Definitions for "Documentary hypothesis"
Scholarly argument disputing the traditional claim that the Pentateuch was authored by Moses and holding instead that it was originally composed as at least four separate documents and later redacted (Lat., "reduced to order"). The four documentary strands are labeled for its use of the tetragrammaton Yhvh (spelled with a J in German); for its use of Elohim; for the priestly literature; and for the Deuteronomic history.
A theory first proposed during the nineteenth century that refuted the notion of Mosaic authorship of the Torah. It argued that the Torah is composed of four basic levels or documents developed over a long period of time, much later than when Moses was thought to have lived.
The modern scholarly hypothesis that the Torah was written by four distinct authors, identified as J (for "Jehovah"), E (for "Elohim"), P (for "Priestly"), and D (for "Deuternomist"). A fifth, believed to be the editor of the other authors' works, is known as the "Redactor."