Priestly source  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:
navigation, search  The Priestly Source (P) is, according to the
documentary hypothesis, one of the sources of the
Torah/Pentateuch in the Bible, together with the Yahwist,
Elohist and the Deuteronomist. Primarily a product of the post-
Exilic period when Judah was a province of the Persian empire
(the 5th century BCE),[1] P was written to show that even when
all seemed lost, God remained present with Israel.[2] It has
been compared to a necklace strung with pearls: "the thread of
the necklace is made up of genealogies, itineraries and a terse
story line, with a strong interest in chronology ... [t]he
pearls are the major stories".[3] Its characteristics include a
set of claims that are contradicted by non-Priestly passages and
therefore uniquely characteristic: no sacrifice before the
institution is ordained by God at Sinai, the exalted status of
Aaron and the priesthood, and the use of the divine title El
Shaddai before God reveals his name to M