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INTRODUCTION
I. “Beginning With Moses”

Lk 24:27.44: “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself […]. Then he said: ‘These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with
you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled’”.

Sirach (Prologue) (written in 132 b.C. by the son of Jesus bar Sirach [cfr. Sir 50:27]):

“Whereas many great teachings have been given to us through the law and the prophets and the others that followed
them, on account of which we should praise Israel for instruction and wisdom; and since it is necessary not only that the
readers themselves should acquire understanding but also that those who love learning should be able to help the
outsiders by both speaking and writing, my grandfather Jesus, after devoting himself especially to the reading of the law
and the prophets and the other books of our fathers, and after acquiring considerable proficiency in them, was himself
also led to write something pertaining to instruction and wisdom, in order that, by becoming conversant with this also,
those who love learning should make even greater progress in living according to the law.
You are urged therefore to read with good will and attention, and to be indulgent in cases where, despite out diligent
labor in translating, we may seem to have rendered some phrases imperfectly. For what was originally expressed in
Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when translated into another language. Not only this work, but even the
law itself, the prophecies, and the rest of the books differ not a little as originally expressed. When I came to Egypt in the
thirty-eighth year of the reign of Euergetes and stayed for some time, I found opportunity for no little instruction. It
seemed highly necessary that I should myself devote some pains and labor to the translation of the following book, using
in that period of time great watchfulness and skill in order to complete and publish the book for those living abroad who
wished to gain learning, being prepared in character to live according to the law”.

Ta Na Kh
Torah Nebi’îm Ketubîm
‫תורה‬ ‫נבאים‬ ‫כתובים‬

- Torah, from the root yarah, “to throw”, “to shoot an arrow”, and therefore “to indicate a direction”, “to teach”
→ “Teaching in the form of a directive”.
- Nomos, Greek for “law”.
- Pentateuch: Pente = 5; teuchos = “instrument”, in this case a “case” (the cylindrical container for a scroll); as a
metonymy for the content: hè pentateuchos (biblos), “the book-roll composed of five scrolls”.

- An expression on a Qumran fragment states kwl [s]prym hwmšym which could be translated “All the books
of the ‘Pentateuch’”.
- Josephus Flavius (37-100): “We do not possess a myriad of incoherent books, in conflict with each other.
Our books, those that have been recognized justly, are only 22, and contain the history of all of time. Of
these, five are the books of Moses, composing the laws and the traditional story of the birth of man until the
death of the judges” (Contra Apionem, 1:38-39).
- The Pentateuch has been translated into Greek during the 3rd century BCE in Alexandria, giving birth to the
LXX or Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta, “seventy”); cf. the tale of the Letter of Aristeas, which
attributes the initiative of the translation to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246). A little earlier, around 300
BCE, the statement of Hecataeus of Abdera that the Jews have a “written” law (Diodorus Siculus 40.3.6).

To distinguish: - Hexateuch (six scrolls): includes the books of Joshua and thus the account of the conquest.
- Tetrateuch (four scrolls): excludes Deuteronomy.
- Enneateuch (nine scrolls): the sequence Genesis–2 Kings as a literary unity.
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→ the division into five books is seen in the book of Psalms (Ps 1–41; 42–72; 73–89; 90–106; 107–150): A
“companion” book to the Torah (cf. Ps 1:2)?

HEBRAIC CANON Catholic Sequence (cf. Vulgate and LXX)

Torah (Law) Pentateuco
Bereshît, in principio – Genesis Genesis
Shemôt, nomi – Exodus Exodus
Wayiqra’, e chiamò – Leviticus Leviticus
Bemidbar, nel deserto – Numbers Numbers
Devarîm, parole – Deuteronomy Deuteronomy
______________________________________________ _____________________________________________
 Nebi’îm (Prophets) Historical Books
Joshua
Nebi’îm rishonim, Anterior Prophets Judges
Ruth
Yehoshua – Joshua 1-2 Samuel
Shofetîm – Judges 1-2 Kings
Shemu’el – 1-2Samuel 1-2 Chronicles
Melakhîm – 1-2 Kings Ezra - Nehemiah
Tobit
Nebi’îm aharonim, Posterior Prophets Judith
Esther
Yisha‘yahû – Isaiah 1-2 Maccabees
Yermiyahû – Jeremiah ______________________________________________
Yehezqe’el – Ezechiel Poetic Books and Wisdom Literature
Job
Tere ‘asar, Twelve in Aramaic = The Twelve or Minor Psalms
Prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Proverbs
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Ecclesiastes = Qoelet
Malachi Song of Songs.
______________________________________________ Book of Wisdom
Ketubîm (Writings) Ecclesiasticus = Wisdom of Sirach = Sirach

Tehillîm – Psalms ______________________________________________

’yôb – Job Prophetic Books
Mishley – Proverbs Isaiah
Jeremiah
Hamesh meghillot, five scrolls Lamentations
Rut – Ruth Baruch
Shir hasshirîm – Song of Songs Ezechiel
Ekah, ahimè – Lamentations Daniel
Qohelet,  “Convener” – Qoelet = Ecclesiastes Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Ester – Esther Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai Zechariah, Malachi
Dani‘el – Daniel
Ezra’ - Ezra – Nehemyàh - Nehemiah
Dibrey hayyamîm – Words of days - 1- 2 Chronicles
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II. Historical-Critical Research: A Panorama

1. The Traditional Doctrine and its aporia

(apropos Deut 34:5-8 that recounts Moses’ death)

The Master has said: Joshua wrote the book which bears his name and the last eight verses of the
Pentateuch. This statement is in agreement with the authority who says that eight verses in the Torah were
written by Joshua, as it has been taught: [It is written], So Moses the servant of the Lord died there. [9]
Now is it possible that Moses being dead could have written the words, 'Moses died there'? The truth is,
however, that up to this point Moses wrote, from this point Joshua wrote. This is the opinion of R. Judah,
or, according to others, of R. Nehemiah. Said R. Simeon to him: Can [we imagine the] scroll of the Torah
being short of one word, and is it not written, Take this book of the Torah? [10] No; what we must say is
that up to this point the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moses repeated and wrote, and from this
point God dictated and Moses wrote with tears...” (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra, 15a).

2. The Pioneers

- The cryptic language of Ibn Ezra (1092-1167): “Beyond the Jordan [Deut 1,1]… If you
understand the mystery of the twelve … Moses wrote this law [Deut 31:9] … The
Canaanites were in the land … will be revealed on God’s mountain… and behold his
bed, his iron bed… then you will know the truth”.
- B. Spinoza (1632-1677), Tractatus theologico-politicus (1670), and the hypothesis
concerning Ezra; Th. Hobbes (1588-1679), Leviathan (1651);
R. Simon (1638-1712), L’histoire critique du Vieux Testament (1678): he maintains the
Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch but suggests that the final form is due to the constant ac-
tivity of scribes and judges from the beginning up to Ezra's time. O~ account of his
ideas, Richard Simon was violently attacked by the Catholics, especially by Bossuet, ex-
pelled from the Oratory, and exiled to a small parish in Normandy

3. First Critical Hypotheses

a. Documents (complete documents combined by a redactor) :

H.B. Witter (1683-1715) and J. Astruc (Louis XV’s physician) (1684-1766):
(document A [’elohîm] + document B
[YHWH]).
the Pentateuch as we know it today
was formed by the compilation of several
complete, independent, parallel documents.

b. Fragments (cycles of independent accounts combined by a redactor)

A. Geddes (1737-1802) and J.S. Vater (1826).
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The hypothesis of fragments, to come back to our topic, presumes that, at the
outset, there were several sources-short narrative units or separate, incomplete
texts-that were assembled long after Moses' death to form the current
Pentateuch.
c. Supplementss (a foundational writing progressively supplemented with diverse
insertions)
H. Ewald (1803-1875).
He advanced the hypothesis of a basic document
(Grundschrift) combined with some older texts, such as the Decalogue
(Exod 20:2-17) and the Covenant Code (Exodus 21-23), that an editor "completed"
or supplemented with fragments from a Jehovist document (later called
the Yahwist) during the last years of the monarchy of Judah

4. “The Point of Archimedes” for the dating of the Pentateuch

W. de Wette (1780-1849), Dissertatio critica (1805): the “book of the law” found in the
temple during the epoch of Josiah and the origin of his reform (622 a.C.) (2Kings 22–
23) corresponds to the core of Deuteronomy (cf. in particular Deut 12–26). Their princi-
pal tenets concern the centralization and purification of the cult.
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5. The New Documentary Hypotheses

E. Reuss (1804-1891); K.H. Graf (1815-1869); A. Kuenen (1828-1891); J. Wellhausen (1844-1918)

(Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels, 1883; Composition des Hexateuchs und der historischen Bücher des Alten
Testaments, 1868; 1899):

the Pentateuch would be the fruit of a compilation of four independent (complete) and written documents
("sources"). These documents were called "J" (the Jahwista, from the German "Jahwist"), "E" (the Elohist, from
the German "Elohist"), "D" (Deuteronomy, from the German "Deuteronomium"), "P" (the Priest, from the
German "Priestercodex" or "Priesterschrift").
- For Wellhausen and his school, these documents would not give any information about the patriarchal periods,
but would reflect the situation of those who wrote them, during the period
of the monarchy.

J E J – Jahwist, in the South in the 9 century / E – Elohist – in the North

in the 8 century based on the divine names used in the book of Genesis
and in Exodus 1-2.
750 J+E Jehovist WHELHAUSEN SKA 110

620 +D D – Deuteronomic – in its nucleus, Josiah’s reform in 622

550-500 +P P – Priester Codex (Priestly codex → Q), exilic (597-538) or post-ex-

ilic work It is quite likely that the Pentateuch, as we know it today,
was compiled during the Second Temple period; indeed, many schol-
ars link this redactional work to Ezra's reform (cf. Nehemiah 8).

6. The Formgeschichte, History of Forms

H. Gunkel (1862-1932) and his attention to the literary genre (Gattung) in its “existential
context” (Sitz im Leben); goes back to small narrative units (Sagen) in the pre-literary
stage.
This school, whose forefather could be recognized in Hermann Gunkel (1862-1932),
wants to try to go beyond the "sources" written to try to study the oral tradition that he
would have preceded them. Although it is very difficult to reach the patriarchs
themselves, the traditions Orals could provide exegetes with elements from a milieu near
the ancestors of Israel (eg, think of certain aspects of nomadic or semi-nomadic life, of
religion, etc.).
Anyone who wants to understand an ancient literary genre must first ask where it was
situated in the life of the people." The famous expression Sitz im Leben was coined by
Gunkel precisely at this point in his work. a genre has a structure and a series of formu-
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las; it has a atmosphere (Stimmung) and a perspective; and it has an existential context (
itz im Leben). "Genesis is a collection of stories.

7. The Traditionsgeschichte, History of Traditions

- A. Alt (1883-1956): the “God of the fathers”; the “apodictic / casuistic Law”. Israel's
golden age was now thought to be the period of the Judges or even earlier, the period
when Israel was wandering in the semiwilderness that borders the Promised Land. God
of the Fathers" stemmed from the religion of nomads, because the divinity was not tied
to a place but to a person. This divinity did not have a proper name; instead, he was
identified by the ancestor's name-for example, the "God of Abraham" (Gen 26:23; cf
Gen 28:13; 32:10; 46:3; Exod 3:6). to the pre-Israelite nomadic period, and the patri-
archs were the "religious founders" of Israel.
Casuistic law appears to have originated in Canaan, while apodictic law was tied to Is-
rael's nomadic past.
- G. von Rad (1901-1971): the kerygma of the Jahwista (Salomonische Aufklärung).
he maintained that the Pentateuch in its present state is the amplification of a primitive
core, the "small historical creed" that is found in ancient texts such as Deut 26:5b-9,
6:20-23, and Josh 24:2b-13.
- M. Noth (1902-1968): Deuteronomy (Deut) and the Deuteronomistic work (Dtr).
Martin Noth (1902-1968), in the continuation of the research, intercepted five main
(oral) traditions at the origin of the five main themes of the Pentateuch (patriarchs,
exodus, Sinai, desert, entry into the promised land).
- These five themes represent the common tradition that would have served as a basis for
pre-monarchic Israel. These themes, with the passing of time, became the basis for the
composition of the "J" and "E" sources, explaining also their common characteristics.
Tetrateuque The major themes of the Pentateuch!Tetrateuch and the departure from
Egypt, the wanderings in the wilderness, the entry into the land, the promises made to
the patriarchs, and the revelation at Sinai.

8. The Criticism of the Documentary Hypothesis and the “Building Site of the
Pentateuch”(starting from 1970)

- Two models for the origins of Israel: prophetic (Moses) / genealogical (the patriarchs)
(cf. Hos 12) (A. de Pury).
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- Renewal of the model of the Fragments (R. Rendtorff, E. Blum) and of the Supple-
ments (Inner-Biblical Exegesis, M. Fishbane, B.M. Levinson).

- If the sacerdotal narrative P stands out in its identity, how are to be understood the
“non-P” texts with which it alternates? Are we dealing with texts of deuteronomistic
provenience (R. Rendtorff, E. Blum)? Do some of these texts represent post-sacerdotal
(Post-P, see in particular .L. Ska) or post-deuteronomistic supplements?

- If the scribes have worked with texts under the eyes, they have also relied on their
memory (“writing-supported memory”) (D. Carr).

- The Persian period (538-323 BCE) is the most probable time-frame for the overall
redaction of the Pentateuch.

Popular story
The history that the Bible recount is a real History
In popular stories, in fact, historical elements can also be intercepted (historiography),
although theirs first purpose is not (and here we must insist) to communicate historical
information.
Popular stories and stories
- a) People and places in the stories are often unnamed and the universe corresponds
above all to
"Desires" rather than "reality" (... "the wonderland" ...). The popular stories are
instead linked to places and to defined characters. Their contexts are generally "real".
- b) The narrator of a story wants to entertain or fascinate his audience: he does not want
to be believed. On the contrary, the narrator of a popular story wants to be believed.

Biblio : ska