In the Jewish canon, the first five books of the Old Testament are called, according to their main subject, Sefer Hattorah, "the book of the Law" or simply Torah, "The Law (Deut. 31:26; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ps. 18 (Heb. 19):8 and in numerous other passages. Cf. Luke 24:44. The ancient Israelite writers made this designation even more significant, counting, in the Pentateuch, as many as 613 precepts, of which 365 are negative and 248 positive)." The rabbis quite often refer to them by a strange name that alludes to their number: "five-fifths of the Law." The word Pentateuch, derived from the Greek πέντε, "five" and τϋχος, "volume," is also based on the division of the book of the Law into five distinct parts.
This division is very old, and probably predates the time of the Septuagint translation. It is also perfectly accurate, as each tome or volume truly has a distinct character and corresponds to different periods of theocratic legislation. Genesis is an introduction, Deuteronomy a recap. In the three intervening books, divine laws are promulgated gradually and linked to the historical events that brought them about; but Leviticus distinguishes itself in turn from the Exodus and Numbers, because it alone contains a mass of decrees formulated without notable interruption.
As for the special titles used to designate each part, they come directly from Greek (except for that of Numbers, which is a translation of ἀρίθμοι), and are borrowed from the dominant or initial idea of the book. The Hebrew words placed in the Vulgate below these titles are the very words with which the "volumes" begin; they are mentioned because the Jews use them as titles.
Jewish names: Bere'sit, Ve‘'elleh seword, Vayykera', Vayyedabber, 'Elleh haddebarim
Greek names: Гένεσις (origin), Εξοδος (exit), Λευίτίχον (Leviticus), άρίθμοι (numbers), Δευτερονόμιον (second Law).
Latin names: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri, Deuteronomium
Genesis begins with the story of the origin of the world and humanity; the Exodus recounts at length the exodus from Egypt; Leviticus is largely devoted to the promulgation of laws relating to Jewish worship and the tribe of Levi; "the Book of Numbers begins with the census of the Israelites; Deuteronomy reiterates and instills the Law anew.
In 2023, the majority, if not all, of biblical scholars (with the exception of some Jewish and evangelical authors who consider these books to be historical) believe that the Pentateuch was written not by Moses, but during the exile of the Jewish people in Babylon, in the 6th century BC.th century before Jesus.
As these brief indications reveal, the Pentateuch's fundamental purpose is to expound upon the origins and foundation of the theocratic kingdom. All the details it contains converge on this great event: the covenant, the legislation of Sinai, which was to make the Hebrew people God's chosen nation in preparation for the promised Messiah. The true starting point for the establishment of the theocracy is creation; the death of Moses is its final stage; the intervening events constitute its twists and turns: such is the content of the Pentateuch.
Hence the crucial importance of this five-volume work. A veritable “ocean of theology,” in the words of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. The true basis of the Old Testament, upon which all other parts presuppose it; the foundation of the religious edifice of Judaism, which would collapse with it; the foundation of the entire Bible and of the religious edifice of the ChristianitySince everything fits together in the divine plan of Redemption, the Pentateuch is to the Old Covenant what the Gospels are to the New.
Authenticity and integrity. — It is precisely because of its importance that the Pentateuch has been, for two centuries, the target of the most violent attacks from unbelievers. For the whole as well as for its details, it has been denied, despite tradition, that it was the work of Moses, and it has been dared to assert that its legislative and legal portions were composed only in the time of the last prophets (See Fulcran Vigouroux, Bible manual, Nos. 248-255, the history of attacks against the Pentateuch, the exposition and refutation of objections. The proofs of authenticity are developed. ibid., no. 238-247).
But 1° Moses was able to write the Pentateuch. He was endowed with a vast intelligence, and what could be more natural in itself, independently of inspiration, than that he wanted to preserve and transmit to future generations the legislation of which he had been the mediator?
2° A universal tradition, which goes back several thousand years without any interruption (the Book of Joshua (of which there is the first link), and in which either the Jews, or the Samaritans, or took part ChristiansThis confirms that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch. Such testimony, concerning such a serious and easily verifiable fact, presents all the desirable guarantees; on the contrary, to have invented this book after the fact and to have placed it late in the hands of an entire people as the work of Moses would be a historical phenomenon unique in the world, and completely impossible.
3. Internal evidence, as they say, most forcefully combines with extrinsic proofs to demonstrate the authenticity of the Pentateuch. And in terms of both ideas and style, we find on every page of this admirable book the seal and, as it were, the signature of Moses: archaisms, grandeur and simplicity, astonishing knowledge of the things of Egypt and the ancient world, perfect unity, etc.—all prove that it was not the hand of a forger that composed the following lines: Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord, Ex. 24, 4; ; When Moses had completely finished writing in a book the words of this law, Deut. 24 (Cf. Ex. 17; 34, 27; Num. 33, 2; Deut. 17, 18, etc.). Moses, certainly, could have used and incorporated into his narrative documents older than himself; likewise, it is visible here and there that archaeological and geographical notes have been added to his text: but he remains nonetheless the true and principal author of the Pentateuch.
