'Whybray's recent book is a masterful review of all the options set out by critical scholarship since Wellhausen, i.e., over the last century. It is an exhaustive and up to date treatment, concise and highly readable.' E. Dyck, Crux 'Sensitive to standards of ancient historiography and parallels from the Greek sphere, Whybray proposes that the Pentateuch is the work of an ancient historian, possibly designed as a supplement or prologue to the deuteronomistic history. 'Essential for all concerned with fundamentals of critical biblical studies.' W. Lee Humphreys, Religious Studies Review