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The Blue Letter Bible
Aa

Keith Essex
Part II: The Torah


Keith Essex's correlating video lecture(s) from The Master's Seminary:


  1. The Torah [MSB, 1-4; ESVSB, 35-37; BTSB, 10-16; RSB, 2-4; HWSOT, 56-75; WOTA, 55-59]
    1. Introduction [W&W, 163]
      1. The Designations (The Titles)
        1. Jewish: Torah – "direction, instruction, law" [see NIDOTTE, 4:893-900]
        2. Greek: Pentateuch – from penta (five) and teuchos (volume), a "five-volumed book"
        3. Biblical
          1. The Law (Josh 8:34; Ezra 10:3; Matt 12:5; John 7:19)
          2. The Book of the Law (Josh 1:8; Neh 8:3; Gal 3:10) [see NIDOTTE, 4:1286-95]
          3. The Book of the Law of Moses (Josh 8:31; 2 Kin 14:6)
          4. The Book of Moses (Ezra 6:18; Mark 12:26)
          5. The Law of Moses (Dan 9:11; Mal 4:4; Luke 2:22; John 7:23)
          6. The Law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10; Luke 2:23, 24)
          7. The Law of God (Neh 10:28, 29)
          8. The Book of the Law of God (Josh 24:26; Neh 8:18)
          9. The Book of the Law of the Lord (2 Chr 17:9; Neh 9:3)
      2. The Importance
        1. The Foundation of Spiritual Insight (Deut 31:9-13; Josh 1:7-8; Ps 1:2)
        2. The Pointing to Christ (Luke 24:27, 44)
      3. The History of the Interpretation of the Pentateuch [W&W, 129-69; DOTP, 622-31]
        1. The Pre-critical (i.e., Pre-Enlightenment) Period (400 BC-AD 1650)
          1. Jewish Interpretation
          2. Christian Interpretation
            1. The New Testament Era (AD 40-100)
            2. The Patristic Era (AD 100-600) [see ACCSOT]
            3. The Medieval Era (AD 600-1500)
            4. The Reformation Era (AD 1500-1650) [see RCSOT]
        2. The Critical Period (1650-present): Historical Criticism [DOTP, 401-20]
          1. Source Criticism [DOTP, 798-805]
          2. Form Criticism [DOTP, 336-43]
          3. Tradition Criticism [DOTP, 864-70]
          4. Literary / Narrative Criticism [DOTP, 536-44]
      4. Interpretive Stance toward the Pentateuch [DOTP, 387-401]
    2. The Major Themes [see DOTP, 845-59]
      1. God [DOTP, 359-68; RANE, 13-71]
        1. The Creator (Gen 1; 2; 3; 5; 6; 7; 9; 14; Exod 20; 31; Deut 32) [see BTSB, 2328-31]
          1. To Create [bara'] (Gen 1:1, 21, 27; 2:3, 4; 5:1, 2; 6:7) [see NIDOTTE, 1:728-35]
          2. Creator [qana] (Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6) [NIDOTTE, 3:940-2]
          3. To Make [asah] (Gen 1:7, 16, 25, 31; 2:3, 4; 3:1; 5:1; 6:6, 7; 7:4; 9:6; Exod 20:11; 31:17; Deut 32:6, 15) [see NIDOTTE, 3:546-52]
          4. To Form [yatsar] (Gen 2:7, 18, 19) [see NIDOTTE, 2:503-6]
        2. The Powerful One (Gen 6–9; Exod 7–11; 14; 16; 17)
        3. The Holy One (Lev 11; 19)
        4. The Faithful One (Gen 8:1; 19:29; Exod 2:24; 6:5; Lev 26:42, 45)
        5. The Sovereign One (Exod 19–Num 10)
        6. The Righteous One (Gen 18; Deut 32)
        7. The Redeeming One (Exod 6; 15)
      2. Covenant: a relationship between two parties formalized by a binding agreement with a sworn oath [see MSJ 10:2 (Fall, 1999): 173-83; BTSB, 2234-36, 39; NIDOTTE; 1:747-55; Williamson, Sealed with an Oath; cf. GST, 515-25]
        1. Secular (Gen 21:27, 32; 26:28; 31:44) [RANE, 96-103]
        2. Theocratic
          1. Noahic (Gen 6:18; 8:21-22; 9:8-17)
          2. Abrahamic (Gen 15:18; 17:1-21; Exod 2:24; 6:4-8; Lev 26:40-45)
          3. Mosaic (Exod 19:5; 24:7, 8; Lev 26:15, 25; Deut 4:3; 5:6-22; 31:24-29)
          4. Priestly (Num 25:10-13) [see MSJ 10:2 (Fall, 1999) 186-9]
      3. Sin (Gen 3; 6; 11; Exod 32; Lev 10; Num 14; 20; 25; Deut 1) [see BTSB, 2332-33; NIDOTTE, 2:87-93; 4:638-9; DOTP, 764-78]
      4. Election (Gen 11–12; 25; 49; Deut 7; 12) [see NIDOTTE, 1:638-42]
      5. Exodus (Gen 15; 50; Exod 12–15; 19; 20; Deut 5) [see BTSB, 2347-49; NIDOTTE, 4:601-5]
      6. Law (Exod 20–23; Lev 1–7; 11–15; 17–27; Num 5–6; 18–19; 28–30; Deut 5–26) [cf. RANE, 104-17; see BTSB, 2337-39; NIDOTTE, 4:893-900; DOTP, 497-515]
      7. Tabernacle / Priesthood / Sacrifice (Exod 25–Lev 16) [cf. RANE, 118-33]
      8. The Land (Gen 10:19; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:7-21; Exod 3:8; Num 13:17-33; 34:1-12; Deut 1:7-8) [see NIDOTTE, 1:518-24; DOTP, 487-91]
      9. Adam (Gen 1–5) [see NIDOTTE, 4:359-62; DOTP, 18-21];
        Noah (Gen 5–11) [see DOTP, 605-11];
        Abram / Abraham (Gen 11–25) [see DOTP, 8-17];
        Jacob / Israel (Gen 25–50) [see NIDOTTE, 4:738-43; DOTP, 461-67];
        Moses (Exod 2–Deut 34) [see DOTP, 570-79] [cf. RANE, 72-95]
    3. The Purpose
      1. The Promise / Fulfillment Understanding:
        The partial fulfillment of God's promise to the Patriarchs of the seed, divine relationship and land which is both the divine initiative in a world where human initiatives always lead to disaster and a reaffirmation of the primal divine intentions for man. (Gen 12:1-3) [Clines]
        1. The Critique of Clines by Wenham
          1. The Omission of the Promise of Blessings to the Nations
          2. The Promises of Descendants and Relationship Substantially Fulfilled
          3. The Omission of Moses, the Dominating Human Personality
        2. The Understanding of Wenham:
          The fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs, which are a reaffirmation of God's original intentions for the human race, through God's mercy and the collaboration of Moses. To some degree these promises are fulfilled before Moses' death, but complete fulfillment awaits the future. [Exploring the OT, vol.1]
      2. The Kingdom Understanding:
        God chose Israel as the seed of Abraham to be the priestly nation that would restore mankind to its proper role as rulers for God over His created earth. (Gen 1:26-28; Exod 19:4-6) [Merrill, in Zuck, ed., A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament.]
      3. The Faith / Failure Understanding:
        The importance of faith toward God seen before Sinai and the failure of Israel under the Mosaic Covenant because of a lack of faith pointing to a future King and a New Covenant. (Gen 15:6) [Sailhamer]
      4. The Divine Presence Understanding:
        Yahweh's opening a way for humanity to dwell in the Divine Presence (Lev 16) [Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? 23-38; also see OT book introductions in HWOTS]
    4. The Literary Structure [see DOTP, 544-56]
      1. Promise / Fulfillment [cf. HWSOT, 58]
        1. The Need for Abraham (Gen 1–11)
        2. The Outworking of the Promise to Abraham (Gen 12 - Deut 34)
          1. The Giving of a Seed [Descendants] (Gen 12–50)
          2. The Giving of the Law [Relationship] (Exod 1–Lev 27)
          3. The Giving of the Land (Num 1–Deut 34)
      2. Kingdom
        1. The Primeval History (Gen 1–11)
        2. The Patriarchal History (Gen 12–50)
        3. The Beginning of the History of the Nation of Israel (Exod 1–Deut 34)
      3. Faith / Failure
        1. The Faith and Failure of the Patriarchs (Gen 1–50)
        2. The Faith and Failure of the Sons of Israel (Exod 1–Num 25)
        3. The Future Failure of Israel in the Land and the Future Repentance and Restoration of Israel to the Land (Num 26–Deut 34)
      4. Traditional (Divine Presence): Five Books [see Morales, 25]
      5. The Conclusion: The Essential Structure of the Pentateuch
        1. Major Junctures in the Torah
          Central Narrative Figure
          Jacob
          Baalam
          Moses
          Calls an Audience Together (imperative)
          Proclaims (cohortative)
          What will happen
          In "the end of days"
        2. The Literary Style of the Torah
          Narrative
          Poetry
          Epilogue
          Narrative
          Poetry
          Epilogue
          Narrative
          Poetry
          Epilogue
          Narrative
          Poetry
          Epilogue
        3. The Resulting Literary Structure of the Torah
          THE FATHERS
          THE FIRST GENERATION OF ISRAEL
          THE SECOND GENERATION OF ISRAEL
          Covenants:
          Covenants:
          Covenants:
          Noahic (Gen 8:21-22; 9:8-17)
          Priestly (Num 25:10-13)
          Another (Deut 29:1–Deut 30:20)
          25%
          50%
          25%
    5. Bibliography
      • Alexander and Baker, eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. [DOTP]
      • Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative.
      • Sailhamer, The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and Interpretation.
      • Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land.
      • Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch.
      • Hamilton, Handbook on the Pentateuch.
      • Livingston, The Pentateuch in Its Cultural Environment.
      • Postell, Bar, Soref, Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus.
      • Schnittjer, The Torah Story: An Apprenticeship on the Pentateuch.
      • Vogt, Interpreting the Pentateuch.
      • Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament. vol. 1.
      • Wolf, An Introduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch.

Used with permission by Dr. Keith Essex. Redistribution without express permission from Dr. Keith Essex is prohibited.

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