Linguistic Evidence for the Pre-exilic Date of the Yahwistic Source

(Hardback)

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For the past few decades a growing number of scholars have attempted to overthrow the traditional Wellhausian view that the socalled 'Yahwist' or 'J' source of the Pentateuch is the oldest of the four major sources. These scholars have argued that 'J' was composed during the exilic or post-exilic periods of ancient Israel. Their arguments have focused on the literary, historiographic, and theological characteristics of 'J'. This book attempts to re-evaluate on linguistic grounds such efforts to place the Yahwist source in the exilic or post-exilic periods.

Reviews

"The principles that govern morphology, syntax, lexems, phraseology, and the examination of Persian loanwords are some of the linguistic tools employed by Wright as he sets out to determine the dating of the J' source. His very detailed, scholarly study leads him to conclude that J' lacks linguistic features associated with the kinds of late Hebrew found in post-exilic works like Chronicles. Thus he argues for a pre-exilic date for these passages" -The Bible Today, May/June 2006

Author Bio

Richard M. Wright serves as pastor of Church of the Nations and as Minister of Missions, University Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is an adjunct professor of Jewish Studies, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.