Product Description

"It is a strange fact that we have never known with certainty who produced the book that has played such a central role in our civilization," writes Friedman, a foremost Bible scholar. From this point he begins an investigation and analysis that reads as compellingly as a good detective story. Focusing on the central books of the Old Testament--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy--he draws upon biblical and archaeological evidence to make a convincing argument for the identities of their authors. In the process he paints a vivid picture of the world of the Bible--its politics, history, and personalities. The result is a marvel of scholarship that sheds a new and enriching light on our understanding of the Bible as literature, history, and sacred text.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3922 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05-07
• Released on: 1997-03-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.com
"J," "P," "E," and "D" are the names scholars have given to some authors of the Bible, and, as such, they are very important letters to a lot of people. Churches have died and been born, and millions of people have lost faith or found it, because of the last two centuries of debate about who, exactly, wrote the canonical texts of Christianity and Judaism. Richard Elliott Friedman's survey of this debate, in Who Wrote the Bible?, may be the best written popular book about this question. Without condescension or high-flown academic language, Friedman carefully describes the history of textual criticism of the Bible--a subject on which his authority is unparalleled (Friedman has contributed voluminously to the authoritative Anchor Bible Dictionary). But this book is not just smart. Perhaps even more impressive than Friedman's erudition is his sensitivity to the power of textual criticism to influence faith. --Michael Joseph Gross

From Library Journal
Friedman carefully sifts through clues available in the text of the Hebrew Bible and those provided by biblical archaeology searching for the writer(s) of, primarily, the Pentateuch. He does so with clarity and engaging style, turning a potentially dry scholarly inquiry into a lively detective story. The reader is guided through the historical circumstances that occasioned the writing of the sources underlying the Five Books of Moses and the combining of these diverse sources into the final literary product. According to Friedman, the most controversial part of his case is the identification of the writer and date of the Priestly source. This book is neither comprehensive nor unduly complex, making it a good introductory text for beginners and nonspecialists. Recommended for all academic libraries. Craig W. Beard, Harding Univ. Lib., Searcy, Ark.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

--New York Times Book Review
A contemporary classic that is a "thought-provoking [and] perceptive guide [to the Bible's authorship]."

Customer Reviews

Makes as much sense as do our traditions of who wrote what
Professor Friedman's book shatters most of my beliefs since childhood relative to who wrote the Bible. My earliest beliefs were formed by my teachers who were strict orthodox protestant believers. Basically I believed that every word of God in the Old Testament was there as if God had dictated it to those who penned its contents. I can recall questioning authorship at least of some of its sections, such as the death of Moses. It was logical to assume that the account written describing his death and burial was written by someone other than himself. I questioned that if Moses did write the first 5 books, why did he keep referring to himself as "Moses said", or "Moses did?" That didn't make sense. Why didn't he use the first person referring to himself? In seminary, the Documentary Hypothesis was studied as a satanic deception. We had Jesus own testimony with his referral to Moses throughout the Pentateuch and Paul's own statement that every word of God was written under inspiration. My viewpoint was as most of the editors of the 1995 version of the NIV: "These first five books were most likely written by Moses, except for the last chapter of Deuteronomy which tells about Moses' death."

It is evident that the first 3 chapters of Genesis contain two totally different narratives, each telling not necessarily a complimentary account of the same event. He points out that the first version of creation, the writer always refers to the creator as God (35 times). The second version refers to the creator always as Yahweh God (11 times). "The first version never calls him Yahweh; the second version never calls him God." He illustrates the two flood stories, with contradictory numbers of animals taken into the ark, number of days of the flood, and other details. He takes you though other Old Testament stories containing doublets and written in different language. He gives the history behind the Documentary Hypothesis and gives reasons for the scholastic credence of it. I had to cast away some of my superstitious ideas of how the Bible came to be after reading this. The Bible was cobbled and woven together over a long period of time. It is evident we don't have final answers for a lot of it, but I came away believing it is as logical to believe Ezra wrote most of the first 5 books during the exile as it is that Moses wrote all of them.

Excellent, short, compelling book
This is a very good book, making careful and reasonable arguments about the various authors of the Bible - J, E, D, P, and their redactor R. While I am not an expert in this field, Friedman makes arguments that seem very compelling and accessible even to a lay audience not deeply familiar with the historical, academic of constructing the Bible's authorship. Careful reading is required, and an open mind. Friedman's analysis seems to be fair-minded and academically honest, without sounding pretentious or claiming to have an absolutely definitive view. Anyone interested in a review of Biblical History (Old Testament or Jewish Tanakh only) should read this book to become acquainted with the field. It provides an excellent staring point into the historical construction of one of our most important and pervasive texts.

For Those who are students of the Documentary Hypothesis
This book is an excellent read. For those who are literary critics of the Holy Bible, this would prove to be the back bone for understanding who evolution of who wrote the bible, why they wrote it, and when. Friedman's emphasis' lies on the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the bible which were purportedly written by Moses. Friedman however dismisses this, and provides a more plausible explaination behind these first five books. His image of the documentary hypothesis cannot be matched in this day and age.