Two Authors

[Sandy]

As I have stated in some of my other posts, I believe there is more than one author of the Hebrew Scriptures. Possibly one is from the house of Israel and the other from the house of Yahudah. The one emphasizes El, Elohim, etc., and the other emphasizes YHUH. They often times contradict one another.

An example:
In Genesis 6:9-22 Noah is commanded by Elohim to take two of every kind, of every living thing of all flesh to keep alive.

In Genesis 7:1-5 Noah is commanded by YHUH to take of all clean animals by sevens and of all unclean by two.

The author of Genesis 7:1-5 leaves us with the impression that YHUH had given the ordinance concerning clean and unclean animals long before the Exodus. But yet after the flood Noah is told by Elohim that ALL the animals, birds and fish are given into his hand and every creeping thing which is alive shall be food for him. Elohim says to Noah, "I have given you all things, even as the green plant" (Genesis 9:2-4).

So we have a conflict between Elohim and YHUH. Elohim gave all to Noah as food (but not with its blood), but YHUH says not all, only the clean.

Another example:
In Genesis 7:4, 12, 17; 8:6 it tells us the flood lasted 40 days plus 14 days (8:10-12), which equals 54 days.

In Genesis 7:24; 8:3 it tells us the flood was on the earth 150 days.

And if that is not confusing enough Genesis 7:11 tells us the flood begin in the 600th year of Noah's life in the 2nd month on the 17th day. And Genesis 8:13-14 tells us it ended (believe it or not we have two dates for the ending) in the 601st year of Noah's life:

1. at the beginning, on the first of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth..
2. in the second month on the 27th day the earth was dry.

which equals approximately one year.

[Thummim]

Sandy, I have no doubt that there are many authors that have contributed to these texts. They are only parchments passed down through many centuries, going beyond millenia. These scrolls are copied again and again. Bits and pieces are lost here and there. They are stuffed into old jars and stored through many differing conflicts and wars. Many authors, no doubt repair them as best they can, filling in the missing pieces themselves from passed on tales. I read the tanakh as though it has a single author though. Multiple authors make confusing stories. I like to think of the tanakh as the book of the JEWish people and think of them writing it as one. It's like a single Eloheem being pluralized. It works with their book. Someone keeps writing down bits and pieces of the story, it's revised as often as it needs to be. Finally it gets to me. What binds me to the tanakh is it's attachment to the JEWish people. I see the discrepancies in the tanakh. They shorten up the stick in YHWH's hand considerably. I'm glad for that. I do not want to inherit the welts that would come from a big stick. ....Michael