D. now are these three codes related to the narra- tive portions of the Hexateuch? We may begin by examining Genesis. We find that the greater part of the book is divided into groups of longer or shorter pieces, generally paragrapns or chapters, distinguished respectively by tne almost exclusive use of Elohim or J" as the name of God. As the latter is the ordinary word throughout the other books of the Bible, it suggests at once that Elohim is purposely used in those sections where it occurs, because, according to Ex 3''"'^ 6-"*, the name J" was first revealed to Moses in Midian, and it seemed improper to anticipate the name, even in the narrative portions of an earlier period. Further, it shows that this scruple was felt by one or more writers, but not by all. The theory advocated by some opponents of biblical criticism, that the names are used by the same wTiter with special reference to the subject in hand, Elohim representing the God of power, J" the God of love, or other such dis- tinctions, does not tally with the facts. WTiy in two narratives both dealing with Creation, and in two narratives both dealing with Abraham and Sarah's deceit, should Elohim be used in one of them and J" in the other ? But in other sections the name of God either seldom occurs, or Elohim is used by or to strangers, in which case J" is on other grounds inappropriate ; or again, in certain sections the two names seem to be used indifferently.
Again, bej-ond Ex 6, the name of God is of less use as a criterion, because Eluhira occurs seldom. We will provisionally design.ate the group of passages in which J " is used as J, those in which Elohim is used a-s E. On further examination \va discover that while J is, generally speaking, con- sistent in style and character, E, on the other hand, falls into two very distinct groups. One of them, which we will call provisionally E', is very much like J in general cliaracter and in the subjects with which it deals, and, moreover, has in many parts been combined presumably with J. The other, E^, is entirely unlike either of these in style, but will be found on further examination to bear in point of language and character a close atlinity to the P code. This is shown partly by the love for ceremonial law, as the Sabbath (Gn 2'-- '), the provision against eating blood (Gn 9^), the rite of circumcision (17, etc.); but even more remark- ably by the use of the characteristic vocabulary anu stylo of P. For example, in Gn 1-2^ 'after his (her or their) kind ' occurs very frequently as well as in ()'-'" 7". It also occurs in Lv nu-aa (g times), and far less frequently in the parallel passage of D (l)t 14""") ; ' be fruitful and mulliidy occurs in Gnl-"=«8"9'35",Lv26'>. 'Everything that creepeth upon the earth (or ground),' Gn ya. m. ao ^m -,<s. u. n [contrast 7^ of J], Lv 1 1-"-«. We see, then, that the most charactoristic phrases of Gn 1-2^ occur not only in similarly characterized (i.e. E') pas.sages of Genesis, but also in the code of P. W e are thus justilied in regarding P and E^ as parts of a single source, and in future we shall understand P as in- cluding both. If we examine the narrative por- tions of Exodus and Numbers, we find the same phenomena, except that as here J" is most fre- quently used as the name of God after Ex 3, it becomes more difficult to distinguish J and E. P can usually be separated with little diifi<'ulty because of its very marked character. Now, if we coin]);ire C with J and E, we find that it bears close affinities in point of language to both, so that we may call it JE, meaning thereby that in its final form it is probably a combination of both, and we shall further find it convenient to use this expres- sion for the present for the J and E elements generally, without at this stage making any attempt to distinguish them. We shall find that by far the larger part of the narratives, as distinct from the laws, of Exodus and Numbers belong to JE, whereas, with special exceptions, the legal portions belong to P. In the last chapters of Dt and in ths whole of Joshua we find elements of JE. In the latter book we also find elements which connect it with D (see below iii. 1. C). It should be observed that not only do we find here and there dill'erent separate pieces in the Hexa- teuch, shown by their characters to belong to these three sources, P, D, JE, but the pieces wUl often be found connected together by an obvious contin- uity of subject when pieced together, like the bits of patchwork in the illustration with which we started. For example, if we read continuously
Gn 11^-53 12^b.O ^36a. lib. 12a Jglft.S. 15-16 J-y^ jgviy Ol**- "-b-fi
23. 25''"*, passages mainly, on other grounds, attributed to P, we get an almost continuous and complete, though very concise, account of Abra- hams life. When we consider the number of revisions which the books of OT must have passed through, this is remarkable, and shows what a stron" inclination the composers and editors must have had to preserve everytliing which they found, iii. Characteristics of the different Sources. — What has hitherto been said is little more than a statement of what has been proved by the critical investigation of some three-quarters of a century. A really satisfactory proof can only ba obtained by one who has the patience to work out