Surprisingly, I finished the paper on the linguistic evidence for dating the priestly layers in the Pentateuch.  I have to say I was quite amazed at how quickly it went.  I haven’t written a paper this fast since seminary.

As expected, the linguistic data did divide according to the contours of P and H suggested by Knohl.  It seems that P is prior to Ezekiel, which would place it in the pre-exilic period, while H is an intermediate stage between BH and LBH.  This suggests a date in the late exilic or early post-exilic period, and I would think the latter is more likely.

If other scholars who read this blog are interested in reading the paper, I would love to get some critiques.  Given the conference schedule, it will be at least a year before I present this at a conference, but feedback is always appreciated, especially since I will be using this conclusion as I start a book length treatment on the P and H layers in Exodus-Numbers.  Drop me a line if you would like to see the draft.

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