Did Moses write the Torah?

[otseng]

There are two main views regarding the authorship of the Torah (Pentateuch). The traditional view holds that Moses wrote it during the Exodus from Egypt, around the 15th or 13th century BC, depending on the early or late date of the Exodus. The scholarly view proposes that the Torah was compiled during the post-exilic period in Persia, between approximately 539 and 333 BC.

Debate topic: Did Moses write the Torah?

[Difflugia]

Actually, I don't have much of a problem with the idea that it's two different sources combined into a single narrative.

So, in that case, what, if anything, do you think Moses had to do with this story as we have it? Was he the originator (oral? written?) of the story that later diverged into multiple traditions? Did he collect the traditions and write them down?

But, what is interesting is that the sources contain both similarities and contradictions. What can account for the similarities? Either they both came from an older common source or one copied from the other. It seems the former is more likely, otherwise why the variations in detail?

I absolutely agree. I think there are multiple instances of common traditions that diverged. The two Flood stories are intertwined like this one is, but when examined carefully, can be separated into two complete narratives. The story of a patriarch and his wife having an awkward encounter with a local king is told three times. First, in Genesis 12, it's Abraham and Pharaoh. Abraham then does the same thing again with Abimelech and Phicol in Genesis 20-21. Third, Isaac repeats almost exactly the same encounter with Abimelech and Phicol in Genesis 26.

One of my favorite duplicates is Genesis 14, which reads to me as an alternate tradition to the better-known Sodom and Gomorrah. It's still Lot being rescued through Abraham's intervention, but a lot less, "don't look over your shoulder at the angels," and more, "watch out for the tar pits that your enemies are getting stuck in!"

And like you said, it seems like the editor took care to not reconcile any contradictions, but left the original text from each source intact. Your typical writer would've combined the ideas from the sources and write a single narrative to try to resolve contradictions. So, like you said, the editor had a sacred view of the sources and only did a cut and paste and did not significantly alter the text.

Exactly. That says to me that however many redactors there were, they seem to have shared a similar reverence for the text itself. It's conjecture, but that implies to me that most of the redaction was done in a small number of large revisions. I think if the process took place in many smaller steps, the result would be smoother and more harmonious without the obvious redactional seams.

[otseng]

So, in that case, what, if anything, do you think Moses had to do with this story as we have it? Was he the originator (oral? written?) of the story that later diverged into multiple traditions? Did he collect the traditions and write them down?

Yes, I believe Moses was involved and wrote it rather than passed it down orally.

There had to have been a single common source for J, E, and P for Genesis and Exodus, given the sheer number of doublets and triplets.

Here's the list of doublets and triplets that Friedman points out:

1. Creation. Gen 1:1-2:3 (P) and Gen 2:4b-25 (J).
2. Genealogy from Adam. Gen 4:17-26 (J) and 5:1-28,30-32 (Book of Records).
3. The flood. Gen 6:5-8; 7:1-5,7,10,12,16b-20,22-23; 8:2b-3a,6,8-12,13b,20-22 (J) and 6:9-22; 7:8-9,11,13-16a,21,24; 8:1-2a,3b-5,7,13a,14-19; 9:1-17 (P).
4. Genealogy from Shem. Gen 10:21-31 (J and P) and 11:10-26 (Book of Records).
5. Abraham's migration. Gen 12:1-4a (J) and 12:4b-5 (P).
6. Wife/sister. Gen 12:10-20 (J) and 20:1-18 (E) and 26:6-14 (J). (Triplet)
7. Abraham and Lot separate. Gen 13:5,7-11a, 12b-14 (J) and 13:6,11b-12a (P).
8. The Abrahamic covenant. Genesis 15 (J, E, and R) and 17 (P).
9. Hagar and Ishmael. Gen 16:1-2,4-14 (J) and 16:3,15-16 (P) and 21:8-19 (E). (Triplet)
10. Prophecy of Isaac's birth. Gen 17:16-19 (P) and 18:10-14 (J).
11. Naming of Beer-sheba. Gen 21:22-31 (E) and 26:15-33 (J).
12. Jacob, Esau, and the departure to the east. Gen 26:34-35; 27:46; 28:1-9 (P) and 27:1-45; 28:10 (J).
13. Jacob at Beth-El. Gen 28:10,11a,13-16,19 (J) and 28:11b-12, 17-18,20-22 (E) and 35:9-15 (P). (Triplet)
14. Jacob's twelve sons. Gen 29:32-35; 30:1-24; 35:16-20 (JE) and Gen 35:23-26 (P).
15. Jacob's name changed to Israel. Gen 32:25-33 (E) and 35:9-10 (P).
16. Joseph sold into Egypt. Gen 37:2b,3b,5-11,19-20,23,25b-27, 28b,31-35; 39:1 (J) and 37:3a,4,12-18,21-22,24,25a,28a,29-30 (E).
17. YHWH commissions Moses. Exod 3:2-4a,5,7-8,19-22; 4:19-20a (J) and 3:1,4b,6,9-18; 4:1-18,20b-21a,22-23 (E) and 6:2-12 (P). (Triplet)
18. Moses, Pharaoh, and the plagues. Exod 5:3-6:1; 7:14-18,20b-21, 23-29; 8:3b-11a,16-28; 9:1-7,13-34; 10:1-19,21-26,28-29; 11:1-8 (E) and 7:6-13,19-20a,22; 8:1-3a,12-15; 9:8-12 (P).
19. The Passover. Exod 12:1-20,28,40-50 (P) and 12:21-27,29-36, 37b-39 (E).
20. The Red Sea. Exod 13:21-22; 14:5a,6,9a,10b,13-14,19b,20b, 21b,24,27b,30-31 (J) and 14:1-4,8,9b,10a,10c,15-18,21a,21c, 22-23,26-27a, 28-29 (P).
21. Manna and quail in the wilderness. Exod 16:2-3,6-35a (P) and Num 11:4-34 (E).
22. Water from a rock at Meribah. Exod 17:2-7 (E) and Num 20:2-13 (P).
23. Theophany at Sinai/Horeb. Exod 19:1; 24:15b-18a (P) and 19:2b-9,16b-17,19; 20:18-21 (E) and 19:10-16a,18,20-25 (J). (Triplet)
24. The Ten Commandments. Exod 20:1-17 (R) and 34:10-28 (J) and Deut 5:6-18 (D). (Triplet)
25. Kid in mother's milk. Exod 23:19 (Covenant Code) and 34:26 (J) and Deut 14:21 (D). (Triplet)
26. Forbidden animals. Leviticus 11 (P) and Deuteronomy 14 (D).
27. Centralization of sacrifice. Leviticus 17 and Deuteronomy 12.
28. Holidays. Leviticus 23 (P) and Numbers 28-29 (R) and Deut 16:1-17 (D). (Triplet)
29. The spies. Num 13:1-16,21,25-26,32; 14:1a,2-3,5-10,26-29 (P) and 13:17-20,22-24,27-31,33; 14:1b,4,11-25,39-45 (J).
30. Heresy at Peor. Num 25:1-5 (J) and 25:6-19 (P).
31. Appointment of Joshua. Num 27:12-23 (P) and Deut 31:14-15,23 (E).

Sources for Genesis:

J	E	P	R
2:4.6 - 2:25.99, 3:1 - 24, 4:1 - 16, 4:17 - 26, 5:29, 6:1-4, 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 7:7, 7:10, 7:12, 7:16.11 - 7:20.99, 7:22-23, 8:2.6 - 8:3.6, 8:6, 8:8-12, 8:13.13-8:13.99, 8:20-22, 9:18-27, 10:8-19, 10:21, 10:24-30, 11:1-9, 12:1.1-12:4.9, 12:6-9, 12:10-20, 13:1-5, 13:7.1-13:11.10, 13:12.9-13:18.99, 14:1-24, 15:1-21, 16:1-2, 16:4-14, 18:1-33, 19:1-28, 19:30-38, 21:1.1-21:1.6, 21:2.1-21:2.6, 21:7, 22:20-24, 24:1-67, 25:8.2-25:8.7, 25:11.10-25:11.99, 25:21-34, 26:1-11, 26:12-33, 27:1-45, 28:10.1-28:11.6, 28:13-16, 28:19, 29:1-30, 29:31-35, 30:1.1-30:1.6, 30:4.1-30:4.6, 30:24.5-30:24.99, 30:25-43, 31:3, 31:17, 31:49, 32:4-13, 34:1-31, 35:21-22, 36:31-43, 37:2.4-37:2.99, 37:3.12-37:3.99, 37:5-11, 37:19-20, 37:23, 37:25.4-37:27:99, 37:28.11-37:28.99, 37:31-35, 38:1-30, 39:1-23, 42:1-4, 42:8-20, 42:26-34, 42:38, 43:1-13, 43:15-17, 43:24-34, 44:1-34, 45:1-2, 45:4-28, 46:5.5-46:5.99, 46:28-34, 47:1-6, 47:11.1-47:27.5, 47:29-31, 49:1-27, 50:1-11, 50:14-22.	20:1-18, 21:6, 21:8-21, 21:22-34, 22:1-10, 22:16.6-22:19.99, 25:1-4, 28:11.7-28:12.99, 28:17-18, 28:20-22, 30:1.7-30:3.99, 30:4.7-30:24.4, 31:1-2, 31:4-16, 31:19-48, 31:50-54, 32:1-3, 32:14-24, 32:25-33, 33:1-17, 33:18.1-33:18.5, 33:18.12-33:18.99, 33:19-20, 35:1-8, 35:16-20, 37:3.1-37:3.11, 37:4, 37:12-18, 37:21-22, 37:24, 37:25.1-37:25.3, 37:28.1-37:28.10, 37:29-30, 37:36, 40:1-23, 41:1-41:45, 41:46.10-41:57.99, 42:5-7, 42:21-25, 42:35-37, 43:14, 43:18-23, 45:3, 46:1.1-46:5.4, 47:7-10, 48:1-2, 48:8-22, 50:23-26.	1:1 - 2:3, 6:9-22, 7:8-9, 7:11, 7:13.1- 7:16.10, 7:21, 7:24, 8:1.1-8:2.5, 8:3.7-8:5.99, 8:7, 8:13.1-8:13.12, 8:14-19, 9:1-17, 10:1.8-10:7.99, 10:20, 10:22-23, 10:31-32, 11:27.4-11:31.99, 12:4.10-12:5.99, 13:6, 13:11.11-13:12.8, 16:3, 16:15-16, 17:1-27, 19:29, 21:1.7-21:1.99, 21:2.7-21:5.99, 23:1-20, 25:7, 25:8.1-25:8.1, 25:8.8-25:11.9, 25:13-18, 25:20, 26:34-35, 27:46, 28:1-9, 31:18, 35:9-15, 35:23-26, 35:27, 35:28-29, 36:2-30, 37:1, 41:46.1-41:46.9, 46:6-27, 47:27.6-47:27.99, 47:28, 48:3-6, 49:29-33, 50:12-13.	2:4.1 - 2:4.5, 5:1-28, 5:30-32, 7:6, 9:28-29, 10:1.1-10:1.7, 11:10.1-11:10.3, 11:10.4-11:26.99, 11:27.1-11:27.3, 11:32, 22:11.1-22:16.5, 25:5-6, 25:12, 25:19, 33:18.6-33:18.11, 36:1, 37:2.1-37:2.3, 48:7, 49:28.

https://tanach.us/DH/DHSpecification.Genesis.xml

Sources for Exodus:

J	E	P	R
1:6, 1:22, 2:1.1-2:23.7, 3:2.1-3:4.5, 3:5, 3:7-8, 3:19-22, 4:19.1-4:20.12, 4:24-26, 5:1-2, 13:21-22, 14:5-7, 14:9.1-14:9.3, 14:10.3-14:10.99, 14:13-14, 14:19.10-14:19.99, 14:20.8-14:20.99, 14:21.7-14:21.99, 14:24, 14:25.7-14:25.99, 14:27.7-14:27.99, 14:30-31, 15:1-18, 15:22.11-15:25.11, 16:4-5, 16:35.13-16:35.99, 19:10.1-19:16.5, 19:18, 19:20-25, 34:1.1-34:1.5, 34:2-13, 34:14-28.	1:8-12, 1:15-21, 3:1, 3:4.6-3:4.99, 3:6, 3:9-18, 4:1-18, 4:20.13-4:20.99, 4:21.1-4:21.16, 4:22-23, 4:27-31, 5:3-6:1, 7:14-18, 7:20.8-7:21.13, 7:23-29, 8:3.5-8:11.8, 8:16-28, 9:1-7, 9:13-34, 10:1-19, 10:21-26, 10:28-29, 11:1-8, 12:21-23, 12:24-27, 12:29-36, 12:37.6-12:39.99, 13:1-16, 13:17-19, 14:11-12, 14:19.1-14:19.9, 14:20.1-14:20.7, 14:25.1-14:25.6, 15:20-21, 15:25.12-15:26.99, 17:2-7, 17:8-16, 18:1-27, 19:2.8-19:9.99, 19:16.6-19:17.99, 19:19, 20:18-26, 21:1-37, 22:1-30, 23:1-33, 24:1.1-24:15.5, 24:18.6-24:18.99, 32:1-33:11, 33:12-23.	1:7, 1:13-14, 2:23.8-2:25.99, 6:2-12, 6:14-25, 7:1-9, 7:10-13, 7:19.1-7:20.7, 7:21.14-7:21.99, 7:22, 8:1.1-8:3.4, 8:12-15, 9:8-12, 12:1-20, 12:28, 12:40-49, 14:1-4, 14:8, 14:9.4-14:9.99, 14:10.1-14:10.2, 14:15-18, 14:21.1-14:21.6, 14:22-23, 14:26.1-14:27.6, 14:28-29, 16:2-3, 16:6.1-16:35.12, 16:36, 19:1, 20:1-17, 24:15.6-24:18.5, 25:1-31:11, 31:12-17, 31:18, 34:29-35, 35:1-40:38.	1:1-5, 4:21.17-4:21.99, 6:13, 6:26-30, 8:11.9-8:11.99, 9:35, 10:20, 10:27, 11:9-10, 12:37.1-12:37.5, 12:50-51, 13:20, 15:19, 15:22.1-15:22.10, 15:27, 16:1, 17:1, 19:2.1-19:2.7, 34:1.6-34:1.99.

https://tanach.us/DH/DHSpecification.Exodus.xml