• Other commentators[75] 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.

• Finally, Torah can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later rabbinic writings.

• At times, however, the word Torah can also be used as a synonym for the whole of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, in which sense it includes not only the first five, but all 24
  books of the Hebrew Bible.

• 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.

• [5] The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been “The Torah of Moses”.

• 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.

• [14] 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”[15] may be an obstacle to understanding the ideal that is summed up in the term talmud torah
  (“study of Torah”).

• [53] The majority of scholars today continue to recognize Deuteronomy as a source, with its origin in the law-code produced at the court of Josiah as described by De Wette,
  subsequently given a frame during the exile (the speeches and descriptions at the front and back of the code) to identify it as the words of Moses.

• This title, however, is found neither in the Torah itself, nor in the works of the pre-Exilic literary prophets.

• 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).

• [1] The “Tawrat” (also Tawrah or Taurat; Arabic‎) is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been given by God
  to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel.

• The Orthodox rabbinic tradition holds that the Written Torah was recorded during the following forty years,[69] though many non-Orthodox Jewish scholars affirm the modern
  scholarly consensus that the Written Torah has multiple authors and was written over centuries.

• [64] Widespread adoption of Torah law In his seminal Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels, Julius Wellhausen argued that Judaism as a religion based on widespread observance
  of the Torah and its laws first emerged in the year 444 BCE when, according to the biblical account provided in the Book of Nehemiah (chapter 8), a priestly scribe named Ezra read a copy of the Mosaic Torah before the populace of Judea assembled
  in a central Jerusalem square.

• Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the ‘Pentateuch’ (/ˈpɛn.təˌtjuːk/, PEN-tə-tewk; Greek: pentáteukhos, ‘five scrolls’), a term
  first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria.

• The first sermon recounts the forty years of wilderness wanderings which had led to that moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law (or teachings), later referred
  to as the Law of Moses; the second reminds the Israelites of the need to follow Yahweh and the laws (or teachings) he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends; and the third offers the comfort that even should Israel prove
  unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be restored.

• One opinion holds that it was written by Moses gradually as it was dictated to him, and finished it 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.

• [77] According to Legends of the Jews, God gave Torah to the children of Israel after he approached every tribe and nation in the world, and offered them the Torah, but the
  latter refused it so they might have no excuse to be ignorant about it.

• 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 prayer services on certain days of the week, fast days, and holidays, as well as part of the afternoon prayer services of Shabbat, Yom Kippur, a section of the Pentateuch
  is read from a Torah scroll.

• [30][31] Carol Meyers, in her commentary on Exodus suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel’s identity:
  memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it.

• 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.

• [87] Divine significance of letters, Jewish mysticism[edit] 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.

• In Hebrew, the five books of the Torah are identified by the incipits in each book;[24] and the common English names for the books are derived from the Greek Septuagint[citation
  needed] and reflect the essential theme of each book: • Bəreshit (literally “In the beginning”)—Genesis, from (Génesis, “Creation”) • Shəmot (literally “Names”)—Exodus, from (Éxodos, “Exit”) • Vayikra (literally “And He called”)—Leviticus,
  from (Leuitikón, “Relating to the Levites”) • Bəmidbar (literally “In the desert [of]”)—Numbers, from (Arithmoí, “Numbers”) • Dəvarim (literally “Things” or “Words”)—Deuteronomy, from (Deuteronómion, “Second-Law”) Genesis[edit] Main article:
  Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah.

• 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.

 

Works Cited

[‘”Torah | Definition, Meaning, & Facts”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
2. ^ Neusner, Jacob (2004). The Emergence of Judaism. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. p. 57. “The Hebrew word torah mean ‘teaching’. We recall … the
most familiar meaning of the word: ‘Torah = the five books of Moses”, the Pentateuch …. The Torah may also refer to the entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures …. The Torah furthermore covers instruction in two media, writing and memory …. [The oral
part] is contained, in part, in the Mishnah, Talmud, and midrash compilations. But there is more: what the world calls ‘Judaism’ the faithful know as ‘the Torah.'”
3. ^ “Bamidbar Rabah”. sefaria.org. sefaria. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
4. ^
Isabel Lang Intertextualität als hermeneutischer Zugang zur Auslegung des Korans: Eine Betrachtung am Beispiel der Verwendung von Israiliyyat in der Rezeption der Davidserzählung in Sure 38: 21–25 Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 31.12.2015 ISBN 9783832541514
p. 98 (German)
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Birnbaum (1979), p. 630
6. ^ Vol. 11 Trumah Section 61
7. ^ page 1, Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1992). The Pentateuch: An introduction to the first five books of the Bible. Anchor Bible Reference Library. New York:
Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-41207-0.
8. ^ Finkelstein, I., Silberman, N. A., The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, p. 68
9. ^ Jump up to:a b McDermott, John J. (2002). Reading the Pentateuch:
a historical introduction. Pauline Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8091-4082-4. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
10. ^ Babylonian Talmud Bava Kama 82a
11. ^ cf. Lev 10:11
12. ^ Rabinowitz, Louis; Harvey, Warren (2007). “Torah”. In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik,
Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 20 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. pp. 39–46. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
13. ^ Philip Birnbaum, Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts, Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964, p. 630
14. ^ p. 2767, Alcalay
15. ^
pp. 164–165, Scherman, Exodus 12:49
16. ^ 8:31–32; 23:6
17. ^ I Kings 2:3; II Kings 14:6; 23:25
18. ^ Mal. 3:22; Dan. 9:11, 13; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh. 8:1; II Chron. 23:18; 30:16
19. ^ Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1; II Chron. 35:12; 25:4; cf. II Kings
14:6
20. ^ Neh. 8:3
21. ^ Neh. 8:8, 18; 10:29–30; cf. 9:3
22. ^ Sarna, Nahum M.; et al. (2007). “Bible”. In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. pp. 576–577. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
23. ^
The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament, 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…”
24. ^ “Page Not Found | Mid-Day”. www.mid-day.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
25. ^ Hamilton (1990), p. 1
26. ^
Bergant 2013, p. xii.
27. ^ Bandstra 2008, p. 35.
28. ^ Bandstra 2008, p. 78.
29. ^ Bandstra (2004), pp. 28–29
30. ^ Johnstone, p. 72.
31. ^ Finkelstein, p. 68
32. ^ Meyers, p. xv.
33. ^ Ashley 1993, p. 1.
34. ^ Jump up to:a b McDermott
2002, p. 21.
35. ^ Olson 1996, p. 9.
36. ^ Stubbs 2009, p. 19–20.
37. ^ Phillips, pp.1–2
38. ^ Rogerson, pp.153–154
39. ^ Sommer, p. 18.
40. ^ Deuteronomy 6:4
41. ^ Mark 12:28–34
42. ^ Bava Basra 14b
43. ^ Louis Jacobs (1995). The
Jewish religion: a companion. Oxford University Press. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-19-826463-7. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
44. ^ Talmud, Bava Basra 14b
45. ^ Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1
46. ^ Ginzberg, Louis (1909). The Legends of the Jews Vol. IV: Ezra
(Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
47. ^ Ross, Tamar (2004). Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism. UPNE. p. 192
48. ^ Carr 2014, p. 434.
49. ^ Thompson 2000, p. 8.
50. ^ Ska 2014, pp.
133–135.
51. ^ Van Seters 2004, p. 77.
52. ^ Baden 2012.
53. ^ Jump up to:a b Gaines 2015, p. 271.
54. ^ Otto 2014, p. 605.
55. ^ Carr 2014, p. 457.
56. ^ Otto 2014, p. 609.
57. ^ Frei 2001, p. 6.
58. ^ Romer 2008, p. 2 and fn.3.
59. ^
Ska 2006, pp. 217.
60. ^ Ska 2006, pp. 218.
61. ^ Eskenazi 2009, p. 86.
62. ^ Ska 2006, pp. 226–227.
63. ^ Greifenhagen 2003, p. 206–207, 224 fn.49.
64. ^ Gmirkin 2006, p. 30, 32, 190.
65. ^ Wellhausen 1885, p. 405–410.
66. ^ Wellhausen
1885, p. 408 n. 1.
67. ^ Adler 2022.
68. ^ Adler 2022, p. 223–234.
69. ^ History Crash Course #36: Timeline: From Abraham to Destruction of the Temple, by Rabbi Ken Spiro, Aish.com. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
70. ^ Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc
Zvi; Fishbane, Michael, eds. (2004). The Jewish Study Bible. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 3–7. ISBN 978-0195297515.
71. ^ Gittin 60a
72. ^ Menachot 30a
73. ^ Nadler, Steven; Saebo, Magne (2008). Hebrew Bible / Old Testament: The
History of its Interpretation, II: From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 829. ISBN 978-3525539828. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
74. ^ Ibn Ezra, Deuteronomy 34:6
75. ^ Ohr Ha’chayim Deuteronomy 34:6
76. ^ For
more information on these issues from an Orthodox Jewish perspective, see Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations, Ed. Shalom Carmy, and Handbook of Jewish Thought, Volume I, by Aryeh Kaplan.
77. ^ Larry Siekawitch
(2013), The Uniqueness of the Bible, pp 19–30
78. ^ Ginzberg, Louis (1909). Legends of the Jews Vol III: The Gentiles Refuse the Torah Archived 2018-01-30 at the Wayback Machine (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
79. ^
Ginzberg, Louis (1909). Legends of the Jews Vol II: Job and the Patriarchs Archived 2018-01-30 at the Wayback Machine (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
80. ^ Ginzberg, Louis (1909). Legends of the Jews Vol
I: The first things created Archived 2019-01-20 at the Wayback Machine (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
81. ^ Book of Nehemia, Chapter 8
82. ^ Source?
83. ^ “The Authentic Triennial Cycle: A Better Way
to Read Torah?”. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
84. ^ [1] Archived August 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
85. ^ “Rabbi Jonathan Rietti | New York City | Breakthrough Chinuch”. breakthroughchunich.
86. ^ Talmud, Gittin 60b
87. ^
“FAQ for Humanistic Judaism, Reform Judaism, Humanists, Humanistic Jews, Congregation, Arizona, AZ”. Oradam.org. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
88. ^ Mishnat Soferim The forms of the letters Archived 2008-05-23 at the Wayback Machine translated by Jen Taylor
Friedman (geniza.net)
89. ^ Chilton, BD. (ed), The Isaiah Targum: Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes, Michael Glazier, Inc., p. xiii
90. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, entry on Torah, Reading of
91. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, entry on Bible:
Translations
92. ^ Greifenhagen 2003, p. 218.
93. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 3, p. 597
94. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. III, p. 603
95. ^ George Robinson (17 December 2008). Essential Torah: A Complete Guide to the Five Books of Moses.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-0-307-48437-6. Sa’adia’s own major contribution to the Torah is his Arabic translation, Targum Tafsir.
96. ^ Zion Zohar (June 2005). Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: From the Golden Age of Spain
to Modern Times. NYU Press. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-0-8147-9705-1. Controversy exists among scholars as to whether Rasag was the first to translate the Hebrew Bible into Arabic.
97. ^ Isabel Lang Intertextualität als hermeneutischer Zugang zur Auslegung
des Korans: Eine Betrachtung am Beispiel der Verwendung von Israiliyyat in der Rezeption der Davidserzählung in Sure 38: 21-25 Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 31.12.2015 ISBN 9783832541514 p. 98 (German)
98. ^ Is the Bible God’s Word Archived 2008-05-13
at the Wayback Machine by Sheikh Ahmed Deedat
2. Adler, Yonatan (2022). The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300254907.
3. Baden, Joel S. (2012). The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing
the Documentary Hypothesis. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300152647.
4. Bandstra, Barry L (2004). Reading the Old Testament: an introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Wadsworth. ISBN 9780495391050.
5. Birnbaum, Philip (1979).
Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts. Wadsworth.
6. Blenkinsopp, Joseph (2004). Treasures old and new: essays in the theology of the Pentateuch. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802826794.
7. Campbell, Antony F; O’Brien, Mark A (1993). Sources of the Pentateuch:
texts, introductions, annotations. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451413670.
8. Carr, David M (1996). Reading the fractures of Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664220716.
9. Carr, David M. (2014). “Changes in Pentateuchal Criticism”. In
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10. Clines,
David A (1997). The theme of the Pentateuch. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 9780567431967.
11. Davies, G.I (1998). “Introduction to the Pentateuch”. In John Barton (ed.). Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.
12. Eskenazi,
Tamara Cohn (2009). “From Exile and Restoration to Exile and Reconstruction”. In Grabbe, Lester L.; Knoppers, Gary N. (eds.). Exile and Restoration Revisited: Essays on the Babylonian and Persian Periods. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9780567465672.
13. Frei,
Peter (2001). “Persian Imperial Authorization: A Summary”. In Watts, James (ed.). Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. p. 6. ISBN 9781589830158.
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19. Kugler,
Robert; Hartin, Patrick (2009). The Old Testament between theology and history: a critical survey. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802846365.
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Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/10894627425/’]