Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel [Kindle Edition]

Julius Wellhausen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Wellhausen's theories about the development of the Old Testament are for Biblical criticism what Einstein is to physics. Wellhausen devised a new paradigm which explained many of the apparent inconsistencies in the Biblical texts. In the process, he upset many traditionalists who didn't like the concept that the early portions of the Bible were the product of four separate authors. Or that the Levitical code was redacted into the text by the priestly class at a very late date in the evolution of the Bible. Or that the Bible even evolved...

He has continued relevance. Wellhausen's theories have been built on by contemporary scholars. The current Christian fundamentalist movement emerged as a response to the Biblical criticism of Wellhausen and other 19th century scholars. Wellhausen remains difficult to fully grasp by all but those schooled in the ways of the Documentary hypothesis. However, brave readers willing to attempt an expedition through the Prolegomena will be richly rewarded, whichever side of the cultural divide you fall on. --J.B. Hare

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 843 KB
• Print Length: 546 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Evinity Publishing Inc; 1.0 edition (June 25, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002EVPEBI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,432 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book -, November 27, 2010

By 

Hoffman C - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (Paperback)

I would have given five stars, but the fact that this is an OCR version forced me to give four (OCR is a technique for converting a printed version into a digital version using a computer; sometimes the computer makes mistakes and the editor misses them).

As for the content of the book, if you are interested in the historical critical approach to Old Testament studies this is arguably the most important foundational work, upon which all modern scholarship is based. The book details what is known as the 'documentary hypothesis', which most modern scholarly theories of the development of the Old Testament use as a reference point.

The documentary hypothesis is extremely relevant in modern biblical studies. It is taught in most undergraduate religious studies programs; a perusal of respected scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, and Vetus Testamentum to name a few, will show that the language of discourse in these publications is only intelligible in terms of the ideas put forth by Wellhausen in this book, that is, in terms of the documentary hypothesis.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, but not citable., February 17, 2009

By 

Jin Myung Jung - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (Forgotten Books) (Paperback)

The reason this edition is much cheaper than others is: it's basically an OCRed version of Wellhausen's Prolegomena. If you are serious about studying this author while citing him, this is not for you (its pagination doesn't match that of scholarly editions); if you're interested about its content only, it's a good deal - compare the prices.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ahistorical, January 15, 2010

By 

Charles Soper (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (Forgotten Books) (Paperback)

My comment applies to the publisher's blurb not the volume itself. To claim that Wellhausen's contribution is comparable to Einstein's to physics shows just how unworldly and abstracted from ordinary academic standards traditional liberal theology has become. It is pure, hollow hyperbole. Wellhausen is not only hopelessly dated, his predictions discredited, he's obsolete - his only value is as the marker to a grandiose historical misturn.