Detecting sources in the Bible

Press, 24 September 1988, Page 27

Detecting sources in the Bible

Who Wrote the Bible? By Richard Elliott Friedman. Jonathan Cape, 1988. 299 pp. $49.95. (Reviewed by Colin Brown) When I first began to study the Bible critically, over 30 years ago, my teachers instructed. us in the art of taking the Bible apart. We quickly learnt that the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch), are made up of at least four strands, of varying date and "authorship,” labelled by scholars, J. E. D. and P. This approach solved some problems such as the existence of two narratives of the creation differing in important respects. At the end of the day, however, we were left with a dismantled Bible, its parts strewn around us, our religious sensibilities dismayed, and our literary sensitivities outraged. A return to precritical attitudes was out of the question; some attempts to elicit a “biblical theology” from disparate strands only imposed a false unity. Since that time analysis of the diverse strands of the Pentateuch has continued and, more important, the work of the “redactors” — the “editors” who joined up the variant strands, modifying them in the process — has been examined in detail. This latter field of study (redaction

criticism) nicely complements the search for sources. The latter field of study focuses on the diverse strands which have been woven into the tapestry of the Bible: redaction criticism sharpens our awareness of the unity which has been imparted to what were, originally, discrete units. From student days onwards Richard Friedman has been intimately involved in both types of study and has made important contributions to them. Part of the interest in this book comes from it being a front-line report by a creative scholar in the field. But what chiefly distinguish the book are the clarity and verve of its presentation, and the ingenuity of its hypotheses. Much of the book reads like a literary detective story as clues are suggested, the reader’s expectations aroused, and solutions advanced and justified. Three warnings need to be issued to would-be readers of this engaging narrative. The title (“Who Wrote the Bible?”) promises more than the book delivers. The “Bible” in this instance means what Christians call the Old Testament and, in fact, Friedman concentrates almost exclusively on the first five books of the Bible. Secondly, as he himself makes clear, some of the solutions which he offers are

controversial. That the prophet Jeramiah put the book Deuteronomy together is certainly an interesting suggestion, Friedman’s talents as a literary detective are shown to advantage in justifying the proposal, but it can hardly be said to be one of the commonplaces of biblical scholarship at the present time. His search for appropriate analogies sometimes leads Friedman astray. The remark that “Amos was a cowboy” is amusing but misleading. Finally, almost all the book is devoted to the search for sources, an exploration of the processes of redaction, and the locating of all this admidst the stresses and strains of Jewish history. From this point of view — and it illuminates a great deal — the Bible becomes a very human book although all the more fascinating on that account. Towards the end of the book Friedman suggests what the results of scholarship might mean for a richer understanding of the Bible in literary, historical, and religious terms. What he says on these matters is brief, pointed, and illuminating — but a beginning only. It would be material for another book by Friedman and if it could be as lucid and lively as “Who Wrote the Bible?” this would be triumph indeed.