Article 5(a) - The Pentateuch

By Emmanuel Gomes

(Audio format click to listen -> Spotify narrated by Suharsh Xavier)

The Pentateuch is traditionally known as the five “Books of Moses”. It comprises of the first part of the Jewish and Christian canons of the Scripture. These books enjoy the distinction of inspired status by every sect of ancient Judaism (Samaritans, Sadducces, Pharisees, Essenes) as well as all major Christian communities.

 

“Pentateuch” comes from Greek words pente (five) and teuchos (roll, later coming to mean scroll). In Jewish tradition its also known as the Torah (Hebrew meaning Law).

 

The Pentateuch consists of –

1.    Genesis

2.    Exodus

3.    Leviticus

4.    Numbers

5.    Deuteronomy

 

 

Various Christian heresies denied its authority – most influential being Marcion, a bishop in Italy in second century A.D. He rejected the entirety of Old Testament as being work of a false God, not of the one revealed by Jesus Christ. Also certain groups with roots in the Protestant Reformation dismissed the authority of the Pentateuch and characterized it as “law” opposed to the “Gospel” that comes through Jesus Christ.

 

The Catholic Church has always defended and upheld the importance of these books. Jesus also asserts the inspired character of Torah as seen in Gospel according to Matthew and Luke –

 

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” – (Mt 5:17-18)

 

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one dot of the law to become void.” – (Lk 16:17)

 

Synopsis of the Pentateuch 

 

The Pentateuch covers an enormous span of time. Four foundational covenants are recounted in these books – the covenants with –

 

1.    Adam

2.    Noah

3.    Abraham

4.    Israel (at Sinai)

 

 

A covenant may be defined as the extension of kinship by an oath or as a sacred family bond:

 

(1)         A bond, because it unites two parties in a permanent way

(2)          Family, because the united parties become kin to one another

(3)          Sacred, because the relationship is solemnized and enforced by oaths taken in the name of God

 

Its different from a contract in the sense that contract is an agreement between two parties which is not necessarily sacred, familial or permanent. Contracts are usually concerned with exchange or disposition of goods or services.

 

Genesis, recounts the history of the world from its creation to the birth of Abraham (Gen 1-11), then it follows the lives of three great patriarchs of the people of Israel – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen 12-36). Finally the life of Joseph, Jacob’s favourite son, who is largely responsible for relocating the family of Jacob (Israel) in Egypt in the second millennium B.C. (Gen 37-50).

 

Exodus, begins with the background of the birth of Moses (Ex 1-2) and then follows his ministry in leading the people of Israel out of Egypt into the desert, to the holy mountain called Sinai (Ex 3-23). This is where God establishes a covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel, grants them laws and forgives their rebellion against him in their idolatrous worship of the Golden Calf. God also guides them in the construction of a house of worship, the Tabernacle (Ex 24-40)

 

Leviticus, describes the laws given by God in great detail, after the Golden calf incident and the establishment of the Levites as the priestly tribe. The laws concerning sacrifice, worship, and ritual cleanliness (Lev 1-16) followed by certain social and civil laws (Lev 17-27) to guide the people of Israel as a nation.

 

Numbers, recounts two censuses of the Israelites (Num 1 and 26) taken before and after a period of approximately forty years spent in wandering in the desert due to Israel’s refusal to enter the land of Canaan (Num 14). This period is depicted as one with continuous rebellion against God, his representatives, and his laws – ten such rebellions are recorded in the book. Some laws are added to the covenant relationship after leaving Sinai.

 

Deuteronomy, constitutes a well organized treaty covenant document between God and Israel. It is written as first person discourse of Moses, it also comprises the “last will and testament” of the greatest prophet in Israel’s history. He warns people to obey God’s covenant law, restates that law with further additions and utters prophecies about the future of God’s people (Deut 1-33). The book concludes with Moses’ death, prior to the people’s entrance into the land of Canaan (Deut 34).

 

Structure of the Pentateuch 

 

It can be represented as a chiasm – a literary structure in which the first and last elements balance, the second and second-to-last balance, and so on, all the way down to the central point in the text. Chiasm comes from Greek chi, the name of the letter X. Chiasm represents one side of the letter X as shown below –

 

Genesis: Prologue - Israel’s past (and future)

    Exodus 1-19: Israel from the fields of Egypt to Sinai

      Exodus 20-40: Israel at Sinai, preparing for the liturgy

        Leviticus: Israel’s liturgy established at Sinai

      Numbers 1-10: Israel at Sinai, preparing to leave

    Numbers 11-36: Israel from Sinai to the plains of Moab

Deuteronomy: Epilogue - Israel’s future (and past)

 

This concludes the introduction to the Pentateuch. In our next article we will discuss on the origin of the Pentateuch. We will look at the Jewish and Christian tradition as well as the Documentary Hypothesis which designates J, E, D & P as the authors of the Pentateuch as opposed to traditional belief of Mosaic authorship.

 

Reference

 

(1)       What is the Pentateuch? (Chapter 3) from A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre