Elohist, The

One of four sources for the composition of the Pentateuch, according to a theory accepted by many biblical scholars. Known as Documentary Theology, the theory assigns the name Elohist to the source that consistently uses the Hebrew word Elohim for God until the call of Moses in Ex 3, when the proper name Yahweh is first revealed. It is found in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and perhaps in Joshua, chs. 2-11, 24. It begins with a narrative of the ancestors, then recounts the call of Moses, the Exodus, the covenant at Sinai, the wilderness wanderings and perhaps the conquest and assembly at Shechem under Joshua. It may have been written in northern Israel around 850 B.C.