documentary hypothesis

proper noun

The hypothesis that the Pentateuch consists of two or more, usually four, originally distinct major documents.

OriginGerman Urkundenhypothese →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. lifestyleThe hypothesis that the Pentateuch consists of two or more, usually four, originally distinct major documents.First known use ca. 1840

    Out of this rare discovery have sprung the documentary hypothesis, the fragmentary hypothesis, and we know not how many more hypotheses, each of which has been maintained for a time, as self-evidently true, and then exploded.

    1842, The Princeton Review, volume 14, page 205

Origin

  1. GermanUrkundenhypothese
  2. Englishdocumentary hypothesis

Calque of German Urkundenhypothese.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch oorkondenhypothese
  • oorkondenhypotheseliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
French hypothèse documentaire
  • hypothèse documentaireliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
German Urkundenhypothese
  • Urkundenhypotheseliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
Portuguese hipótese documental, hipótese documentária
  • hipótese documentalliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
  • hipótese documentárialiterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
Russian документа́льная гипо́теза
  • документа́льная гипо́теза (dokumentálʹnaja gipóteza)literary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
Spanish hipótesis documentaria, hipótesis documental
  • hipótesis documentarialiterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
  • hipótesis documentalliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
Swedish fyrkällsteorin, fyrkällshypotesen
  • fyrkällsteorinliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
  • fyrkällshypotesenliterary-critical theory about the Penteteuch
Cite this entry
APA

documentary hypothesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/documentary%20hypothesis

MLA

“documentary hypothesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/documentary%20hypothesis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “documentary hypothesis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/documentary%20hypothesis.

Source: documentary hypothesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.