“J” stands for the original author, the “Yahwist” named for Yahweh – or Jahweh, in the German spelling, as it was German theological scholars who started this author naming process in the 19th century. They named this first author after the name of God most frequently used in those texts. The later strands of Bible stories in the Hebrew Bible are all additions to, or revisions or censorings of J, and their authors are known as “E” (Elohist for “Elohim,” the plural name of God used for Yahweh in that version); “P” for the Priestly Author or School that wrote Leviticus; “D” for the author(s) of Deuteronomy; and “R” for the Redactor (or revisionist/editor) who performed the “final” revision after the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian Exile.
1. Biblical Sources for "J"
2. The_Writings_of_"J"_Compared_to_Bible_Versions
3. Text from the Bible ... What it became in "J"
4. Other Resource Material
1. Biblical Sources for "J"
The main biblical sources for the time period and events which take place in “J” are the last half of the First Book of SAMUEL, all of the Second Book of SAMUEL and the first eight chapters of 1st KINGS. These books of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament (for Christians) contain the stories of the rise of the prophet Samuel, his anointing of the first King of Israel, Saul, the subsequent fall of Saul and rise of David to be King of Israel with Jerusalem as the primary city of the kings, and finally, Solomon, David’s son, who was renowned for his great wisdom, and for building the first, magnificent Temple in Jerusalem.
It is against this tumultuous backdrop that I set the story of Janaia (prounced Ja-nye-ah, with the accent on the second syllable) a Hebrew name which means “Gift of God.” Janaia is the fictional first child and daughter of David, before he became king. She was born during the period when David and his brothers had taken to hiding in the hills of Judah to avoid King Saul’s murderous vendetta against David, whom he both loved as a second son and hated and feared as a rival to his throne.
2. The Writings of "J" Compared to Bible Versions
Ancient Hebrew, like other ancient languages, was more intimately and directly connected to physical attributes and natural events than the highly abstract language that developed later, written and spoken. For example, there is no word like “anger” in ancient Hebrew – the symbols or characters used are the marks for “flaring nostrils”, which is what happens physically when someone is really angry.
I tried to give J her own original writing of the stories of Genesis and Exodus, along with several of the songs or psalms which King David composed and sang, and which she wrote down or helped compose. Here’s one example of how I tried to stay true to the meaning of the psalm, yet express it in a less sophisticated, more physical way.
David's Song of Reassurance (Ch. 13)
Like a bird singing on a branch
Is the man who listens not to dark words,
Nor walks the same road as men who plunder and kill,
Nor eats and drinks with those who twist their lips.
What the Lord says is his meat and wine.
Like a tree with its roots near the bank of a stream,
Always moist, its fruit full and ripe, its leaves green,
This man has hands that plant and reap great harvests.
Psalm 1:1-3 (from The Jerusalem Bible)
Happy the man
who never follows the advice of the wicked,
or loiters on the way that sinners take,
or sits about with scoffers,
but finds his pleasure in the Law of Yahweh,
and murmurs his law day and night.
He is like a tree that is planted by water streams,
yielding its fruit in season,
its leaves never fading;
success attends all he does.
3. Text from the Bible ... What it became in "J"
Sometimes a very little bit of text in the Bible can give rise to a lot of story! In 2 Samuel 6:6-7, here below is what is said of Uzzah, identified as one of the sons of Abinadab (one of David’s brothers), who was chosen to help carry the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in solemn procession – the Ark was in a cart being drawn by oxen, but the men were on either side, holding on to the poles on which it was placed:
“But when they came to a certain threshing-floor, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out to the Ark of God and took hold of it. The LORD was angry with Uzzah and struck him down there for his rash act. David was vexed because the LORD's anger had broken out upon Uzzah, and he called the place Perez-uzzah [Outbreak on Uzzah], the name it still bears.”
This passage struck me as hugely cinematic! Can’t you just imagine what it would be like in a film? So dramatic – and seemingly really unjust. Why would God strike down someone who was actually trying to save the Ark from falling on the ground, because of the stumbling of the oxen? So because I wanted to use this strange and dramatic scene, I made up a whole story about Uzzah, exploring why and how this dire event could take place, and make it evidence of justice on God’s part, not whimsical tyranny. That story in “J” is in The City of David portion of the book.
4. Other Resource Material
These are some of the books that I found really useful when doing research for “J”:
The Book of J, Harold Bloom, translation by David Rosenberg, New York: Random House, Vintage Books, 1990.
The Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet, Jeff A. Benner, College Station, TX: VirtualBookWorm Publishing, 2004. Also, his website: www.ancient-hebrew.org
How the Bible Became a Book, William Schniedewind, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
| 
