The Study of Pentateuch

1. What is Torah?  The First Five Books are commonly called as the “Pentateuch” a word derived from the Greek penta meaning five and teuchos meaning scroll.  Torah means not only “law” but also “teaching” or “instruction.”  Story as Torah

Tamara Cohn Eskenazi  “The Torah is meaningful memory written explicitly for a purpose: to engage and teach a community how to live in relation to God. The story is not a dispassionate report of what happened, merely told to satisfy curiosity. It seeks to promulgate a public memory of a shared past and define a common future. And the medium it uses, narrative, is inseparable from the messages it seeks to convey.”

The Importance of Torah  For the Jews the Pentateuch contained an authority that the rest of the OT—the prophets and the writings—did not seem to match.  When the Jews were driven from their home land, it was Torah that sustained their identity.  Torah was also used for the formulation of young Israelite’s character and identity

The Impact of the Torah on the OT  To borrow the phrase from Moberly, Torah is the “Old Testament of the Old Testament.”

Documentary Hypothesis  Chronology of Pentateuchal Sources AstrucEichhornEJ

Chronology of the Pentateuchal sources Astruc DeWette Eichhorn Ewald E E J J D

Chronology of the Pentateuchal sources Astruc DeWette Hupfeld Eichhorn Ewald E E E1 J J E2 D J D J D

Chronology of the Pentateuchal sources Astruc DeWette Hupfeld Valke Eichhorn Ewald Graf E E E1 E2 J J E2 J D J D D J D D E1 D E1

Chronology of the Pentateuchal Sources Astruc DeWette Hupfeld Valke Wellhausen Eichhorn Ewald Graf E E E1 E2 J J J E2 J E (E2) D J D D D J D D D E1 P (E1) D E1 P (E1)

Conclusion of Wellhausen 1. Pentateuch is a combination of four different sources 2. Its final form was achieved not before 400 BC J-850 BC E-750 BC D-621 BC P-450 BC

Theology of Pentateuch David Clines 1. Emphasis is on the final form-a synchronic approach 2. His attempt is to portray that Pentateuch is a coherent book 3. He chooses the theme: Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promise and blessings of the patriarchs

Way to Go  Both Diachronic and Synchronic approaches have to be considered  Only then the composite artistry of the redactor can be appreciated  Theology or normative aspect of the text comes alive  Biblical and Theological studies should edify and inform the congregation rather than shatter their faith.