101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

xx 101 Myths of the Bible
and political government. 2 Kings claims that the Law of Moses had been lost and that
Josiah’s aides accidentally found it in some remote part of the temple. Upon reading the
newly discovered documents, Josiah was shocked to learn that the kingdom had fallen
from the path of righteousness. In reaction, he instituted a series of reforms intended
to bring the kingdom in line with the newly discovered laws. This lost book of laws
would be the Book of Deuteronomy and if it was written at the time of Josiah, it can
be dated to about 622 B.C.
Source analysis shows that Deuteronomy belongs to a larger collection of works
that include the biblical books of Joshua, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, which
presents a history of the Hebrews from the time of Moses to the Babylonian captivity.
This larger historical collection of biblical books is known as the “Deuteronomistic
history” and relates the history of Israel from the time of Moses (c. 1300 B.C.) to the
time of King Josiah (c. 622 B.C.).
The overriding theme of Deuteronomy and its related histories is obedience to
God. The people and the kings are always judged in regard to how they follow the laws
laid down in the D source. Inevitably, all Israelite kings fail the test while only a handful
of Judahite kings, including David and Josiah, are judged as good.
The Assyrian Flood Tablet
The Documentary Hypothesis is only one important way to look at the origins of
the Bible. Its focus is internal, concerned only with the text. It examines literary style,
themes, language, and editorial overlays to break down the Bible into source documents.
Such techniques also have demonstrated that many other books of the Bible,
in addition to the Pentateuch, combine multiple sources, albeit different ones from
those in the first five books.
Another important question is: what outside ideas influenced the authors of J, E,
P, and D? When J or P talk about the Creation or the flood, for example, are the ideas
unique to the biblical authors or do the authors rely on other ideas from the surrounding
cultures? Despite the source differences in the histories of the Patriarchs and
the Exodus, do the basic stories depict accurate historical incidents or are they tales
and legends that have been adapted for propagandistic or other purposes? After all,