We can illustrate the utility of the Neodocumentary Hypothesis by looking at one seemingly problematic passage more closely. The blood plague story from Exodus 7:14–25 provides an opportunity to see its three key principles in action: (1) maximal preservation of the combined works; (2) minimal intervention by the compiler; and (3) the creation of a single chronological plotline.
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is heavy. He has refused to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he is going out to the water, and take your stand to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the god of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the desert!” but you have not heeded up to now. 17 Thus says Yahweh, “By this you will know that I am Yahweh!” Look, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it shall turn to blood, 18 and the fish that are in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall stink, and Egypt will not be able to drink water from the Nile.’” 19 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers, over their Niles, and over their pools and over every reservoir of their waters that they might become blood, and blood will be in all the land of Egypt, and in wood vessels and stone vessels.’” 20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as Yahweh commanded, and he raised up the staff, and he struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. 21 And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and Egypt was not able to drink water from the Nile, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their magic, and the heart of Pharaoh became strong, and he did not heed them, just as Yahweh had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his mind on this again. 24 All of Egypt dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they were not able to drink from the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.
This color-coded division (black: J/Yahwistic source; red: Priestly source) makes sense of several questions that arise for a careful reader: Who is commanded to use the staff in this story, and whose staff is it? Which water is this staff used upon, and should it be struck or not? What is the effect of turning the water to blood? How long does the wonder last? Who “raised up the staff” (v. 20)?
Notably, the stories as divided here are both complete, internally cohesive, and preserved in their original order. They are also interwoven with a clear intent—to create a single, chronologically ordered story.
