The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 61

Jchovietic document, but whether an independent writing or only of n Rupplementary character mny be eaid to be as yet undetermined, touching on many of the sam<J points as the former narration, but, unlike it, ueing the name Jehovah for the Deity, not nltogether to the exclueion of the term Elohim, but apparently as eynonymous with it. Ae to the grounds on which this, in eomtl respecte fascinating, theory rest.~, attention ie directed to the circumetance that in the earlier portion of the Pentateuch, extenrling from Gen. i. 1 to Exod. vi. 3, the names Elohim and Jehovah appear to have been introduced into the narrative from two distinct sources, the first name occurring in sections from which the second is distinguished by its absence, and the second finding o. place in paragraphs or subdivisions, if not to the complete excision, at least to the equal companionship, of the first. Indeed so palpable is this phenomenon, that attempts have been made, though with indifferent success, to reconstruct the two documents by bringing together the different chapters and verses, clauses and words, that belong to each respectively. O.f this an example will be found, so far as relates to Genesis, in the Special Introduction to that Book (vide pp. iii, iv). Then it is con- fidently alleged that the two writers can be traced throughout almost the entire course of the Pentateuch, and even up to the end of Joshua, which by most critics of this school is included in the original Elohistic writing, or, as Ewald designates it, the Great Book of Origins. When they refer to the same subjects, not only do they employ different names for the Deity, but they either give what are alleged to be quite irrecon- cilable accounts, as in the narratives of the Creation (cf. Gen. i. 1-ii. 3 with ii. 4-25) and the Flood(cf. Gen. vi. 9-22 with vii. 1-5), the mission of Moses (cf. Exod. iv. 31 with vi. 9) and the story of the Exodus (cf. Exod. iii. 18; v. 1, 3; vii. 16 with vi. 11 ; vii. 2 ; ix. 35 ; xi. 10), the redemption of the firateom ( cf. Exod. xiii. 13 ; xxxiv. 20 with Levit. xxvii. 27; Numb. xviii. 16) o.nd the number of the feasts :cf. Levit. xxiii.; Numb. xxviii., xxix. with Exod. :xxiii. 14-:-16; xxxiv. 18-23; Deut. xvi. 1-7); or they present legendary variations, as witness the stories of the abduction of Sarah ( cf. Gen. xii. 10-1'9 with xx. 1-18) and the flight of Hagar ( cf. Gen. xvi. 4-16 ,vith xxi. 9-:--21), the sending of the quails (cf. Exod. xvi. 11 with Numb. xi. 31) and th'e· murmuring for wnter (cf. Exod. xvii. 1-7 with Numb. xx. 1-13); or they content themselves with simple repetitions, of which the precepts relating to the three great national festivals ( cf. Exod. xxiii. 17-19 with xxxiv. 23 - 26) and the penal statutes for violations of the marriage law ( cf. Levit. xviii. with xx.) may be taken as examples, Then they have their different circles of ideas in which they respective1y move, tbe Elohist generally giving simpler and less artificial repre- sentations of primeval times, and the Jehovist not only throwing back the Mosaic cuJtus into the pre-Mosaic era, but ascribing the origin of arts and handicrafts to the first generations of the human rnce. They are distinguished likewise by peculiarities of language and modes of expression, each having his own favourite words and phrases-the Elohist showing o. predilection for the phrases n'"'!f C'i?v or !IJ~, to give or establish a covenant; 1"1~i?.~~ '1;f, male and female; Cj~ l'J~, the plain of Aram; for which the J ehovist has n•'):;! n1~i, to cut II covenant; ,.r:i~~\ l!i•~, a male and his female; C~:,C!~ C1~, Aram of the tw~ rivers ; and for the words· ~'J~, to create, n,:i,;, to destroy, ';,~~~i;t, to' pray, in preference to the Jehovistic terms '11!, 1"109, and 1JJ¥, besides empioying words and phrases for which the Jehovist is alleged to have no corre- ~ponding equivalents, such ns 1"1~~~' possession; l'P, kind or sort; i1iv Cl1'1J Cl¥¥, the sel.f-same day, literally, the hone of this day; C1'Jl)'? Y)~, land of sojournings; Cl':;.11ll'1 l'J, between the two evenings, &c.; nnd the Jchovist; on the other hantl, bcin:; g 2 h THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE PENTATEUCH.