Who Wrote The Bible? (2nd Edition) Apr 2026

Found primarily in the Book of Deuteronomy . Friedman uniquely identifies the author of D as the prophet Jeremiah or his scribe Baruch, linked to King Josiah’s religious reforms in 621 BCE. Key Arguments & Evidence

Named for using the divine name Yahweh . Written in the southern Kingdom of Judah around the 9th or 10th century BCE, it features a more anthropomorphic God.

Friedman uses the to argue that the Torah was not written by a single person like Moses, but was compiled from four distinct source documents. The Four Primary Sources (J, E, P, D) Who Wrote the Bible? (2nd Edition)

A much larger document focused on laws, genealogies, and priestly duties, such as those found in Leviticus . Friedman argues P was written as a response to J and E.

The specific concerns, geography, and political leanings of each source reflect the real-world tensions between the northern and southern kingdoms of ancient Israel. Significance of the 2nd/Later Editions Found primarily in the Book of Deuteronomy

The Bible often tells the same story twice with different details (e.g., two versions of the creation story or the flood). Friedman explains these as the result of a Redactor (R) —likely the priest Ezra —combining multiple sources into one cohesive but sometimes inconsistent narrative.

Richard Elliott Friedman’s (initially published in 1987, with updated editions through 2019) is a landmark work of biblical scholarship that treats the authorship of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) like a historical detective case. Written in the southern Kingdom of Judah around

Analysis shows that the Hebrew used in different parts of the Torah reflects various historical periods, much like the difference between Shakespearean and modern English.