An Introduction to the Pentateuch:

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An Introduction to the Pentateuch

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Hebrew Canon

• hrwt
• yaybn
• ybwtkw

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Torah in General

• "An essential aspect of the traditional Jewish
  understanding of Scripture is the priority of the
  Pentateuch. Levinson
• "The faithful Jew studies the Torah continually,
  explores its treasures, and absorbs it beauty,
  but even a prophet may not change the ancient and
  eternal revelation. Levinson
• "In both the rabbinic and the apostolic cases,
  the doctrine of the priority of the Pentateuch
  serves to thwart consciousness of change and thus
  to uphold the insistence of the Pentateuch itself
  upon the finality of Mosaic revelation (Deut 4.2
  13.1)."

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Torah in General

• ". . . for both Christians and Jews, Scripture
  begins with the Torah. For Judaism we could
  remove the article and say that "Scripture begins
  and ends with Torah," inasmuch as the rest of the
  Hebrew Bible especially the prophetic books,
  but also to some extent the "writings" can be
  understood as interpretive extensions of the
  Torah, rather than as portions of equal weight.
  Levinson

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Terminology

• . . . already in the post-exilic period, in the
  later books of the OT, there are references to
  "the Book of Moses" (Ezra 6.18 Neh 13.1 2 Chr
  25.4), but it is not clear whether the entire
  Pentateuch is intended or only the legal
  sections. Childs
• Chumash Hebrew word for five
• Subsequent Jewish tradition coined the technical
  term "the five-fifths of the law" (yvmwx hvmx
  hrwt) to describe the division of the Pentateuch
  into five parts. Childs
• The term pentateuchus is the Latin rendering of
  the Greek hv Penta,teucoj, meaning the fivefold
  book."

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Content of the Pentateuch

• 1. "The OT Pentateuch, or Torah, combines
  narratives and legal materials with occasional
  poetic sections. The narrative material tells the
  story of human history from Adam to Abraham, then
  recounts the fate of Abraham and his descendants
  (primarily the ancestors of Israel) until the
  period just before the conquest of the territory
  west of the Jordan River. The legal material
  primarily appears as two large blocks the

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Content of the Pentateuch

• revelations given while the people are encamped
  at Mt. Sinai (Ex 19-40 Lev Num 1.1-10.10) and
  Moses' proclamation of the laws in Moab just
  before the conquest (Num 22-36 and Deut). At
  other places, laws, commands, and legal
  ordinances appear (see Gen 1.28-29 9.1-7
  17.9-15 and throughout the journeys recorded in
  Num 10.10-21.35)." Hayes, An Introduction to OT
  Study, 157-8

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Content of the Pentateuch

• 2. "The Pentateuch narrates God's dealings with
  the world especially with the family of Abraham
  from creation to the death of Moses." D. A.
  Hubbard, "Pentateuch," The New Bible Dictionary,
  ed. J. D. Douglas, 958

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Content of the Pentateuch

• 3. The Pentateuch... has six major parts
  Friedman, "Pentateuch," ABD
• (1) The primeval history Gen 1-11
• (2) The patriarchs Gen 12-50
• (3) The liberation from Egypt Exod1.1-15.21
  (interim 15.22-16.36)
• (4) The stay at Sinai/Horeb Exod 17-40 Lev
• (5) The journey Num
• (6) Moses' farewell Deut

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The Canonical Form Function

• The Five as Separate
• The Five as One

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Authorship Issues

• 1. The Pentateuch/Torah as an anonymous work
• 2. Mosaic Authorship
• 2.1 Judaism Christianity accepted a Mosaic
  authorship without question for centuries
  Ben-Sira, Philo, Josephus, the Mishnah, Talmud,
  etc.
• 2.2 OT the book of the law of Moses (Neh 8.1)
  the book of Moses (Neh 13.1 2 Chr 25.4, 35.12)
  the law of Moses the servant of God (Dan 9.11
  cf. Mal 4.4) the book of the law of Moses (Josh
  8.31, 23.6 2 Kgs 14.6), etc.
• 2.3 NT the book of Moses (Mk 12.26 the law of
  Moses (Lk 2.22 Jn 7.23), etc.

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Authorship Issues

• 3. Mosaic and Single Authorship Challenged
• 3.1 Anachronisms
• 3.2 Multiple accounts of the same event
• 3.3 Disagreements between narratives
• 3.4 Differences in the Laws
• 3.5 Gods name Yahweh
• 3.6 Differences in style and conception of God

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Authorship Issues

• 4. The Point of Moses Authorship Childs
• 4.1 Mosaic authorship was thought crucial in
  supporting the historicity of Bible . . . .
• 4.2 . . . Moses writing activity is closely
  tied to his mediatorial role in receiving the
  divine law at Sinai.
• 4.3 Deuteronomy 31
• 4.4 . . .laws attributed to Moses were deemed
  authoritative, and conversely authoritative laws
  were attributed to Moses.
• 4.5 The claim of Mosaic authorship therefore
  functioned theologically within the community to
  establish the continuity of the faith of
  successive generations with that which had once
  been delivered to Moses at Sinai.

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NOTH'S MAJOR THEMES

• 1. Guidance out of Egypt
• 2. Guidance into the Arable Land
• 3. Promise to the Patriarchs
• 4. Guidance in the Wilderness
• 5. Revelation at Sinai

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NOTH'S NARRATIVE FILL

• 1. The Egyptian Plagues and the Celebration of
  the Passover
• 2. Episodes Connected with the Occupation
• 3. Baal Peor and Balaam
• 4. Jacob at Shechem
• 5. Jacob in East Jordan
• 6. Isaac and Abraham

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NOTH'S NARRATIVE FILL

• 7. Thirst, Hunger, and Enemies in the Wilderness
• 8. The Murmuring of the People
• 9. Caleb in Hebron
• 10. The Mountain of God and the Midianites
• 11. Covenant and Apostasy at Sinai

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CLINES PENTATEUCHAL THEME

• "The theme of the Pentateuch is the partial
  fulfillment - which implies also the partial
  non-fulfillment - of the promise to or blessing
  of the patriarchs. The promise or blessing is
  both the divine initiative in a word where human
  initiatives always lead to disaster, and a
  re-affirmation of the primal divine intentions
  for man. The promise has three elements
  posterity, divine-human relationship, and land.
  The

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CLINES PENTATEUCHAL THEME

• posterity - element of the promise is dominant
  in Genesis 12-50, the relationship-element in
  Exodus and Leviticus, and the land-element in
  Numbers and Deuteronomy." Clines, The Theme of
  the Pentateuch, 29

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CLINES PROMISES

• The promise of descendants
• Gen 12.2, 7 13.15 15.4f, 13, 16, 18 16.10
  17.2, 4-7, 16, 19f 21.12f, 18, 16ff 26.3f, 24
  28.13f 35.11 46.3.
• The promise of relationship
• Gen 12.2f 17.1-11, 16, 17ff 26.2f, 24 28.13,
  15 35.9f 46.3 48.21.

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CLINES PROMISES

• The promise of relationship
• Gen 12.2f 17.1-11, 16, 17ff 26.2f, 24 28.13,
  15 35.9f 46.3 48.21.
• Exod 3.6, 12, 15f 4.5, 23 5.1 6.6ff 7.16
  8.1MT 7.26 26 MT 8.16 9.1, 13 10.3.
• Lev 26.12.

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CLINES PROMISES

• The promise of land
• Gen 12.1, 7 13.14f, 17 15.7, 13, 16, 18 17.8
  22.17 26.2ff 28.13.15 35.12 46.3f.
• Exod 3.8, 17 6.6ff 23.23-33 34.24.

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CLINES PROMISES

• Allusions to the promise
• Gen 18.19f 21.1 24.7, 60 26.3 283f, 13ff
  31.5, 42 32.9, 12 MT 32.10, 13 35.3, 12
  47.27 48.3f, 15f, 21 50.24.
• Exod 1.7, 9f, 12, 20 2.24 6.4f, 8 13.5, 11
  32.10, 13 33.1, 3.
• Lev 14.13 18.3 19.23, 33 20.22, 24 23.10, 22
  25.2 26.4f, 44f.

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CLINES PROMISES

• Allusions continued
• Num 10.29 13.1 14.7f, 12, 16, 22ff, 30f, 40,
  42f 15.2, 18, 40 16.12ff, 41, 41 17.6 17.27f
  MT 17.12f 18.20 20.4, 12, 24 21.5, 24, 31,
  35 22.12 23.8, 10, 20f 24.9 25.18 26.53
  32.5, 32f 33.5f, 54 34.2, 13, 17.

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CLINES PROMISES

• Allusions continued
• Deut 1.8, 10f, 20f, 25, 35f, 39 2.7, 12, 24, 29,
  31 4.20, 31, 37 5.3, 31 MT 5.28 6.3, 10,
  18f, 23 7.8, 12f 8.1, 18 9.5, 26-29 10.11,
  15, 22 11.9, 21 13.17 15.4, 6 19.8 26.3, 5,
  15, 18f 27.3, 9 28.9ff 29.10-13 MT 29.9-12
  30.16, 20 31.7, 20f, 23 34.4.

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CLINES Promises in Genesis

• 1. "In thematic terms, Genesis 12-50 is primarily
  concerned with the fulfillment (or, perhaps,
  non-fulfillment) of the posterity - element in
  the divine promises to the patriarchs. The theme
  appears at first in the shape of questions
  first, will there be even one son, let alone a
  posterity? and secondly, once sons is born, will
  he survive to produce a posterity." Clines, The
  Theme of the Pentateuch, 45

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CLINES Promises in Genesis

• 2. "...it is only within Exodus that the
  multiplication of the patriarchal family attains
  significant dimensions (Ex 1.7, 9, 12, 20).
  Genesis ends with the patriarchal family
  consisting essentially of Jacob and his twelve
  sons. The promise has begun to take effect, but
  is still largely unrealized." Clines, The Theme
  of the Pentateuch, 46

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CLINES Promises in Genesis

• 3. "The thematic elements of the land and of the
  divine relationship also appear in Genesis, but
  in a subsidiary role." Clines, The Theme of the
  Pentateuch, 46
• 4. "As for the promise of the divine
  relationship, its formulation in Genesis remains
  somewhat cryptic and its outworking variable and
  provisional." Clines, The Theme of the
  Pentateuch, 46

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CLINES Promises in Genesis

• 5. "In brief, within Genesis it is by no means
  established in set terms what the nature of the
  divine-human relationship is to be. The promise
  has begun to take effect, but the shape it will
  adopt is as yet uncertain." Clines, The Theme of
  the Pentateuch, 47

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• 1. "It is in these books that the element in the
  promise of God's relationship with the
  descendants of Abraham is most clearly brought to
  expression. At the two focal points of these
  books, the exodus event and the Sinai revelation,
  it becomes plain what the promise meant by its
  word, "I will bless you," "I will make my
  covenant between me and you," "I will be you
  God." Thus in the book Exodus the narrative of
  the exodus

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• from Egypt is initiated by acts that spring from
  the divine-human relationship...." Clines, The
  Theme of the Pentateuch, 47

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• 2. "As for the book of Leviticus, its function,
  within the scheme of the promise and its
  fulfillments, is to spell out in detail the means
  by regulation of ritual worship is its almost
  exclusive interest its presuppositions are that
  men will wish to offer gifts to God, will sin
  against God, will want to know the will of God
  for everyday life. That is to say, Leviticus
  depicts a community exploring its

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• relationship with God." Clines, The Theme of
  the Pentateuch, 50

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• 3. "Both Exodus and Leviticus therefore lead into
  a future in which Israel has yet to discover what
  this promise of a relationship, "I will be your
  God and you shall be my people," will mean."
  Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, 51

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• 4. ". . . it is striking that the promise of
  progeny is subordinated to the promise of the
  relationship, the primary theme of these two
  books Yahweh will "remember the covenant with
  their forefathers, whom I brought forth out of
  the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations,
  that I might be their God" (26.45). And certainly
  Israel has not yet become a "great nation" the
  promise of progeny awaits a fuller realization."
  Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, 52

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CLINES Promises in Exod Lev

• 5. "The promise of the land, though more
  prominent, nevertheless appears only in scattered
  allusions throughout Exodus and Leviticus,
  compared with the dominant role it will assume in
  Numbers and Deuteronomy." Clines, The Theme of
  the Pentateuch, 52

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CLINES Promises in Num Deut

• 1. "The promise of the land, though more
  prominent, nevertheless appears only in scattered
  allusions throughout Exodus and Leviticus,
  compared with the dominant role it will assume in
  Numbers and Deuteronomy." Clines, The Theme of
  the Pentateuch, 53

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CLINES Promises in Num Deut

• 2. "In Numbers the idea of the movement toward
  the land appears at the very beginning of the
  book in the census of the people . . . . Just as
  we have seen in both Genesis and Exodus, no
  sooner does the promise begin to come into effect
  than it is beset by questions and negations."
  Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, 53-55

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CLINES Promises in Num Deut

• 3. "As far as Deuteronomy is concerned, it goes
  without saying that everything focuses upon the
  land. Among its most characteristic phrases are
  "the land you are to possess" which occurs (with
  variations) 22 time, and "the land (or, ground,
  gates, cites, etc.) which Yahweh your (or, our,
  etc.) God gives you (or, us)", which occurs 34
  times." Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, 58

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CLINES Promises in Num Deut

• 4. "Deuteronomy, therefore, is oriented to the
  land that yet remains to be entered, and regards
  the entry into the land as essentially a
  fulfillment of the patriarchal promises. In no
  part of the Pentateuch is our thesis better
  sustained that its theme is the partial and yet
  awaited fulfillment of the patriarchal promise."
  Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, 58

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Structural Issues

• 1. Division
• 1.1 Chapters by Stephen Langton (1150-1228) in
  the Vulgate
• 1.2 Verses are found as early as the Talmudic
  period, but not numbered.
• 1.3 Verse numbering was by Robert Estienne (1550
  Greek N.T. 3 years later the whole French bible)
• 1.4 The Masoretic Bible was divided into
  liturgical readings.

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Structural Issues

• 2. Book Division
• 2.1 Whatever the reason for the division, we can
  hardly assume that it was done in a purely
  mechanical way according to length. Exodus and
  Numbers, the second and fourth of the five, are
  almost exactly equal in length (16,713 and 16,413
  words respectively) while Leviticus, the middle
  book, is by far the shortest (11,950 words), not
  much more than half the length of Genesis.
• 2.2 The fivefold arrangement highlights
  Leviticus as the central panel of the pentad,
  containing as it does the prescriptions
  identifying the reconstituted Israel of the
  Second Commonwealth as a holy community distinct
  from the nations of the world. If this is so, the
  structure of the foundational narrative, now
  severed from the history of events subsequent to
  the death of Moses, encodes an essential clue to
  its meaning." Blenkinsopp

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• Ambiguities "The Pentateuchal narrative is
  filled with ambiguities, seemingly intended,
  which have been fodder for a rich variety of
  interpretation over centuries.... such literary
  ambiguities, which do not have appearance of
  inexpert composition but, quite the contrary,
  beckon for decipherment and interpretation."
  Friedman, "Torah (Pentateuch)," ABD, CD-Rom
  Edition

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• Irony "The narrative is characterized by
  frequent occurrences of irony, particularly in
  the Jacob and Joseph sequences." Friedman,
  "Torah (Pentateuch)," ABD, CD-Rom Edition

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• Character Development "There appear to be two
  classes of character development in the Torah.
  Most persons, both major and minor figures in the
  work, are essentially constant personalities.
  Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Aaron, and the
  Pharaoh do not grow and change dramatically from
  their first appearances in the narrative to their
  last. However, three figures in the Torah are
  pictured as changing through the course of events
  of their lives Jacob, Joseph, and Moses."
  Friedman, "Torah (Pentateuch)," ABD, CD-Rom
  Edition

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• Paronomasia "Paronomasia is common, especially
  in J and E, though occasionally in other sources
  as well." Friedman, "Torah (Pentateuch)," ABD,
  CD-Rom Edition

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• Unity and a collection of small units "Perhaps
  most striking among the literary qualities of the
  Torah is the extent to which it is both a unit
  and a collection of small units. The units or
  episodes are united (a) by common themes
  (especially covenant), (b) by falling into a
  chronological flow of generations through
  history, and (c) by editorial connecting
  mechanisms (such as the book of generations, and
  the list of

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LITERARY QUALITIES

• stations of the journey from Sinai to the
  promised land). The result is that the Torah can
  be read as individual stories or as a continuous,
  meaningful narrative with pervasive themes."
  Friedman, "Torah (Pentateuch)," ABD, CD-Rom
  Edition

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Narrative Integrity Anomalies

• 1. Narrative Tempo
• 2. Continuing Narrative