Footnote 1 – The Genesis of Genesis

According to the documentary hypothesis, the Pentateuch consists of at least four discrete textual strands that have been woven together to make one continuous narrative: J or the Yahwist (in German Jahwist), after the personal name of the God of Israel (YHWH, or Yahweh) used primarily in this strand; E, or the Elohist, who uses a more generalized term (Elohim) for God; P, the Priestly Code, which makes up most of Leviticus and much of Exodus and Numbers; and D, which stands for the Deuteronomist and consists of much of the Book of Deuteronomy. The first Creation account (Genesis 1:1–2:4a; see box) is credited to P; the second (Genesis 2:4b–24) to J.