ÒÉ the reconstruction of the
history of Israel and its religion, which
Wellhausen carried out on the foundation of his
literary analysis, has almost entirely broken
downÉ. It was assumed that a
document of a particular period could be
utilized by the historian only for evidence
of the period in which it was writtenÉ. This ÔhyperskepticismÕ did not result
in a Ôhistory,Õ for it lacked
foundations, and its builders lacked
yardsticks.Ó – Mendenhall in BANE, 29.