What’s where in the Bible
The Pentateuch : The Torah : The Law of Moses
The first five books of the Old Testament are often referred to collectively by one of these names. Torah is a Hebrew word which means instruction. This word is often translated as “Law” but has a much richer meaning, and includes a great deal of historical narrative and many other literary forms.
Genesis (50 chapters)
Said to have been written by Moses, Genesis is the book of beginnings. It tells the story of how God created the natural world in six days, and rested on the seventh day. It recounts the tale of Adam and his wife Eve, the first man and woman, of their sin in the garden of Eden and the consequent curse of death that came upon humankind. A result of this curse was more sin: their oldest son Cain killed his brother Abel. Through the third son, Seth, a line of distinguished patriarchs is named, including Enoch who did not see death, and Methuselah his son, who lived to be 969 years. It tells of Methuselah’s grandson Noah, and of how in an age of great violence among men he obeyed God by building an ark for his family and all kinds of animals. By this means Noah was preserved through the flood that destroyed whatever breathed on the earth. After the flood God made a covenant (a binding promise) with Noah, that never again would a flood destroy all flesh, and set the rainbow as a sign of that covenant.
Also in Genesis is the story of the tower of Babel, which tells why there are so many languages on earth. And then the story turns to Abram and his family.
God led Abram and his wife Sarai from the Babylonian city of Ur and brought him to the land of Canaan. There they prospered, and grew wealthy; saw Sodom and Gomorrah overthrown by fire; and received from God the promise of a son, through whom he would become Abraham, the father of many nations. With him God also entered into a covenant. Abraham, his son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob lived as nomads in a land they did not own. Jacob, also called Israel, had twelve sons, often called the Patriarchs. The Twelve Tribes of Israel were named after them. Of these his favorite, Joseph, was sold by his brothers as a slave and went to Egypt, where first as a household slave and later as a prisoner he proved faithful to God even while himself being treated unjustly. He rightly interpreted a dream for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and was made administrator over food supplies during an extended drought. Hunger brought his brothers to Egypt, and after a time of testing they were reconciled; then all his father’s family, 70 persons with their flocks and herds, came to live in Egypt, in the land of Goshen along the Nile delta. Thus God preserved them all alive, and greatly comforted Jacob in his old age. Joseph’s two sons, born in Egypt, were counted among the patriarchs, and their names (Ephraim and Manasseh) are listed thereafter among the tribes of Israel. Joseph and all his brothers died in Egypt.
Important persons: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Methusaleh, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth; Abram (Abraham), Sarai (Sarah), Lot; Ishmael, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob (Israel), Esau, Rachel, Laban, Judah, Simeon, Reuben; Joseph, Benjamin.
Time: Creation to _ 1800 BC
Exodus (40 chapters)
The name Exodus means departure. Exodus begins by telling how the Israelites grew in numbers and were then enslaved by the Egyptians. It tells of the birth of Moses, and how he was adopted by an Egyptian princess and raised as a prince of Egypt, but with his own mother hired as a nurse he knew also of his Hebrew heritage. At the age of forty, trying to correct an injustice against his own people, he killed an Egyptian who had been beating a Hebrew slave, and became a refugee. He went to the land of Midian, married and became a shepherd. Forty years later God appeared to him on a mountain, spoke to him from a burning bush, and told him to return to Egypt and lead the people out from slavery.
By many miraculous signs (the ten plagues) Moses, now 80 years old, and his brother Aaron demonstrated God’s power to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and then led the people out. The presence of God went with them, visible as a pillar of fire by night and of cloud by day. They crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and Pharaoh’s pursuing army was drowned in the sea. They proceeded to Mount Sinai where God made a covenant with the nation, gave Moses the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone, and gave him many other instructions to guide the life of the people. These included instructions for the building of a movable sanctuary and its furnishings, where the commandments were to be kept and where sacrifices and offerings were to be made. Moses’ brother Aaron was consecrated as high priest. The book of Exodus ends with the consecration of this sanctuary, called the Tabernacle or the Tent of Meeting.
Important persons: Moses, Aaron, Miriam; Jethro; Joshua.
Time: 1446 BC or 1290 BC (scholarly opinions differ; hereafter we will follow the earlier dating)
Leviticus (27 chapters)
Leviticus is named for the tribe of Levi, the patriarch to whose family, or tribe, Moses and Aaron belonged. This family was charged with the maintenance of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and with supervising the worship practices of the rest of the nation. The book details many of these priestly duties, including how and when sacrifices were to be made, and contains the holiness code which governed ritual purity, identification of infectious diseases, what foods were permitted and what were not, and ethical instructions. Penalties for various violations are set forth, and the religious calendar with its feasts, fasts, and holy days is described in detail. Sabbath regulations are set forth, including the law of Jubilee, the release of all debts every fifty years.
Important Persons: Moses, Aaron, Phineas, Eleazar
Time: ~1440 BC
Numbers (36 chapters)
The book of Numbers is so named because it includes the account of census-taking as the Israelites were led by Moses through the wilderness. However, much of this book is narrative, and it contains additional instructions from God to the people through Moses. It begins the story about where Exodus leaves off. It tells why the people were made to wander for forty years, though they began on the edge of the promised land of Canaan. It provides details of those forty years of wandering, and includes additional instructions about feasts and observances, laws of inheritance, and priestly duties. Narrative portions tell of military conflicts and of God’s miraculous provision for the people in the desert. Here also is the story of Balaam and the donkey.
Important Persons: Moses, Aaron, Miriam; Balaam
Time: 1446 BC to 1406 BC
Deuteronomy (34 chapters)
Deuteronomy means “second law”. In it Moses gives a farewell speech to the nation, reminding them of all that God has done and of the instructions he has given. It re-tells many of the stories already given in Exodus and Numbers, retracing the history beginning from the time the Isaelites left the mountain where God gave them the Torah, up to the time of Moses’ speech, just across the Jordan from Canaan.. The Ten Commandments are given in slightly different form. Additional laws are given, and many of the ethical and social instructions of Leviticus appear again as well. There are promises of blessings for obedience, and warnings against disobedience. Joshua is appointed as Moses’ successor, and Moses dies without entering the Promised Land.
Important Persons: Moses, Joshua
The Pentateuch : The Torah : The Law of Moses
The first five books of the Old Testament are often referred to collectively by one of these names. Torah is a Hebrew word which means instruction. This word is often translated as “Law” but has a much richer meaning, and includes a great deal of historical narrative and many other literary forms.
Genesis (50 chapters)
Said to have been written by Moses, Genesis is the book of beginnings. It tells the story of how God created the natural world in six days, and rested on the seventh day. It recounts the tale of Adam and his wife Eve, the first man and woman, of their sin in the garden of Eden and the consequent curse of death that came upon humankind. A result of this curse was more sin: their oldest son Cain killed his brother Abel. Through the third son, Seth, a line of distinguished patriarchs is named, including Enoch who did not see death, and Methuselah his son, who lived to be 969 years. It tells of Methuselah’s grandson Noah, and of how in an age of great violence among men he obeyed God by building an ark for his family and all kinds of animals. By this means Noah was preserved through the flood that destroyed whatever breathed on the earth. After the flood God made a covenant (a binding promise) with Noah, that never again would a flood destroy all flesh, and set the rainbow as a sign of that covenant.
Also in Genesis is the story of the tower of Babel, which tells why there are so many languages on earth. And then the story turns to Abram and his family.
God led Abram and his wife Sarai from the Babylonian city of Ur and brought him to the land of Canaan. There they prospered, and grew wealthy; saw Sodom and Gomorrah overthrown by fire; and received from God the promise of a son, through whom he would become Abraham, the father of many nations. With him God also entered into a covenant. Abraham, his son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob lived as nomads in a land they did not own. Jacob, also called Israel, had twelve sons, often called the Patriarchs. The Twelve Tribes of Israel were named after them. Of these his favorite, Joseph, was sold by his brothers as a slave and went to Egypt, where first as a household slave and later as a prisoner he proved faithful to God even while himself being treated unjustly. He rightly interpreted a dream for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and was made administrator over food supplies during an extended drought. Hunger brought his brothers to Egypt, and after a time of testing they were reconciled; then all his father’s family, 70 persons with their flocks and herds, came to live in Egypt, in the land of Goshen along the Nile delta. Thus God preserved them all alive, and greatly comforted Jacob in his old age. Joseph’s two sons, born in Egypt, were counted among the patriarchs, and their names (Ephraim and Manasseh) are listed thereafter among the tribes of Israel. Joseph and all his brothers died in Egypt.
Important persons: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Methusaleh, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth; Abram (Abraham), Sarai (Sarah), Lot; Ishmael, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob (Israel), Esau, Rachel, Laban, Judah, Simeon, Reuben; Joseph, Benjamin.
Time: Creation to _ 1800 BC
Exodus (40 chapters)
The name Exodus means departure. Exodus begins by telling how the Israelites grew in numbers and were then enslaved by the Egyptians. It tells of the birth of Moses, and how he was adopted by an Egyptian princess and raised as a prince of Egypt, but with his own mother hired as a nurse he knew also of his Hebrew heritage. At the age of forty, trying to correct an injustice against his own people, he killed an Egyptian who had been beating a Hebrew slave, and became a refugee. He went to the land of Midian, married and became a shepherd. Forty years later God appeared to him on a mountain, spoke to him from a burning bush, and told him to return to Egypt and lead the people out from slavery.
By many miraculous signs (the ten plagues) Moses, now 80 years old, and his brother Aaron demonstrated God’s power to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and then led the people out. The presence of God went with them, visible as a pillar of fire by night and of cloud by day. They crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and Pharaoh’s pursuing army was drowned in the sea. They proceeded to Mount Sinai where God made a covenant with the nation, gave Moses the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone, and gave him many other instructions to guide the life of the people. These included instructions for the building of a movable sanctuary and its furnishings, where the commandments were to be kept and where sacrifices and offerings were to be made. Moses’ brother Aaron was consecrated as high priest. The book of Exodus ends with the consecration of this sanctuary, called the Tabernacle or the Tent of Meeting.
Important persons: Moses, Aaron, Miriam; Jethro; Joshua.
Time: 1446 BC or 1290 BC (scholarly opinions differ; hereafter we will follow the earlier dating)
Leviticus (27 chapters)
Leviticus is named for the tribe of Levi, the patriarch to whose family, or tribe, Moses and Aaron belonged. This family was charged with the maintenance of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and with supervising the worship practices of the rest of the nation. The book details many of these priestly duties, including how and when sacrifices were to be made, and contains the holiness code which governed ritual purity, identification of infectious diseases, what foods were permitted and what were not, and ethical instructions. Penalties for various violations are set forth, and the religious calendar with its feasts, fasts, and holy days is described in detail. Sabbath regulations are set forth, including the law of Jubilee, the release of all debts every fifty years.
Important Persons: Moses, Aaron, Phineas, Eleazar
Time: ~1440 BC
Numbers (36 chapters)
The book of Numbers is so named because it includes the account of census-taking as the Israelites were led by Moses through the wilderness. However, much of this book is narrative, and it contains additional instructions from God to the people through Moses. It begins the story about where Exodus leaves off. It tells why the people were made to wander for forty years, though they began on the edge of the promised land of Canaan. It provides details of those forty years of wandering, and includes additional instructions about feasts and observances, laws of inheritance, and priestly duties. Narrative portions tell of military conflicts and of God’s miraculous provision for the people in the desert. Here also is the story of Balaam and the donkey.
Important Persons: Moses, Aaron, Miriam; Balaam
Time: 1446 BC to 1406 BC
Deuteronomy (34 chapters)
Deuteronomy means “second law”. In it Moses gives a farewell speech to the nation, reminding them of all that God has done and of the instructions he has given. It re-tells many of the stories already given in Exodus and Numbers, retracing the history beginning from the time the Isaelites left the mountain where God gave them the Torah, up to the time of Moses’ speech, just across the Jordan from Canaan.. The Ten Commandments are given in slightly different form. Additional laws are given, and many of the ethical and social instructions of Leviticus appear again as well. There are promises of blessings for obedience, and warnings against disobedience. Joshua is appointed as Moses’ successor, and Moses dies without entering the Promised Land.
Important Persons: Moses, Joshua