What is the Documentary Hypothesis?

Question

What is the Documentary Hypothesis?

A family of theories explaining the Torah's composition from multiple earlier sources.

Interpretation

How it is argued

  1. 1

    Classic four-source model

    J, E, D and P strands combined by later editors.

  2. 2

    Revised models

    Many scholars now favour supplementary or fragmentary models.

Read it in Scripture

Video on this question

All video

Related questions

Who wrote Genesis?

Want to go further? Ask Scriptured searches the library and cites what it finds.