What is JEDP?

The Pentatuch--the Torah; the first five books of the Hebrew Bible-- are full of mysteries. One of the most peculiar is the text’s tendency to repeat itself. In many cases, two or more different accounts of the same story are told, often with contradictory details. 

A leading theory which seeks to make sense of this is called the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory states that the Pentatuch was originally four different texts, which were later spliced and edited together by a redactor. This means that the five Mosaic books were not written by Moses--which was the traditional belief, although nowhere in the text does it state or even imply this. While not Mosaic, the Pentatuch is certainly a mosaic--a intricate collection of sayings, stories, and commandments, gathered in from varying sources but now unified under one single canon.

What are the sources which make up Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? Scholars have nicknamed these four authors/groups of authors as “JEDP.” They are as follows:

J: The Yahwist (originally “Jahwist” in German). The source which uses the personal name for God, Yahweh, rendered as “the LORD” in English translations.

E: The Elohist. This source usually runs parallel to the Yahwist, but refrains from using God’s proper name until that name is revealed to Moses. For all of Genesis, God is referred to as “El,” the more general ancient Near-Eastern title for God.

P: The Priestly Writer. This source tells more detailed accounts of the stories, usually with an emphasis upon the traditions and rituals of the Isrealite Priestly Order.

D: The Deuteronomist. This source, likely a historian, makes up most of the Book of Deuteronomy. Although dissimilar to much of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, the Deuteronomistic history continues on from Joshua through 2 Kings.