Answering Biblical Criticism with Chazal and Rabbi Fohrman”
In 2015, Rabbi David Fohrman released a now-famous lecture titled “Answering Biblical Criticism.” In it, he quietly introduced a compelling literary argument. This argument references Torah single authorship. It connects to Jacob’s sons and the Exodus. This argument supports the divine authorship of the Torah. The argument is elegant. It is mathematically improbable. It is also rooted in classic Jewish sources. This combination turns centuries of academic Bible criticism on its head.
Here is the argument in one sentence:
The birth order and meanings of Jacob’s first three sons demonstrate a prophetic sequence. Reuben means “see, a son.” Shimon means “He has heard.” Levi means “he will join.” These names perfectly and sequentially predict the three-stage redemption narrative of the Book of Exodus. This is explicitly declared by God Himself in Exodus chapters 3–6.
Torah single authorship Jacob’s sons Exodus
This is not mystical wordplay. It is a verifiable, text-based phenomenon. Chazal noticed it two thousand years ago. Modern scholarship has never been able to explain it away.
The Hidden Blueprint: How Jacob’s Sons Prove the Torah Could Only Have One Author
The Names and Their Prophetic Echoes
When Leah names her first three sons in Genesis 29, she is not merely expressing personal emotion. Midrash after Midrash tells us she is speaking with ruach ha-kodesh – divine inspiration.
Torah single authorship Jacob’s sons Exodus
- Reuben – “See, a son!” (Gen 29:32) “Because the Lord has seen (ra’ah) my affliction…” → Exodus 3:7. “I have surely seen (ra’oh ra’iti) the affliction of My people…”. In Exodus 4:22, it states: “Thus says the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn (bni bechori).” Baal HaTurim points out that ראובן = בכורי in gematria. The connection is exact.
- Shimon – “He has heard” (Gen 29:33) “Because the Lord has heard (shama) that I am hated…” → Exodus 2:24 – “God heard (va-yishma) their groaning…” → Exodus 3:7 – “I have heard (shamoa shama’ti) their cry…”
- Levi – “Now my husband will be joined to me” (Gen 29:34). The root ל-ו-ה appears only here in all of Genesis. It is used in the context of marital attachment. → At Sinai, Israel becomes “joined” to God in covenant: “They shall be Mine… a kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:5–6). → The tribe of Levi is literally “joined” (nilveh) to God forever (Numbers 18:2–4).
The sequence is not random. The Torah itself later records God testifying against Pharaoh using the exact same order:
“ראה ראיתי… שמוע שמעתי… בני בכורי ישראל” “I have surely seen. I have surely heard. Israel is My firstborn son.” (Exodus 3–4).
The Chiastic Masterpiece of Exodus
Rabbi Fohrman takes the discovery far deeper. The entire Book of Exodus is structured as a perfect chiasm whose central axis is the tribe of Levi and whose “bookends” are the tribe of Reuben:
- A – Reuben motif: Pharaoh “sees” the multiplying Israelites and fears them (Ex 1:9 – “ראו”, same root as Reuben)
- B – Shimon motif: Israel cries out, God “hears” (Ex 2:24, 3:7)
- C – Levi motif: Covenant at Sinai – Israel is “joined” to God
- B’ – Shimon reversed: Golden Calf – “They have turned aside quickly… they did not listen”
- A’ – Reuben reversed: Plague of darkness – “A man could not see his brother” (Ex 10:23)
The literary architecture is breathtaking. The same three tribes begin Israel’s national story in Genesis. They form the symmetrical skeleton of the entire redemption narrative in Exodus.
Chazal Saw It First
The Sages never needed modern literary theory to notice this. Consider these sources:
- Shemot Rabbah 1:27: “When Reuben was born, God spoke. He said, ‘In the future I will say My son, My firstborn.’ Therefore, she called his name Reuben.”
- Tanchuma Yashan, Shemot 4: God testifies using the precise order of the three sons.
- Zohar Chadash (Bereishit 28b): The three sons correspond to the three stages of redemption. The first stage is seeing the pain. The second stage is hearing the cry. The final stage is the joining at Sinai.
Two thousand years ago, our Sages already understood that the Torah was speaking across centuries with a single, prophetic voice.
How Jacob’s Sons Prove the Torah Only Have One Author
Reuben : Behold, a son – Sees affliction but unstable (like Israel’s early wanderings and loss of birthright).
– Simeon : God hears – Heard in suffering, but violent (echoes pogroms and exiles).
– Levi : Joined – Attachment to God amid trials (Levites as priests, but scattered).
– Judah : Praise – Royal line, kingship through David to Messiah (and modern Israel’s resilience).
– Dan : Judge – Justice in the end times (tribal reversals).
– Naphtali : My struggle – Wrestling for freedom (like the Haganah fights).
– Gad : Troop comes – Invasion and victory (biblical wars to 1948 defenses).
– Asher : Happy – Blessing in prosperity (post-exile rebuilds).
– Issachar : Hire/reward – Labor for the land (aliyah waves).
– Zebulun : Dwelling/honor – Maritime trade and global diaspora success. –
Joseph : He adds/increase – Fruitfulness in Egypt/exile (spies, statesmen like Disraeli). –
Benjamin : Son of the right hand – Strength in youth (modern Israel’s tech/military edge).
The Fatal Problem for the Documentary Hypothesis
The academic Documentary Hypothesis claims that Genesis and Exodus were stitched together centuries apart by different authors or schools:
- “J” likes anthropomorphic “seeing” language
- “E” prefers “hearing” language
- “P” focuses on priestly covenant and “joining”
The irony is devastating. The critics use stylistic differences to divide the text into sources. Ironically, these same differences unify the text across centuries in prophetic order.
Ask any honest scholar: What is the statistical probability of three separate documents coordinating their favorite verbs? These documents were written hundreds of years apart by competing schools. They could accidentally match the birth order of twelve brothers named four centuries earlier?
The answer is effectively zero.
From Defense to Offense
For too long, believing Jews have been on the defensive against higher criticism. This discovery flips the script. We now possess an argument that is:
- Text-based and verifiable by anyone
- Rooted in classic Jewish sources
- Statistically and literarily overwhelming
- Impossible to explain under any naturalistic, multi-author theory
No ancient Near Eastern text – Egyptian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, or Greek – shows anything like this level of long-range design. Its symmetrical, prophetic nature is unparalleled. The Torah stands alone.
Conclusion: One Author Who Knows the End from the Beginning
The Ramban opens his commentary on Exodus by calling it Sefer HaGeulah. This means the Book of Redemption. Every detail of it is woven together with chochmat ha-Elohim, divine wisdom.
We see Reuben’s name echoing in “Israel is My firstborn.” We hear Shimon’s name in the cries God answers. We watch the tribe of Levi become the eternal symbol of Israel’s attachment to God. We are not looking at the work of human editors.
We are looking at the fingerprint of the One who declared, long before the story unfolded:
“See, a son! I have heard! And now – he will be joined to Me.”
That is the voice of a single Author – the Author of history itself.
Sources & Further Study
- Rabbi David Fohrman, “Answering Biblical Criticism” (YouTube)
- Bereishit Rabbah 84, Shemot Rabbah 1, Tanchuma Yashan Shemot
- Baal HaTurim, Sforno, and Ramban on Genesis 29
- Zohar Chadash, Bereishit 28b
Chazzan Gavriel ben David