JE - Definition and Overview

This article is about an element in the documentary hypothesis, concerning the torah. JE can also refer to a Mazda J engine, and can be the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Jersey

JE is an intermediate source text postulated by the documentary hypothesis for the torah. It is a combination and redaction of the Jahwist (J) and Elohist (E) source texts.

Nature of the JE source

JE treats God as a human-like figure, capable of regret, and appearing in person at events. JE also makes use of supernatural creatures such as angels as intermediaries, as well as mystical talking creatures, and supernatural objects. In JE, God is shown as merciful, and capable of being persuaded to change God's mind.

The redactor of JE

this section describes the opinion of the documentary hypothesis without taking into account the opinion of certain religious groups that hold the texts to be from Moses or from the Jewish god

JE was created when J and E were combined and edited together. The documentary hypothesis asserts that this occured shortly after biblical Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, as a result of trying to assimilate the refugees (whose traditions, and religion was asserted by the E source) into the society of Judah (whose traditions, and religion was asserted by the J source).

Since the majority of each text was composed of traditions about events and people associated only with one or other nation, combining them would not cause conflict. However, where they differ, (for example one refers to the holy mountain as Sinai, and the other as Horeb), because of the presence in a general audience of both groups, neither text could be suppressed, and the differences had to be kept in order that the resulting text was generally acceptable.

It is generally considered as unknown how much of J or of E was cut to produce JE, although it is thought that since such cutting appears not to have been necessary, very little is absent.

Passages ascribed to JE

The parts of the Torah usually identified as JE are

• Genesis

• 2:4(ii) - 25 (Creation)
• 3, 4, 5:29 (Temptation, Cain and Abel, Cain's descendents)
• 6:1 - 8, 7:1 - 5, 7:7, 7:10, 7:12, 7:16(ii) - 20, 7:22 - 23, 8:2(ii) - 3(i), 8:6, 8:8 - 12, 8:13(ii), 8:20 - 22 (The Nephalim, The flood)
• 9:18 - 27 (Ham's rape of Noah)
• 10:8 - 19, 10:21, 10:24-30 (Noah's descendents)
• 11:1 - 9 (The Tower of Babel)
• 12:1 - 4(i) (Abraham's journey)
• 12:6 - 20 (The promise to Abraham, Abraham pretending his wife is his sister)
• 13:1 - 5, 13:7 - 11(i), 13:12(ii) - 18, 14 (Lot and Abraham)
• 15 (Abraham's covenant)
• 16:1 - 2, 16:4 - 14 (Hagar, Ishmael)
• 18, 19:1 - 28, 19: 30 - 38 (Sodom and Gomorrah)
• 20 (Abraham pretending his wife is his sister)
• 21:1(i), 21:2(i), 21:6 - 34 (Isaac's birth, Hagar, Ishmael, Abimelek)
• 22:1 - 10, 22:16(ii) - 24 (Isaac's Binding, Abraham's relations)
• 24 (Rebekah)
• 25:1 - 4 (Keturah's sons)
• 25:8(i) (Abraham's death)
• 25:11(ii), 25:21 - 34, 26:1 - 33, 27:1 - 45 (Abimelek, Esau)
• 28:10 - 22 (Jacob at Bethel)
• 29, 30:1 - 24 (Jacob's descendents)
• 30:25 - 43, 31:1 - 18(i), 31:19 - 54, 32, 33:1 - 17 (Laban and the return of Jacob, Jacob is renamed Israel)
• 33:18(except Paddan Aram) - 20 (Israel obtains Shechem)
• 34 (Israel obtains Shechem)
• 35:1 - 8 (Jacob returns to Bethel)
• 35:16 - 22 (Rachel dies, Reuben and Jacob's concubine)
• 36:31 - 43 (Esau's descendents)
• 37:2(ii) - 36 (Joseph and his brothers)
• 38, 39, 40 (Tamar, Potiphar's wife, Butler and baker)
• 41:1 - 45(i), 41:46(ii) - 57 (Joseph meets the pharoah)
• 42, 43, 44, 45 (Joseph's brothers in Egypt)
• 46:1 - 5, 46:28 - 34, 47:1 - 27(i), 47:29 - 31, 48:1 - 2, 48:8 - 22, 49:1 - 27, 50:1 - 11, 50:14-26 (Jacob in Egypt)

• Exodus

• 1:6 (Descendents)
• 1:8 - 12 (The hebrews become slaves)
• 1:15 - 22 (The slaying of the firstborn)
• 2:1 - 23(i) (Moses' birth)
• 3, 4:1 - 21(i), 4:22 - 31 (Moses' summoning)
• 5, 6:1, 7:14 - 18, 7:20(ii) - 21(i), 7:23 - 29, 8:3(ii) - 11(i), 8:16 - 28, 9:1 - 7, 9:13 - 34, 10:1 - 19, 10:21 - 26, 10:28 - 29, 11:1 - 8 (Moses faces the pharoah)
• 12:21 - 27, 12:29 - 36, 12:37(ii) - 39, 13:1 - 16 (The escape of the slaves)
• 13:17 - 19, 13:21 - 22, 14:5 - 7, 14:9(i), 14:10(ii), 14:11 - 14, 14:19 - 20, 14:21(ii), 14:24 - 25, 14:27(ii), 14:30 - 31, 15:1 - 18, 15:20 - 21 (Crossing the Red Sea)
• 15:22(ii) - 26 (A water supply, Instructions)
• 16:4 - 5, 16:35(ii) (A food supply)
• 17:2 - 16 (A water supply, Amalak)
• 18 (Jethro)
• 19:2(ii) - 25, 20:18 - 26 (The holy mountain)
• 21, 22, 23 (The Covenant Code)
• 24:1 - 15(i), 24:18(ii) (The holy mountain)
• 32:1 - 33:11 (The Golden Calf)
• 33:12 - 23, 34:1(i), 34:2 - 28 (Moses' theophany, The ten commandments)

• Leviticus

• Absolutely nothing

• Numbers

• 10:29 - 36 (Leaving the holy mountain)
• 11, 12 (Taberah, a food source, Moses' wife)
• 13:17 - 20, 13:23 - 24, 13:27 - 31, 13:33, 14:1(ii), 14:4, 14:11 - 25, 14:39 - 45 (The report of the scouting party)
• 16:1(ii) - 2(i), 16:12 - 14, 16:25, 16:27(ii) - 32(i), 16:33 - 34 (The rebellion against the official priesthood)
• 20:14 - 21 (Edom)
• 21:1 - 3 (Arad)
• 21:4(ii) - 9 (Nehustan the bronze serpent)
• 21:21 - 35 (Sihon, Og)
• 22:2 - 24:25 (Balaam)
• 25:1 - 5 (Heresy of Peor)

• Deuteronomy

• 31:14 - 15, 31:23 (The appointing of Joshua)
• 33:1 (Moses' blessing)
• 34:1 - 6 (Moses' death)