The Source Of The Old Testament, By Bernhard Anderson

Every scholar wants to find out the answer to the same question: What is the source of the Old Testament? In recent years, there has been vigorous jockeying by both liberal and conservative scholars to prove they are right when it comes to origins of the Old Testament. At the center of much of this debate has been four documents: The Yahwist (J), The Elohist (E), the Deuteronomistic History (DH), and The Priestly source (P). Here, the Priestly tradition will be examined and a conclusion will be deduced as to whether or not P is truly credible.

Summary

Bernhard Anderson opens his article by presenting the case that there once was a time in which the Priestly source would have been considered the oldest material in the Pentateuch, holding

He labors faithfully to show how themes of worship permeate the three periods that are highly emphasized in the P source. The author also seeks to show Priestly tradition parallels the other sources of the Pentateuch. Though Anderson presents his argument in strong fashion through the use of clear examples, the premise of his argument ignores basic biblical data which would led one to affirm Moses as the sole author of the Pentateuch.

The key strength of Anderson’s presentation is his use of clear examples to back up his thesis that the Priestly source is a credible source of information found in the Pentateuch. He begins by re-telling the story of creation to Noah. Anderson notes that one should not consider Genesis 1-2 in scientific terms, because to do so would miss the point because “the poetry speaks of something that lies behind or beyond human experience and scientific inquiry: the origination and ordering of all that exists by the sovereign, initiating will of the Creator” (458). Because of this, God’s sovereignty should be exalted and He should be praised for His good creation. This is helpful because Anderson utilizes picturesque language to point to the P source’s unique emphasis on worship

Not only will history seem to attest to the bible having a short oral history before being recorded, but the evidence seems to point more in favor of Moses being the singular author of the Pentateuch because of stylistic elements as well as other explicit commands given in Scripture where Moses himself is told to record things that had happened and add then to the book or place them beside the Ark, etc. Moreover, the evidence for the P source is harmed because it relies on Old Epic tales to help fill in the gaps all while supposedly operating parallel to the other Pentateuch sources. The sounder evidence should be seen as that which is cohesive and comes from the Lord through His word, not a hodgepodge of source to create the Pentateuch