Torah
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Silver Torah Case, Ottoman Empire Museum of Jewish Art and History
In rabbinic literature the word "Torah" denotes both the five books, Torah Shebichtav (תורה שבכתב, "Torah that is written"), and an Oral Torah, Torah Shebe'al Peh
(תורה שבעל פה, "Torah that is spoken"). The Oral Torah consists of
interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition
have been handed down from generation to generation and are now
embodied in the Talmud and Midrash.[2]
According to rabbinic tradition, all of the teachings found in the Torah, both written and oral, were given by God through Moses, a prophet, some of them at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle, and all the teachings were written down by Moses, which resulted in the Torah we have today. According to a Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, and was used as the blueprint for Creation.[3] The majority of Biblical scholars believe that the written books were a product of the Babylonian exilic period (c. 600 BCE) and that it was completed by the Persian period (c. 400 BCE).[4] However, it is worth noting that the 2004 discovery of fragments of the Hebrew Bible at Ketef Hinnom
dating to the 7th century BCE, and thus to before the Babylonian
captivity, suggests that at least some elements of the Torah were
current before the Babylonian exile.[5][6][7][8]
Traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a sofer on parchment in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days, in the halachically prescribed tune, in the presence of a congregation.[9] Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases for Jewish communal life.
Contents
Meaning and names
Reading of the Torah
The meaning of the word is therefore "teaching", "doctrine", or
"instruction"; the commonly accepted "law" gives a wrong impression.[10] Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, theory, guidance,[11] or system.[12]
The term "Torah" is used in the general sense to include both Rabbinic Judaism's written law and oral law, serving to encompass the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash and more, and the inaccurate rendering of "Torah" as "Law"[13] may be an obstacle to understanding the ideal that is summed up in the term talmud torah (תלמוד תורה, "study of Torah").[2]
The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been
"The Torah of Moses". This title, however, is found neither in the Torah
itself, nor in the works of the pre-Exilic literary prophets. It appears in Joshua (8:31–32; 23:6) and Kings
(I Kings 2:3; II Kings 14:6; 23:25), but it cannot be said to refer
there to the entire corpus (according to academic Bible criticism). In
contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic
works (Mal. 3:22; Dan. 9:11, 13; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh. 8:1; II Chron.
23:18; 30:16) was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were
"The Book of Moses" (Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1; II Chron. 35:12; 25:4; cf. II
Kings 14:6) and "The Book of the Torah" (Neh. 8:3), which seems to be a
contraction of a fuller name, "The Book of the Torah of God" (Neh. 8:8,
18; 10:29–30; cf. 9:3).[14]
Alternative names
Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the "Pentateuch" (Greek: πεντάτευχος, "five scrolls"), a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria,[15] meaning five books, or as the Law, or Law of Moses. Muslims refer to the Torah as Tawrat (توراة, "Law"), an Arabic word for the revelations given to the Islamic prophet Musa (موسى, Moses in Arabic).Contents
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from the beginning of God's creating the world, through the beginnings
of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and the giving of the
Torah at Mt. Sinai. It ends with the death of Moses, just before the
people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in
the narrative are the specific teachings (religious obligations and
civil laws) given explicitly (i.e. Ten Commandments) or implicitly embedded in the narrative (as in Exodus 12 and 13 laws of the celebration of Passover).
The Hebrew names for the books of the Torah are derived from their respective incipits; the common English names for the books are derived from the Greek Septuagint and reflect the essential theme of each book:
- Genesis: "origin" (Hebrew: Bereshit - "In the beginning")
- Exodus: "going out" (Hebrew: Shemot - "Names")
- Leviticus: "relating to the Levites" (Hebrew: Vayikra, - "And he called")
- Numbers: numbering of the Israelites (Hebrew: Ba Midbar - "In the wilderness")
- Deuteronomy: "second law" (Hebrew: D'varim - "Words")
Genesis
Genesis begins with the so-called "primeval history" (Genesis1–11), the story of the world's beginnings and the descent from Adam.
This is followed by the story of the three patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), Joseph (Genesis 12–50) and the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel). God gives to the patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan,
but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for
Egypt due to a regional famine. They had heard that there was a grain
storage and distribution facility in Egypt.
Exodus
Exodus begins the story of God's revelation to his people Israel through Moses, who leads them out of Egypt (Exodus 1–18) to Mount Sinai. There the people accept a covenantwith God, agreeing to be his people in return for agreeing to abide by
his Law. Moses receives the Torah from God, and mediates His laws and
Covenant (Exodus 19–24) to the people of Israel. Exodus also deals with
the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed (Exodus 32–34). Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction (Exodus 25–31; 35–40).
Leviticus
Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how touse the Tabernacle, which they had just built (Leviticus 1–10). This is
followed by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11–15), which includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: Kashrut), the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the Holiness Code
(Leviticus 17–26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for
following God's commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not
following them.
Numbers
Numbers tells how Israel consolidated itself as a community atSinai (Numbers 1–9), set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan and
spied out the land (Numbers 10–13). Because of unbelief at various
points, but especially at Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 14), the Israelites
were condemned to wander for forty years in the desert in the vicinity
of Kadesh instead of immediately entering the Promised Land. Even Moses
sins and is told he would not live to enter the land (Numbers 20). At
the end of Numbers (Numbers 26–35) Israel moves from Kadesh to the
plains of Moab opposite Jericho, ready to enter the Promised Land.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is a series of speeches by Moseson the plains of Moab opposite Jericho. Moses proclaims the Law
(Deuteronomy 12–26), gives instruction concerning covenant renewal at
Shechem (Deuteronomy 27–28) and gives Israel new laws (the "Deuteronomic Code").[16]
At the end of the book (Deuteronomy 34) Moses is allowed to see the
promised land from a mountain, and then dies. The text emphasises that
no one knows where Moses was finally buried (34:6). Knowing that he was
nearing the end of his life, Moses had appointed Joshua his successor, bequeathing to him the mantle of leadership. Soon afterwards Israel begins the conquest of Canaan.
Authorship
Main articles: Mosaic authorship and Documentary hypothesis
Jewish tradition as expressed in the Talmud[17] holds that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy describing his death and burial.[18][19] and the Mishnah[20]includes the divine origin of the Torah as an essential tenet of
Judaism. The modern scholarly consensus is that the Torah has multiple
authors, and that its composition took place over centuries.[21]
"The consensus of scholarship is that the stories are taken from four
different written sources and that these were brought together over the
course of time to form the first five books of the Bible as a composite
work. The sources are known as J, the Jahwist source (from the German
transliteration of the Hebrew YHWH), E, the Elohist source, P, the
priestly source, and D, the Deuteronomist source. ... Thus the
Pentateuch (or Torah, as it is known by Jews) comprises material taken
from six centuries of human history, which has been put together to give
a comprehensive picture of the creation of the world and of God's
dealings with his peoples, specifically with the people of Israel."
(Professor John Riches of the University of Glasgow).[22]
Torah and Judaism
Presentation of The Torah (1860) - Museum of Jewish Art and History
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The Talmud (Gittin
60a) presents two opinions as to when the Torah was written by Moses.
One opinion holds that it was written by Moses gradually over many years
as it was dictated to him, and finished close to his death, and the
other opinion holds that Moses wrote the complete Torah in one writing
close to his death, based on what was dictated to him over the years.
The Talmud (Menachot
30a) says that the last eight verses of the Torah that discuss the
death and burial of Moses could not have been written by Moses, as
writing it would have been a lie, and that they were written after his
death by Joshua. Abraham ibn Ezra and Joseph Bonfils observed[citation needed] that phrases in those verses present information that people should only have known after the time of Moses. Ibn Ezra hinted,[26] and Bonfils explicitly stated, that Joshua wrote these verses many years after the death of Moses. Other commentators[27]
do not accept this position and maintain that although Moses did not
write those eight verses it was nonetheless dictated to him and that
Joshua wrote it based on instructions left by Moses, and that the Torah
often describes future events, some of which have yet to occur.
The Talmud (tractate Sabb. 115b) states that a peculiar section in the Book of Numbers (10:35–36, surrounded by inverted Hebrew letter nuns) in fact forms a separate book. On this verse a midrash on the book of Mishle (English Proverbs)
states that "These two verses stem from an independent book which
existed, but was suppressed!" Another (possibly earlier) midrash, Ta'ame
Haserot Viyterot, states that this section actually comes from the book
of prophecy of Eldad and Medad. The Talmud says that God dictated four books of the Torah, but that Moses wrote Deuteronomy in his own words (Talmud Bavli, Meg. 31b).
All classical rabbinic views hold that the Torah was entirely or almost entirely Mosaic and of divine origin.[28]
Ritual use
Main article: Torah reading
Torah reading (Hebrew: קריאת התורה, K'riat HaTorah ; "Reading [of] the Torah") is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll (or scrolls) from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is distinct from academic Torah study.Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity (c. 537 BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah.[29]
In the modern era, adherents of Orthodox Judaism practice Torah reading
according to a set procedure they believe has remained unchanged in the
two thousand years since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). In the 19th and 20th centuries CE, new movements such as Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same:
As a part of the morning or afternoon prayer services on certain days
of the week or holidays, a section of the Pentateuch is read from a
Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section ("parasha") is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year.[30][31] On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Saturday's portion is read. On Jewish holidays, the beginnings of each month, and fast days, special sections connected to the day are read.
Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah, to celebrate the completion and new start of the year's cycle of readings.
Torah scrolls are often dressed with a sash, a special Torah cover,
various ornaments and a Keter (crown), although such customs vary among
synagogues. Congregants traditionally stand when the Torah is brought
out of the ark to be read, while it is being carried, and lifted, and
likewise while it is returned to the ark, although they sit during the
reading itself.
Biblical law
See also: Biblical law
The Torah contains narratives, statements of law, and statements of ethics. Collectively these laws, usually called biblical law or commandments, are sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses (Torat Moshe תּוֹרַת־מֹשֶׁה), Mosaic Law, or Sinaitic Law.The Oral Torah
See also: Oral Torah
Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights and both the oral and the
written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where the
Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures
without explanation or instructions, the reader is required to seek out
the missing details from supplemental sources known as the oral law or
oral Torah.[32] Some of the Torah's most prominent commandments needing further explanation are:
- Tefillin:
As indicated in Deuteronomy 6:8 among other places, tefillin are to be
placed on the arm and on the head between the eyes. However, there are
no details provided regarding what tefillin are or how they are to be
constructed. - Kashrut:
As indicated in Exodus 23:19 among other places, a young goat may not
be boiled in its mother's milk. In addition to numerous other problems
with understanding the ambiguous nature of this law, there are no
vowelization characters in the Torah; they are provided by the oral
tradition. This is particularly relevant to this law, as the Hebrew word
for milk (חלב) is identical to the word for animal fat
when vowels are absent. Without the oral tradition, it is not known
whether the violation is in mixing meat with milk or with fat. - Shabbat
laws: With the severity of Sabbath violation, namely the death penalty,
one would assume that direction would be provided as to how exactly
such a serious and core commandment should be upheld. However, most
information regarding the rules and traditions of Shabbat are dictated
in the Talmud and other books deriving from Jewish oral law.
was originally transmitted to Moses at Sinai, and then from Moses to
Israel. At that time it was forbidden to write and publish the oral law,
as any writing would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation and
abuse.[33]
However, after exile, dispersion and persecution, this tradition was
lifted when it became apparent that in writing was the only way to
ensure that the Oral Law could be preserved. After many years of effort
by a great number of tannaim, the oral tradition was written down around 200 CE by Rabbi Judah haNasi, who took up the compilation of a nominally written version of the Oral Law, the Mishnah (Hebrew:
משנה). Other oral traditions from the same time period not entered into
the Mishnah were recorded as "Baraitot" (external teaching), and the Tosefta. Other traditions were written down as Midrashim.
After continued persecution more of the oral law was committed to
writing. A great many more lessons, lectures and traditions only alluded
to in the few hundred pages of Mishnah, became the thousands of pages
now called the Gemara. Gemara is written in Aramaic, having been compiled in Babylon. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. The Rabbis in Israel also collected their traditions and compiled them into the Jerusalem Talmud. Since the greater number of Rabbis lived in Babylon, the Babylonian Talmud has precedence should the two be in conflict.
Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism accept these texts as
the basis for all subsequent halakha and codes of Jewish law, which are
held to be normative. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism deny that
these texts, or the Torah itself for that matter, may be used for
determining normative law (laws accepted as binding) but accept them as
the authentic and only Jewish version for understanding the Torah and
its development throughout history.[citation needed]
Humanistic Judaism holds that the Torah is a historical, political, and
sociological text, but does not believe that every word of the Torah is
true, or even morally correct. Humanistic Judaism is willing to
question the Torah and to disagree with it, believing that the entire
Jewish experience, not just the Torah, should be the source for Jewish
behavior and ethics.[34]
Divine significance of letters, Jewish mysticism
Further information: Kabbalah
Kabbalists hold that not only do the words of Torah give a divine message, but they also indicate a far greater message that extends
beyond them. Thus they hold that even as small a mark as a kotzo shel yod (קוצו של יוד), the serif of the Hebrew letter yod
(י), the smallest letter, or decorative markings, or repeated words,
were put there by God to teach scores of lessons. This is regardless of
whether that yod appears in the phrase "I am the Lord thy God" (אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, Exodus 20:2) or whether it appears in "And God spoke unto Moses saying" (וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֲנִי יְהוָה. Exodus 6:2). In a similar vein, Rabbi Akiva (c. 50 – c. 135 CE), is said to have learned a new law from every et (את) in the Torah (Talmud, tractate Pesachim 22b); the word et is meaningless by itself, and serves only to mark the direct object. In other words, the Orthodox
belief is that even apparently contextual text "And God spoke unto
Moses saying ..." is no less important than the actual statement.
One kabbalistic
interpretation is that the Torah constitutes one long name of God, and
that it was broken up into words so that human minds can understand it.
While this is effective since it accords with our human reason, it is
not the only way that the text can be broken up.[citation needed]
Production and use of a Torah scroll
Page pointers for reading of the Torah
Main article: Sefer Torah
Manuscript Torah scrolls are still used, and still scribed, for ritual purposes (i.e., religious services); this is called a Sefer Torah("Book [of] Torah"). They are written using a painstakingly careful
methodology by highly qualified scribes. This has resulted in what is,
according to B. Barry Levy, "The popular assumption that no changes were
ever introduced into copies of the Bible during rabbinic times."
However, he writes that this "simply does not accord with the facts."[35]
It is believed that every word, or marking, has divine meaning, and
that not one part may be inadvertently changed lest it lead to error.
The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in
particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter:
translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use,
and transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error of a single
letter, ornamentation, or symbol of the 304,805 stylized letters that
make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use,
hence a special skill is required and a scroll takes considerable time
to write and check.
According to Jewish law, a sefer Torah (plural: Sifrei Torah) is a copy of the formal Hebrew text handwritten on gevil or qlaf (forms of parchment) by using a quill (or other permitted writing utensil) dipped in ink. Written entirely in Hebrew, a sefer Torah contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained sofer
("scribe"), an effort that may take as long as approximately one and a
half years. Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of
text per column (Yemenite Jews use fifty), and very strict rules about
the position and appearance of the Hebrew letters are observed. See for example the Mishna Berura on the subject.[36] Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting.
The completion of the sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and it is a Mitzvah for every Jew to either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Torah scrolls are stored in the holiest part of the synagogue in the Ark known as the "Holy Ark" (אֲרוֹן הקֹדשׁ aron hakodesh in Hebrew.) Aron in Hebrew means "cupboard" or "closet", and kodesh is derived from "kadosh", or "holy".
Torah translations
Aramaic
Main article: Targum
The Book of Ezra refers to translations and commentaries of the Hebrew text into Aramaic,the more commonly understood language of the time. These translations
would seem to date to the 6th century BCE. The Aramaic term for translation is Targum.[37] The Encyclopedia Judaica has:
At an early period, it was customary to translate the Hebrew textHowever, there is no suggestion that these translations had been
into the vernacular at the time of the reading (e.g., in Palestine and
Babylon the translation was into Aramaic). The targum (“translation”)
was done by a special synagogue official, called the meturgeman ...
Eventually, the practice of translating into the vernacular was
discontinued.[38]
written down as early as this. There are suggestions that the Targum was
written down at an early date, although for private use only.
The official recognition of a written Targum and the final redaction
of its text, however, belong to the post-Talmudic period, thus not
earlier than the fifth century C.E.[39]
Greek
Main article: Septuagint
One of the earliest known translations of the first five books of Moses from the Hebrew into Greek was the Septuagint. This is a Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible that was used by Greek speakers. The Greek version's name in Latin is the Septuagint: Latin septem meaning seven, plus -gintā meaning "times ten". It was named Septuagintfrom the traditional number of its translators. This Greek version of
the Hebrew Scriptures dates from the 3rd century BCE, originally
associated with Hellenistic Judaism. It contains both a translation of the Hebrew and additional and variant material.[40]
Later translations into Greek include seven or more other versions.
These do not survive, except as fragments, and include those by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion.[41]
Latin
Early translations into Latin—the Vetus Latina—were ad hoc conversions of parts of the Septuagint. With St Jerome in the 4th century AD came the Vulgate Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible.Arabic
From the eighth century AD, the cultural language of Jews living under Islamic rule became Arabic rather than Aramaic. "Around that time, both scholars and lay people started producing translations of the Bible into Judeo-Arabicusing the Hebrew alphabet." Later, by the 10th century, it became
essential for a standard version of the Bible in Judeo-Arabic. The best
known was produced by Saadiah, and continues to be in use today, "in particular among Yemenite Jewry."[42]
Modern Languages
Jewish Translations
The Torah has been translated by Jewish scholars into most of themajor European languages, including English, German, Russian, French,
Spanish and others. The most well-known German-language translation was
produced by Samson Raphael Hirsch. A number of Jewish English Bible translations have been published.
Christian Translations
As a part of the Christian Biblical canon, the Torah has been translated into hundreds of languages.In other religions
While Christianity includes the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch) among their sacred texts in its Old Testament, Islamstates that only the original Torah was sent by God. In neither
religion does the Torah retain the religious legal significance that it
does in Orthodox Judaism.
Among early centers of Christianity the Septuagint was used by Greek speakers, while Aramaic Targums were used by Aramaic speakers such as the Syriac Orthodox Church.
It was regarded as the standard form of the Old Testament in the early
Greek Christian Church and is still considered canonical in the Eastern
Orthodox Church.[43] Though different Christian denominations have slightly different versions of the Old Testament in their Bibles, the Torah as the "Five Books of Moses" (or "the Mosaic Law") is common among them all.
The Quran
refers heavily to Moses to outline the truth of his existence and the
religious guidelines that God had revealed to the Children of Israel.
According to the Qur'an, Allah says "It is He Who has sent down the Book
(the Qur'an) to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He
sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)." [3:3]
Muslims call the Torah the Tawrat and consider it the word of God given to Moses. However, Muslims also believe that this original revelation was corrupted (tahrif) (or simply altered by the passage of time and human fallibility) over time by Jewish scribes[44] and hence do not revere the present "Jewish version" Torah as much. 7:144–144
The Torah in the Quran is always mentioned with respect in Islam. The
Muslims' belief in the Torah, as well as the prophethood of Moses, is
one of the fundamental tenets of Islam.
See also
References
- Is the Bible God's Word by Sheikh Ahmed Deedat
Bibliography
-
- Bandstra, Barry L (2004). Reading the Old Testament: an introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Wadsworth. ISBN 9780495391050.
- Birnbaum, Philip (1979). Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts. Wadsworth.
- Blenkinsopp, Joseph (2004). Treasures old and new: essays in the theology of the Pentateuch. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802826794.
- Campbell, Antony F; O'Brien, Mark A (1993). Sources of the Pentateuch: texts, introductions, annotations. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451413670.
- Carr, David M (1996). Reading the fractures of Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664220716.
- Clines, David A (1997). The theme of the Pentateuch. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 9780567431967.
- Davies, G.I (1998). "Introduction to the Pentateuch". In John Barton. Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.
- Friedman, Richard Elliot (2001). Commentary on the Torah With a New English Translation. Harper Collins Publishers.
- Gooder, Paula (2000). The Pentateuch: a story of beginnings. T&T Clark. ISBN 9780567084187.
- Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick (2009). The Old Testament between theology and history: a critical survey. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802846365.
- Levin, Christoph L (2005). The Old testament: a brief introduction. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691113944.
- McEntire, Mark (2008). Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881461015.
- Ska, Jean-Louis (2006). Introduction to reading the Pentateuch. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575061221.
- Van Seters, John (1998). "The Pentateuch". In Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham. The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664256524.
- Van Seters, John (2004). The Pentateuch: a social-science commentary. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9780567080882.
- Walsh, Jerome T (2001). Style and structure in Biblical Hebrew narrative. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814658970.
Additional resources
-
- Friedman, Richard Elliott, Who Wrote the Bible?, HarperSanFrancisco, 1997
- Welhausen, Julius, Prolegomena to the History of Israel, Scholars Press, 1994 (reprint of 1885)
- Kantor, Mattis, The Jewish time line encyclopedia: A year-by-year history from Creation to the present, Jason Aronson Inc., London, 1992
- Wheeler, Brannon M., Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis, Routledge, 2002
- DeSilva, David Arthur, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry, InterVarsity Press, 2004
- Alcalay, Reuben., The Complete Hebrew – English dictionary, vol 2, Hemed Books, New York, 1996 ISBN 978–965–448–179–3
- Scherman, Nosson, (ed.), Tanakh, Vol. I, The Torah, (Stone edition), Mesorah Publications, Ltd., New York, 2001
- Heschel, Abraham Joshua, Tucker, Gordon & Levin, Leonard, Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations, London, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005
- Hubbard, David "The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast" Ph.D. dissertation St Andrews University, Scotland, 1956
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Torah. |
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Look up Pentateuch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Torah
- Illustrated Summary and Analysis of the Torah
- (Hebrew) Three Complete Kosher Sefer Torah Scrolls for Study online (Congregation Beth Emeth of Northern Virginia)
- (Hebrew) Sefer Torah Scroll for Study online with Megillot and commentaries
- Computer generated Sefer Torah for Study online with translation, transliteration and chanting (WorldORT)
- Online Torah Resources—weekly parsha pages, learning resources by topic
- Interlinear Pentateuch (with Idiomatic Translation, Samaritan Pentateuch and Morphology)
- The Tanach Page – הדף של התנ"ך
- Damascus Pentateuch from around 1000 CE
"Pentateuch". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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ed. Eugene H. Merrill, Mark Rooker, Michael A. Grisanti, 2011, p, 163:
"Part 4 The Pentateuch by Michael A. Grisanti: The Term "Pentateuch"
derives from the Greek pentateuchos, literally, ... The Greek
term was apparently popularized by the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria,
Egypt, in the first century AD..."
found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities
(Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based upon the systematic list
provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex. Though initially doubted by Umberto Cassuto, this has become the established position in modern scholarship. (See the Aleppo Codex article for more information.)
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