Who are the four major writers of Hebrew scripture?

Answer 1

* The Jahwist (or J) - written c 950 BCE.[9] The southern kingdom's (i.e. Judah) interpretation. It is named according to the prolific use of the name "Yahweh" (or Jaweh, in German, the divine name or Tetragrammaton) in its text. * The Elohist (or E) - written c 850 BCE.[9] The northern kingdom's (i.e. Israel) interpretation. As above, it is named because of its preferred use of "Elohim" (Generic name any heathen god or deity in Hebrew). * The Deuteronomist (or D) - written c 650-621 BCE.[9] Dating specifically from the time of King Josiah of Judah and responsible for the book of Deuteronomy as well as Joshua and most of the subsequent books up to 2 Kings. * The Priestly source (or P) - written during or after the exile, c 550-400 BCE.[9] So named because of its focus on Levitical laws.

Answer 2

The authorship of the Pentateuch has traditionally been attributed to Moses. However, by the nineteenth century, scholars were beginning to recognise that it was actually written over a period of some centuries by several anonymous authors. Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) identified four separate authors, known as the Yahwist or J-source (probably ninth or tenth century BCE), the Elohist or E-source (probably eighth or ninth century BCE), the Deuteronomist or D-source (probably seventh century BCE), and the Priestly source or P-source (believed to have written during or after the Babylonian Exile).

Each source had his own distinctive style, and can even be identified by the use of archaic or modern Hebrew. Each had his own way of referring to God and his own sectoral and regional interests. Many of the stories in the first five books of The Bible are written in duplicate, known as doublets, with significant differences between one version and the other, reflecting the different views or theology of each author.

Answer 3

The Torah (the Five Books of Moses): According to tradition, the Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12) in 1312 BCE. Moses taught it to the people (Exodus ch.34), and put it in writing before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24) in 1272 BCE
Nevi'im (the Prophets): Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, etc. Judges is credited to Samuel, and Kings was written by Jeremiah. The prophetic books were written in the time of the prophets, from the 1200s BCE (Joshua) to the 300s BCE (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).
Ketuvim (the Writings): Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the Writings were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Ruth was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon; and Esther was written by Mordecai and Esther. The Writings were written between 900 BCE (Ruth) to the 300s BCE (Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).
Concerning Job, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written.
Hebrew Bible Canon: Our tradition is that from the time of the First Destruction, God's presence was no longer felt as clearly as before (see Deuteronomy 31:17-18). In addition, exile is not conducive to prophecy (Mechilta, parshat Bo). At that time, the last of the prophets realized that prophecy would soon cease; and that the dispersal of the Jewish people, plus the almost continuous tribulations from the First Destruction onwards, made it imperative to seal the canon of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Sages of the time, including the last living prophets, convened a special synod for a couple of decades, which was called the Men of the Great Assembly (Mishna, Avot ch.1). This group, who functioned some 2360 years ago, composed the blessings and the basic prayers of the siddur (prayerbook) and the early portions of the Passover Haggadah, made many of the Rabbinical decrees, and (most importantly) sealed the canon of the Tanakh. It was they, for example, who set the twelve Minor Prophets as (halakhically) a single book, and who set the books of the Tanakh in their traditional order (see Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). It was the Men of the Great Assembly whom Esther had to approach when she felt that the Divinely inspired Scroll of Esther should be included in the canon (see Talmud, Megilla 7a).
Since the sealing of the Tanakh, no Jewish sage has ever claimed prophecy.

Answer 4

The four sources theory says that the Elohist ('E' Source), Yahwist ('J' Source), Deuteronomist ('D' Source) and the Priestly Source ('P' Source) were the main contributors to the writing of the Pentateuch.

Answer 5

The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) , known collectively as the Pentateuch, are believed to have been put together from the works of four major sources, all of whom were anonymous but have been given descriptive titles:

The J Source, or Yahwist, who is believed to have lived in the ninth century BCE. The Yahwist always used 'YHWH' (Yahweh) as the name for an anthropomorphic God with human characteristics. The Yahwist's God made promises and covenants with his chosen people. The source's main interests were the southern kingdom, Judah, and the Aaronid priesthood. J uses an earlier form of the Hebrew language.

The E Source, or Elohist, who came from the northern kingdom of Israel and must have written sometime before 722 BCE when Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians. The Elohist (E) source always used 'Elohim' as the name for a more transcendent God who required obedience and was feared by his people. People could never look at the Elohist's God, so he typically came in dreams or visions, but sometimes in the form of a cloud or a flame. This source was generally more concerned with general stories than individuals. He had a moderately eloquent style and also used an earlier form of the Hebrew language.

The D Source, or Deuteronomist, who emphasised centralisation of worship and governance in Jerusalem, in line with the needs of a strong monarchy. Based on the alleged discovery of the Book of Law in the Temple, it seems that Deuteronomy can not have been written much earlier than 622 BCE, and the majority opinion is that it was probably not much later. D used a form of Hebrew similar to P, but in a different literary style.

The P Source, or Priestly source, appears to have written during the Babylonian Exile. P used the names Elohim and El Shaddai to describe a remote and unmerciful God. This source drew on the earlier works of J and E, changing details to suit the priestly point of view. P had a low level of literary style and focussed on the formal relations between God and society.

There were also redactors, principally a source now known as the Redactor, who finalised the books more or less as we know them today, without adding significant new material.

Answer 6

According to tradition, the Pentateuch (the Torah) had only one source. Moses wrote the complete Torah shortly before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24).
The same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, have been used by Bible-critics in an attempt to reassign its authorship.

The Jewish sages, based on ancient tradition, identified many of these devices, which include:

recapping earlier brief passages to elucidate,

employing different names of God to signify His various attributes,

using apparent changes or redundancies to allude to additional unstated details,

speaking in the vernacular that was current during each era,

and many more. While Judaism has always seen the Torah as an intricate tapestry that nonetheless had one Divine source, some modern authors such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) have suggested artificially chopping up the narrative and attributing it to various authors, despite the Torah's explicit statement as to its provenance (Exodus 24:12). This need not concern believers, since his claims have been debunked one by one, as Archaeology and other disciplines have demonstrated the integrity of the Torah. No fragments have ever been found that would support his Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim:

Refuting the JEPD Documentary Hypothesis

The authorship of the Hebrew Bible

Archaeology

Answer 7

Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, King David, King Solomon, Daniel, Ezra, and others.

The Torah (the Five Books of Moses):According to tradition, the Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12) in 1312 BCE. Moses taught it to the people (Exodus ch.34), and put it in writing before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24) in 1272 BCE. (See: more about Moses)
Nevi'im (the Prophets):

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, etc. Judges was written by Samuel, and Kings was written by Jeremiah. The prophetic books were written in the time of the prophets, from the 1200s BCE (Joshua) to the mid-300s BCE (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

See: More about Samuel, and see: How many Isaiahs?

Ketuvim (the Writings):

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the Writings were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Ruth was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon; and Esther was written by Mordecai and Esther. The Writings were written between 900 BCE (Ruth) to the mid-300s BCE (Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).
Concerning Job, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written.

Hebrew Bible Canon:

Our tradition is that from the time of the First Destruction, God's presence was no longer felt as clearly as before (see Deuteronomy 31:17-18). In addition, exile is not conducive to prophecy (Mechilta, parshat Bo). At that time, the last of the prophets realized that prophecy would soon cease; and that the dispersal of the Jewish people, plus the almost continuous tribulations from the First Destruction onward, made it imperative to seal the canon of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Sages of the time, including the last living prophets, convened a special synod for a couple of decades, which was called the Men of the Great Assembly (Mishna, Avot ch.1). This group, who functioned around 340 BCE, composed the blessings and the basic prayers of the siddur (prayerbook) and the early portions of the Passover Haggadah, made many of the Rabbinical decrees, and (most importantly) sealed the canon of the Tanakh. It was they, for example, who set the twelve Minor Prophets as (halakhically) a single book, and who set the books of the Tanakh in their traditional order (see Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). It was the Men of the Great Assembly whom Esther had to approach when she felt that the Divinely inspired Scroll of Esther should be included in the canon (see Talmud, Megilla 7a).
Since the sealing of the Tanakh, no Jewish sage has ever claimed prophecy.

Order of the Tanakh's books:
The Hebrew Bible is in chronological order: first the five books of the Torah, since they were given before any of the other prophetic books. Then Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings in that order, since that is chronological. Ruth (and others) could be before Kings, but we keep the Prophets and Writings separate.
After Kings, we have Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which is in chronological order. All three of them lived well after the kings had already started.
The Twelve Minor Prophets, who also lived during the latter part of the era of the Kings, are gathered together in a single book of their own.
Then we have the Writings. Psalms, Proverbs and Job are together since they (and none of the other books) are a specific type of poetry ("Taamei Emet", with special trope).
The Five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Eichah, Kohellet, Esther) are together, in the order in which they're read in the synagogue.
Finally, the books of Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles were written in the end of the prophetic period.

Importance of the Tanakh:

The Tanakh is important because it tells the history of the ancient Israelites, as well as giving us the teachings of the Israelite prophets and kings, and the laws, ethics and beliefs of the Jewish religion.Our tradition is that the Hebrew Bible is from God (Exodus 24:12), given to us to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism. It crystallized, strengthened and codified our beliefs; insured our awareness and knowledge of our identity and history; and provided powerful impetus to be ethical.
It made us stand in awe of God, while also providing optimism and comfort through the prophecies of redemption. It inspired us to strive for holiness and informed us how to pray and to approach God's presence.
And it set detailed laws, practices and traditions for the Jewish people forever.

See also:

Jewish history timeline

How is the Hebrew Bible presented?

How was the Torah written?

Refuting the Bible-critics

Answer 8

The three sections of the Tanach (Jewish Bible) are:

Torah (Teachings)

Nevi'im (Prophets)

K'tuvim (Writings)