Introduction to the Torah

1. NAMES FOR THE TORAH

            1) Torah (תּוֹרָה): Law

            2) Pentateuch (πεντετεύχως): The Greek term for the 

                Torah. Literally, it means "five cases." The term cases 

                refers to the cases that contained the scrolls on which 

                the books were written.

            3) Chumash (חומשׁ): Derived from the Hebrew word for 

                 "five." Also referred to as Chamishah Chumshei Torah.

            4) The Five Books of Moses

2. AUTHORSHIP[1]

            Until the rise of the critical interpretation of the Old        

            Testament, there was a virtual consensus that Moses was 

            the author of the Torah, having received it by divine 

            revelation from the LORD.

            Opponents of the traditional view cite the "impossibility" of 

            Moses having written the final chapter of the Torah, 

            because Deuteronomy 34 records the death of Moses. 

            There are at least two ancient views that account for 

            Deuteronomy 34.

                   1) The Supernatural View: Some have suggested 

                       that the LORD revealed to Moses the events of 

                       his final days ahead of time, and Moses 

                       subsequently wrote down the account. Certainly 

                       God in His omnipotence would not have a 

                       problem doing this.

                   2) The "Joshua" View: Another ancient view is that 

                        God inspired Joshua to record Deuteronomy 34. A 

                        textual-linguistic analysis of the chapter reveals 

                        that its style is different from the rest of the 

                        Torah. While the majority of the Torah makes 

                        free usage of the seven stems of Biblical Hebrew, 

                        Deuteronomy 34 contains the most basic stem, 

                        known as the Qal stem. This difference may be 

                        attributed to the formal education which Moses 

                        and Joshua received. While Moses received the 

                        best education that Egypt had to offer, Joshua 

                        likely received an education consistent with that 

                        of a typical Egyptian slave.

3. The DATE OF THE TORAH

         • The key to the chronology of the Old Testament appears 

            in 1 Kings 6:1:

            Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year 

           after the sons of Israel  came out of the land of Egypt, in 

           the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the 

           month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began 

           to build the house of the LORD. (1 Kings 6:1)

           

            The fourth year of Solomon's reign dates to 996 B.C.

         • The sons of Israel left Egypt 480 years before 996 B.C., 

            which would mean that the Exodus occurred in 1446 B.C.

         • Since the Exodus occurred in 1446 B.C., this would mean 

            that the forty year wandering of the sons of Israel in the 

            desert occurred between 1446-1406 B.C. During this time 

            period, Moses wrote the Torah.

---

[1] T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2003), s.v. "Authorship of the Pentateuch," by T. Desmond Alexander.