INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
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LESSON – 2
THE PENTATEUCH
The
first five books of the Old Testament are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
and Deuteronomy. They are also called the “Law Books”, referred throughout the
Holy Bible as “The Law of Moses or The Five Books of Moses”. All the five books together are called the Pentateuch. The
word Pentateuch is formed from two Greek words penta and teuchos. Penta means
five and teuchos meant tool or vessel but later was used to mean a “scroll case
book” (1). The
Hebrew name for Pentateuch is the “Torah”, which means law. The Pentateuch gives us an account of ancient
History and various Laws given to govern the Israelite life.
Author:
Moses
is generally considered as the author of Pentateuch. There is no direct
information in these books to suggest that Moses wrote them. However, the following
clues suggest that Moses was accepted as the author even during Biblical times.
(2)
1. Evidence
from the rest of the Pentateuch: In the books of the Pentateuch it
says that Moses wrote down what God had directed him to write. (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy
31:9)
2. Evidence
from the rest of the Old Testament: Other books of the Old Testament also
give Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (Joshua 8:32; II Chronicles 35:6).
3. Evidence
from the New Testament, especially Jesus Christ’s Testimony: (Matthew
19:7, 8; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:46, 47)
The Meaning of the Names of these Five Books:
Genesis - means "Beginning." Genesis tells about the origin of this world, humankind, sin, languages, tribes, cities etc.
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Exodus - means "going out," because it
tells about the events that happened before and after the Israelites left Egypt
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Leviticus - means "Relating to the Levites."
This book details the roles of Levites, the priestly tribe - their duties,
various festivals, sacrifices and rituals.
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Numbers - The Book of Numbers got its name in English
from the translation of its Greek name. It gives the census details of the
tribes of Israel. In Hebrew it has been given a name which means “In the
wilderness”.
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Deuteronomy –
It is a word that originated from two Greek words deuteros and nomos meaning
"Second Law." It is so called since the Law of God was
recollected by Moses for the second time. (3)
The
Contents of the Pentateuch:
The time period of Pentateuch ranges from the beginning of the world to the death of Moses just before Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land 1406 BC. This indicates that Moses has recorded ancient history that spans around 2760 years. A brief outline of each of the Pentateuch Books is given below
|
Book |
Content |
|
Genesis |
From the time of creation to Israelites’
journey to Egypt Ø Creation
(Chapters 1, 2) Ø The
Fall of Man (Chapter 3) Ø The
Great Flood (Chapter 7 & 8) Ø Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Chapters 12-36) The forefathers of Israel, the family line through whom God promised the Saviour as the "Woman’s Seed" Ø Joseph’s Life & Israelites’ journey to Egypt (Chapters 37–50) |
|
Exodus |
Ø Israelites in slavery (Chapters 1 – 12) Ø Israelites Escape from Slavery Chapter 12:41- Chapter 19 tells about
the journey of Israelites from Egypt to Mount Sinai, a journey of 2 months
(Exodus 19:1). Exodus 19 to Numbers 10 tells about
the time when the Israelites camped at the Sinai Desert, where the Ten
Commandments and other laws were given. |
|
Leviticus |
Ø Various
laws and ordinances for Priests and Levites |
|
Numbers |
Ø Chapters
1-10 (in the Sinai Desert) Ø Chapter
14 onwards tells of the wilderness wanderings of the Children of Israel (a
period of about 38 years) |
|
Deuteronomy |
This book is an oral recitation of
history for record sake (Deuteronomy 31:9, 24) and also handing over of
charge to the next generation by Moses before his death. |
The Law – A Shadow of the things to come:
According
to Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 10:1, the Law given in the Old Testament was a
shadow of things to come, but the reality was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. What
do we mean by this? If we see a shadow, we understand that there must be a real
object nearby. In the same way, what was recorded in the Old Testament was the
shadow of the real things that were going to be fulfilled in the New Testament. (Click this link to learn more bout the Law of Moses and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ)
For
Example: The Passover Lamb that was
sacrificed in the Old Testament was a shadow of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who
was going to be sacrificed for the sins of the entire world. By understanding
the Old Testament, we will be able to comprehend the New Testament better. (Click this link to learn more about the Passover Lamb and its New Testament reality)
MEMORY VERSE: But now we have been delivered from the law, ……………………….. “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:6, 7 NKJV)
Book Reference:
(1) Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
(2)
About the first five books. (Retrieved
5th August 2020 from https://whataboutjesus.com/study-bible/book-by-book/bible-introduction/about-the-first-five-books/)
(3)
Fleming, D. Entry for 'Deuteronomy'. Bridgeway
Bible Dictionary.
https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/bbd/d/deuteronomy.html. 2004.
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Fill in the
blanks:
1. The Hebrew name for Pentateuch is the “…………………”
2. The Pentateuch is a …………………….
book made up of History and Law.
3.
In the Pentateuch, Moses
wrote about events covering almost ……………….. years.
4.
The ……………………………… that
was sacrificed in the Old Testament was a shadow of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of
God.
Give
short answers:
1. What does the word ‘Pentateuch’ mean?
2. Who is
the author of Pentateuch?
3. What does the Deuteronomy book contain?
4. What does it mean when we say “the
Law is a shadow of the things to come!”?
Answer in
brief:
1. Give
the meaning of the names of the five Pentateuch books and a brief explanation
of the books.
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