (E) source,
the Ddeuteronomist (D) source, the Ppriestly (P) source, and redactors or editors (RJE). One
portion of the bible where multiple authors can be discerned is Genesis 20-23, which continues
the story of Abraham. It covers the period of time between Abraham and Sarah’s arrival in Gerar
to Sarah’s death. Important events that take place in these chapters include Abraham and Sarah’s
deceit of Abimelek, Abraham’s banishment of Hagar and Ishamael, and Abraham’s nearsacrifice of Isaac. The authors present within these chapters include the elohist (E) source, the
yahwist (J) source, the priestly (P) source, and the redactors (RJE). Each of these authors focuses
on different themes.
The most prominent source within these chapters is the elohist, or E, source. This is the
second oldest of the biblical sources, known for using the term Elohim, rather than Yahweh, to
refer to God. Compared to the J source, the E source presents God as a distant figure. He is not
given a specific name and he has less direct personal interaction with humans. Furthermore, the
E source focuses on the northern kingdom of Israel. In Genesis 20-23, the E source is responsible
for the story of Abraham and Sarah’s deceit of Abimelek where they claim that Sarah is
Abraham’s sister. The influence of the E writer can be seen in the way that God communicates
with Abimelek. Rather than having direct interaction with him, God comes to Abimelek in a
dream to inform him of Abraham and Sarah’s deceit. This is in concordance accordance with the
more distant vision of God presented throughout elohist writings. The E writer also tells the
story in Genesis 21 of Abraham’s banishment of Hagar and his son Ishmael, and God’s promise
to Abraham and Hagar that Ishmael will become a great nation. Once again, God is presented as
less anthropomorphic within this narrative than he is within J writings. He uses an angel as an
intermediary to communicate with Hagar rather than appearing in a physical form or speaking
directly to her. Both the story of Abraham’s deceit of Abimelek and the story of Hagar and
Ishmael’s banishment are characteristic of the E writer in that they deal with familial conflict
rather than human history, which is a primary concern of the J writer. The story of Abraham’s
near sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 is also told primarily through the E writer. The portion of
this story where Isaac is saved, however, is not written by the E writer. This source does not
mention Isaac again, and leads the reader to believe that Isaac was sacrificed. It is likely that the
E writer chooses to include this narrative because child sacrifice was prevalent within the
cultural and religious traditions from which E was writing.
The J source is also used in Genesis 20-23. The J, or Yahwist, source is the oldest of the
biblical sources. The J source is known for referring to God by the name Yahweh, rather than the
term El or Elohim used by the E source up until Exodus. Yahweh, in the J writings, is also more
anthropomorphic, having direct and physical contact with humans. The J source includes a
detailed account of human history, beginning with the creation story. This characteristic is
present in Genesis 22, when the J writer provides an account of the lineage of Abraham’s
brother, Nahor. The only other verses by the J writer in Genesis 20-23 occur in Genesis 21, when
reference is made to Sarah giving birth to Isaac. This also falls into the characteristic of
describing history and lineage.
The priestly, or P, source is also present in Genesis 20-23. The priestly writers were
writing after the Babylonian exile and strove to preserve and change the religious traditions of
Israel. Primary focuses of the P source include legal codes, rituals, purity laws, and genealogies.
In Genesis 21, when Isaac’s birth is described, the P writer inserts the detail that Isaac was
circumcised when he was eight days old. This is in concordance with the P writers’ focus on
rituals and purity laws. According to the laws of God, infants were to be circumcised. Therefore,
the P writers include this detail in keeping with their goal of preserving and introducing religious
traditions. Another example of this is in Genesis 23. This chapter describes Sarah’s death and
Abraham’s attempt to secure a burial place for her. Abraham asks the Hittites for a cave in which
he may bury Sarah. Ephron, the owner of the cave, offers to give the cave to Abraham, but
Abraham insists upon paying, so he pays four hundred shekels of silver and buries Sarah in the
cave. The P writers likely included this story as a further attempt to include religious rituals and
laws. A respect for the dead and proper burial is displayed by the Hittites in their willingness to
provide Abraham with a place to bury Sarah.
Comment [ 1]: Yes. P also wants to emphasize that Abraham had legal claim to this part of Canaan, a part obviously in dispute post‐exile. The redactor also plays an important role in Genesis 20-23. The redactor is an editor of
biblical texts. In Genesis 22, when Abraham is on the verge of sacrificing Isaac, the redactor
includes an interjection by an angel of Yahweh who stops the sacrifice from taking place. The E
source, which composed the rest of the narrative, did not include such an interjection. They never
again mention Isaac and it is to be believed that Isaac was sacrificed. The J source, on the other
hand, does not include the story of Isaac’s near-sacrifice at all, but mentions Isaac in later
chapters. Therefore, the redactor included this portion of Genesis 22 in order to resolve the
contradictions between the two major sources.
The differing characteristics found in specific segments of Genesis 20-23, show that the
bible was almost certainly written by multiple human authors. The passages from the E source
include themes of personal conflict and characterize God as a distant being called Elohim. The
Comment [ 2]: Yes. Also, RJE tries to emphasize that God does not like human sacrifice, a prohibition perhaps not in effect in ancient northern Israel. passages from the J source focus on human history and lineage and include an anthropomorphic
characterization of God, called Yahweh. The P source focuses on religious laws and rituals.
Finally, the redactor patches up contradictions between the other sources.