An Introduction to the Study of the Pentateuch

Bradford A. Anderson, Paula Gooder

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780567656407
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Biografía bíblica

The Pentateuch (or the Torah) consists of the first five books of the Bible and is a foundational scripture for millions of people, both Jews and Christians. In this book Paula Gooder and Brad Anderson provide a clear and accessible introduction for those beginning Bible study. Key themes such as creation and the flood, exodus and liberation, as well as covenant and law are presented and analyzed. These themes are explored in their ancient context and from the standpoint of contemporary concerns such as liberation theology, gender issues and ecology. For this new edition introductory sections on the five books of the Pentateuch have been expanded and supplemented, while recent developments in the quest for the origins of the Pentateuch have also been updated. A new chapter on academic approaches to the study of the Pentateuch has been added, along with a section on the 'afterlife' of the Pentateuch which focuses on its place in the history of interpretation, as well as in the arts and culture. Reading lists and references have been updated throughout to take account of the most recent scholarship.

Part One

Getting to Know the Pentateuch

1

The Pentateuch – Introductory Issues

The Pentateuch: What is it?

What is the Pentateuch? Broadly speaking, the Pentateuch is a collection of five books – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – that stands at the beginning of the Bible in both the Jewish and Christian traditions. However, when we begin to dig a bit deeper, we see that there are various ways in which this question can be answered.

In one sense, the Pentateuch is a collection of writings that are part of a larger ‘library’, the Bible, and because of this, the stories, laws, and other elements found in these pages are considered sacred for Jews and Christians. From this perspective, these texts are Scripture, which means that they have a privileged, authoritative place in these religious traditions (even if this can vary quite dramatically between these traditions, as we will see throughout this volume).

In another sense, the Pentateuch is a literary collection and can be read as a story. Indeed, the placement of these books at the beginning of the Bible suggests that this is a story of beginnings. Genesis famously begins by describing creation: the beginning of the whole world and of humanity. Yet, on reading further, it becomes clear that the whole of the Pentateuch is describing the beginnings of the people of God, from Abraham and his descendants to the people who follow Moses out of slavery in Egypt. These books, in a variety of ways, are interested in questions of origins: Where has the world come from, and why is it the way that it is? Who are the people of Israel, and what is their story? The Pentateuch, then, is a story that narrates multiple beginnings: the beginning of the world and the origins of Israel.

From yet another perspective, the Pentateuch is an object of critical enquiry. As we will see in subsequent chapters, questions ranging from the origins of this collection to those exploring issues of gender in these texts have fascinated readers for centuries, and such issues are still the subjects of intense scrutiny today. In fact, the Pentateuch has served as the starting point for many of the larger developments in critical biblical studies over the past several hundred years.

The Pentateuch, then, can mean different things to different people, and can be understood in several different (yet sometimes overlapping) modes: as sacred text, as story, and as an object of critical enquiry. While readers may naturally be drawn to one perspective more than another, it is important to recognize the multifaceted nature of the Pentateuch, and to be open to examining these texts from a variety of vantage points.

Naming the collection

The title of the present volume refers to the collection in question as the ‘Pentateuch’, a term which refers to a five-volume work. However, these books are referred to in a number of other ways that reflect their content and number.

In the Hebrew Bible, reference is made to ‘the torah/law’, ‘the book of Moses’, ‘the law of the LORD’, or some combination of these (see, e.g., Ezra 7.10; 10.3; Neh. 8.3; 8.18; Dan. 9.11; Mal. 4.4). In parts of the New Testament reference is also made to ‘the law’ and ‘the law of Moses’ (see, e.g., Mt. 12.5; Mk 12.26; Lk. 2.23-24; Jn 7.23; Gal. 3.10). Although these references seem to indicate material found in the first five books of the Bible, it is unclear exactly how these titles relate to what would become known as the Pentateuch. Nevertheless, the use of these titles is instructive as they reflect the nature of the material found in these books, as well as their association with Moses, who in many ways is the central character in this collection.

In Jewish tradition, these first five books are most often referred to as Torah, a term commonly translated as ‘law’, but which in fact has a much broader range of meaning (including ‘instruction’ or ‘teaching’). This designation can be seen in the structure of the Hebrew Bible in the Jewish tradition, where the canon is divided into three sections with the Hebrew names of Torah (law, instruction), Nebi’im (prophets), and Ketubim (writings). The first letter of the name of each section gives the acronym TaNaK, by which many Jews refer to the Hebrew Scriptures. In Jewish tradition these five books can also be referred to as ḥumash. This term is related to the Hebrew word for ‘five’, and is probably an abbreviated form of the phrase ḥamishah ḥumshe ha-Torah (‘the five fifths of the Torah’). It is possible that this Hebrew phrase is the basis for the term Pentateuch, a word that originated in Greek and which indicates a five-volume work (Ska 2006).

It should be kept in mind that the term ‘Torah’ is used in a number of ways in Judaism. For example, an idea that developed in rabbinic Judaism was that Moses received the whole Torah on Mount Sinai, but that this was made up of two parts: ‘written Torah’ and ‘oral Torah’. Both were passed down from generation to generation: the ‘written’ in the form of what we have in the Bible and the ‘oral’ in the teachings of the Rabbis (see Mishnah Pirke Avot 1.1). While ‘Torah' is a complex term and can be used to refer to many things, our focus in this volume is on the notion of the written Torah, the first five of the biblical books.

Unity and diversity in the Pentateuch

A unified collection

We noted above that the Pentateuch can be read as a story which recounts the origins of the world and the emergence of the people Israel. Indeed, each of the five books is explicitly linked with that which precedes it, so that there is a natural progression as one makes their way through the Pentateuch.

Within this, there are a number of recurring themes and theological concerns that also give a sense of unity to the Pentateuch. For example, the character Moses plays a vital role in all four of the books following Genesis. If there is a main character in the Pentateuch, it is Moses, and his role is a thread that holds these books together. One might also note the theme of creation; while this is of obvious importance in Genesis 1–2, chapters which outline the origins of the world and of humanity, creation is a recurring theme in the Pentateuch. We see resonances of this theme, for example, in the flood account (Genesis 6–9), as well as in Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14).

Another recurring idea is that of covenant. A covenant is a special contract or agreement, and we find this theme throughout the pentateuchal material. God first makes a covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9). Later in Genesis, God chooses Abraham and his family to be his special people (Genesis 12), and makes a covenant with Abraham, which indicates a special relationship (Genesis 15). Later still, the whole of Israel is set apart as a chosen people, and a covenant is established between God and Israel (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 6).

Thus, both in the literary flow of the collection as well as in the characters, themes, and concerns found within it, there is a unity to the Pentateuch that suggests purpose and continuity.

A diverse and complex collection

While the Pentateuch can be read as a unified whole, we also need to keep in mind that it is a large and diverse collection which took shape over a long period of time. This diversity can be seen in a number of ways, including the various genres and perspectives we encounter when reading these books.

The Pentateuch begins with Genesis, a book composed primarily of narrative material, which, along with some genealogies, outlines the beginning of the world and humanity, as well as stories of Israel’s ancestors. The second book, Exodus, also contains narratives, in this case detailing Israel’s escape from slavery under the leadership of Moses. However, Exodus also introduces us to another genre that will be important in the Pentateuch: law and legal material. It is here that we first encounter Israel’s law, most famously the Ten Commandments, which were received at Mount Sinai. Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch, continues with a focus on law. However, in Leviticus the emphasis is largely on issues of holiness and ritual, related to religious practice and right living. The book of Numbers, meanwhile, is a diverse collection of genres, including stories, laws, and even censuses, all of which recount Israel’s time in the wilderness. Finally, Deuteronomy, the final book in the Pentateuch, is presented as one long speech from Moses delivered to the Israelites before his death, but it too is diverse, containing stories and laws as well as ritual elements. Thus, in the Pentateuch we find narratives (with distinct styles), genealogies, diverse laws, along with other genres such as poems and hymns – and very often the pentateuchal material jumps from one to another with little warning. These diverse genres, and their relationships to one another, point to the complexity of the Pentateuch as a literary collection.

The Pentateuch is also diverse in the perspectives which it puts forward. Several of these issues will be outlined in greater detail in the following chapters, but a few examples are worth noting. It has long been noted that the first two chapters of Genesis appear to contain two creation accounts: the first account (1.1–2.4) offers a transcendent, ‘God’s-eye’ view of creation, and is written in a more poetic and repetitive fashion. The second account (2.4-25), meanwhile, is more ‘earthy’: it takes place on the ground, is focused on God’s engagement with his creation, and is written in a more flowing narrative style that continues into Genesis 3. It seems likely that two accounts were brought together, in part because they were understood to complement one another, even if offering differing perspectives on the creation story. Other examples abound: stories of the patriarchs are told more than once with details or characters changed in the various retellings, Deuteronomy seems to revise and rework laws that are found in Exodus 20–23, Numbers and Deuteronomy offer differing perspectives on Israel’s time of wandering in the wilderness, and so on.

These issues are complex and have been the subject of much scholarly debate; indeed, the issues of diversity have been important elements in the search for the origins and formation of this collection, issues which are the focus of our attention in Chapter 7. However, for now it is worth noting that such examples highlight the fact that the Pentateuch exhibits a diversity of voices and perspectives. While the Pentateuch can be read as a unity, this does not imply a singularity of perspectives or viewpoints. Rather, this story is told through a rich multitude of voices, and in many ways gives witness to a living and dynamic tradition, with dialogue and interpretation built into the very fabric of these texts.

Why do we highlight these issues here? The fact that the Pentateuch exhibits both unity and diversity has implications for the ways in which this collection is read and interpreted, as different approaches focus on different aspects of the text. Throughout this book we will be exploring how both unity and diversity are important elements that need to be considered when studying the Pentateuch.

Further reading

There are a number of helpful introductions to the Pentateuch which approach the collection from varying perspectives, including Blenkinsopp (1992), Fretheim (1996), Ska (2006), and Kaminsky and Lohr (2011). On the various ways of approaching the Bible – including as sacred text and as object of enquiry – see Sommer (2015). Issues related to the unity and diversity of the Pentateuch are discussed in Ska (2006).

2

The Book of Genesis

Introductory issues

The Bible begins – in all branches of the Jewish and Christian traditions – with the book of Genesis. In the Jewish tradition, names for biblical books are often based on the first word of the Hebrew text or an important word that occurs early on. Thus, in the Jewish tradition this book is referred to as Bereshit, the first word in the Hebrew text and which translates as ‘in the beginning’. The English title for this book, Genesis, comes from the Greek term geneseos, from which we get the word ‘genealogy’. This word was probably chosen as the title because it is, in the Greek Septuagint, found throughout the book within the genealogical lists (see Gen. 5.1) and signals the idea of beginnings. Both are fitting titles for the book, yet they serve as another reminder of the different ways that Jews and Christians use these shared texts. Genesis is the longest of the books of the Pentateuch, and is fifty chapters in modern translations.

Structure and content

There are a number of ways in which the structure of Genesis can be understood. One such approach looks at the use of the Hebrew term toledot, meaning ‘generations’, which can be found throughout the book (Gen. 2.4, 5.1, 6.9, 10.1, 11.10, 11.27, 25.12, 25.19, 36.1, 36.9, 37.2). In light of this recurring term, the book of Genesis can be seen as a story of generations, from creation down through the family of Abraham. Another approach, which we will follow here and elsewhere in this volume, is to divide Genesis broadly into two sections (though not equal in length): chs 1–11, known as the primeval history, and chs 12–50, referred to as the ancestral narratives. In terms of genre, the book is almost exclusively composed of narratives, with genealogies punctuating these stories and serving to guide the reader. What follows is a brief overview of the book of Genesis; a number of the issues raised here are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 9 (Primeval History) and Chapter 10 (Ancestral Narratives).

Genesis 1–11 is often referred to as the Primeval History, and contains famous stories such as the creation narratives and the account of Noah and the flood. These chapters are quite distinct from the stories that we find later in Genesis, as these first chapters tend to be more universal in scope and more mythic in nature.

The book begins with the story of creation (Genesis 1–2), which is told in two distinct accounts. The first account (1.1–2.4) gives a God’s-eye perspective on the origins of the world, and is told in a very structured, poetic manner. The second account (2.4-25) offers a more intimate, ‘on the ground’ account, told in a more story-like fashion that focuses on the creation of humanity. The second of these stories is intimately connected to what follows: the temptation scene in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). This is the first in a series of stories that seems to be trying to explain why, if God created a good world, things so often seem to be so bad. Thus, we have the temptation of Adam and Eve in ch. 3, followed by the first murder in the Bible with the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. In Gen. 5.1–6.8 we encounter the first of the genealogies that play an important role in Genesis; this particular account traces the human story from Adam to Noah. It is the story of Noah, his family, and the great flood that occupies Gen. 6.9–9.29. Following another genealogy in ch. 10, Genesis 11 begins with the story of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. In 11.10 we find another genealogy, a significant one as it leads to the story of Abraham. What we find in these chapters, then, is a story of creation and subsequent corruption: what starts off with God’s good creation is depicted as a world descending into increasing disobedience and chaos.

Genesis 12–50, meanwhile, contains what are known as the ancestral (or patriarchal) narratives. At this point, the story of Genesis narrows its focus to one family. Though there are other characters that play important roles in these chapters, for convenience we can note that there are basically three sections within Genesis 12–50 that revolve around three of Israel’s ancestors: the stories of Abraham (chs 12–25), the stories of Jacob (chs 25–36), and the stories of Joseph (chs 37–50).

In Gen. 11.27, the story turns its attention to Abram and Sarai, later to become Abraham and Sarah. Chapter 12 begins with the call of Abram, and the family’s subsequent move from Ur of the Chaldeans (Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq) to the land of Canaan. Abraham’s call introduces several important elements in the story, including the promise which God makes to provide offspring for Abraham as well as the promise of the land. What follows are numerous stories that recount Abraham’s trials and successes (Genesis 12–25). One key issue relates to the lack of offspring, as both Abraham and Sarah are advancing in age. Eventually a miracle child is born – Isaac – and the story will continue with him, though the story of the unchosen son Ishmael, born to the handmaiden Hagar, introduces an important (and difficult) theme of divine election that recurs throughout these stories. The final scene that showcases Abraham is found in Genesis 22, where he is asked to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise. This complex scene highlights Abraham’s status as the obedient and faithful patriarch, ...