The Composition of the
Hebrew Bible:
The Old Testament
TaNaKh
The TaNaKh is the Hebrew acronym which
refers to the Jewish Bible.
The Jewish Bible consists of three parts:
 Torah (sometimes called the Five Books of
Moses)
 Nevi’im (the books of the Prophets)
 Ketuvim (or "Writings")
Evolution of the Torah
12th-5th c. bce
Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy
Lay Source
J Source (Jahwist)
E Source (Elohist)
JE Source
P Source (Priestly)
Lay Source
ca.12th-10th C. bce
Earliest datable material: Song of Deborah (Judges 5),
Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49), Song of Miriam (Exodus
15), Prophecies of Balaam (Numbers 22-24)
Some Mosaic material: refers to Moses in 3rd person,
the Book of the Covenant including the Ten
Commandments
Oral traditions -- "Some of these Old Testament texts
preserve living conditions that may be traced back to the
historical situation of the tenth century bc.…”
confrontation of the nomadic patriarchal society with
the agricultural matriarchal society
J Source
ca. 950 bce
Core of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers.
God is called Jahweh -- "full of joy,
confidence and faith”
First version of early Israelite history,
probably written during the age of the
United Monarchy
Reflects Jerusalem cult -institutionalized priesthood
E Source:
ca. 9th C. bce
Collected oral or written version
circulated in Northern Israel.
God is called Elohim.
Rejects central monarchy in Jerusalem
and its special priestly caste.
Collation of JE:
oldest material in
Genesis, Exodus and Numbers
The Prehistoric Myths of Genesis:
Etiological Stories
stories of origins and causes
existence and knowledge and ethics
The Creation and Fall from Paradise
The Primacy of the Word:
Creation by Command
Cain and Abel
Prohibition against murder
The Flood:
cleansing of evil
The Rainbow:
symbol of the covenant
between God and mankind
P Source
6th C. bce
Final fixed form of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus
and Numbers.
Probably written by group of priests during exile
in Babylon, the P source adds:
 detailed description of wilderness tabernacle in
Exodus
 all of Leviticus: worship and priesthood rules
 fragments in Numbers.
Historical Legends:
The Patriarchs and Matriarchs
Terah of Ur
Hagar
Sarai/
Sarah
Abram/
Abraham
Ishmael
Isaac
Edomites
Nahor
Milcah
Haran
Laban
Lot
Arabs
Bedouins
Esau/
Edom
Keturah
Rebekah
Jacob/
Israel
Leah
Israelites
Rachel
Ishmael and Isaac
Ishmael is sent into exile
Abraham and Isaac
Covenant against
human sacrifice
Esau and Jacob
Jacob receives the birthright
blessing
Jacob’s Ladder:
Jacob
sees the vision of a ladder
into heaven and wrestles
with the angel.
Jacob becomes Israel
Dore,
Jacob Wrestlling with the Angel
The Twelve Tribes
of Israel
Zilpah
Leah
Jacob/Israel
1) Reuben 2) Simeon 3) Levi 4) Judah
7) Gad
Rachel
Bilbah
5) Dan 6) Naphtali
8) Asher
9) Issachar 10)Zebulon 11)Dinah
12) Joseph
13) Benjamin
Stories of Brothers in Genesis
Cain and Abel
Isaac and Ishmael
Jacob and Esau
Joseph and his Brothers
Abraham:
Ur of the Chaldeans  Egypt  Canaan
Canaan  Egypt  Canaan/Israel:
The Israelites
EXODUS from Egypt
LEVITICUS: the law
The Pentateuch
The Torah
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
D Source and Religious Revival
7th-6th c. bce
Deuteronomy: old book found in temple in
622 bce -- caused religious revival and
inspired writing of the history of Israel in
Palestine:
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II
Kings.
History finished c. 600-550 bce
Teleological Orientation
 Teleology: being directed toward a definite end or
having an ultimate purpose
 Importance of historical consciousness –
especially the history of the chosen people of God:
the Hebrews and their ongoing relationship with
God
 Israel evolved from nation ruled by Judges to one
ruled by Kings: Saul, David, Solomon
 Prophets proclaimed God’s word and operated as
voices of conscience to the kings
Lamentations:
poetic laments
about the
destruction of
Jerusalem in
587 bce
Chronicler
4th c. bce
 Worked from older sources about the
history of Judah:
 I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
 Completed for small Jewish community
struggling to regroup after Babylonian
exile
Song of Songs
post-exilic collection of poems dating from the 9th c. bce
and earlier
Prophetic Books
4th C. bce
4 large scrolls Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 lesser
Prophets
Collections of sermons gathered by the prophets' disciples
Psalms
devotional poetry and hymns composed 10th-5th c. bce,
collated in 4th c. bce
Wisdom Literature
4th c. bce
 Proverbs:
 Collated 4th c. bce
 Traditional wisdom sayings
 Sharp, epigrammatic
 Widespread throughout the region -- comparable to Egyptian
"Wisdom of Amenemope"
 Job:
 4th C. bce text of older stories
 Prose introduction and conclusion framing poetic dialogue
 Prose and poetry by different authors
 Ecclesiastes : c. 300 bce
THE CANON
1st c. ce
Many books written from the 4th-1st c. bce
leading to much discussion about the "canon."
Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs long debated.
Rabbinic Council of Jamnia 90 ad: Set the
canonical text of the Hebrew Bible -- accepted as
the Old Testament by Christian Churches.
Apocrypha
Disputed books that remain part of
the traditional literature, but not the
canonical sacred text.
Before ca. 2000 B.C.E. Beginnings
ca. 2000-1550 B.C.E.
Patriarchs
ca. 1550-1300 B.C.E.
Bondage in Egypt
ca. 1300 B.C.E.
Exodus and Covenant Making
ca. 1300-1250 B.C.E.
Wanderings in the Wilderness
ca. 1250 B.C.E.
Conquest / Settlement of Canaan
ca. 1250-1020 B.C.E.
Time of the Judges
ca. 1020-922 B.C.E.
United Monarchy
J/E Source
922-587/586 B.C.E.
Divided Monarchy
D, history
Israel fell in 722 B.C.E.
Judah fell in 587/586 B.C.E.
Lamentations
587-539 B.C.E.
539-333 B.C.E.
Exile in Babylon
Persian Period
333-167 B.C.E.
167-63 B.C.E.
63 B.C.E. - 135 C.E.
Hellenistic Period Esther, Daniel
Maccabean (Hasmonean) Period
Roman Period
Canon established
P Source
Chronicler, Prophets,
Wisdom, Psalms
Sources:
Beltz, Walter. God and the Gods: Myths of the
Bible. 1975. Trans. Peter Heinegg.
NY: Penguin, 1983.
Wright, G. Ernest and Reginald Fuller. The
Book of the Acts of God: Contemporary
Scholarship Interprets the Bible. 1957. Rpt. NY:
Doubleday/ Anchor, 1960.