Pentateuch in Biblical History

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What is the Pentateuch?
THE PENTATEUCH
is the collective name for the first five books of the O.T., the books of Moses. The name is of Greek origin, meaning "five volumes," and was probably introduced by the Alexandrian translators of the O.T. As also the names of the separate books - Genesis, Exodus, etc. - are of Greek origin, referring to the contents of the books, and as, in the Jewish manuscripts, these books form only one roll or volume, it has been conjectured that the division itself is due to the Greek translators. In Scripture the Pentateuch is called "a book of the law of the Lord given by the hand of Moses," 2 Chr 34:30; "the book of the law of the Lord," 2 Chr 17:9; "the book of the law," 2 Kgs 22:8; "the book of the covenant," 2 Chr 34:30; 2 Kgs 23:2, 2 Kgs 23:21; "the law of Moses." Ezr 7:6; "the book of the law of Moses," Neh 8:1; "the book of Moses," Ezr 6:18; Neh 13:1; 2 Chr 25:4; 2 Chr 35:12; or simply "the law," Matt 12:5; Luke 10:26; John 8:5, 2 Sam 21:17. Among the Jews the several books are designated by their initial letters - Bereshith ("in the beginning"), Shemoth ("names"), etc.; among the Christians, with reference to their subject-matter - Genesis giving the primitive history, as a preparation for the theocracy, from the Creation to the death of Jacob; Exodus, the foundation of the theocracy, by the legislation from Mount Sinai; Leviticus, the inner organization of the theocracy by the ceremonial laws on the Levitieal worship; Numbers, the actual establishment of the theocracy by the march through the wilderness and the conquest of Canaan; and Deuteronomy, the final and comprehensive recapitulation of Mosaic legislation. The whole is one compact and complete representation of the Hebrew theocracy, the first and the last books having a more universal character, the three intermediate ones a more specifically Jewish character, Exodus giving the prophetic, Leviticus the priestly, and Numbers the kingly, aspect of the theocracy. With respect to the authorship of this work, various circumstances have during the last two centuries caused some doubt whether it can legitimately be ascribed to Moses. Moses is always spoken of in the third person, and in the last passages of Deuteronomy his death and burial are related. Names of places occur, though we know that they did not come into use until after the conquest of Canaan - such as "Dan," Gen 14:14; Deut 34:1; comp. Josh 19:47, and "Hebron." Gen 13:18; Gen 23:2; comp. Josh 14:15; Judg 1:10. The names of the Lord, "Jehovah" and "Elohim," alternate in such a way as to indicate a double authorship, and alleged differences in style and language and repetitions seem to point the same way. On these grounds a school of modern critical scholars contends that the Pentateuch, at least, in its present shape, was not written by Moses, or by any single author, but is a compilation of much later date and from very different sources. However ingenious many of the arguments against the Mosaic authorship may be, the collected evidence in its favor is nevertheless overwhelming. The unity of the composition, as set forth above, is so strong that no attempt at breaking it has ever succeeded, and the book itself, directly and indirectly, bears testimony to its essential Mosaic origin. In Deut 31:9-12, Deut 31:24-26 we are told that Moses wrote "this law," and when he was done with it he placed it in the hands of the Levites, to be kept in the ark of the covenant and to be read to the people every seventh year on the feast of the tabernacles. "This law" may mean Deuteronomy alone, and not the whole Pentateuch; but other passages refer in exactly the same manner to other parts of the work. He wrote, by divine command, the book of the covenant and the ten commandments, Ex 24:3-7; Ex 17:14, and also the camping-stations of the Israelites in the wilderness. Num 33:2 ff. The presumption is that he wrote the rest, unless there are convincing arguments to the contrary (as in the account of his death at the close of Deuteronomy, which is evidently added by a later hand). The Mosaic authorship of the great body of the Pentateuch is sustained by uninterrupted and unanimous tradition of the Jewish Synagogue and the Christian Church, and by the internal evidence of the work itself. Moses was, of all men, best qualified to write it. He had the best preparation, he knew all about the events in which he figured so prominently. The book contains so many and so close references to Egypt - the land, the people, and the civilization - that its author must not only have lived for a long time in Egypt, but also have received the benefit of a thorough Egyptian education and partaken in Egyptian life from a superior position; see, for instance, the references to irrigation, Deut 11:10; to war, Deut 20:5; to mining, Deut 8:9; to criminal punishment, Deut 25:2, etc. Next, the narrative of the passage through the desert gives so correct and so fresh a description of the event that it could never have been made by any one who had not taken part in that long trial, and hardly by any other than by him who was the leader. The language, also, and the theology (especially the eschatology) of the Pentateuch are archaic, and antedate the compositions of the Davidic, and still more of the post-Exilian, period. There is no man in the whole subsequent history of Israel, as far as we know, who could at all account for the peculiarities of the Pentateuch near so well as the great lawgiver, who is the central figure of the book. Ezra, for instance, to whom some ultra-critics assign the authorship, never was in Egypt nor in the wilderness, and lived in the reproductive period of reconstruction or restoration of the theocracy founded by Jehovah through Moses centuries before. Thus from various sides we are led to feel not only that Moses has written the Pentateuch, but also that he was the only one who could have written it; and the objections have so much the less power, as a Mosaic authorship by no means excludes either the use of earlier documents or the addition of later notes. For further details see the special articles on the separate books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'pentateuch' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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