The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses

by Richard Elliott Friedman

One of the World's Foremost Bible Experts Offers a Groundbreaking Presentation of the Five Books of Moses

In The Bible with Sources Revealed, Richard Elliott Friedman offers a new, visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy -- unlocking the complex and fascinating tapestry of their origins. Different colors and type styles allow readers to easily identify each of the distinct sources, showcasing Friedman's highly acclaimed and dynamic translation.

 This book is meant to be experienced in color and the eBook is not compatible with black and white devices.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Reference, Biblical Studies, History, Nonfiction, Jewish

803 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2003

About the author

RICHARD ELLIOTT FRIEDMAN is one of the premier bible scholars in the country. He earned his doctorate at Harvard and was a visiting fellow at Oxford and Cambridge, a Senior Fellow of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Haifa. He is the Ann & Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia and the Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization Emeritus of the University of California, San Diego.

He is the author of Commentary on the Torah, The Disappearance of God, The Hidden Book in the Bible, The Bible with Sources Revealed, The Bible Now, The Exile and Biblical Narrative, the bestselling Who Wrote the Bible?, and his newest book, The Exodus.

He was an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow and was elected to membership in The Biblical Colloquium. His books have been translated into Hebrew, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Portuguese, Czech, Turkish, Korean, and French.

He was a consultant for the Dreamworks film "The Prince of Egypt," for Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers, and for NBC, A&E, PBS, and Nova.

Reviews

[Alex Strasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a great reference book for JEDP theory on the sources of the Pentateuch from the perspective of one of the biggest modern proponents of the Documentary Hypothesis (DH). The main drawing feature is the color-coded Torah (first five books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) according to the four proposed sources called J - Jehovist (or Y - Yahwist), E - Elohist, D - Deuteronomist, and P - Priestly source. It allows you to see the different proposed sources and how they are intermingled together in the proposed theory including later scribal emendations. Additionally, it *briefly* provides several arguments in favor of the Documentary Hypothesis on why scholars came to believe in these sources, including things like linguistic arguments and the names for God used.

It does not include any counter arguments against DH, but it only presents a very brief overview of the positive case for it in the first small section, followed by the color-coded Torah. The vast majority of the book is the color-coded Torah. When looking at the color-coded Torah and the positive arguments, I find that the proposed sources and convenient scribal emendations are what look to be little more than literary gerrymandering and not a robust theory of source criticism, unlike some Synoptic Problem hypotheses. A color-coded Synoptics would actually be really nice, just as this color-coded Pentateuch make a great way for perusing the four sources. For that reason, I recommend it. The positive arguments presented for the DH here are definitely insufficient, so other works are required to supplement, but it makes for a great reference book.

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and readable investigation of the Pentateuch's various authors. According to Friedman, the myriad contradictions and anachronisms in the Bible betray the political conflicts and warring propaganda in pre-monarchal Israel as well as the conflict between the later-generation editors/redactors and the ingrained oral traditions precluding them from amending such contradictions. Some of the content, such as IDing the exact author of Deuteronomy, while logically argued and decently sourced, are still speculative at best. Great read if you're one of those contemptuous "which God?!" atheists or just want to learn more about how the Judeo-Christian myths were constructed and why they of all the obsolete ancient myths persevered.

[Carly Ingalls · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed every book I've read by Friedman, and this is no exception. Granted, he didn't contribute much to the text in the way of words themselves, after all, this is just the Pentateuch with color coding; however, his translation is marvelous and his insight is honest. The documentary hypothesis is still contested in some circles, but reading each of the 4 supposed authors as a whole, without the others surrounding it provides strong evidence. Every portion is able to easily be a continuous and self contained text with its own voice and intention. You are able to see each author's different idea of who god was, how Israel should function, and how the people should behave.
What struck me most while reading this was the way that the often cumbersome nature of reading the Bible is stripped away when you're reading it without the doublets. The contradictions also become very clear. Even as an athiest, reading this version of the Pentateuch gave me a renewed sense of wonder and literary appreciation for the Old Testament.

[Lizmari · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're averse to reading the Bible, than this book might not be for you. But if, on the other hand, you are curious as to how the Bible was put together, and the many different sources which were used for it, than this book is an eye opener. With great care, Richard Elliott Friedman translates the Pentateuch from Hebrew, and then introduces us to the hypothesis that the Pentateuch derives from four (at least) identified sources, which were woven together by various redactors, in an attempt to keep harmony and synchronicity with historical accounts. The magnitude of such an exercise is quickly revealed when one realizes these source writers held different ideas, and biases, which unavoidably tainted their accounts: there are many eye opening discrepancies which are not only highlighted by the color and font differences used to distinguish between each source, but Friedman himself does an excellent job at pointing out to us many of the contradictions and account inconsistencies, in various footnotes. If one is a previous connoisseur of other popular Bible translations, one can also sense a favorable translation bias (on behalf of these other translations), where certain words were chosen over others, perhaps in attempts to smooth over our opinions of passages, or to conciliate past accounts. As a scholar, however, Friedman has no interest in courting reader sensibility.

The introductory chapters for this book come to life as one reads through the various Bible passages, and different sources -- they all start making sense: they simply underscore the strong claims behind the source hypothesis (or Documentary Hypothesis), and should probably be re-read at the end. It will all make sense then. It is much recommended to reach each source, in order in which it was written, rather than to read the Pentateuch in it's usual chronological order. It all, surprisingly flows very smoothly. This is a great book one ought to have as a reference manual.

[Lee Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first five books of the Bible are traditionally understood to have been written by Moses. In places, Jesus appears to confirm this. Most critical Bible scholars since the late 19th-century, however, have recognized at least four different contributors of the books of Moses:

A text known as J was composed during the period when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided. J was written by an author living in the southern kingdom. It’s known as J because it refers to God by the name of YHWH (Jahwe in German).

A second text known as E was composed in the same period, by a priest living in the northern kingdom. It’s called E because it refers to God as Elohim.

A third text is known as P because it concerns the priesthood. There remains some argument about when it was composed; Friedman suggests shortly after J and E were combined into one text.

The final source is known as D because it comprises most of the book of Deuteronomy. It’s part of a longer work, including Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. It contains sources that date as early as J and E, but it was not compiled into one source until the reign of King Josiah, circa 622 BC.

All of these sources were spliced together by a redactor to create the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Friedman discusses the evidence for this theory (called the Documentary Hypothesis), and then travels verse by verse through the Torah, color-coding the source and footnoting the setting. You’ll recognize two distinct creation stories in the Bible and two flood stories, and conflicting accounts within the Bible will suddenly make more sense, as the source and motive of the writings are revealed.

It’s best used as a reference book—I certainly haven’t read it straight through—but it’s a book I refer to often.

[Sam Thurman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long awaited arrival of a Documentary Hypothesis (DH) outlined Torah. Friedman, a disciple and student of Frank Cross (a colossus in biblical scholarship), continues to make a big name for himself in the ranks of bible scholars with this work. The book consists of an introduction, in which Friedman submits the evidence for the DH and addresses why some people are under the misguided impression that the DH is no longer accepted as accurate, and the Torah itself.
The Torah is neatly presented with its sources distinguished by font and color, and with footnotes of relevant scholarship and/or notes throughout. Certainly an invaluable tool for any student of biblical/religious studies as well as interested readers. Though only the first five books of the Bible are outlined, Friedman is judicious in elucidating their most prominent connections with other books within the canon.
I would recommend this book to everyone who maintains an interest in the Bible and would also strongly recommend Friedman's, Who Wrote the Bible? in which he cogently makes the case for identifying the sources of the DH. If you want scholarship presented for the layman with (most) technicalities and nuances preserved in translation, Friedman is your guy.

If you want to check it out first, it is available on Amazon for preview.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friedman's opening two chapters are amazingly succinct. In a very few pages, Friedman lays out a compelling case for what is known as the Documentary Hypothesis. This is the widely accepted theory that the first five books of the Bible are a compilation of four main documents, known by the letters J, E, P, and D, which were woven together by later editors known as Redactors.

What does it matter whether you buy into the idea that sources by J, P, E, and D form the Pentateuch? Because, if you are somewhat familiar with this concept, certain "problems" with the text suddenly become clear as you read the new English translation that follows Friedman's opening chapters. By using two different ink colors (blue and green) and a variety of fonts, average Bible readers like you and me can easily understand various contradictions and redundancies in the text.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent. It has taken me some time to finish, not Richard's work in the book as much as the texts. It took some time to get through Leviticus and Deuteronomy. My only thing I wish is that this book was longer. I wish Friedman gave us more. This book is excellent if you want to examine sources of the texts, and if you are into understanding the details of the Five Books of Moses. I loved this book!

[Joya]

I had to read this text for class, but we were only asked to complete the first two stories: Genesis and Exodus. Therefore, I do not want to give it a rating and am labeling as a DNF because I was not required to read the whole thing.

[Shane Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for anyone wanting to dive into the topic of authorship of the early Hebrew Bible. It lays out the different voices and their potential motives for including what they did. Highly recommended.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Outstanding

[Taymaz Azimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem.

[Omer Dassa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Introduction and the Collection of evidence give a very concise and convincing argument for a Document theory for the Torah. It could be a good idea to read something longer. The rest of the text is just the Pentateuch in a relatively literal translation by Friedman himself, with the parts of the text colored according to the different sources and notes explaining the decisions around each part and its relation to other parts of the same source, to the corresponding versions in other sources, or to the intermingled text from another source. this division is by no mean the only one possible but in my opinion its convincing and is probably similar to others. It's pretty easy to follow the text along with the original, Friedman tried not to change the word order where there is a change of sources and if he had to do so he note it. Nonetheless I hope a Hebrew version will be release, because I think a lot of people in Israel will be interested.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I have been looking for: a framework for reading the narrative in the Pentateuch.

I've long attributed the difficulty in reading OT narratives to the King James English. I now see that as only one contributing factor. The larger difficulty is the repetitive and contradicting details that stem from interwoven sources. And though I've read enough to know about J, E, and P and the different flavors of each, I still have a hard time picking them out as I read through the scriptures. The color-coded sources in this book facilitate reading each narrative separately, without repetition or contradiction. Then, once I have a grasp on the story, I can compare the different ways each source tells it. The footnotes are particularly helpful in this regard. Additionally, footnotes are used to explain the evidence (or lack thereof) for assigning a block of text to a specific source.

For example, last night I discovered Exodus 15--perhaps the oldest composition in the Bible--has a dramatically different take on the drowning of Pharaoh's army (think tsunami) than the more popular account of the Red Sea crossing.

This book is most useful Genesis, Exodus and Numbers which are extensively interwoven. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are less heavily edited.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. It looks at the first five books of the Bible and has it written in different colors to represent the different authors. It was interesting to read the whole thing through in just one color at a time and still see the continuity in the stories. It was especially interesting to read stories with which I am familiar and knowing what is supposed to happen and finding that half the story is written by one source and the other half by another. Then I had to go back and read the whole thing through as it is written in the Bible. It was a very interesting experience.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The footnotes are interesting, and the visual identification of each individual author's contributions serves to make sense of some of the contradictions and repetitive phrases throughout the stories.

[Annice Benamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Elliott Friedman uses different colors and font type styles to provide the reader a new, visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses to show the complex and fascinating tapestry of their origins. I use this book each week for Torah study.

[Craig Bolton]

The Bible with Sources Revealed by Richard E. Friedman (2005)

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enriching partner volume to daily bible reading or in-depth study!

[Sidney Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book to learn the source of different sections of the first five books of Moses in the Bible. Through this evidence, one can easily determine what the priests wrote into the Bible.

[Jordan Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great resource for fans of the documentary hypothesis, if that's your fancy.

[Stuart Abrams-Humphries · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting book, did make me think, however as a beginner I found parts complex, however the underlying principles behind it do seem clear.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very technical, but still mostly interesting.

[Ann]

Second read through. Find more each time with greater understanding.