The first five books of the bible are interesting because these books are shared by the Jewish faith in the Torah , the Muslims in the Tawrat and the Christians in the Pentateuch. Yet, unlike the history books, these are not always plot-driven, easy books to read books. Many who begin reading the bible from Genesis, start sinking around the end of Exodus. So the challenge of the 1st five books is to press on, perhaps skip the list of names or measurements if necessary but keep going. We hope to complete one book every six days and really get a sense of why these books were so important to Christians and others. So for half an hour each day, let's sink our teeth into the first five books of the Old Testament.
The five books of the Torah are known in Judaism by their incipits, the initial words of the first verse of each book. For example, the Hebrew name of the first book, Bereshit, is the first word of Genesis 1:1:
- Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית, literally "In the beginning")
- Shemot (שִׁמוֹת, literally "Names")
- Vayikra (ויקרא, literally "And He called")
- Bəmidbar (במדבר, literally "In the desert [of]")
- Devarim (דברים, literally "Things" or "Words")
- Genesis: "origin"
- Exodus: Exodos, "going out"
- Leviticus: Leuitikos, "relating to the Levites"
- Numbers: Arithmoi, contains a record of the numbering of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai and later on the plain of Moab.
- Deuteronomy: Deuteronomion, "second law", refers to the fifth book's recapitulation of the commandments reviewed by Moses before his death.
Interesting to see the meaning behind the names, especially the Hebrew ones, which we don't often see.
ReplyDeleteNot keen on the intro in the first paragraph, however. The Pentateuch/Torah is interesting because it is God's revealed Word to man, not because three religions accept it. It may be interesting that they accept it, but it is not interesting BECAUSE of that - God's Word is interesting no matter how many accept it. Also, the first five books ARE important to Christians - not were important - the Word of God is living and active, and its importance does not lie only in the past.
A final note on the word meanings - 'Torah' means law, and includes the concept of teachings. In the New Testament, where 'law' is referred to, it usually refers to the teachings in the whole of the five books of Moses, and not just the individual commands given.