In addition, the chronology of the books of the Bible as we know it is very different from the historical sequence dating from before the tenth century B.C. to the second century A.D. The order of the books in the English Bible is not that of the early Jewish tradition, nor even the later Greek Bible.

    The first history was written by one referred to by scholars as the Yahwist, because he referred to his God as YHWH (for Yahweh). His account of the Creation is found in Chapter 2 of the Book of Genesis, the first book of our Bible, which dates probably from the ninth century B.C. The Yahwist wrote Israel's story from its origin to its conquest of Canaan. The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had been part of the oral tradition imparted by each generation tothe next long before the Yahwist (J) wrote them down about 850 B.C.

    Chapter 2 of Genesis predates Chapter 1 by several hundred years., The first story of Creation in the Book of Genesis, as we know it in our Bible, in Chapter 1, is said to have first appeared in the P (for Priest Code, of which more later) version of the history of Israel, about 550 - 500 B.C. The author drew upon the older Babylonian folklore that told of gods emerging from a watery world of chaos. The Babylonian epic poem "Enuma elish" relates the victory of the gods over their formless world..

    A consensus of scholars finds four major revisions of the Old Testament. The history of Israel, started by the Yahwist, was continued about 750 B.C. by an author from the northern kingdom, who credited Joshua as successor to Moses. He used the name Yahweh (YHWH) for God beginning with Moses, and the name Elohim for God after the time of Moses; hence he is known as the Elohist by Biblical scholars. His version (E) represents the first major revision of the history of Israel.

    The second major revision of the Bible came early in the seventh century B.C.(estimated dates vary) when the Yahwist (J) and the Elohist (E) versions of Israel's history were combined into a single history, which is referred to by the letters JE, and in which God was referred to as Jehovah Elohim (= Lord God). [ In Hebrew "j" is pronounced like a "y"; the name YHVH was never spoken, and sometimes written as JHVH. Since early Hebrew lacked vowels, some scholars wrote the name as "Jahweh" or "Yahweh," and in transliteration, "Jehovah."]

    Late in the seventh century, 621 B.C., the Book of Deuteronomy was completed by a masterful priest who claimed it was a revelation, a lost book discovered in the temple; it was presented to King Josiah who then had it sanctified through an oracle from the prophetess Hulda, thereby justifying his reformation of cult according to the new deuteronomic law. One scholar credits Josiah as the mastermind of this plan. Yet another version is that this code of laws had been in the Temple since the time of Solomon. This book is referred to by scholars as D (for Deuteronomy), and by a consensus represents the third major revision of the history of Israel.

    Deuteronomy (meaning "the repetition of the law"), published in the seventh century B.C., was designed to relate an address to the people of Israel purportedly given by Moses who (1) reviewed their 40 years in the wilderness and the severing of the three cities of refuge in Jordan (Deut. 1:1-4:44); (2) recapitulated the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai with changes and additions ( 5:1- 26:19); (3) recited a number of directives to the people, in association with the elders, e.g.setting up stones on Mount Ebal inscribed with the words of the law, a list of curses to be pronounced by the Levites regarding misdeeds against others, the blessings of obedience, and the consequences of disobedience ( 27:1-30:20); (4) and charged the delivery of the law, as written by Moses, to the custody of the Levites, to be heard every seven years by the people ( 31).

    The Song of Moses ( Deut.31:30- 32:44) was added to the Book of Deuteronomy in the mid-sixth century B.C. during the exile in Babylonia by an unknown author. The Blessing of Moses ( Deut. 33) may date from the tenth century B.C. The dates of writing or publication of these sections of Deuteronomy indicate that the book could not have been written by Moses as one of the Five Books of Moses. Deuteronomy was later incorporated with the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers to form the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses.

    In the sixth century, sometime after 570 B.C., a reformer-priest compiled and added to the Book of Leviticus a set of laws that is known as the "Holiness Code," i.e. Chapters 17-26, which addressed cultic purity for the Israelite people. The Holiness Code, as we have it, is not in its original form; it was reworked and added to by later priests.

    The fourth major revision occurred about 500 B.C. (One estimated date, 600 B.C., seems inconsistent with the date of the Holiness Code which apparently preceded it.) Like the prophet Ezekiel and the compiler of the Holiness Code, other priests and religious writers commenced a reform of laws and customs to reflect changing conditions, which resulted in what is known as the Priestly Law, or the Priest Code (abbreviated P). The book combined history with law. P (as the author shall be referred to herein) intended to instruct the people about the authority and the role of religious institutions, e.g. the Sabbath, which was written into the second chapter of Genesis (Gen. 2:2-3).

    P's version of history began with the Creation. The author is credited with writing Gen. 1 based on a Babylonian folklore account of creation, Enuma elish. Besides introducing the Sabbath into Gen. 2:2-3, P attributed other Jewish rites to the patriarchs, e.g. to Noah, the law prohibiting murder (Gen.9:6); to Abram the rite of circumcision pledged in his covenant with his god (Gen. 17:11), also the purchase of a burial place in Hebron (Gen. 23:1-11), important for the right of Israel to claim Canaan as its homeland; and to Moses, the rite of Passover (Exodus 12:1-14).

    The writing of the Priest Code in its original form was complete by 500 B.C. or the early fifth century. Additions were made to the Books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Exodus. Supplementation continued for the next two hundred years, and was still incomplete in the third century B.C. when the Pentateuch was translated into Greek (250 B.C.). P is credited by one scholar with adding the Books of Numbers and Leviticus to the Pentateuch.

    Ezra, the scribe and priest, on his return from exile ( 458. B.C.) led the people to the adoption of the Priest Code, including the Holiness Code, as a part of the fundamental law of Judah (Nehemiah 8-10).

    Yet another revision occurred when the Priest Code and the law of Deuteronomy were both viewed equally as sacred documents. So the Priest Code was joined with JED as one work.

    By 330 B.C., the result was the Torah ( = law), the official name of the book. As the final form of the Pentateuch, it was attributed to Moses.

    Finally there is one more major revision of the history of Israel; it is found in Chronicles 1 and 2.  An editor wrote another history beginning with Adam and ending with the words of Cyrus king of Persia whom "the Lord God of heaven" charged to build the Temple at Jerusalem. He wrote probably in the third century.

    This editor proved to be a fabricator by compromising historical fact to enhance the character of King David. He modified the story of David basing his version on the Book of Samuel, but he altered the facts, e.g. he did not mention Saul's son Eshbaal in the succession to the throne; he exaggerated the size of David's supporting forces; and he omitted stories that denigrated David's character.

    [ Eshbaal was the youngest of four sons of Saul and was the legitimate successor. In 2 Samuel 3 Eshbaal's name ( which means "Baal's man") appears curiously as Ishbosheth (man of shame). The author of The Books of Samuel must have harbored a dislike of Eshbaal for some reason. The term bosheth was a typical form of derision among the Israelites. Eshbaal obviously was not favored in his encounter with Abner ( 2 Sam.3:6-8 ) by the author.]

    There is much more to tell in the redaction of these and other books of the Old Testament; only some highlights have been touched upon in this chapter. For example, four postexilic prophets had their books edited by binding them with the earlier prophets Isaiah and Zechariah: These four are known as Deutero-Isaiah (as Chapters 40-55 ), Trito-Isaiah ( as Chapters 56-66 ), Deutero-Zechariah (as Chapters 9-12, 13:7-9 ), and Trito-Zechariah (as Chapters 13f.).

    Clearly the five books attributed to Moses were not entirely his own work, therefore not all were revealed to him by his god Yahweh. Moses was credited with instituting several rites and rituals that actually were the creation of others. Once again, historical fact was subordinated to religion.

    It was the Five Books of Moses - the Torah - that became the canon of the law. The principle of canonization held these books to be sacred, because they were divinely inspired, and contained the word of God. .

    If there are any truths to be extrapolated from the history and literature of the Old Testament, these come to mind:

- the claim that the Five Books of Moses comprise the sacred word of God is questionable, judging by the innumerable revisions and interpolations made over the centuries by writers, editors, priests and prophets who, it has been seen, connived to impose their points of view and their own purposes;

- the claim that the Bible is inspired by God raises the question of credibility in a God who revealed himself as he apparently has, and in his written Word, compromised as it was by the intervention of so many hands; and

-the claim that the Bible is inerrant and infallible is preposterous, given the history of revisions and distortions of fact demonstrated in the books of the Old Testament.

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The next chapter 8 will discuss Bible passages on Sodom and Gomorrah.