The Bible With Sources Revealed is $1.99

[Difflugia]

The Bible With Sources Revealed by Richard Elliott Friedman is $1.99.

Kobo
B&N
Amazon - Be aware that it shows not compatible with K4PC, so if you're using "The Tools", that may put a crimp in things.

Christianbook and eBooks.com both show $14.99, but may drop later.

Friedman's main field of scholarship is the Documentary Hypothesis and The Bible With Sources Revealed is the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) broken down into the individual sources as he sees them. Each different source is given a different color or typeface to make it easy to see the original sources as you read.



The epub version was badly incorrect for years (using only four different typefaces instead of the necessary ten), but they finally mostly fixed it. The current version correctly uses nine of ten; the Priestly source ("P") and the second Deuteronomist redactor ("Dtr2") were inadvertantly given the same typeface (P is supposed to be "Blue Sans", but is "Blue Bold" instead). I double-checked against the PDF version (no longer available, sadly) and the only place that it's ambiguous is Deuteronomy 34:8-9, which should be marked as belonging to the P source. Otherwise, Blue Bold is Dtr2 in Deuteronomy and P everywhere else.

If you're at all interested in source criticism, this is the book to have. If you're not sure what it's all about, the free sample includes the entire introduction, in which Friedman lays out the main lines of evidence for his scholarship.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

The Bible With Sources Revealed by Richard Elliott Friedman is $1.99.

Kobo
B&N
Amazon - Be aware that it shows not compatible with K4PC, so if you're using "The Tools", that may put a crimp in things.

Christianbook and eBooks.com both show $14.99, but may drop later.

Friedman's main field of scholarship is the Documentary Hypothesis and The Bible With Sources Revealed is the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) broken down into the individual sources as he sees them. Each different source is given a different color or typeface to make it easy to see the original sources as you read.



The epub version was badly incorrect for years (using only four different typefaces instead of the necessary ten), but they finally mostly fixed it. The current version correctly uses nine of ten; the Priestly source ("P") and the second Deuteronomist redactor ("Dtr2") were inadvertantly given the same typeface (P is supposed to be "Blue Sans", but is "Blue Bold" instead). I double-checked against the PDF version (no longer available, sadly) and the only place that it's ambiguous is Deuteronomy 34:8-9, which should be marked as belonging to the P source. Otherwise, Blue Bold is Dtr2 in Deuteronomy and P everywhere else.

If you're at all interested in source criticism, this is the book to have. If you're not sure what it's all about, the free sample includes the entire introduction, in which Friedman lays out the main lines of evidence for his scholarship.

Just some rambling . . . .

Christianbook and eBooks.com have not dropped their prices as of this writing.

I would love to purchase this book. I was not aware of its existence. Unfortunately K4PC is exactly what I use, so I think that I'm going to wait to see how things develop, before purchasing the book. I'm not going to be doing much study of Old Testament source criticism anytime soon. What is your recommendation? I sure wish that it was still available as a PDF . . . .

Those who profess Christianity, and are conservatively-minded, believe that the Old Testament Documentary Hypothesis is false. The theory deals primarily, if not exclusively, with the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, aka The Torah). In other parts of the Old Testament authorship of it is ascribed to Moses. The New Testament also ascribes authorship of it to Moses. In several places in the Gospels, Jesus, in fact, is quoted as attributing the Pentateuch to Moses. So, a theory ascribing authorship of the Pentateuch to different sources, instead, is incompatible with that thinking.

Thanks for your post. I got a late start on scrounging around for ebook bargains today, so I hadn't found the book yet myself. Might not have seen it at all had it not been for your post.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Just some rambling . . . .

Christianbook and eBooks.com have not dropped their prices as of this writing.

I would love to purchase this book. I was not aware of its existence. Unfortunately K4PC is exactly what I use, so I think that I'm going to wait to see how things develop, before purchasing the book. I'm not going to be doing much study of Old Testament source criticism anytime soon. What is your recommendation? I sure wish that it was still available as a PDF . . . .

Not reduced in UK

"(using only four different typefaces instead of the necessary ten), "

It may be that K4PC can't handle ten fonts in one document, hence the restriction?

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I would love to purchase this book. I was not aware of its existence. Unfortunately K4PC is exactly what I use, so I think that I'm going to wait to see how things develop, before purchasing the book. I'm not going to be doing much study of Old Testament source criticism anytime soon. What is your recommendation? I sure wish that it was still available as a PDF . . . .

My full recommendation would be to buy it from Kobo or B&N and load it into Calibre using Apprentice Alf's tools. You could then convert to whatever you want. I bought mine from B&N, downloaded it with B&N's desktop software and loaded it to Calibre.

If you don't want to remove the DRM, then I'd probably recommend Kobo, since you can read it using Adobe Digital Editions. If you get a tablet, you can then use any of the ADE-compatible reader apps.

All I know about Amazon is that it would only let me download the sample to one of my Android tablets even though I also have an e-ink Kindle and K4PC. I suppose you could buy it from Amazon and wait until they either update the application or you get a compatible device.

The last option is that the paperback is still in print and can be bought new for about $20.

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Thanks for your post. I got a late start on scrounging around for ebook bargains today, so I hadn't found the book yet myself. Might not have seen it at all had it not been for your post.

I have an EreaderIQ alert for the author. I bought the PDF and epub from Books on Board when they could discount HarperCollins books. I told them about the bad epub and they promised a replacement when the publisher fixed it. HarperCollins eventually fixed the epub, but over a year after BoB went out of business and I've been waiting for it to go on sale since then. I couldn't justify another $15 when I already had the PDF, but $2 is way better than I'd even hoped.

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

"(using only four different typefaces instead of the necessary ten), "

It may be that K4PC can't handle ten fonts in one document, hence the restriction?

I think it was just sloppy. If they were specifically trying to format for Kindle, I'm sure they could have worked it out. I think they just ran a script on the PDF that picked up italic and bold, but skipped colors and nobody double-checked.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

My full recommendation would be to buy it from Kobo or B&N and load it into Calibre using Apprentice Alf's tools. You could then convert to whatever you want. I bought mine from B&N, downloaded it with B&N's desktop software and loaded it to Calibre.

If you don't want to remove the DRM, then I'd probably recommend Kobo, since you can read it using Adobe Digital Editions. If you get a tablet, you can then use any of the ADE-compatible reader apps.

All I know about Amazon is that it would only let me download the sample to one of my Android tablets even though I also have an e-ink Kindle and K4PC. I suppose you could buy it from Amazon and wait until they either update the application or you get a compatible device.

The last option is that the paperback is still in print and can be bought new for about $20.



I have an EreaderIQ alert for the author. I bought the PDF and epub from Books on Board when they could discount HarperCollins books. I told them about the bad epub and they promised a replacement when the publisher fixed it. HarperCollins eventually fixed the epub, but over a year after BoB went out of business and I've been waiting for it to go on sale since then. I couldn't justify another $15 when I already had the PDF, but $2 is way better than I'd even hoped.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am "out of sorts" with B&N right now, but Kobo might be an option. I'd hate to pass the book up with it at such a great price right now.

Just curious: when you got the PDF, who did you purchase it from?

Paperback doesn't sound like much of an option. ha

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Thanks for the suggestions. I am "out of sorts" with B&N right now, but Kobo might be an option. I'd hate to pass the book up with it at such a great price right now.

Another option that I didn't think of is HarperCollins has it in their own store for the BookShout app. BookShout's DRM isn't covered by The Tools, but it's another possibility if you don't remove DRM anyway.

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Just curious: when you got the PDF, who did you purchase it from?

Books on Board. Before Agency, I got both the PDF and epub for something like $5 each. The funny thing is that I had to fix the PDF by hand as well. They drew the layers in the wrong order on a few pages with the "shaded" font and the text wasn't visible.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

<snip>
Books on Board. Before Agency, I got both the PDF and epub for something like $5 each. The funny thing is that I had to fix the PDF by hand as well. They drew the layers in the wrong order on a few pages with the "shaded" font and the text wasn't visible.

Would you mind leaving that to me in your will?

[GtrsRGr8]

The thought occurred to me that scholarship is probably advancing (I'm not saying qualitatively, but quantitatively) so fast that this book will be obsolete in a few years, if it isn't already (it's over 7 years old). I don't know if Dr. Friedman is still living, but it might be time for a revision by someone.

I haven't done any research or study on the O.T. Documentary Hypothesis since the mid 80's. Then, it was nice and short--JEDP. There might have been a person or two out there arguing that there were other sources, but they hadn't reached the mainstream at that time.

I was "floored" to see that there are now, apparently, eleven sources advocated.

I should have known, though. I do halfway keep up with the state of the documentary hypothesis thinking in studies of the N.T. Gospels. At first, it was nice and neat--Matthew and Luke used Mark and the hypothetical document Q. But, then, scholars realized that there was some material in Matthew that wasn't in Mark or Q, so they postulated a source "M" for that. And there was some material in Luke that wasn't in Mark or Q, so they postulated a source "L" for that. But, that didn't fully account for everything, so there was a Proto-this and Proto-that. Etc., etc. Ad infinitum.

Maybe I need to wait and see if a revision to this Bible Sources book will be coming out soon.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

I think it was just sloppy. If they were specifically trying to format for Kindle, I'm sure they could have worked it out. I think they just ran a script on the PDF that picked up italic and bold, but skipped colors and nobody double-checked.

But, as you said, it /is/ available for Kindle, just not old Kindles or Kindle for PC.

Maybe just a sloppy exclusion since the Kindle Keyboard can handle embedded Publisher Fonts but is excluded like the older Kindles 1, 2, DX which can't.

[Difflugia]

Friedman is definitely alive and still publishing, both as a researcher and popular author. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a new edition of The Bible with Sources Revealed, though. His ongoing research uses the Documentary Hypothesis as a starting point, but I doubt that his conclusions will have changed all that much about the sources themselves. Also, for what it's worth, more than four sources were identified as far back as the late 1800s, but they're minor players and not discussed a whole lot. Most source identifications list all redactors as a single source, even though authors acknowledge multiple stages of redaction. Friedman simply splits out the several redactions into four individual sources, which brings us up to eight. He then identifies minor sources that seem to share no linguistic affinity with the other identified sources, making ten sources.

It's also worth noting that Friedman disagrees in a number of places with earlier scholars as well as his comtemporaries.

Joel Baden is a currently publishing scholar that disagrees with Friedman on some important points. His The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis is very informative, though I found it dry and difficult to read. The book lists for $50, but it's couponable at Kobo. I got it for $5 with a 90% off "we missed you" code.

I also recommend Julius Wellhausen's Prolegomena to the History of Israel, which can be read for free at Google Books and Sacred Texts. Despite some 19th century turns of phrase and a penchant for run-on sentences, the book is entertaining and relatively easy to read. There's a Project Gutenberg text, but it's terrible.

ETA: You also mentioned some interest in the construction of the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. Mark Goodacre's The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze is available for free (and with his publisher's permission) as a scan from archive.org. I also recommend that one.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Friedman is definitely alive and still publishing, both as a researcher and popular author. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a new edition of The Bible with Sources Revealed, though. His ongoing research uses the Documentary Hypothesis as a starting point, but I doubt that his conclusions will have changed all that much about the sources themselves. Also, for what it's worth, more than four sources were identified as far back as the late 1800s, but they're minor players and not discussed a whole lot. Most source identifications list all redactors as a single source, even though authors acknowledge multiple stages of redaction. Friedman simply splits out the several redactions into four individual sources, which brings us up to eight. He then identifies minor sources that seem to share no linguistic affinity with the other identified sources, making ten sources.

It's also worth noting that Friedman disagrees in a number of places with earlier scholars as well as his comtemporaries.

Joel Baden is a currently publishing scholar that disagrees with Friedman on some important points. His The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis is very informative, though I found it dry and difficult to read. The book lists for $50, but it's couponable at Kobo. I got it for $5 with a 90% off "we missed you" code.

I also recommend Julius Wellhausen's Prolegomena to the History of Israel, which can be read for free at Google Books and Sacred Texts. Despite some 19th century turns of phrase and a penchant for run-on sentences, the book is entertaining and relatively easy to read. There's a Project Gutenberg text, but it's terrible.

ETA: You also mentioned some interest in the construction of the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. Mark Goodacre's The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze is available for free (and with his publisher's permission) as a scan from archive.org. I also recommend that one.

All very enlightening stuff. Thanks.

I ended up buying the Kobo. I skimmed through the text, and it certainly has all of the alleged sources distinguished by the different colors that you showed. I wish, however, that a wider range of colors had been used--it takes a second to determine if a color is light green or light blue, for instance. Perhaps Friedman and/or the publisher thought that using, say, red, purple, orange, pink, etc. would be garish or unprofessional for such a scholarly publication. Anyway, it's serviceable as it is.

I am taking note of the O.T. Documentary Hypothesis books that you mentioned. As I mentioned in a previous post, I don't plan to be doing any study of the subject anytime soon, although your posts have stirred my interest. In the meantime, when I find one at a good price, that I know that I'll be interested in in the future, I'll go and ahead and grab it.

I am familiar with Goodacre. Goodacre was a pioneer in providing, free, tons of information on the Internet (the WWW anyway) on the subject. It doesn't quite surprise me that he's making the book that you mentioned available free. I'll certainly download the book. I see his On Dispensing with Q frequently cited, so I'm assuming that it must be good, too. I doubt that it will be on the Internet Archive anytime soon, though. ha

Speaking of that, occasionally you can find scholarly books free on open access sources, books that are published and sold by scholarly publishers like Eisenbrauns. The open access ones are doctoral dissertations that the scholars were, it seems, required to deposit in their school's open access area before they departed (with a diploma in hand) from the school. There was a book at Eisenbrauns, retailing for $60 or $70, that I found a few months ago that I wanted. I found the author's open access dissertation for free. It appears that the author had changed nothing in the published book from what he had in the dissertation!

[Difflugia]

If it matters to anyone, it's now $1.99 at eBooks.com and Christianbook.

[user3162]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

ETA: You also mentioned some interest in the construction of the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. Mark Goodacre's The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze is available for free (and with his publisher's permission) as a scan from archive.org. I also recommend that one.

Thank you! I have been studying the Synoptics, will add this one on the TBR list.

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by user3162

Thank you! I have been studying the Synoptics, will add this one on the TBR list.

Glad to help!