Cassuto s critique of the documentary hypothesis was grounded in his knowledge of ancient near eastern languages and literature a corpus of material publicized largely after wellhausen had drafted his thesis. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Both passages are instructive for us, in that they demonstrate the importance of careful study, with sensitivity to. So, ive just started a bible reading plan with an old friend and i had not read gen 111 in a while. Among his books on biblical research are a critique of the documentary hypothesis of the. If you have exercised faith in christ, then you are in the right place. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The documentary hypothesis serves as a valuable introduction to the late professor cassuto s hebrew commentaries on the pentateuch, which have helped so much to illumine our understanding of scripture with the light of new knowledge and interpretation, expounded by one of the most original minds among modern biblical exegetes. Although each of the five pillars receives its own chapter or even two chapters of consideration, the relatively brief eight lectures of the documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch can only present a few choice and representative instances to buttress each of the major points cassuto makes, selected as he says in his. Umberto cassuto, also known as moshe david cassuto 18831951, was a rabbi and biblical. This is the second in a series of comprehensive commentaries on the book of genesis that the late professor umberto cassuto had planned as part of a magnum opus embracing the whole pentateuch and also the book of psalms. The documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch eight lectures cassuto, umberto download bok.
The aim of this commentary is to explain, with the help of an historicophilological method of interpretation, the simple meaning of the biblical text, and to arrive, as nearly. Religion ot extrabiblical literature studies documentary hypothesis deuternomic history. Nov 30, 2014 the combination of these four sources was performed by a single redactor. Umberto cassuto, commentary on the book of genesis, part. Umberto cassuto author of the documentary hypothesis and.
He was the chief editor of the biblical encyclopedia. From noah to abraham is the second volume in a series of comprehensive commentaries on the book of genesis that the late professor umberto cassuto had planned as part of a magnum opus embracing the whole pentateuch and also the book of psalms. A commentary on the book of genesis umberto cassuto. Usually dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks a gentle but potent act of demolition, 4 aug 2007 a short series of lectures to teachers, given over 50 years ago, the book crystallises cassuto s scholarly work on genesis. Born in florence, italy, he studied there at the university and the collegio rabbinico. Let me summarize a few examples of cassutos approach. Nov 26, 2018 so, ive just started a bible reading plan with an old friend and i had not read gen 111 in a while. A brief recapitulation of kuhns theory concerning the nature of scientific inquiry is instructive in understanding the place of the documentary hypothesis within the spectrum of biblical scholarship. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Like the documentary hypothesis, cassuto s unitary hypothesis is linked to the names of god used in the bible. Cassuto s the documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch hebrew, torat hateudot, 1941. Hoffmeier jets it is a problem to determine the route of the exodus because sinai is very different today. The documentary hypothesis, by definition, asserts that someone known as the redactor took several documents covering similar subjects and edited them together.
In the past few hundred years, the bible has been under severe attack by scientific and philosophical skeptics of all sorts. This is the first in a series of comprehensive commentaries on the book of genesis that the late professor umberto cassuto had planned as part of a magnum opus embracing the whole pentateuch and also the book of psalms. Rather than rely on a secondary source, i read parts of cassuto s commentary on genesis. The jedp theory and its implications for biblical credibility. Details of documentary hypothesis literary analysis shows that one person did not write the pentateuch.
He was educated at the university of florence, where he completed his studies in 1906, and the. This paper will seek to logically critic and evaluate the documentary hypothesis, expose its errors, and defend the traditional position of mosaic authorship of the pentateuch. Born in florence, son of gustavo and ernesta galletti, cassuto came from a traditionalist jewish family, rooted in the florence jewish community for generations. Its a rather successful attempt at showing that all of the abovementioned pillars are not only faulty, but incredibly faulty. How did the pentateuch or torah come to be written. Documentary hypothesis project gutenberg selfpublishing. Synopsis summary in form and popular in presentation, this book provides a masterly exposition of the documentary hypothesis and subjects its exegetical methods and conclusions to a critical probe.
Umberto cassuto and the documentary hypothesis theopolis. The documentary hypothesis contemporary jewish thought. Cassuto had originally planned to write, in hebrew, a monumental commentary on the bible that would comprise a series of detailed expositions of the book of genesis, and less elaborate commentaries, consisting of one volume for each book, devoted to the remaining four books of the pentateuch. Today we will be looking at two verses in the genesis creation narratives which have proven challenging for commentators over the centuries. These four sources have been identified by biblical scholars by their specific literary styles and theological concerns. This will include some of its main developers and supporters.
A commentary on the book of genesis cassuto, umberto download. Peter gentry recounts asking his own professor about a book by preeminent academic umberto cassuto called the documentary hypothesis. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Based on the abbreviations used for the four sources, the documentary hypothesis is also called the foursource theory or the jepd theory. Each of the five pillars of the theory, cassuto argued, crumbled to dust upon investigation. William henry green, the higher criticism of the pentateuch. Nov 25, 2005 buy the documentary hypothesis contemporary jewish thought translation by cassuto, umberto isbn. The documentary hypothesis of the rabbinic canon of late antiquity maintains that complete documents form the smallest whole building blocks of the rabbinic system. Israel abrahams magnes press, jerusalem, 1983 an outline. Let me summarize a few examples of cassuto s approach. Documentary hypothesis refuted by cassuto, and here on rsr.
Usually dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks a gentle but potent act of demolition, 4 aug 2007 a short series of lectures to teachers, given over 50 years ago, the book crystallises cassutos scholarly work on genesis. Save umberto cassuto to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. Tim mahoneys film series patterns of evidence presented the documentary hypothesis attack on moses as the author of genesis and the whole torah. Differences exist because these are two different allegories. The documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch eight lectures. This hypothesis suggests that each document was characterized by its own theology, politics, language, and style. Arguments against the documentary hypothesis cassutos and others were usually based on internal critical analysis of the biblical text, essentially. From prechristian times to the beginning of the nineteenth century it was accepted by nearly everyone that moses was the author ofnearly all the pentateuch. There was not a scholar who doubted that the torah was compiled in the period of the second temple from various documents or sources. Umberto cassuto moses david was an italian historian and biblical and semitic scholar. Cassuto, jewish scholars who argue that differences in the names for god just show a. A study of documentary hypothesis written and compiled by gary kukis these studies are designed for believers in jesus christ only. The documentary hypothesis kindle edition by cassuto. Cassuto s general argument is that the documentary hypothesis is being held as an unfalsifiable paradigm, perhaps even functioning in the same way that reactions to heresy function within a religious body.
Umberto cassuto author of the documentary hypothesis and the. The documentary hypothesis dh, sometimes called the wellhausen hypothesis, proposes that the pentateuch the first five books of the bible was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors editors. Cassutos the documentary hypothesis and the paradigm shift in biblical studies. He studied under ewald at the university of gottingen, and later served as professor at greifswald, halle, marburg, and gottingen. Cassuto, umberto moshe david 18851951, bible scholar. The work that brought his views to the attention of the. And the composition of the pentateuch has 2 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. The documentary hypothesis contemporary jewish thought by umberto cassuto edition.
Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. Associates for biblical research associates for biblical. These two volumes undertake a concrete exercise in the realization of the documentary hypothesis. The documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch. Umberto cassuto is the author of the documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch 4. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. The documentary hypothesis umberto excerpts cassuto free download as pdf file. The documentary hypothesis, by definition, asserts that someone known as the redactor took several documents covering similar. For example, cassuto argued, the variation in divine names within a single work was commonplace in the literature of the biblical. I did a little googling and discovered that ur of the chaldeans, where abraham came from, is near a city called eridu. A commentary on the book of genesis cassuto, umberto. Umberto cassuto and the documentary hypothesis biblical horizons.
About the author the documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch. Cassuto challenges the widely held theory that the pentateuch is an amalgam of fragments excised. From this perspective there is a focus on the pentateuch as a whole. The view that is persuasive to most of the critical scholars of the pentateuch is called the documentary hypothesis, or. Cassutos the documentary hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch hebrew. The documentary hypothesis dh is one of the models historically used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the torah or pentateuch, the first five books of the bible. About the book a commentary on the book of genesis part ii. Cassuto the documentary hypothesis put god on a completely transcendent level god does not reveal himself. A commentary on the book of exodus umberto cassuto download. A brief recapitulation of kuhns theory concerning the nature of scientific inquiry is instructive in understanding the place of the documentary hypothesis within the.
Commentary on genesis by umberto cassuto best commentaries. Italianborn umberto cassuto 18831951, who laid out his program in this short treatise. Wellhausens hypothesis remained the dominant model for pentateuchal studies until the last quarter of the 20th century, when it began to be advanced by other biblical scholars who saw more and more hands at work in the torah and ascribed them to periods even later than wellhausen had proposed. From joshua onwards, all of the major authors and figures of the old testament assert that the torah genesisdeuteronomy was given by moses.
The documentary hypothesis and the composition of the. To cassuto, the two creation accounts are allegories rather than factual accounts. In this scientific age the mostattacked book of the bible has arguably been genesis, particularly the. The documentary hypothesis also uses the shorthand r for the redactor or editor who brought together the j, e, p and dtr material into a single set of writings we know as the torah. The number of these narratives is usually set at four, but the precise.
Development of the documentary hypothesis c arls td. Multiple strands of tradition were woven together to produce the torah. The documentary hypothesis umberto excerpts cassuto. To do this, first a brief overview of the history of the documentary hypothesis will be presented. The aim of this commentary is to explain, with the help of an historicophilological method of interpretation, the simple meaning of the biblical text.
If the documentary hypothesis has a central pillar, it is that the use of different names for god is evidence of different sources. A critical assessment of the grafwellhausen documentary. The documentary hypothesis by umberto cassuto, paperback. Pdf cassutos the documentary hypothesis and the paradigm. It should be noted that the use of each of these alphabetical shorthand letters does not necessarily imply that there was a single individual who wrote all of any. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the documentary hypothesis. The documentary hypothesis umberto cassuto, joshua a. The documentary hypothesis eight lectures umberto cassuto. This text has been translated and reproduced by cassuto in documentary hypothesis, 7. English translation, 1961 was one of the first mainstream works to offer a detailed critique of wellhausen, rejecting both the central idea of the documentary model that the pentateuch had its origins in originally separate documents. The jedp theory and its implications for biblical credibility do you have any thoughts on julius wellhausens 18441918 socalled documentary theory of the torah or pentateuch. If you have not, then you need to heed the words of our lord, who said, for god so loved the. The theory also proposes that each source reflects.
The following analysis by cassuto in his book the documentary hypothesis refutes the theory at the time of its formulation. With an active marketplace of over 175 million items, use the alibris advanced search page to find any item you are looking for through the advanced search, you can find items by searching specific terms such as title, artist, song title, genre, etc or you can narrow your focus using our amazing set of criteria parameters. This revised version of the documentary hypothesis is called the neo documentary hypothesis. Eridu is believed by some archaeologists to be the oldest city in the world and by some biblical scholars a candidate for the location of the tower of babel. The next few doctrines are taken from the introduction to genesis html pdf wpd. According to the documentary hypothesis, the 5 books of moses were compiled from 5 independent source documents, each independently presenting its own version of the entire history of israel from the creation to moses. Although originally published more then 50 years ago, this little cassuto s book is still probably the best, most focused attack on wellhausens documentary hypothesis and a powerful defense of the integrity of the biblical text. The documentary hypothesis kindle edition by cassuto, umberto moshe david, abrahams, israel.
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