friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) (09/14/85)
In article <2201@sdcc6.UUCP> ix415@sdcc6.UUCP (Rick Frey) writes: >In article <683@psivax.UUCP>, I wrote: > >> Just to set the record straight, Moses did *not* write the >> opening chapters of Genesis, and it is highly doubtful that he wrote >> *any* of it. > >Great, but show me what the demonstrably false statement is? > >"No man can claim to know with absolute assurance who wrote the Book of >Genesis. Since Genesis is a necessary foundation for Exodus to Deuteronomy, >and since the available evidence indicates that Moses wrote these four >books, Moses is the likely author of Genesis itself. >..." H.C. Leupold D.D. > >"Although the Book of Exodus nowhere claims Mosaic authorship in toto, >the entire body of Pentiteuchal Law, comprising principally the portion >extending from Exodus 20 through the Book of Deuteronomy, in explicitly >positive terms claims to be Mosaic. Moses is declared to be the writer >of the Book of the Covenant (chs 20-23) comprising the Ten Commandments >and the accompanying judgements and ordinances (24:4,7) ... Present day >conservative scholarship as well as tradition have maintained the Mosaic >authorship. Critical theories offer no adequate substitute for Mosaic >authenticity." Merril F. Unger Ph.D. > > > Rick Frey This could easily become a war of quotes, I can probably match yours one for one. But first I would like to see some refernces to the evidence that Moses *did* write the Penteteuch that Dr Leupold mentions. I have never managed to find any "evidence" that did not amount to simply affirming the old *tradition* that he did so. Where is the critical evidence outside of simple statements that it *is* so? Well, now for my matching quotes. "...the author of Genesis ... *collected* and *arranged* the floating oral or written traditions of Israel in the form of a book which might stand at the beginning of the story story of God's dealings with man and with Israel." S.H Hooke, MA DD ThD FSA in Peake's Commentary on the Bible "The Pentateuch is the end product of an incredibly long process of *accumulation*, *transmission*, and *redaction*. Its original traditions go back to a dim antiquity... These (oral traditions) were linked into more complex collections, until a connected narrative emerged, built out of the basic pattern of the credo or confession of faith." D.N Freedman in Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (emphasis mine) The basic consensus of these studies is that the form of the Pentateuch we see today was assembled primarily by the priestly class during the post-Mosaic history of Israel. In fact a major rewrite was apparently done *after* the Babylonian exile! Note that this is all perfectly consistant with Moses being the author of the *legal codes* which were incorporated into the narrative. After all they would constitute an important part of the preceding tradition which formed the basis for the books. I tend to accept these scholars because they make an effort to evaluate the textual and historical evidence without excessive allegiance to tradition. Can you direct me to equally scholarly studies giving contrary evidence. (Just references would be sufficient, have acces to excellent libraries). -- Sarima (Stanley Friesen) UUCP: {ttidca|ihnp4|sdcrdcf|quad1|nrcvax|bellcore|logico}!psivax!friesen ARPA: ttidca!psivax!friesen@rand-unix.arpa