In this study, Stephen Germany traces the literary development of the non-priestly exodus, wilderness, and conquest narratives in the books of Exodus through Joshua. In doing so, he also contributes to the recent scholarly discussion on the formation of the Pentateuch and book of Joshua.
In this study, Stephen Germany investigates the literary development of the non-priestly narratives in Exod 1-18; 19-24; 32-34; Num 10-16; 20-24; and Josh 1-12. Through a new comparison of the various literary strata in these narratives to priestly texts, the author concludes that a significant portion of the non-priestly narratives in Exodus-Joshua belong to a post-priestly stage of composition. The reconstruction of the remaining pre-priestly narrative in these books supports the theory of an exodus-conquest narrative as one of the literary precursors to the Pentateuch and book of Joshua, challenging both the Documentary Hypothesis and the Deuteronomistic History hypothesis in their various forms.
Stephen Germany
Born 1985; 2016 PhD (Emory University); 2023 Habilitation (University of Basel); Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible in its Historical and Cultural Contexts at the University of Lausanne.
Formation of the Pentateuch Hexateuch Book of Numbers