In the previous article, mention was made of the primitive source often called "J," written in Judah and stressing the term Jehovah, one of the spellings used for Yahweh or Yahwah, often translated Lord. This is the name for Deity so characteristic of the account of creation that begins in the second chapter of Genesis, from verse 4 onward. Its use continues in Chapter 3 and in later passages.
The source now under consideration is generally referred to as "E." This source is thought to have been written in the northern kingdom of Ephraim, or Israel. It chose to lay special emphasis on the deeply significant Hebrew word Elohim, repeatedly translated "God."
Elohim is the term for "God" used in the familiar and deeply loved first chapter of Genesis, so justly considered as presenting the spiritual record of creation—the God who "created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him" (verse 27). It is generally held, however, that the first chapter of Genesis belongs to still another body of material, often designated "P," and that a writer or writers of a priestly background prepared its memorable and beautiful phrases at a later date, perhaps soon after the Exile in Babylon.
