ty, and the
Christians following their examples, ascribed these books (the
Pentateuch) to Moses; and for many centuries the _notion_ was
cherished that he had really written them. _But strict and
impartial investigation has shown that this opinion must be
given up_; and that _nothing_ in the whole Law really comes
from Moses himself except the Ten Commandments. _And even
these were not delivered by him in the same form as we find
them now._ If we still call these books by his name, it is
only because the Israelites always thought of him as their
first and greatest law-giver, _and the actual authors grouped
all their narratives and laws around his figure, and
associated them with his name_."[92:4]

As we cannot go into an extended account, and show _how this is known_,
we will simply say that it is principally by _internal_ evidence that
these facts are ascertained.[92:5]

Now that we have seen that Moses did not write the books of the
Pentateuch, our next endeavor will be to ascertain _when_ they were
written, and _by whom_.

We can say that they were not written by any _one_ person, nor were they
written _at the same time_.

We can trace _three_ principal redactions of the Pentateuch, that is to
say, the material was _worked over_, and _re-edited_, with
_modifications_ and _additions_, by _different people_, at _three
distinct epochs_.[93:1]

The two principal writers are generally known as the _Jehovistic_ and
the _Elohistic_. We have--in speaking of the "Eden Myth" and the legend
of the "Deluge"--already alluded to this fact, and have illustrated how
these writers' narratives conflict with each other.

The _Jehovistic_ writer is supposed to have been a prophet, who, it
would seem, was anxious to give Israel a history. He begins at Genesis,
ii. 4, with a _short_ account, of the "_Creation_," and then he carries
the story on regularly until the Israelites enter Canaan. It is to him
that we are indebted for the _charming_ pictures of the patriarchs. _He
took these from other writings, or from the popular legends._[93:2]

About 725 B. C. the Israelites were conquered by Salmanassar, King of
Assyria, and many of them were carried away captives. _Their place was
supplied by Assyrian colonists from Babylon, Persia, and other
places._[93:3] This fact is of the greatest importance, and should not
be forgotten, as we find that the _first_ of the three writers