The Pentateuch “Five Scrolls” Summary of ch. 3 Encountering the Old Testament

The Pentateuch First 5 books of OT Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Also called –Torah – law, instruction –Book of the Law –Books of Moses

The story of how Israel’s ancestors became the people chosen by God –Chosen to represent God to the world –Chosen to be a blessing to the world Genesis 1-11 –Story of beginnings Creation – life Struggles of life –Good vs Evil –Effects of sin, evil –Estrangement between people, people & God

Gen –Story of Abraham and his family and their journey of faith –Covenant between Abraham and God Exodus –Story of Moses and his leadership of Israel out of Egypt –Covenant between Israel and God

Leviticus –Guidance from sons of Levi - priests –Instructions for moral and ritual purity –God’s people should be holy because he is holy Numbers –Story of Israel’s travels after leaving Egypt –Struggles of faithfulness to the covenant Deuteronomy – “second law” –Moses prepares Israel for the promised land

Themes of the Pentateuch Sovereignty of god –Creator, protection of Abraham, defeats Egyptian gods God in History –God is involved in history, not simply above or beyond it Struggle with evil, sin

Salvation –Deliverance from control of evil Holiness –Character of God –Expects his people to share holiness –People become like what they revere, worship

Who wrote the Pentateuch? Traditional theory –Moses wrote it Modern theory –Several wrote various parts over a long period of time –Different themes, different name of God, different perspectives reflect different authors

Main documents –J E D P –J – “Jehovah” – Yahweh –E – “Elohim” –D – mainly Deuteronomy –P – mainly priestly material –Eventually all these documents were put together to form the Pentateuch Many debates over these ideas

Much of the material was transmitted orally for generations Much of the material was shaped at the time of Moses Several later shaped the traditions handed down from Moses

Redaction criticism –Tries to detect how different sources are edited together Form criticism –Analyzes different literary types, styles (genre) - (narrative, poetry, wisdom, etc) Sitz im leben – “situation in life” –The settings in which the different literary types were used Tradition criticism –Tries to trace the oral traditions