Footnote 4 – Using Ancient Near Eastern Parallels in Old Testament Study

Julius Wellhausen is widely known in connection with the so-called documentary hypothesis, according to which the Pentateuch is composed of separate strands—J (the Yahwist), E (the Elohist), P (the Priestly Code); and D (the Deuteronomist)—, which were later combined by a redactor(s). Wellhausen’s contribution to the documentary hypothesis grew out of his effort to relate the literature of the Old Testament to the actual history of the Israelites.