Torah (Pentateuch)
The Five Books of Moses — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The foundational layer of Hebrew Scripture: primordial origin narratives (creation, flood, patriarchs), the Exodus and Sinai covenant, and the Mosaic law. ASV (1901).
Source context· Egyptian-Hebrew stream · Egypto-Chaldean cultural impulse
- Stream
- Egyptian-Hebrew
- Cultural impulse
- Egypto-Chaldean (3rd post-Atlantean cultural age)
- Composed
- c. 1200 BCE
- Written down
- Greco-Latin (4th post-Atlantean cultural age) manuscript epoch
- 1Genesis — Genesis — origins; the patriarchs
The book of origins. The two creation narratives (1:1-2:3 the seven days; 2:4-25 the garden); the Fall; Cain and Abel; the Flood and Noah; the Tower of Babel; then from Abraham (ch 12) the patriarchal narratives — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph — that establish the covenant promise to Israel.
41,309 words - 2Exodus — Exodus — the deliverance from Egypt; the giving of the Law
The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. Moses called at the burning bush; the ten plagues; the Passover; the crossing of the Red Sea; the giving of the Law at Sinai (the Decalogue, the Book of the Covenant); the construction of the Tabernacle and the inauguration of the priesthood.
34,728 words - 3Leviticus — Leviticus — the priestly torah
The priestly book of sacrificial law and ritual purity. The five great offerings (burnt, grain, peace, sin, guilt); the ordination of Aaron; the death of Nadab and Abihu; the Day of Atonement (ch 16); the Holiness Code (chs 17-26) with its great commandment 'love your neighbour as yourself.'
25,632 words - 4Numbers — Numbers — the wilderness wandering
The thirty-eight years of wandering between the Sinai covenant and the entry into Canaan. The two censuses (which give the book its English name); the rebellions of the people; the bronze serpent; the prophet Balaam and his ass; the death of Aaron; the apportionment of the land before the crossing.
34,718 words - 5Deuteronomy — Deuteronomy — Moses' final discourses
Moses' three farewell discourses to Israel on the plains of Moab before the crossing of the Jordan. The reaffirmation of the Decalogue (ch 5); the Shema (6:4-5): Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…; the Song of Moses (ch 32); the blessing of the tribes; the death of Moses on Nebo.
29,968 words
JSON: /api/sources/old-testament/torah/index.json · Back to Sources.