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A Descriptive Analysis of the Use of Divine Names in Genesis

Koog-Pyoung Hong 1

1연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The use of divine names in the Pentateuch has been a primary criterion for source division in the classical documentary hypothesis. In recent decades, Pentateuchal criticism has gone through a series of upheavals, and thus the current situation is vastly different from the situation of the classical documentarians’ time. This study sets out to re-examine the use of divine names in Genesis against the backdrop of the changed ecology of today’s Pentateuchal criticism. My chief concern is to examine the documentarian claim of E and P’s notion of progressive revelation. In so doing, the divine names of the narrator are compared with those of the characters. I attempt to offer a descriptive analysis of the use of divine names in Genesis, which in my judgment lacks in earlier studies. I demonstrate that there is no notable difference between the narrator and characters in the employment of divine names, which partially undermines the source-critical view of progressive revelation. In addition, I notice that each larger section in Genesis appears to have different characters in terms of their employment of divine names. I suggest that, as far as divine names are concerned, the composition of each section in Genesis is better explained in the block model than in the source model. Other minor observations on the use of divine names and epithets are listed at the end. I hope that such an attempt will provide a new ground in which critics of each camp may engage in a more productive dialogue.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.