1. The first five books of the Bible. Pentateuch=”the five-fold book”
Jews commonly called this the Torah (“instruction law”); sometimes called
the “book of the law” or the “books of Moses”
2. This is the first part of a three-part division of the Hebrew Bible—
The Law (Pentateuch), the Prophets, and the Writings.
3. It contains a narrative, a story that spans the beginning of the
world to the death of Moses. In the midst of this story is much legal,
ceremonial, and ritual from the first part of Jewish faith.
4. Tradition says that Moses wrote all five books of the Torah, apart
from possible exception of his death scene. Nowhere in the Pentateuch
is this actually affirmed.
5. These books should be seen as a whole, whose division into five
books is simply a way of breaking the text into parts.
6. Folks started doubting this about the 12 Century CE—Jewish
Scholar, and the more Jewish scholars; eventually the humanists Hobbs
and Spinoza
7. References in the text seem to indicate a much later writing and
information that Moses could have not have known.
8. Repetitions, parallel versions of the same event, and notable
differences in language point to multiple authors, over a span of time.
Even differences in divine names became a way of distinguishing
different authors—Elohim and Yahweh (Witter in 1711)
9. By the 19th century, the Pentateuch was seen either as a diverse
block of materials brought together to form the whole (Fragmentary
Hypothesis) or that a single base narrative was subsequently filled out
with additional material (Supplementary Hypothesis)
10. Attempted to discover the “history” behind the history—what
really happened
11. New Documentary Hypothesis, in historical order: J(material in
which God is referred to as Yahweh, J is equivalent Y in German;
traditions around David’s monarch in between 922 and 800 BCE)) E
(material that referred to God as Elohim; tribal traditions about the
conquest of the land and the worship centers in Jerusalem) D(covenant
and proper obedience) P(priestly material; how to properly observe the
rituals) (http://www.cresourcei.org/jedp.html) Access Bible (AB) 426.
This is now in question for many reasons—things are not so neat.
12. The Pentateuch was pretty much a done deal by 538-334 BCE.
13. Recent focus on has been on paying to the text as a whole,
rather than focusing in on the historical development of the text and its
various strands. There is no possible history to uncover—this is a
product of faith community and it needs to be interpreted in the context
of a faith community. Rather than paying attention to the historical
development, pay attention to the final edition from the editor.
14. Is this history? Yes, in the sense that this tells the story of how
Israel has understood its interactions with the God who has brought it
into being. No, in the sense that authors are not trying to be historians—
they’re trying to make a point about how God has been faithful to the
people of Israel. There is no way to separate history and theology here.
There are no facts to remove from theology.
15. The Bible is about the meaning of history, not history itself.
Genesis: Getting Into Your First “Law” Book
1. Can be divided between chapters 1-11, 12-50
2. The overall theme of the Bible: A story about restoration of
relationship with God. The story of how God has pursued us.
3. The category of creation is important in Genesis. Creation is
good, but creation and Creator are distinct in Genesis.
4. How The Brokenness Began: Chapters 1-11: The goodness of
God’s creation and the brokenness of relationship between God,
humans, and nature.
5. Genesis 1-2: We get the story of creation—actually two stories of
creation. Including two different creation stories shows that meaning and
purpose of creation was the focus of the biblical writers/editors, not the
mechanics of creation. The point is WHO, not HOW. REAP THE
WHIRLWIND
6. We get the story of the first human act of disobedience—
choosing to disobey God. The tree in the garden.
7. How God plans to Restore Relationship: Through a people,
through a family: Abraham and Sarah.
8. Family Drama For YEARS AND YEARS: Chapters 12-50: God
promise of blessing, land, and ancestors is constantly endangered.
Continuing commitment to Abraham and Sarah, despite the many, MANY
obstacles ahead.
9. Genesis 12:1 (read)—the promise to bless the world through a
family, Abraham and Sarah. The ambiguity of Abraham’s character
10. “Genesis is a book whose plot is genealogy”
11. One of those obstacles emerges in Genesis 37-38—the danger
of to Joseph and Tamar deception of Judah. The many ways that the
promise is kept. The drama!
12. Genesis ends with the reunion of Joseph and his starving
family…we rejoin the story in…
Exodus: We’re Out of Here!
1. Joseph’s family settles in Israel: the politics change, and suddenly
all his family become slaves in Egypt.
2. Major theme: the liberation of Israel from Egypt (chapters 1-18)
and the beginning of a covenant with God (19-24)—freedom and
obligation. Details are giving for a traveling covenant (25-31, 35-40),
interrupted by Israel’s betrayal in choosing to worship a calf (32-34).
3. The theme of liberation—freedom from captivity from one’s
oppressor. A very important theme in the Biblical tradition. Blacks and
other oppressed peoples have used this theme throughout their
traditions
4. Covenant—not a contract, where if one breaks the terms, you are
released from your side of the agreement. If you don’t receive payment,
you don’t have to provide the goods. Covenant is a sworn agreement
between two parties to be faithful to each other, whatever each of other
parties does.
5. Tabernacle: (AB 435): The portable sanctuary used by the
Israelis for their wanderings in their wilderness—eventually replaced by
the Temple. A way of reminding them of God’s presence. Is that why we
have churches, temples, sacred places?
Leviticus: Everything From Diet To Ethics
1. Leviticus is a collection of laws related to worship, priests,
sacrifices, and holiness. A manual of laws for ancient Israel.
2. Title comes from the Levites, the priestly family named once in
this book. The priest’s manual.
3. Ritual purity and cleanness (AB 136): being free from any
physical, moral, and ritual contamination, as set forth in the law here.
Laws were set side by side with purifying rituals.
4. Holiness: (AB 149): holiness as separation from the common or
ordinary. God’s people were to be separate from their neighbors
5. Boundaries were important; markers of demarcation.
6. E.g.: death penalty for disobedient penalties; how to get mold out
of your house and have a priest come inspect it, wearing mixed fabrics,
shell fish (no fins, don’t fit within the boundary of typical sea creatures).
7. Practical things in Israeli culture that became part of the divine
law; migration from cultural practices to “The Lord spoke”
8. The point of Leviticus is found in 18:3: Don’t be like the people of
Canaan and Israel. These laws set you apart as a distinctive people.
Numbers: Here’s My Number, Count Me Some Time (wink)
1. Book’s name come from the two census that are done in the book
(1, 26). Hebrew Title: In The Wilderness
2. The mantle passes from one generation to another.
3. The people prepare to leave (1-10), then get distracted by their
rebellion (complaining) (11-20), this older generation dies off (21-25)
leaving this new generation at the edge of the promise land.
4. The second census (26) sign of hope—this new generation is
different from the old and will not doubt the lord of their covenant.
Deuteronomy: One long, long farewell speech
1. Known also in Hebrew as “these are the words:” Name comes
from a mistranslation of a Hebrew in the Greek Septuagint—(17:18).
Second law is the mistranslation of “copy of this law”
2. Moses says this speech on the western plain of Moab, prior to the
entry of Israel into the promise land.
3. A strict monotheism (worship your God) emerges, but not an
absolute monotheism (worship your God and there are no other Gods)
4. A call to be faithful to the covenant God has made with the people
of Israel. Moses reviews the history of Israel, and then preaches about
the law, proclaims it, makes covenant with God in the desert, and then
concludes with warnings and blessings.
