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Richard Elliott Friedman

Who Wrote the Bible? Paperback – March 21, 1997

by Richard Elliott Friedman (Author)

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The contemporary classic the New York Times Book Review called “a thought-provoking [and] perceptive guide,” Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard E. Friedman is a fascinating, intellectual, yet highly readable analysis and investigation into the authorship of the Old Testament. The author of Commentary on the Torah, Friedman delves deeply into the history of the Bible in a scholarly work that is as exciting and surprising as a good detective novel. Who Wrote the Bible? is enlightening, riveting, an important contribution to religious literature, and as the Los Angeles Times aptly observed in its rave review, “There is no other book like this one.”

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

HarperOne
Publication date

March 21, 1997
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0060630353
ISBN-13

978-0060630355
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"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

Review

A contemporary classic that is a "thought-provoking [and] perceptive guide [to the Bible's authorship]."--"New York Times Book Review""Brilliantly presented: There is no other book like this one. It may well be unique."--"Los Angeles Times""Remarkable. Friedman has written that most rare of books: a legitimate intellectual contribution that is also a good read. The field of biblical studies will be enriched by this book."--"Dallas Times Herald""It is an event to have a book as readable and exciting as "Who Wrote the Bible? "It has about it the resounding smack of solid truth."--"Harvard Magazine"

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne; Reprint edition (March 21, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060630353
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060630355
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #389,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #460 in Hebrew Bible
- #764 in Religion Encyclopedias
- #1,305 in Old Testament Bible Study (Books)

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662 ratings

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Scholarly And Accessible

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017

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Richard Elliott Friedman is an eminent Biblical scholar with an illustrious career that includes previous books with titles like Commentary on the Torah. Ordinarily describing an author that way is an indirect way of warning readers that his book is going to be dense and rather dull. Nothing could be farther from the truth in this case. Who Wrote The Bible comes with a large section of notes and a lengthy Appendix, but it is written for the general reader in a lively, informal style that sacrifices none of its scholarly rigor.

Since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Biblical scholarship has concluded that the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), as well as the books which follow them, are the products of numerous authors writing at various times in the history of the Hebrew Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. What Friedman has done here is to use his own years of research to analyze the work of earlier scholars and explain his agreements or dissents from their theories. The most fascinating sections are those in which Friedman presents sections of the Bible which are familiar to studious Jews and Christians, explaining which were written by early priests, which were produced in either Israel or Judah, and which came from the period after the Babylonian Exile. It makes for an intriguing read that depicts the Old Testament as the outcome of years of study and thought by numerous men (and sometimes women) who worked to understand what God intended for His people.

It's an unfortunate fact that many people regard Biblical studies such as this one as in some way blasphemous, as if using humanity's intellect and imagination to better understand the world could in some way be offensive to God. Rest assured that, while Friedman's readers will be challenged and informed by his scholarship, their faith will not be weakened unless they want it to be.

75 people found this helpful

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Mark

I read many of the reviews and saw that it ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2018

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I read many of the reviews and saw that it was a very favorable and well thought out historical book about how the bible (part of the old covenant anyway) came to be. So I ordered it, began reading it las night and finished half of it today. I will write another review when finished but I had to stop, gather my thoughts and take a moment to pen a few words at this halfway point.
What I see is a paradigm of thinking and then building a foundation upon that paradigm. There is no evidence for the J and E theory other than they can make it fit their paradigm, and although slightly compelling, it is simply a matter of not understanding the history properly.

Nearly all theologians, professors of religion (secular and nonsecular), bible teaches, preachers, and laypersons (worldwide) are not aware of what language Moses used to write the Torah.
Nor do they know the language used on the two tablets of stone given to Moses on the mountain.

Almost universally, it is believed and taught in centers of learning and churches worldwide that Moses wrote the Torah in Hebrew. Yet if you believe the masses, or Mr. Friedman, you would be wrong. Moses did not write in any form of Hebrew.
In case you are not aware, the word Torah in Hebrew means “Instruction” or “Teaching”, while in English it would be called the Pentateuch, meaning “five books” (or scrolls).
For the Jew it means the first five books of the Tanakh.
It is the first five books at the front of the Christian bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and part of Deuteronomy) and is known also as “The Law”.

Both secular and religious archeologists who search for Hebrew script on pottery or other artifacts (as evidence of early Hebrew travels to the Sinai region after their exodus from Egypt) are constantly befuddled, as they cannot seem to find any. This lack of evidence has prompted some archeologists to claim that the Hebrew exodus across the Red Sea never happened, that it was a myth. Why? Because they can find no evidence of Hebrew script anywhere in the areas they have searched.
Nothing.

Well, let’s correct the error and explain why no Hebrew script exists on any pottery from the Hebrew exodus out of Egypt and into the Sinai region from the accepted time period of approximately 1440 BC. Let’s find out why the original Hebrew writings are actually a translation from a different language that no one seems to be aware of.

Another language before Hebrew?

There was no written Hebrew language at this time in history, and it would not exist (even in its formative state) for about another four hundred years.

After the Egyptian exodus and the gathering of the people to the foot of the specified Sinai Mountain (Mt. Horeb), Moses had a very important appointment with “God” (Elohim -the angel). When Moses walked up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, the Law written on stone by the “finger of Elohim” (some will argue Yaweh).
But what is extremely monumental here is that Hebrew script did not exist when the stone tables were inscribed on the Mountain, yet Moses could read them. Which means that the tablets were inscribed in the language Moses was fluent in, which was Egyptian Script.

Weird, that no one ever figured that out, that the Ten Commandments were originally written in an Egyptian script.

Years later, when Moses began writing the very first books of the Torah, he wrote in Hieratic Script.

As the Hebrew language evolved (long after Moses had died and went to Sheol), the Torah was translated (several times actually) from the original Hieratic to evolving Hebrew.

I'll stop here and I am really hopeful that this author is aware of this, and if not, I will finish up in my next review.

70 people found this helpful

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Ron G

Phenomenal! Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2018

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I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is absolutely brilliant!

As a student of ANE languages, as well as a student of understanding the Jewish background and geography of the Bible, I thought I had a firm foundation for approaching the scriptures and understanding them from a scholarly point-of-view. However, I was mistaken. Without the material presented here by Dr. Friedman, I dare say the student misses a treasure of nuance and humor. Yes, I say humor because you can't help but smile when you see the underlying motivations for stating half of the doublet one way and the other half another way.

Can this knowledge shake the faith of the some? I imagine so. The idea that a writer's own biases went into producing these contributing JEPD documents will be contrary to those who think the authors of the Bible were simply sitting there taking dictation. But, hopefully, what comes out of all of this is a stronger, informed faith that is not plagued by childish notions.

This book helps turn Christian children into Christian adults. Bravo!

27 people found this helpful

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Sherry Tourtual

The subject of my review is Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman.

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2017

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I learned so much from reading this book. Mainly I learned about the 4 strands of the Pentateuch, the J strand for Jahweh (German), the E strand for Elohist because the people referred to God as 'elohim, the P strand for Priestly Source because it's mainly laws, and the D source for Deuteronomistic History- from Joshua to 2 Kings. There is a Holiness Source -H- which the author didn't mention and which can be found in the Catholic Study Bible (RG 111). This Holiness School brought worship from the tabernacle to everyday life.
J and E were combined when Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was overtaken by the Assyrians around 722 BC. Refugees fled into Judah, and an editor ( the author says that Ezra was the redactor) combined the refugees' E manuscript with their J manuscript. That's the reason for 2 creation stories and 2 flood stories. Ezra also redacted the entire Pentateuch, according to the author.
This was a great book, and I really learned a lot!

18 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Broga

A fascinating book and essential reading for believers and non believers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2014

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What makes this book so powerful is the temperate and measured style of the author and his ability to delve deeply into academic research write about it in such a readable way. He does not opt for polemic but for stating the discoveries from biblical research. Many will be surprised, indeed shocked, by his revelations. For example, the book opens by dismantling the view that Moses wrote the first five books of the bible – The Pentateuch. There were at least four, maybe five authors, and many of the events are described long after Moses was dead.

Much of the cutting edge research has been, and is being, done by professors and biblical experts in the theological colleges. Their work used to be burned, and they were sacked. Now, following a decision by Pius X11 even RC researchers can investigate these issues. Assuming that these researchers, often lecturers in theological colleges, pass their knowledge to their students then there must be a gulf between what many clergy know and what they preach.

Is it not time to treat their congregations as mature and intelligent adults who can confront and consider what their clergy themselves know? The debate could be invigorating and, as the author comments, discussion and differences of opinion can take place from different perspectives.

6 people found this helpful

Pingwing

Excellent Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2018

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The author compiles the academic evidence in a kind of "whodunit" style making the complex subject matter interesting, exciting and accessible. Sensitive and respectful treatment of the scriptures make this book highly valuable reading in my opinion. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the historical context of The Bible and its meaning.

2 people found this helpful

Mr. J. M. Ainsworth

Fascinating, Christians Should Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2013

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This book is a fascinating insight into the authorship of the Bible. Friedman takes the reader on a journey into ancient Israel, and brings to life the religious and political world of the ancient Israelites and Judeans. He argues that the various political and religious perspective produced similar but often conflicting histories of the Hebrew speaking people, and eventually those contradicting stories were fused together into the tableau that is the modern Torah at a time when national unity took priority above all.

Friedman's work moves with pace and energy, and whilst its scholarly insight and intellectual brilliance should place this book pre-eminent among the theology or history section of your local book store, and whilst this is most definitely a work of non-fiction, it would not be too far from home sitting on the shelves of the thriller section.

In particular Friedman's search for and convincing identification of the true writer of Deuteronomy; and also his estimation of who compiled the first Torah as we know it today; are delightfully intriguing. Who were these people, according to Friedman? I won't spoil the mystery, but if you know your Bible, you already know their names.

For anyone who was raised with the traditional teaching of many churches, or perhaps synagogues, that the Torah was written exclusively by Moses - this is an absolute must read. Nobody can fail to have their traditional beliefs challenged by this this inspiring summary of Torah scholarship.

2 people found this helpful

More precisely: Who wrote the Pentateuch (and maybe some other bits of the Old Testament)?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2011

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I was aware of the near-repetitions and discrepancies in the Adam and Eve and Noah stories, but hadn't thought much about them and I wasn't aware that religious scholars had found plenty more dotted around the first four books of the Bible. So I was very surprised to discover that there is a broadly accepted hypothesis to explain all this, the Documentary Hypothesis, which proposes three intertwined writers for these four books, plus another for Deuteronomy and at least one redactor for the whole Pentateuch, who did the intertwining and who also added a few lines. Furthermore, this hypothesis is widely taught in Jewish, Catholic and Protestant seminaries. Why then isn't it taught in confirmation classes? It makes the Old Testament far easier to understand. I suppose it is because it is only a hypothesis. Friedman seems to suggest that it is the only idea in town, but the Wikipedia entry on the Documentary Hypothesis makes it clear that there are various other models. Nevertheless, Friedman presents the hypothesis, and his variant of it, pretty convincingly. An important read for believers and interested sceptics alike.

One person found this helpful

Max Zachs

Just, you know, the best book ever.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2014

Verified Purchase

As a masters level bible student this has everything I wanted in a weekend read, its obviously well researched and authoritatively written revealing the authors lifetime body of work but its is also well written, assuming the readers as no prior knowledge yet avoiding being patronising, there are few people with even a vague interest in the subject who wouldn't be captivated.
For the subject it is amazingly concise and my only wish is that the author could have been a little less strict with themself, I would have appreciated a few interesting or humorous sources and anecdotes which would have lifted the book from falling into dryness. Still, this book has fundamentally changed the shape of my mind- who can complain?

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