documentary hypothesis

English

Etymology

Calque of German Urkundenhypothese.

Proper noun

documentary hypothesis

1. (theology) The hypothesis that the Pentateuch consists of two or more, usually four, originally distinct major documents. [ca. 1840]
   • 1842, The Princeton Review, volume 14, page 205:

     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.

Translations

literary-critical theory about the Penteteuch

• Dutch: oorkondenhypothese f
• French: hypothèse documentaire (fr) f
• German: Urkundenhypothese f
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: hipótese documental f, hipótese documentária f
• Russian: документа́льная гипо́теза f (dokumentálʹnaja gipóteza)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can