Elohist
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Goals and Conclusions
Alan Jenks believes that four sources were used to write the Pentateuch, yet he asserts that only two of them have been substantially verified. He believes that certain passages can be attributed to 'E.' His conclusion asserts that 'E' was an independent narrative, that there were several authors that wrote the Pentateuch, and that the threads of 'E' can be found throughout the Pentateuch.
Methods
The methods that Jenks used to narrow this work were to identify and separate the narrative strands in order to identify the sources of Yahweh and Elohim. He asserts that different names were used for God and that the two most prominent were used during this period.
Jenks begins by taking a look at the history of scholarship from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Reviewing both would allow the latest information found on both names. Information gathered showed that the Pentateuch was a composite document rather and was not written by a single author such as Moses.
Middle nineteenth century 'E' was separated from 'P' both in date and characteristics. By the late nineteenth century, 'E' had been dated to the eighth century during the time of the prophets Amos and Hosea...