Handout 11
An Initial Overview of the Pentateuch
A. The Titles & Labels for the Pentateuch:
The “Pentateuch” is the first five books of the OT = Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy. The first part of the English word “Pentateuch,” “Penta-,” means five. It reflects the fact that there are five books in it.
The most common NT label for the Pentateuch or for the “law of Moses” is simply “the law.”
The common OT label is “the torah of Moses.” The word “torah” comes from a Hebrew word that means “teaching.”
However, in many translations of the OT, the Hebrew word “torah” is often rendered “law,” so that it will be consistent with the way the NT renders it.
Both terms, torah and law, make sense.
The Pentateuch is also called “the five books of Moses” because Moses is viewed as their primary author.
B. A Basic Observation about the Pentateuch:
The Pentateuch is one big book with 5 main parts
In the ancient hand-written manuscripts of the Old Testament (= the Hebrew Bible), at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, there are some notes from the ancient Jewish scribes. These notes tell us that they viewed the five books of the Pentateuch as one overall book, the Torah of Moses.
400,945 words in the Pentateuch
C. The Major Developments / Events in the Pentateuch:
Genesis
-
Genesis tells the story of creation, and the fall; the flood, & the preservation of the race through Noah; and the confusing of languages & the scattering of the nations at the tower of Babel.
-
Then, God called one family / nation (Abraham) through which to reach all nations.
-
The patriarchs were: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Jacob’s name was changed to Israel).
-
Jacob and his family (the Israelites) wound up down in Egypt.
- Jacob told Joseph take his bones out of Egypt indicating God's intending for them to leave eventually
Exodus
-
After they were treated badly, God brought them out of Egypt with great power.
- Egypt to Sinai 2 months (maybe 3)
- Remained there for 14 months
-
Israel then had a dramatic encounter with God at Mt. Sinai.
-
The nation of Israel entered into a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai, (= the Sinai Covenant).
-
The ‘Law’ is the stipulations of this covenant.
- 613 laws
- Honor God, He will bless them
Leviticus
- Israel receives the laws governing their sacrifices, offerings, & festivals.
Numbers
-
Israel spied out the land, but the Israelites do not believe God to enter the land, and voted ‘no’.
-
As a consequence, God decrees that they will wander for 40 years in the wilderness.
-
The older unbelieving generation gradually died off over the 40 years (see Ps 95).
Deuteronomy
-
Eventually, God leads the younger generation to the plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan river.
-
The book of Deuteronomy takes place there. Moses gives speeches which prepare them to cross the Jordan and enter the promised land. // That is where the Pentateuch concludes.
Handout 12
Some Preliminary Observations Re: Genesis 1 & 2
A. Q: What is the genre of Genesis 1?
Is it poetry, or is it more straight-forward?
Genesis 1 & 2 are written in a generally straight-forward style of writing (prose / narrative). They are not⚠️ poetry; so we cannot dismiss them as merely symbolic or allegorical.
There are books in the OT which are clearly poetic, among them: Psalms & Proverbs, and many portions of the prophetic books (esp.: Hosea, Amos, Micah, & Isaiah). Genesis 1 is not like them. The difference between poetry and narrative can even be seen in the Hebrew manuscripts themselves, because poetry and narrative are laid out differently on the page.
-
Narrative sections look much like the layout of modern journalism or novels:
- They fill the page from margin to margin, leaving little-to-no space at the end of a line.
- New sentences can begin in the middle of a column.
- And paragraph breaks are indicated by a line that is left open, or sometimes by a large gap within a line.
Prose / Narrative
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx¶ xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx -
Poetic sections, on the other hand, are laid out in verse-format;
- New lines begin at the right-hand margin (Hebrew is written from right to left).
- There is often white space left open at the end of a line.
‘Right-justified’ Poetic Lines
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ¶Genesis 1 & 2 are not laid out as poetry; they are laid out the way narrative passages are laid out.
However⚠️ → compared to regular OT narrative accounts, Genesis 1 is different. It is highly structured. In particular: in days 1-3, God creates the spaces; in days 4-6, He fills them. And it also has features that are not like routine straight-forward prose narrative. In particular, it has a lot of cadence and repetition of similar lines (“And God said… and there was evening, and there was morning…”). You do not find such features in the normal narrative / historical accounts in the Old Testament.
The Point:
The genre of Genesis 1 is not poetry. So we cannot simply dismiss it as a symbolic or allegorical account. It is much closer to narrative than it is to poetry. But on the other hand it is not ‘usual’ narrative. So this allows the possibility that it might not be a strictly chronological account. We will consider this more in the next handout.
B. Some Very Basic Observations from Genesis 1:
-
The text does not argue for for the existence of God, it just assumed it
-
The existence of God the fundamental fact of the universe
-
There is no hint of gods or demons involved in creation
-
Everything in the cosmos goes back to that one and only God
-
There is nothing that has independent existence apart from God.
Even Satan is a created being, created by God
-
In Genesis there is no description of any chaos / matter existing before God
-
The biblical understanding of the cosmos begins not with matter, but with God.
-
Don’t miss this: Direct creation of the universe out of nothing by a direct act of God’s will ⇒ mind-boggling amount of power (power & wisdom)
C. Q: Is there one account of creation in Genesis, or are there two?
What we do not have is → one seamless account from the initial creation until the account of the fall. Rather, there is a second account (Gen 2) that steps back and picks up at the creation of humans. In particular –
-
The first account – records the creation of the man and⚠️ the woman on the sixth day.
-
The second account – steps back a bit to a point before the creation of the woman.
It then records the creation of the woman, and tells us that God brought her to the man.
-
Q: Does the fact that there are two accounts of creation in Genesis pose a problem for people who believe the Bible is true?
A: No
No; Scripture does this sometimes –
-
The structure of 1 & 2 Kings clearly overlaps with itself at points.
-
1 & 2 Chronicles record many of the same events as are recorded in 1 & 2 Kings.
But often, each account has details that the other account (the “parallel” account) does not have.
-
Similarly, the Gospels often record the same events. But one gospel often provides details that the parallel accounts in the other gospels do not have.
-
Conclusion:
There are two creation accounts in Genesis. Both of them are true. Each account gives us information that the other account does not give us. We are to read them both. We are to read them in light of each other.