Wellhausen, Julius
l´y
s vĕl´hou´´zən), 1844–1918, leading German biblical scholar of the 19th cent. He is recognized for his documentary hypothesis that sought to account for both the composition of the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy) and for the evolution and history of Judaism. His Prolegomena to the History of Israel (1883; tr. 1885) is the best known of his many biblical studies.