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ElohistTexts
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Story Line. The Elohist source is the most difficult source to handle. It iscertainly more fragmentary than the Yahwist source, probably because where itduplicated the Yahwist source its version was dropped. It was perhaps designedto be a corrective supplement to the Yahwist source. In any case, there is morecontroversy about the Elohist than about any other source in the Pentateuch.Some scholars dispute that it ever existed. They suggest that the Elohist wasnot a continuous source but only the residue of some editing done by a group ofpriests from northern Israel who supplemented the Yahwist. Westermann (1976) claims that the so-calledElohist material does not come from a common source but is a pot pourri from avariety of different places.
Nonetheless, there may be enough evidence to suggest that anElohist source once did exist. For instance, doublets of certain basic storyplots are found, and the duplicates evidence the characteristic vocabulary ofthe sources. The patriarch who tells a prominent foreigner that his wife is hissister so that he would not be killed for her is found in both Yahwist (Genesis12:10-20 and 26:7-11) and Elohist (Genesis 20:1-18) versions. Also, certainnarratives contain a combination of both Yahwist and Elohist material,suggesting that both traditions had the same story and were later combined.Examples of this are Jacob's dream (Genesis 28:10-22), Moses's calling (Exodus3), and the theophany at Sinai (Exodus 19).
The Yahwist uses the divine name Yahweh from the verybeginning. In contrast, the Elohist is more historically accurate. In hisaccount (as also in the Priestly account), the name Yahweh was first revealedto Moses just before the exodus. So in his stories before the time of Moses heuses the divine name Elohim, the more generic Hebrew way of referring to God.
Beginning with Exodus 3, however, it is especially difficultto tell the difference between Yahwist material and Elohist material. Beginningat that point both use the divine name Yahweh. Usually, though, we can stillidentify them by their characteristic vocabularies, styles, and themes.
Major Episodes of the Elohist Source | ||
Story Complex | Episode | Reference |
Ancestral Story | ||
Sarah as Sister | Genesis 20:1-18 | |
Sacrifice of Isaac | Genesis 22:1-10, 16b-19 | |
Jacob wrestles with God | Genesis 32:22-32 | |
Joseph Short Story | Genesis 37-50 (with J and P) | |
Exodus and Sinai | ||
Midwives | Exodus 1:15-21 | |
Burning Bush | Exodus 3:1-15 (with J) | |
Exodus from Egypt | Exodus 13 | |
Wilderness Incidents | Exodus 17-18 | |
Theophany | Exodus 19:1-9 | |
Ten Commandments | Exodus 20:1-17 (with P) | |
Book of the Covenant | Exodus 20:18-23:33 | |
Covenant Ceremony | Exodus 24:1-18 (with P) | |
Golden Calf | Exodus 32-33 | |
Wilderness Experiences | ||
Complaints and Disputes | Numbers 11-12 | |
Balaam and the Moabites | Numbers 22-24 |
Style. Thedistinguishing vocabulary of the Elohist writer includes using Jethro to referto Moses' father-in-law (Reuel or Hobab in the Yahwist). Instead of Sinai asthe place of covenant making (as in the Yahwist and in the Priestly source),the Elohist calls it the mountain of Elohim or Horeb.
The Elohist is fond of using repetitions when God is callingsomeone, for example, 'Abraham, Abraham' (Genesis 22) and'Moses, Moses' (Exodus 3). And the preferred response is 'I'mhere'.
The Elohist is fond of using repetitions when God is callingsomeone, for example, 'Abraham, Abraham' (Genesis 22) and'Moses, Moses' (Exodus 3). And the preferred response is 'I'mhere'.
The Elohist source does not have any preancestral stories: nostories of creation or the universal origins of humankind. Perhaps thisindicates that the Elohist was more narrowly focused on Israel as the people ofGod. The Yahwist, in contrast, had a universal interest. Abraham was called tobe a blessing to the nations. According to the Elohist, Israel was called to beGod's people, exclusively devoted to him.
TheElohist is hesitant to criticize the ancestors and leaders (except Aaron). Thestory of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 20) is instructive in this regard. TheElohist implies that Abraham is at least technically correct, if not entirelycandid, when he says to Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. When the Yahwisttells basically the same story in Genesis 12 he does not leave Abraham any roomfor doubt like the Elohist, but instead implies his guilt.
Coming tofaith and living the life of faith were not easy in the view of the Elohist.God initiated trials and tests to hone the faith of God's people. Abraham wastried, Israel was tested. But God always provided, in the end. The Elohist hada special interest in the faith and obedience of the covenant people. He wasconcerned that the people be obedient first of all to God. That obedience iscrystalized in the phrase 'the fear of God' in the Elohist stories.Virtually every story has a moral about fearing God. No doubt it recommends theattitude of fearing God because of the propensity, especially of people in thenorth, to offend the God of Israel by worshiping Baal of the Canaanites.
Theology. TheElohist emphasized the transcendent nature of God. There are no directencounters between God and the people, as in the Yahwist account. When God doescome to people, he typically does so in dreams, visions, or by messengers, andalways from a distance. When God appears, it is in the form of a cloud or aflame. And even when he appears personally to Moses (Exodus 33), Moses seesonly God's back. Consistent with this fear of the presence of God, it is theElohist who tells us that no one can look at God and live (Exodus 33:20).
Anotherdistinctive feature of the Elohist is his concern with prophecy and hearingGod. The premonarchic heroes of the faith, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, areportrayed as prophets. They show tremendous respect for God and'fear' him. When they approach God, they do so by using theappropriate ritual forms. The Elohist's interest in prophets and prophecysuggests that he might have had significant contact with the prophetic circlesin Israel, probably the circles associated with Elijah and Elisha, who wereprophets in northern Israel in the ninth century B.C.E.
TheElohist highlights Moses as the spiritual leader of the people. Moses had anindispensible role in mediating the covenant. The Elohist does not talk at allabout a covenant with Abraham as the basis of God's future relationship withthe Israelites. Rather, the Mosaic covenant established at Horeb (the Elohistway of referring to Mount Sinai) is the basis of the people's bond with God.
The Elohist pays particular attention to Israel's specialcovenantal relationship with God. He stresses that the covenant community Godformed with Israel at Horeb in Moses' day is more fundamental than the rulingarrangement with the Davidic dynasty in Judah, or the newly shaped dynasties inthe Northern Kingdom. The Elohist was not awed by powerful governmentalstructures, as was the Yahwist of the Davidic court. He was more critical ofthe establishment and the powers that be.
The Elohist pays particular attention to Israel's specialcovenantal relationship with God. He stresses that the covenant community Godformed with Israel at Horeb in Moses' day is more fundamental than the rulingarrangement with the Davidic dynasty in Judah, or the newly shaped dynasties inthe Northern Kingdom. The Elohist was not awed by powerful governmentalstructures, as was the Yahwist of the Davidic court. He was more critical ofthe establishment and the powers that be.
TheElohist points out God's special interest in Israel. He tells how God acteddecisively to preserve his people at critical junctures in their history. Inthe Elohist portion of the Joseph story, Joseph remarked to his brothers thatwhat they had done to him was part of God's plan to preserve a remnant duringthe devasting famine (Genesis 45:5-7). The story of the faithful midwivesShiphrah and Puah 'who feared God' (Exodus 1:15-21) tells how theyhelped to preserve the family of Jacob during hard times in Egypt.
Insummary, the Elohist suggests that Israel must fear God and be obedient. Thatobedience must be shaped by the covenant. God is present to his people, but ata distance and in a veiled way, because he is so terrifying.