Wellhausen's hypothesis

proper noun

The hypothesis that the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) was derived from originally independent, parallel, and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The hypothesis that the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) was derived from originally independent, parallel, and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors.

Origin

Named after the German biblical scholar and orientalist Julius Wellhausen.

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Cite this entry
APA

Wellhausen's hypothesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wellhausen's%20hypothesis

MLA

“Wellhausen's hypothesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wellhausen's%20hypothesis. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wellhausen's hypothesis,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wellhausen's%20hypothesis.

Source: Wellhausen's hypothesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.