How would the Documentary Hypothesis help in understanding the Torah?

Answer 1

Opinion: The Documentary Hypothesis, if it was based on fact, might be a way of looking at the Torah. However, it is a theory only, with no physical evidence.

The same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, are pointed at in the JEPD (Documentary) Hypothesis in an attempt to reassign the Torah's 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 the JEPD hypothesis, 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, Deuteronomy 31:24). 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 the Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim:

Debunking the JEPD Documentary Hypothesis

The authorship of the Hebrew Bible

Answer 2

The Documentary Hypothesis tells us that the Torah or, for Christians, the Pentateuch, had several authors, principally the Yahwist ('J' Source), Elohist ('E' Source), Deuteronomist ('D' Source) and the Priestly Source ('P' Source). An understanding of the Documentary Hypothesis helps us to understand the context within which the Torah was actually written.

Traditionally, the first five books of The Bible were thought to have been written by Moses, a belief that inevitably restricts our understanding of the scriptures. If Moses wrote all five books, including passages that clearly conflict in tone and meaning, we have to try to find ways to harmonise those accounts. These mental gymnastics obscure the real message of the Bible.

The Documentary Hypothesis allows us to look for the real meaning in the Pentateuch and understand what its authors were telling the people. This is quite well explained here.