Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman

It makes the theory of the Bible’s origins available to all in a clear and concise way. He is the author of numerous books, including The Hidden Face of God, Commentary on the Torah, and Who Wrote the Bible? Friedman earned his doctorate at Harvard and was a visiting scholar at Oxford and Cambridge. He previously held the Katzin Chair at the University of California, San Diego. Richard Elliot Friedman is a biblical scholar and the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia.

By understanding its intricate design, readers can now further appreciate the rich complexity of the Bible. The book contains Friedman’s English translations of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, with each of the four sources distinguished by different fonts, colors, and typefaces. In The Bible with Sources Revealed, Friedman describes each of the sources - their historical backgrounds, political and social agendas, relationships to each other, and when and how each of the Five Books was assembled. It has long been accepted in the field of biblical studies that there were four major sources for the early books of the Old Testament, commonly known as J, E, P, and D. Rather than cast doubt onto the legitimacy of the Bible, Friedman uses these divergent accounts to illuminate a text that was written by real people.Richard Elliott Friedman, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Bible, reveals the complex and fascinating origins of the Five Books of Moses with a unique visual presentation. Originally published in 1987, Richard Friedman’s Who Wrote the Bible? joins a host of modern scholars who show that the Pentateuch was written by at least four distinct voices-separated by borders, political alliances, and particular moments in history-then connected by brilliant editors. However, these stories-and their frequent discrepancies-provoke questions: why does the first chapter in Genesis say that man and woman were made in God’s image, while the second says that woman was made from man’s rib? Why does one account of the flood say it lasted forty days, while another records no less than one hundred? And why do some stories reflect the history of southern Judah, while others seem sourced from northern Israel? Sinai, and the cycle of Israel’s enslavement and liberation from Egypt. According to tradition, Moses was divinely directed to write down foundational events in the history of the world: the creation of humans, the worldwide flood, the laws as they were handed down at Mt.

A much anticipated reissue of Who Wrote the Bible?-the contemporary classic the New York Times Book Review called “a thought-provoking perceptive guide” that identifies the individual writers of the Pentateuch and explains what they can teach us about the origins of the Bible.įor thousands of years, the prophet Moses was regarded as the sole author of the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch.

Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman