Discussion

Knowing the Bible’s origins is not just a matter of oure curiosity. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, either.) Rather, on many occasions it is crucial for proper understanding of the biblical text. In particular, without knowing its date it is impossible to determine the birthplace of Abraham.

In one of the Bible’s scariest stories, God pours fire and brimstone upon Sodom and surrounding cities in punishment for their wickedness.

Amazingly, it now turns out that the story may be based on something that actually happened more than three and a half millennia ago. And that gives us a glimpse into the kitchen where the Grand History that is Genesis-Kings was cooked.

Colleges, universities, and seminaries teach it as an established scientific fact that Genesis-Kings is a pastiche of “sources” or “documents” written centuries apart and reflecting different, often conflicting ideas. In fact, although not so many scholars have the guts to admit it, the only result of two hundred years of intensive and extensive research is utter failure to prove that this is indeed the case. No one has ever been able to outline a plausible scenario under which the multiple-author model might work.