Pentateuch: The Five Books of Moses
Pentateuch is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Each book has been annotated with chapter numbers which Jews use for convenience.
Moses Died. When we read the end of the Pentateuch it includes the words, ‘and Moses died.’ If so, then who wrote those verses. We have several possibilities.
Perhaps Joshua wrote them. Perhaps Moses wrote them from the words of God, in tears.
Pentateuch is known as the Torah
The Pentateuch is known as the Torah, which means law or teaching. We learn from the discussion of who wrote those verses that to Rabbinic Judaism (the form of Judaism that we all practice or don’t practice) the authorship of the Pentateuch is important. The Torah refers to the Five Books of Moses. We are taught that the Five Books of Moses are the word of God as given to Moses.
Why Does the Pentateuch Start from Creation?
The Sages ask, why do the Five Books of Moses begin from creation. It is a question to understand what is the Pentateuch, what does it come to teach us, and what is its place in our lives.
With the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem, Rabbinic Judaism defined Jewish law as it applies to individuals and families living in exile from the land. We understand our sacred texts of the Jewish Bible through the eyes of our Rabbis and teachers (collectively referred to as the Sages). Some of our Rabbis wrote commentaries on the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible) to teach us how to understand the text.
Rashi, a commentator, asks why doesn’t the Torah begin from Exodus 12, ‘This month is to you as the head of months.’ That is the first commandment given to the people of Israel. From this, we can learn that Rashi believes that the Pentateuch is a set of commandments. Moreover, all of the Pentateuch relates to our receiving commandments as the people of Israel. Rabbi Joel Ben Nun says that the Pentateuch is a contract between God and the Jewish people. How can you have a contract until you have defined who the sides are to the agreement. So, the book of Genesis and into Exodus comes to teach us who is God and who are the Jewish people, so that commandments can be given.
Rabbi Joel Ben Nun is a Talmid Muvhak (dedicated or elite student) of Rabbi Akiva Ben Joseph, despite being close to 1813 years younger than his teacher. Rabbi Joel teaches that the meaning of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) is best understood from the perspective of someone who lived at the time and who reads the words of the text.
Ramban, another commentator, can’t imagine the Pentateuch not beginning from Genesis. Rather, what does Genesis teach us? God placed humanity in the Garden of Eden. God commanded humanity to follow God’s law. Humanity disobeyed. Humanity was exiled from the Garden. This is the lesson of Genesis. It is core lesson of the Hebrew Bible (and particulary the Torah) that when we are given commandments and we disobey them, we go into exile. This is the way God leads the world. When Moses asks to see God, in Exodus 33, God replies, I will have mercy on those I have mercy. God in judgement is the way of God. That is God. We must start from Genesis.
Rambam, another commentator, says that the first verse of the Pentateuch denotes creation, ab initio, something from nothing. The rest of Genesis is something from something. It is one of the principles of faith that God created the word something from nothing. So, the Pentateuch cannot start even one verse later.