(BA) J
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This page was migrated in July 2022 from my older website, biblicalambiguities.net. As such, it is subject to the biblicalambiguities-general-disclaimer and the biblicalambiguities-general-disclaimer.

In the Documentary Hypothesis, J is a frequently used abbreviation for the Yahwist source -- one of the hypothetical sources that proponents of the DH hold was used in constructing the Pentateuch as we know it today.

J, from the German Jahwe, is named for its use of "Yahweh" for the deity from the beginning, as opposed to E and P, which use the generic term Elohim ("God") prior to the revelation of the divine name to Moses. And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them (Exodus 6:3).

The use of "Yahweh" is not the only thing that makes the Yahwist material in the Pentateuch distinguishable. The deity of the Yahwist is depicted anthropomorphically in J. The Yahwist is focused on Judah as opposed to Israel, and is more antagonistic toward the northern tribes than other sources. It also has distinctive vocabulary.

Sourcing
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As with other pages migrated from biblicalambiguities.net, this page may contain material paraphrased or even outright copied without direct attribution from the KJV, RV, ASV, JPS (1917), WEB, NHEB, Kittel's BH, the pre-1923 volumes of the ICC series, or the commentaries on Genesis of Dillmann, Skinner, and Driver. More details on this policy can be found here: biblicalambiguities-general-disclaimer and biblicalambiguities-translation-disclaimer.