The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation

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The authorship connection between Moses and the Pentateuch is even more direct in the New Testament (Wolf 1991:55) where there are numerous references to the "Law of Moses" or the "Book of Moses" (Mark 12:26), or just simply to "Moses" as in, “Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27; Acts 26:22). While the gospels contain many references to Moses and his writings, the most important ones are found in the gospel of John. In John 1:17 the gospel writer states that "the law was given through Moses." And in 1:45 he reports that Philip told Nathaniel he had “found the one Moses wrote about in the Law." In John 5:46-47, Jesus Himself declares that Moses wrote about Him, but the Jews did not believe that He was the Christ because they did not believe what Moses wrote. As His dispute with the Jews heated up, Jesus noted that Moses had indeed given them the Law but none of them kept it (John 7:19). In the ensuing dispute with the Jews, Jesus attributes the giving of circumcision to Moses. But John notes here that it actually did not come from Moses but from the Patriarchs. John’s clarification of this point supports the claim for Mosaic authorship. The institution of circumcision came through Abraham (Gen 17) as the sign of the covenant God made with him, yet it comes down to the Jews through the Law of Moses (John 7:22-23). Significantly, the reference to Moses' giving the Jews circumcision implicitly attributes the authorship of Genesis to Moses. Genesis is the most difficult of the five books to link to Moses, thus if some connection can be made between Moses and the Book of Genesis a case can be made for Mosaic authorship of the entire Pentateuch. The first five books of the Bible (both Hebrew and Christian) are foundational to all of Scripture and rank as one of the most important portions of the Word of God (Wolf 1991:17). This is so because its theological and historical revelations are necessary for an understanding of the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament as well. These five books contain, for example, God's revelation about the origin of the world with its emphasis on the creation of man made in the image of God, how sin entered human history and the judgment that followed, and the origin of the nation of Israel and its covenant–relationship to Yahweh. Article from Scofield Reference Notes (1917) (Public Domain) For over 90 years people have relied on this reference work in their daily study of God's Word. Written originally in 1909, C. I. Scofield's intent was to provide a concise but complete tool that would meet the need of someone just beginning to read the Bible. Exodus" is a Latin word derived from Greek Exodos, the name given to the book by those who translated it into Greek. The word means "exit," and "departure" (see Luke 9:31; Heb 11:22). The name was retained by the Latin Vulgate, by the Jewish author Philo (a contemporary of Christ) and by the Syriac version. In Hebrew, the book is named after its first two words, we'elleh shemoth ("These are the names of"). The same phrase occurs in Ge 46:8, where it likewise introduces a list of the names of those Israelites "who went to Egypt with Jacob" (1:1). Thus Exodus was not intended to exist separately but was thought of as a continuation of a narrative that began in Genesis and was completed in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Pentateuch - Torah Bible Meaning and Definition Pentateuch - Torah Bible Meaning and Definition

In establishing a chronological framework for the Old Testament including the Pentateuch, often times more data than the biblical record is needed. The primary sources for developing an Old Testament chronology include, but are not necessarily limited to, biblical data, archaeological data, and astronomical data. Sources of chronological data Biblical sources

TODAY, Are We Tempted to Argue and to Complain?

The Dazzling Darkness of God’s Triune Love: Introducing Evangelicals to the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar by Stephen M. Garrett Plots, Themes, and Responsibilities: The Search for a Center of Biblical Theology Reexamined by Daniel J. Brendsel A certain school of critics have set themselves to reconstruct the books of the Old Testament. By a process of "scientific study" they have discovered that the so-called historical books of the Old Testament are not history at all, but a miscellaneous collection of stories, the inventions of many different writers, patched together by a variety of editors! As regards the Pentateuch, they are not ashamed to attribute fraud, and even conspiracy, to its authors, who sought to find acceptance to their work which was composed partly in the age of Josiah, and partly in that of Ezra and Nehemiah, by giving it out to be the work of Moses! This is not the place to enter into the details of this controversy. We may say frankly, however, that we have no faith in this "higher criticism." It degrades the books of the Old Testament below the level of fallible human writings, and the arguments on which its speculations are built are altogether untenable.

Pentateuch - Torah Bible Meaning and Definition

Our Lord plainly taught the Mosaic authorship of these books ( Matthew 5:17 Matthew 5:18 ; 19:8 ; Matthew 22:31 Matthew 22:32 ; 23:2 ; Mark 10:9 ; 12:26 ; Luke 16:31 ; 20:37 ; Luke 24:26 Luke 24:27 Luke 24:44 ; John 3:14 ; John 5:45 John 5:46 John 5:47 ; John 6:32 John 6:49 ; John 7:19 John 7:22 ). In the face of this fact, will any one venture to allege either that Christ was ignorant of the composition of the Bible, or that, knowing the true state of the case, he yet encouraged the people in the delusion they clung to? This book is retrospective and prospective, is a book of instruction for the redeemed about to enter that inheritance. Also referencing the Sothic cycle, Archer (1979:360) observes that it is possible to establish that the ninth year of Amenhotep I was 1545 B.C. In the ninth year of Amenhotep I, a heliacal rise of Sothis was observed on the ninth day of the third month of summer. Modern astronomers have calculated that, if the observation was made from Memphis or Heliopolis, such an observation could only have been made on that day in 1537 BC. If the observation was made in Thebes, however, it could only have taken place in 1517. The latter choice is usually accepted as correct since Thebes was the capital of early 18th dynasty Egypt; hence, Amenhotep I is given an accession date in 1526 BC, although the possibility of 1546 BC is not entirely dismissed. This is significant from a biblical perspective because if, as argued for below, the Exodus took place in 1446 BC (the early date) then it took place in the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1450-1425) who followed Amenhotep I. Chronological framework of the Pentateuch—Genesis through Deuteronomy Genesis describes the beginning of man, the beginning of marriage, the beginning of human sin, the beginning of human government, the beginning of nations and languages, including the nation of Israel. Andre van Belkum currently serves as the pastor of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in New Zealand and the Pacific region. Previously he pastored congregations in southern Africa, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.Kitchen (1966:53-56) has observed that certain passag The importance of chronology in establishing a history of a nation has been underscored by Thiele (1983:33): Pentateuch means simply “five books”. In Greek, the Pentateuch (which Jews call the Torah) includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. What is the Pentateuch and why is it important?

The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and

Deuteronomy is the last of the books of the Pentateuch and means “second telling of the law” or “repetition of the law.” The book begins with Moses’ discourse at the plains of Moab in the 11th month of the 40th year after the Exodus, and ends with the death of Moses and mourning for him that same year. The book is a restatement of previous laws, along with further instructions to the generation about to leave the wilderness and enter their home in the Promised Land.

The Hebrew word torah means “law,” or “regulations.” And if you’re at all familiar with these books, that’s almost all the explanation you need. This is where the prophet Moses introduces the people of Israel to the Ten Commandments, along with a host of other “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots.” If you’re reading the Bible in English, you won’t find the word “Torah” used—instead, you’ll mostly just see the phrase, “the law.” The author explores hermeneutical issues of text and history, and investigates textual clues of authorial intent. He offers some very persuasive evidence that later biblical authors engaged in serious reflection on the Pentateuch in their prophetic books and Psalms. He focuses on the “final form” of the Pentateuch as a literary work. He also stresses the priority of a textually based canonical reading of the Pentateuch over a historically based reading. Sailhamer is not attempting to cast doubt on the historicity of the underlying events in the text. He is rather calling for more attention to how the biblical author conveys that epochal event in the history of salvation because that is what later authors are concerned about. We should not be as concerned with the history behind the text as with how the author conveys those events through his text. Though Sailhamer utilizes contemporary critical methods in interpreting the Pentateuch, he often identifies with pre-critical commentators in unfolding the theological message of the biblical text. The Pauline epistles use "Moses" in a similar manner as, for example, in Romans 10:5 where Paul says that "Moses describes . . . the righteousness that is by the law," and then goes on to quote Leviticus 18:5. In 2 Corinthians 3:15 Paul refers to the veil that covers the hearts of the Jews "when Moses is read." It would seem, that in these contexts "Moses" denotes the "Books of Moses," and thus the Pentateuch. Nowhere in the New Testament is there any hint that some individual authored the Pentateuch other than Moses. Unity of composition in support of unity of authorship Biblical scholars are not all agreed on the date of the Patriarchal age (Kitchen 1966:41). There are three independent 'main lines' of approach, Kitchen (1966:42-43) argues, that can be taken to establish a chronological framework for this important period of Israel's history. One approach seeks to determine if any major events in the Patriarchal narratives can be linked with external history. Another approach seeks evidence of chronological data preserved in the details of the narratives, such as personal names, legal usages, etc., which can be correlated with possible use in the Near Eastern context recorded in other documents. A third approach gives consideration to possible chronological links between the Patriarchal era and later epochs. Major events and external history

The Meaning of the Pentateuch - The Gospel Coalition

Another important law is known as the Year of Release, which provided that at the end of each six-year period, all property that had been forfeited to satisfy debts should be returned to its original owners. This law was intended not only to prevent an undue accumulation of wealth on the part of a few but also to provide new opportunities for those who had been deprived of their possessions through unfortunate circumstances over which they had no control. Other laws were designed to protect people who had been falsely accused. By fleeing to one of the cities of refuge, the accused person would be safe until the charge had been thoroughly investigated. The term "Pentateuch" does not occur in Scripture, nor is it surely known when the text was thus separated into five parts: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Presumably, that was done by the LXX. translators. Some modern critics speak of a Hexateuch, introducing the Book of Joshua as one of the group. But this book is of an entirely different character from the other books and has a different author. It stands by itself as the first of a series of historical books beginning with the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan. Summary of the Pentateuch The Exodus from Egypt takes place on the 15 th day, of the 1 st month, of the 1 st year (Note: from this point on, time in the Pentateuch; is referenced with respect to the date of the Exodus)

What is the Pentateuch about—and why does it matter?

The Books of Moses (also “the Book of Moses,” or simply “Moses”), who’s traditionally credited as the primary source of these books John Sailhamer is an evangelical Old Testament Professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Brea, CA. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2000, and he authored over a dozen books on biblical theology and the Pentateuch. The current work, The Meaning of The Pentateuch, covers the gamut of biblical studies. Not only does it deal with the meaning of the Pentateuch; it also interacts with hermeneutics, biblical theology, OT theology, and covenant theology and dispensationalism. The evidences in favour of the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch are conclusive. We may thus state some of them briefly: