Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel

by Julius Wellhausen

It was the famous Wellhausen hypothesis, elaborated and defended in his classic 'Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel', which more than any other single work of the mind revolutionized the critical understanding of the Hebrew Bible. Prior to the appearance of Wellhausen, the theory proposed by Graf had been all but neglected. In it Graf had argued that the Levitical Law and related sections of the Pentateuch were not written until the fall of the kingdom of Judah, and that the Pentateuch in its present form was not accepted as authoritative until the reformation of Ezra. With Wellhausen's brilliant analysis of the literature and penetrating consideration of the sources, the Graf theory was accepted. Although today Wellhausen has been modified and revised, the development of contemporary Biblical criticism owes its present vitality and scope to the pioneering investigations of Wellhausen.

Genres: History, Old Testament, Religion, Christian, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction

568 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah (the first five books of the Bible). He is credited with being one of the originators of the documentary hypothesis.

Born at Hamelin in the Kingdom of Hanover, the son of a Protestant pastor, he studied theology at the University of Göttingen under Georg Heinrich August Ewald and became Privatdozent for Old Testament history there in 1870. In 1872 he was appointed professor ordinarius of theology at the University of Greifswald. He resigned from the faculty in 1882 for reasons of conscience, stating in his letter of resignation:

"I became a theologian because the scientific treatment of the Bible interested me; only gradually did I come to understand that a professor of theology also has the practical task of preparing the students for service in the Protestant Church, and that I am not adequate to this practical task, but that instead despite all caution on my own part I make my hearers unfit for their office. Since then my theological professorship has been weighing heavily on my conscience."

He became professor extraordinarius of oriental languages in the faculty of philology at Halle, was elected professor ordinarius at Marburg in 1885, and was transferred to Göttingen in 1892 where he stayed until his death.
He is best known for his Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels (Prolegomena to the History of Israel), a detailed synthesis of existing views on the origins of the first six books of the Old Testament: Wellhausen's contribution was to place the development of these books into a historical and social context. The resulting argument, called the documentary hypothesis, remained the dominant model among biblical scholars until later in the 20th century.

Reviews

[Guillaume Bourin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic and controversial volume that popularized the documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch (or rather the Hexateuch, as Wellhausen sees it). Any serious student of the Old Testament will have to read this volume in order to be acquainted with source criticism and also to understand the current situation of the field, since Wellhausen's JEDP is now more or less accepted by virtually all OT scholars.
Don't consult it too fast if you want to understand all the subtlety the arguments. At least read carefully the introduction! ;)

[Stuart Murden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars as this is an important book if you seek to understand the 'trajectory' of European thaught on the subject. I've got the Cambridge version translated by Black and Menzies. JW provides abnexcellent 'table of contents' should you wish to be selective. I like to have the original book so I can cross reference others citations. This book is cited extensively.

[Kolby Pinkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important to Hebrew Bible studies in the same way Freud is to psychology.

[Brett Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is obvious why this changed the course of modern scholarship. Presented a solid challenge to classic authorship models. Definitely "strawmaned" in evangelical scholarship, and I am interested to read people like Berman, Rendtorff, and Cassuto who give solid counter-arguments.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that receives a four or five, first for the place it holds historically within the field of its study. After Prolegomena, study of the Torah would never be the same. Thankfully, my Ph.D. studies, in an evangelical seminary, esteemed the importance of our being exposed to the best of biblical scholarship, and, so, this was required reading.

Certainly, the volume reflects a tendency toward a rationalism alienated, many would say, from the devotional attitude essential to commune rightly with sacred texts. Regardless, what Wellhausen, and other biblical critics of that era, especially of German descent, offered is a contrast to the assumption that sacred scriptures should remain free from the rigorous textual and historical study applied to other works. I see this as a move in the direction of integrity, so cherish much this volume and the whole of the biblical scholarship like to it of that era.

I would say this kind of volume is for serious students of the field of scholarship pertaining to the tome. This is not an easy read, certainly not an inspirational read, unless one is inspired by in-depth scholarly criticism of a historical-textual nature. Reading Prolegomena is like going on a textual archeological dig, slowly plodding along, layer upon layer, tell upon tell. Also, like such landmark works, this is somewhat out of sync with present-day scholarship, but classics themselves never truly get out-of-date. Prolegomena, being a classic, is timeless and deserving of a read by being such.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was impossible for me to read 20 years ago since it angered me to read theories that challenged my understanding of the authenticity of the Pentateuch or I prefer to say, The Torah. I have however found this a captivating read since the historical development of Truth is made real in Julius Welhausen's work without discrediting in my mind—yes, and heart and belief—Moses' authorship. I blogged a comment..or two: http://jhk.jtse.com/blog/2010/02/06/t....

[Autumn Kotsiuba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just used it as reference more than a read-through, but what a revolutionary work. It's amazing how some of his points seem so clear to us today, but weren't accepted until recently--in fact, sometimes still aren't. But (and I know I sound like a broken record at this point) context matters so, so much. This is one of many books that proves how powerful it can be.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for historical consequence. Wellhausen's original hypothesis about the editor/authorship of the Pentateuch have gone through significant revision through the decades, but the Documentary Hypothesis continues to stimulate debate in the scholarly study of the Old Testament.

[Taylor Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wellhausen had his faults and has rightly been updated by many scholars over the past century, most recently by Friedman. But for its time, this was and remains a monumental work that deserves to be read.

[Luke Burrage]

Clearing out my "currently reading" shelf of books that I abandoned. I actually finished all the chapter of this that I wanted to read, and thought I would go back and read the rest. But I didn't.