A blessed day everyone. In this video, we will be talking about Pentateuch or the law. What do you mean by Pentateuch? The word Pentateuch comes from the Greek word Pentateuchos or the books of the five volumes. We have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy.
That's amazing. How about Torah? Torah is a Hebrew word which means law. As a Hebrew title of this portion of the Bible, it emphasizes the main content of this collection of writings. Neither of the two names does justice to the importance and content of these five books.
The Pentateuch or Torah is an elaborate account of the founding of God's kingdom on earth by means of the solemn covenant between God and the people of Israel, made at Sinai around the 13th century BC. The message of each book of the Pentateuch can be understood well, and appreciated if seen, and interpreted in the light of the whole. Wow that sounds interesting.
May I know who wrote these books? For many centuries, both Jews and Christians attributed these five books to Moses. However, since last century, the idea of just one author has been questioned because of numerous discrepancies, doublets, differences in style and theological outlook.
Modern scholar reached the conclusion that the Pentateuch or Torah, as we have it now, is the result of the work of the many authors over the span of several centuries. This collection of writings is seen as a result of a careful and complex joining of several sources or traditions. We have Yahwist, Elohist, Priestly and Deuteronomic. Can you give us an overview of the Pentateuch?
The Book of Genesis The book tells of the story of mankind from creation, the beginning of the history of salvation, and the divine preparation for the choice of his people in the story of the patriarchs. Genesis is a Greek word which means origin. The story in Genesis is the beginning of life and ruin through sin. Its first word, in the beginning, is in striking contrast with the end, in a coffin in Egypt.
The word can mean birth, genealogy, or history of origin. In both its Hebrew and Greek forms, The traditional title of Genesis appropriately describes its contents, since it is primarily a book of beginnings. Genesis is the origin of the human race and the origin of the people of God. The Creation Story.
On the first day, God created day and night. Then, the sky and sea, followed by land and trees, and the sun and moon. He also created the birds and fishes.
On the sixth day, he created beast and man. And on the seventh day, God rested. We have also descriptions of creation in two accounts.
First, God appears as the sovereign Lord who establishes creation in a formal six-day pattern. Second, God is in a closer relationship with human beings. The following are the truths of the first creation narrative.
First, all things are created by God out of love and goodness. Second, all of his creations are good and with purpose. Third is on the value of rest and recreation. Lastly, we are created in God's image and likeness, the basis of our human dignity. The following are the truths of the second creation narrative.
First, God is a personal and intimate God. Second, they're in an interconnection among the things created by God. Third, God created humans as social and free beings created by God. Fourth, God created humans as social and free beings who are meant to live harmoniously with one another.
Lastly, God created men and women to be equal and to live with dignity. The summary of the findings about creation narrative. First, God created all that is, including man.
Second, man is closely related to God, and at the same time man is related to the material world. Third, man is given knowledge and free will. Fourth, man must cultivate the earth and take care of it.
Fifth, man must obey God in order to have lasting happiness. 6. Man is the master over all other creatures. 7. Man and woman are equal in nature. 8. Man and woman become one in marriage.
Lastly, at the beginning of mankind, man and woman lived in a state of sanctifying grace. The Book of Exodus. The book deals with the divine initiation and the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt, and the proclamation of the solemn covenant between God and his people at Mount Sinai.
It talks about the birth of the nation and its consequent obligations as the people of God. The word Exodus is a Latin word derived from the Greek exodos meaning exit or departure. It pertains to the journey of Moses towards the promised land with the Israelites. But later, after Moses, Joshua took over the mission.
Thus Exodus is a continuation of a narrative that began in Genesis and was completed in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Exodus is the beginning of the formation of Moses and the Israelites. This book lays a foundational theology in which God reveals his name, his attributes, his redemption, his law, and how he is to be worshipped.
It also reports the appointment and work of Moses as the mediator of the covenant, describes the beginning of the priesthood in Israel, defines the role of the prophet, and relates how the ancient covenant relationship between God and his people came under the covenant given at Mount Sinai. God made other promises recorded in the Bible. Often he gave them in the form of covenants. A covenant is an agreement, compact or contract between two or more parties.
In the Bible, however, the term implies more of a formal treaty like commitment to a relationship. In the covenants God initiates, no negotiation of terms is allowed. God defines all of the conditions.
One of the most important covenants God made was with the Israelites. Abraham's descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, renamed Israel. The Apostle Paul says of them, they are Israelites, there's the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises, there's the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah.
The book of Leviticus. The book highlights the holy nation of Israel, bound by the sacrificial practices, and a code of holiness. Leviticus is in the middle of the five books making up the law.
the heart of the Old Testament. It gets its name from the fact that it focuses especially in the ministry of the Levite priests, core of the book is the law of holiness. This tells us what God demands of the people who are privileged to belong to him, both in terms of their worship and of their daily lives. Leviticus is the book of worship and communion, the proper exercise of the redeemed. Leviticus receives its name from the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament, and means relating to the Levites.
Although Leviticus does not deal only with the special duties of the Levites, it is so named because it concerns mainly the service of worship at the tabernacle, which was conducted by the priests who were sons of Aaron, assisted by many from the rest of the tribe of Levi. Exodus gave the directions for building the tabernacle. And now the Leviticus gives the laws and regulations for worship there, including instructions on ceremonial cleanness, moral laws, holy days, the Sabbath year, and the year of Jubilee.
These laws were given, at least for the most part, during the year that Israel camped at Mount Sinai when God directed Moses in organizing Israel's worship, government, and military forces. The book of Numbers continues the history with preparations for moving on from Sinai to Canaan. The Book of Numbers. The book deals with the organization of the community and the census, the arrangement of the twelve tribes, the journey from Sinai to Moab.
This book is called Numbers because it begins and ends with a census of the Israelites. The book assumes that on Sinai, immediately after the great revelation to Moses and the story of the golden calf, God gave all the laws that are mentioned in Leviticus. Numbers speaks of the experiences of a pilgrim people, the redeemed passing through a hostile scene to a promised inheritance.
Numbers relate the story of Israel's journey from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab on the border of Canaan. Much of its legislation for people and priests is similar to the one in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The book tells of the murmuring and rebellion of God's people, and of their subsequent judgment. Those whom Goh had redeemed from slavery in Egypt and with whom he had made a covenant at Mount Sinai responded not with faith, gratitude and obedience, but with unbelief, ingratitude and repeated acts of rebellion, which came to extreme expression in their refusal to undertake the conquest of Canaan.
The community of the redeemed forfeited their parts in the promised land. They were condemned to live out their lives in the desert. Only their children would enjoy the fulfillment of the promise that had originally theirs. The Book of Deuteronomy. Through a series of discourses, it presents Moses as the lawgiver reviewing the past events, explaining the significance of the covenant and introducing the Deuteronomic Code of Laws, the commissioning of Joshua to lead the people into the promised land.
Deuteronomy means second law. It was so named because this law is recorded in the Bible after all the laws found in the books of Leviticus and Numbers. Nevertheless, it was partly written before those books. It was the first attempt at unifying commands and customs in order to give Israel the law in which it would find life.
Deuteronomy now makes known the great laws of the love of God. Deuteronomy is a book of instruction for the redeemed people of Israel about to enter that inheritance. Deuteronomy locates Moses and the Israelites in the territory of Moab in the area where the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. As his final act at this important time of transferring leadership to Joshua, Moses delivered his farewell addresses to prepare the people for their entrance of Canaan.
In contrast to the matter-of-fact narratives of Leviticus and Numbers, hear the words of Moses come to us from his heart as this servant of the Lord presses God's claims on his people Israel.