Tradition history

Tradition history or tradition criticism is a methodology of

Scandinavian folklore and the "laws" which he established concerning the nature of such folklore. The stories in the Bible

were then analyzed on the basis of these "laws".

Strengths and weaknesses

Tradition history forces interpreters to consider the possibility that some texts may have had an oral prehistory. It also notes that past traditions were retold and used for a present purpose; that it was made real, vital, or relevant for each successive generation.

The method also has weaknesses. Tradition history creates highly speculative reconstructions, often built on the speculative deductions from source criticism. Moreover, tradition history may exaggerate the role of oral tradition. If texts were written soon after they were spoken so that there was not a long oral prehistory, then the assumptions of tradition history fall to the ground. The use of Olrik's laws is also dubious: It may be a tenuous analogy to compare

Icelandic folklore with Hebrew folklore since they are very different cultures. Some folklorists question whether Olrik's laws apply even to Scandinavian literature much less any other (Gunkel admitted they did not apply to all stories in Genesis

).

References

G. W. Coats, s.v. "Tradition Criticism, OT," Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Supplement.
R. N. Whybray, The Making of the Pentateuch. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987, pp. 133–219.